Chevron Nigeria has said it will participate in Nigeria’s next oil licensing round.

Jim Swartz, chairman and managing director of Chevron Nigeria/Mid-Africa Business Unit, on Friday, said the company aims to grow its footprint in Nigeria, citing improved regulatory clarity under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

“We will participate in the next licensing round. Our intention is to continue to grow in Nigeria,” Swartz told reporters after meeting the upstream regulator.

TotalEnergies had also expressed interest in joining an auction.

Chevron recently agreed to acquire a 40% stake in two offshore exploration licences, PPL 2000 and PPL 2001, from TotalEnergies and is seeking regulatory approval to accelerate development.

The IOC also plans to deploy a drilling rig in late 2026 as it seeks to expand operations in Africa’s top energy producer.

Swartz said it will bring in a rig in late 2026 to drill a newly discovered resource near Agbami and extend leases on existing assets.

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The NUPRC on Monday announced the commencement of the Nigeria 2025 licensing round, listing 50 oil and gas blocks across onshore, swamp/shallow water, and offshore terrains spanning diverse basins.

The Nigerian government expects to attract about $10 billion in investments through the licensing round.

It is also expected to add up to 2 billion barrels of oil output over the next 10 years, with an estimated 400,000 barrels/Day of production volumes when the blocks are fully operational.