Only two winners of Nigeria’s 2020-2022 marginal field bid round had been granted a Petroleum Mining License (PML) on their acreages as of June 27, 2025, when the Petroleum Prospecting Licenses (PPLs) expired for most of the 40+ awardees.

The process is overseen by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).

Most of the rest of the awardees are having to apply for extension of their PPLs for another three years. The companies will have to sufficiently convince the regulator of the extent of their work commitment.