Nigerians have criticised the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) over plans to hold a two-day training programme for recipients of Petroleum Prospecting Licences (PPLs).
The regulator announced the proposed sessions for PPL holders in a statement posted on X. It said the programme was designed to limit the number of oil blocks left inactive because successful bidders lack the required commercial strength or technical capacity.
Quick facts
- NUPRC plans a two-day training session for Petroleum Prospecting Licence awardees.
- The commission says the initiative is aimed at reducing idle oil blocks.
- Thirty-one companies secured oil and gas blocks in the 2025 licensing round, completed in July 2026.
- NUPRC has opened a new 2026 round involving 40 oil blocks.
Commenters on the commission’s X account questioned why entities granted potentially costly exploration assets would need such training after winning their licences.
One user, Tyro, said the announcement illustrated wider problems in Nigeria’s petroleum licensing process. He noted that drilling a deep-water well can cost at least $100 million, with no certainty of a commercial discovery.
“Who has $100m to spend, with no guarantee of success, and needs ‘training’ on what to do next?” Tyro wrote, arguing that the planned programme raised questions about the type of companies selected for the licences.
Another user, Peter, suggested the training may have been incorporated into a larger budget plan and would therefore proceed as part of the system. He compared it with post-election processes, saying it can appear that lawyers “in wigs” must be paid to complete the electoral cycle.
A third commenter, using the account name 1st Name Basis, called the proposal an example of impunity. The user said a government agency would ordinarily be embarrassed to publicly acknowledge that successful bidders require this type of support.
“So what was the basis of winning the bid?” the user wrote.
The criticism follows NUPRC’s 2025 licensing round, in which 31 companies were awarded oil and gas blocks. That process ended in July 2026 amid controversy.
The commission has since started another licensing exercise for 2026, placing 40 oil blocks on offer.
