The Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission has announced that they have taken over the regulation and monitoring of activities of the nation’s crude oil export terminals.
AmBusiness reported that the Chief Executive Officer of NUPRC, Mr. Gbenga Komolafe said this in an interview with Arise TV on Tuesday.
Komolafe claimed that The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari has explicitly instructed the NUPRC and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority to resolve the function overlaps that the sector has identified.
Recall that Buhari had signed a letter stating that the exercise of any regulatory role by the NUPRC and NMDPRA “on any existing crude oil export terminal established prior to the effective date of the PIA should cease immediately”.
Buhari ordered immediate compliance with the senate resolution that “NUPRC is the sole (sic) and only regulatory entity to regulate and monitor the activities of all existing crude oil export terminals in Nigeria in compliance with section 7ee of the PIA (2021)”.
Komolafe highlighted a few of the Commission’s accomplishments during its first 18 months of operation during the conversation. He stated:
“We have been able to rebuild investor confidence in the sector, which is essential. We accomplished this through the procedures we followed and the regulatory mechanisms we implemented. We developed the method in a period of 18 months.
“Within 18 months, we have been able to come up with 18 key regulations which some are still under review. We have also been able to convert 40 OPLs to PPLs and incorporate 74 host communities’ development trust.”
According to Komolafe, the PIA lays out in detail the roles each of the two industry regulators must play. He stated that the Commission sees no inconsistencies with regard to the PIA’s provisions. He maintained that the Commission is dedicated to the values of transparency in order to fix leaks and improve the country’s oil export and production.
Komolafe claimed that the Commission is also attempting to lower the cost per barrel of oil production. Once that is finished, he says it will be easy to maximize the federation’s revenue from the country’s hydrocarbon resources.
