In Abuja, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and Exxon Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited filed a lawsuit, which was dismissed by Hon. Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court.
As per the court report that was obtained in Abuja yesterday, Mobil had challenged the authority of NMDPRA to oversee specific aspects of its operations, such as butane lifting. The company contended that these aspects were part of its Oil Mining Leases (OMLs) and therefore fell under the exclusive regulatory jurisdiction of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
The company’s attorneys argued in their Originating Summons, filed on June 19, 2023, in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/844/2023, that the involved operations were classified as “integrated petroleum operations” under the Petroleum Industry Act of 2021 (PIA). As a result, they asked the court to prevent NMDPRA from attempting to license or regulate those operations in any way.
In response, NMDPRA asserted, via its attorneys Ama Atuwewe (SAN) and Dr. Emeka Akabogu, that the specific operations in question did not fall under the purview of what the PIA defined as “integrated petroleum operations” and that NMDPRA was therefore authorized by the law to regulate all midstream and downstream petroleum operations in Nigeria. Following the case hearing, the court set aside October 25, 2023, for its verdict.
In a remarkable turn of events, Exxon Mobil moved the court to strike out the lawsuit and requested to end the proceedings on the day when the judgment was scheduled. Counsel for the Authority responded by asking the court to dismiss the lawsuit, claiming that problems had been raised and that the court needed to establish a clear precedent. The court determined that dismissing the lawsuit is the appropriate decision to make given the facts.
This decision has a significant impact on Nigeria’s petroleum sector because it upholds the NMDPRA’s regulatory authority over all midstream and downstream operations, including those of foreign oil corporations engaged in similar ventures, as stated in the Petroleum Industry Act 2021.
In response, Dr. Emeka Akabogu, the lawyer for NMDPRA, said that the victory guarantees distinct monitoring of operations in the various streams of the oil and gas value chain carried out by linked parties, making it a significant milestone in the nation’s fight against oil theft.
