The Federal Government has warned prospective investors in the 2025 oil licensing round that any errors, miscalculations, or disappointments arising from the bidding process will be borne entirely by the companies involved, stressing that there will be no refunds of signature bonuses or exchanges of oil assets under any circumstances.
The warning was issued by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, at the 2025 Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission pre-bid conference held in Lagos on Wednesday. The conference, which attracted a large turnout both physically and online, was aimed at educating prospective bidders on available assets, the legal framework, and the risks involved in the licensing process.
Lokpobiri said the era when oil licences were acquired for speculation, prestige or resale was over, adding that licences are government assets that must be actively developed.
“I’ve had obligations to solve so many problems following the 2020 bid round. The government received several representations from people who won those bids; some of them came for refunds of their bidding fees. It is clearly stated that if you go for any bid round, the registration fee is not refundable. But some people came to my office demanding a refund of the bidding fees,” he said.
