Benue State has officially joined the league of oil-producing states in Nigeria following the award of three petroleum prospecting licences by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) in the 2025 licensing round.
The three awarded blocks PPL 800, PPL 801, and PPL 902 are located in Otukpo, Apa, and Okpokwu Local Government Areas, spanning the Southern Benue Trough and Anambra Basin. PPL 800, covering parts of Otukpo and Apa, was awarded to Dakoda & U Limited. PPL 801, in the southwestern portion of the Southern Benue Trough, went to Eyre Energy Limited, while PPL 902 in the Anambra Basin, with surface footprint in Okpokwu LGA, was awarded to South-borne Oil and Gas Limited.
The development marks a historic milestone for Benue, as these blocks carry the legacy of five historic exploration wells drilled between 1954 and 1967 by Shell and TotalEnergies. Notable among them is the Ocheku River-1 well in PPL 800, which reached a depth of 6,020 feet, and the Opiarum-1 well in PPL 902 at Opialu Village in Okpokwu LGA, drilled in 1955.
The NUPRC described the 2025 round as historic, with frontier inland basins like the Benue Trough attracting significant commercial interest alongside traditional producing areas. Of the 37 awarded assets nationwide, 15 are in these frontier basins. The Commission has reiterated its “drill or drop” policy, warning that companies failing to develop the assets risk losing their licences.
The awards are subject to payment of signature bonuses and ministerial approval before becoming effective. Should exploration advance to production, host communities in Otukpo, Apa, and Okpokwu stand to benefit from infrastructure development, employment opportunities, and economic gains through the Host Communities Development Trust under the Petroleum Industry Act 2021.
Industry observers view this as Benue’s most significant entry into Nigeria’s upstream petroleum industry, potentially unlocking fresh exploration activities and transforming the state into an emerging hydrocarbon investment destination after decades of dormancy. The announcement has generated widespread excitement across Benue, with many seeing it as a game-changer for the state’s economy.
