The Federal Government declared Monday in Abuja that new regulations are being explored to address important challenges in the sector, notwithstanding the uncertainties facing the upstream sector of the Nigerian petroleum industry.
The Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) stated seven new regulations are being examined along with stakeholders to grow the sector in light of the sector’s divestment and decreasing funding for exploration and production.
Aspects of acreage, the environment, management of the environmental remediation fund, safety, usage, decommissioning and abandonment, as well as the frontier exploration fund are all addressed by the laws.
Although Nigeria finally enacted the long-awaited PIA last year, the regulations—which are meant to be the means by which the law’s provisions are carried out—will ultimately determine whether the law is successful or not.
The Nigerian Upstream Fee and Rent Regulations, the Petroleum Licensing Round Regulations, the Domestic Gas Delivery Obligations Regulations, the Nigeria Conversion Regulations, the Nigeria Royalty Regulations, and the Nigeria Host Community (Commission) Regulations were six regulations that the NUPRC had released in May.
Acreage Management (Drilling & Production) Regulations, Upstream Petroleum Environmental Regulations, Upstream Petroleum Environmental Remediation Fund Regulations, Upstream Petroleum Safety Regulations, Unitization Regulations, Upstream Petroleum Decommissioning & Abandonment Regulations, and Frontier Exploration Fund Regulations are the new ones that major players in the industry are currently considering.
The Chief Executive Commission, NUPRC, Gbenga Komolafe remarked during a stakeholders’ engagement on the rules that involving and aligning with stakeholders remained essential to building an enabling environment for growth and investments in the segment.
“This can be seen in our efforts to ensure that regulations and key policies necessitated by the PIA are developed and gazetted timely so that the industry operators can align their operations with the PIA provisions as quickly as possible,” he said.
The President’s Implementation Committee on PIA and the Commission’s Regulation Development Team put a lot of thought and effort into developing the identified regulations, according to Komolafe, who was represented by Executive Commissioner, Health, Safety, Environment and Community Tonlagha Roland John. Komolafe also said that the process of formulating the regulations had been rigorous and taxing.
“Despite this however, the process is not complete until the Stakeholders’ critical inputs are obtained, discussed, and incorporated, where necessary, in the regulations,” he stated
According to Joseph Tolorunse, Head of Legal at NUPRC, the second phase of the regulations’ development was a testament to the regulator’s determination and vision to swiftly implement the PlA’s provisions as well as to create crucial organizations and positive relationships within the Nigerian oil and gas sector.
According to him, the sector’s ability to match highest worldwide standards and the predicted objectives would be made possible by the input from stakeholders.
