Female-owned Firms to Compete in Oil Licensing Round 

Stories by Peter Uzoho

The Women in Energy Network (WIEN) has encouraged women in the oil and gas sector, especially those who own or lead oil companies with proven capacity to take advantage of the ongoing 2025 licensing round being conducted by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).

President of WIEN, Mrs Eyono Fatayi- Williams, indicated this during an interaction with energy reporters in Lagos.

About 50 oil and gas blocks spanning onshore, swamp and offshore are being offered to prospective investors from within and outside country, in a move aimed at boosting Nigeria’s hydrocarbon reserves, showcasing the county’s huge opportunities to investors and attracting new investments in the industry.

In Nigeria, many women have emerged as strong players in the energy sector, especially in the oil exploration and production segment, either as owners or Chief Executives of companies.

Fatayi-Williams believed women now have strong footing to compete and win assets during bid rounds, saying their members are being encouraged to participate in the 2025 bid exercise.

She said: “It’s not just about saying women in the energy sector. We already have women who are in the upstream, who are doing business in the upstream. But for these licensing rounds, we are trying to encourage women to collaborate and to take part in the licensing round. Recently, a sister organisation (Women in Energy, Oil and Gas), had a roundtable on the licensing round. And we participated in that.

“Because you must understand, it’s not a child’s play process. You must understand the process. You must understand what it takes, how long it takes, the money involved, the connections, the commercial, technical, fiscal requirements for you to be in that business”.