Fresh tensions are building up in Nigeria’s upstream petroleum sector as no fewer than 25 oil blocks are scheduled to expire in 2026 amid a new Executive Order, which may strip the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and Nigerian Downstream Midstream Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) of direct control over N1.5 trillion fund.

Details contained in the Nigerian Upstream Concession Situation Report for February 2026 show that many Petroleum Prospecting Licences (PPLs), Oil Prospecting Licences (OPLs), Petroleum Exploration Licences (PELs) and Oil Mining Leases (OMLs) will reach the end of their tenures within the year.

With the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) mandating a regular bid round, expiring licences offer the government the opportunity to revoke oil blocks that do not meet requirements.

Among the soon-to-be-expired blocks is PEL 1 held by TGS-Petrodata Offshore Services Ltd, a deep offshore seismic data concession in the Niger Delta, due to expire on April 20, 2026. In the onshore Niger Delta, Transnational Energy Ltd’s PPL 221 (Hely Creek, derived from OML 49) and Waltersmith Petroman Ltd’s PPL 243 (Assa, derived from OML 21) both lapsed on February 12, 2026.

On the continental shelf, Navante Exploration & Production Ltd’s PPL 220 (Abigborodo, from OML 49) is set to expire on October 16, 2026, while Kizi Oil and Gas Services Ltd’s PPL 232 (Amaniba, from OML 67) will end on November 16, 2026. Oceangate Engineering Oil & Gas Ltd’s PPL 235 (Udara, from OML 70) and PPL 227 (Odimodi) are both due to terminate on November 1, 2026. Similarly, PPL 223 will expire on November 30, 2026.

A lot of blocks in the Petroleum Mining Lease (PML) are also set to expire in 2027.

Each of the blocks operates under a Joint Venture Company (JVC) structure, with equity split 60 per cent to NNPCL and 40 per cent to Chevron Nigeria Limited. The acreages range from 8.513 square kilometres (PML 32 – Aroh) to 145.393 square kilometres (PML 28 – Dibi).

Stakeholders warn that uncertainty over renewals, conversions to PMLs, and compliance with work programme obligations could affect output projections at a time when Nigeria is striving to boost crude oil production above two million barrels per day.

Typically, submissions for renewals are expected to be made ahead, the NUPRC did not specify if the blocks are already renewed or being reviewed.

The federation’s account, which serves the country’s three tiers of government, may receive additional revenue of over N918.6 billion, which was deducted last year by NNPCL following a new executive order by President Bola Tinubu.

While the NNPCL last year deducted over N459.3 billion for management fees and another N459.3 billion as Frontier Exploration Fund (FEF), the total transfers to the federation account from Production Sharing Contract (PSC)’s N1.5 trillion earnings were N614 billion.

At the NMDPRA, remittances into the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund, which stood at about N596.61 billion last year, push costs to over N1.5 trillion.

However, some stakeholders yesterday slammed the order, stressing that the President’s action altered the PIA, a development which requires the action of the National Assembly.

Professor Wumi Iledare of the Petroleum and Energy Policy Forum cautioned that aspects of the Executive Order intersect directly with statutory provisions of the PIA, including the FEF and PSC fiscal structures established by the National Assembly.

While acknowledging the administration’s objective of strengthening revenue transparency and fiscal discipline, he stressed that substantive alterations to statutory fiscal frameworks might require legislative amendment to ensure constitutional alignment and investor certainty.

He urged prompt legislative consultation, transparent stakeholder engagement and clear implementation guidelines to safeguard contractual obligations.

Energy expert, Jide Pratt, said the Order effectively “nips in the bud” the issue of NNPCL holding and spending federation revenue, adding that direct remittance could boost available revenue for federal and state governments if properly accounted for.

Nonetheless, he questioned whether an executive order should sidestep provisions of the PIA and noted that NNPCL now faces a test of its commercial mandate as it loses management fee income. (The Guardian)