Four years after the Federal Government announced a major oil discovery at Kolmani and pledged over $3 billion in investments, 13 oil blocks across the Chad Basin, Benue, Benin and Niger-Delta have failed to attract investors during the 2025 Licensing Round.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) said only 37 of the 50 blocks offered received bids, while the remaining 13 would be returned to the licensing pool. Although the regulator described the exercise as successful, industry experts said investors deliberately avoided high-risk frontier basins in favour of producing or near-producing assets.
Stakeholders blamed poor seismic data, undersized oil blocks, inadequate infrastructure and high exploration risks for the lack of interest. They also questioned the slow progress of the Kolmani Integrated Development Project, where commercial oil production, the proposed refinery, fertiliser plant and gas facilities have yet to materialise nearly four years after the discovery was announced.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) did not respond to enquiries on the current status of the Kolmani project, reserve estimates or the promised industrial developments in the Gongola Basin.
Industry analysts urged the Government to improve geological data, strengthen investor incentives and focus on commercially viable assets to restore confidence in frontier exploration.
