Nigeria currently has 220 open oil blocks scattered across its onshore and offshore basins, data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission has revealed.
This is despite its growing debt burden and crude shortages affecting local refineries. The NUPRC data showed that the deep offshore terrain accounts for the highest number of unlicensed blocks at 59, highlighting the country’s underexploited energy wealth in its most technically advanced but capital-intensive region.
The Benue Trough follows with 41 open blocks, while the Chad Basin hosts 40. In the Sokoto Basin, there are 28 blocks yet to be awarded, and the Bida Basin has 16. It was disclosed that even in more mature areas, idle blocks persist.
The offshore Niger Delta, often considered the backbone of Nigeria’s oil production history, still holds seven open blocks. The Anambra Basin has 13 open blocks, while eight each remain unlicensed in the Benin Basin and the onshore Niger Delta.
According to a publication by the NUPRC, 24 blocks were recently awarded from the 2022/2023 deepwater mini bid round and the 2024 licensing round. On the strength of the recorded successes in exploration, development, and production, the commission said it is evident that the Nigerian deepwater terrain is endowed with enormous hydrocarbon resources.
