The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) announces that the federal government has cut the signature incentive for the 2025 petroleum licensing round to between $3 million and $7 million.

A signature bonus is a one-time payment made by oil firms to the government when they sign an agreement as part of the award of an exploration or production license or lease.

The commission announced on Monday that any bidder who fails to submit a signature bonus within the required range will be disqualified.

“The Nigerian government has graciously reduced the signature bonus to between $3 million and $7 million,” the statement reads.

According to the NUPRC, all bidders must submit an offer between

“a range of $3 million and $7 million as approved by the minister of petroleum for the reduction of entry barriers.”

The commission stated that bids will be evaluated using a score-based approach that takes into account a variety of factors.

The parameters, according to the NUPRC, include the signature bonus (if it falls within the statutory limit), the proposed work programme, and the unit cost per barrel in connection to the work programme.

Other evaluating variables, according to the commission, include professionalism, human and technical competence, the percentage of bank guarantees made available, the balance sheet, turnover, the green story and decarbonisation project, and corporate governance structure.

On December 1, the NUPRC announced the official start of the 2025 petroleum licensing round, which is expected to generate approximately $10 billion in new investments.