By Adaobi Rhema Oguejiofor
The Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has unveiled seven new regulations as part of its major effort towards tackling oil theft, ultimately growing the nation’s economy and maximizing the resource offerings of the petroleum sector.
The Commission Chief Executive (CCE) of NUPRC, Gbenga Komolafe, while speaking at the regulation signing in Abuja on Thursday, listed the new regulations as Upstream Petroleum Fees and Rents Regulations, Upstream Decommissioning and Abandonment Regulations, Unitization Regulations, Acreage Management Drilling & Production Regulations, Frontier Exploration Fund Administration Regulations, Upstream Environmental Remediation Fund Regulations, Upstream Petroleum Safety Regulations, Upstream Petroleum Environmental Regulations, Upstream Petroleum Measurement Regulations, Advance Cargo Declaration Regulations, Significant Discovery Regulations, Domestic Crude Oil Supply Obligation Regulations, Gas Flaring and Venting Prevention of Waste and Pollution Regulations.
The move by the Commission to approve these regulations was inspired by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, which authorizes it to design policy direction and regulations that will give meaning and intent to the spirit of the Act.
Earlier, five regulations had already been gazetted and published, while these seven new ones are part of the 13 draft regulations that were presented for adoption by relevant stakeholders. According to NUPRC, these operational documents cover the entire spectrum of oil and gas operations and seek to create a harmonized ecosystem that will be beneficial to all stakeholders.
The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), Dr. Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, who also spoke at the signing, praised Komolafe for his persistent spirit in accomplishing the task, assuring NUPRC of his Agency’s support at all times.
Dr. Orji stated that between 2009 to 2020, 619.7 million barrels of crude valued at $46.16 billion, which is equivalent to N16.25 trillion, were either stolen or unaccounted for. He expressed that NUPRC and NEITI will close ranks to deepen transparency and push the boundaries of accountability.
In his own words, “no nation can survive under this sort of arrangement and yet we keep borrowing for infrastructure, education, etc. Other agencies captured in the PIA should emulate the NUPRC.”