Victor Ezeja
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has highlighted conditions that all Petroleum Prospecting Licence (PPL) holders whose licences are about to expire must fulfil to secure extension.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelOne of the conditions is the payment of $5,000 as an application fee.
This was disclosed in a letter dated 18 June 2025, signed by NUPRC Chief Executive, Gbenga Komolafe, and addressed to affected Petroleum Prospecting Licence holders.
According to the letter, the Petroleum Prospecting Licences, which were issued during the Marginal Field Bid Round in 2020, will expire on 27 June 2025 in line with the terms of the award of the licence.
Part of the letter titled ’Notification of PPL Tenure Expiration And Conditions For Extension’, reads: “Further to the award of a Petroleum Prospecting License to your company during the 2020 Marginal Field Bid Round, a review of our records indicate that the PPL will expire on 27th June 2025 which is in line with the terms of award of the licence.”
Komolafe said the letter served as a formal reminder that the PPL holders were required to either apply for an optional additional three-year exploration period based on the fulfilment of the Minimum Work Programme/Minimum Financial Commitment attached to the licence at the time of the award and other obligations.
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The NUPRC Chief Executive clarified that the requirement was in line with the provisions of Section 77 of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 and the 2022 Regulation on Extension of Licence.
According to the letter, the PPL holders were also expected to have responded to the June 18 email sent to them by completing and returning the forms attached, before June 23.
The affected PPL holders were to fill and submit the form for assessment of their eligibility for extension or otherwise.
The Commission also instructed the affected licensees to formally apply for an extension of the licence’s exploration period prior to the Petroleum Prospecting Licence’s initial term expiration.
They were also required to disclose the status of the existing work programme and the level of completion of any minimum work obligation imposed on the block at the time of award. These include: Data Gathering and Evaluation, Well re-entry, Well test and or Completion, Drilling of at least one well and Submission of a Field Development plan.
The upstream regulatory body also demanded a comprehensive suite of documents demonstrating the achievement of the work programme. It emphasised that the document should indicate all activities carried out by the licensee since the award and plans for the continuation of activities on the asset.
NUPRC also demanded evidence of incurring the Minimum Financial Commitment, and “Evidence of submission of work performance guarantee for the initial three-year exploration period, issued by a commercial bank duly licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria with a minimum credit rating of “BBB’ issued by, at least, two rating agencies, one of which must be a rating agency incorporated in Nigeria and registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission.”
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Other details required by the Commission include: “Evidence of incorporation of host community development trust fund, environmental remediation fund and Decommissioning and. Abandonment fund.
“Evidence of payment of concession rental for the license. For the initial three exploratory years.
“A report in summary form and data of all the exploratory and geological work carried out by the licensee in the licence area.
“A detailed justification for the requested extension, including proposed exploratory and geological work programmes, as well as the outstanding activities to be reclassified and implemented as part of a new work programme during the extension period, with clear timelines.
“Proposed amount of the financial commitment sufficient to fund the new work programme. Proposed value of the performance security to guarantee the financial commitment during the proposed extension period. Evidence of payment of five thousand United States dollars application fee.”
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with seven years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Master's degree in Mass Communication.
