The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) started its last week activities with a move by stakeholders to begin the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) in the upstream sector of the nation’s oil and gas industry.
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva said at a 2-day upstream stakeholders’ forum organized by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) in Abuja that the process of ratifying the first set of regulations was on.
Sylva said the regulations would govern the sector in line with Section 216 of the PIA and that the forum was convened to enable stakeholders provide inputs to fine-tune key regulations as prepared by the NUPRC and the Presidential Steering Committee.
“It is believed that a robust engagement such as this will create the platform for all of us to brainstorm in a constructive manner.
“It will also harness the necessary inputs from various stakeholders to further clarify the draft regulations and the eventual firming up of the final regulations for use.”
The Minister stated that though the PIA had removed the uncertainties that hampered investments in the sector, strong regulations were required to keep the industry vibrant and relevant.
He called on the stakeholders to embrace innovation in their operations to enable the industry survive the challenges imposed by the global energy transition.
“However, the challenge posed by the huge divestments in the hydrocarbon explorations by oil majors in the country in the past as a result of the global energy transition calls for more innovative ways in the exploitation and exploration of fossil fuel in the country.
“If we must continue to be relevant at the global stage, we must, in designing any regulation, put in focus how we can balance the energy base-load for Nigeria.
“This will ensure that we will not be left behind in the energy transition train while still harnessing our rich natural hydrocarbon reserves.”
Speaking earlier, the Chief Executive Officer of the NUPRC, Mr Gbenga Komolafe, explained that the forum had become a statutory prescription and a critical milestone in the implementation of the PIA.
He said that as a law-abiding agency, it was binding on the NUPRC to work expeditiously towards finalising the regulations for the upstream sector of oil and gas industry.
This, he said would help in keeping with specific timelines as provided in the PIA.
“Also, aside from the statutory imperative on the part of the commission to have the regulations finalised in time-specific manner, there is also the compelling need for us as a nation to conclude the regulation-making process for implementation of the PIA.
“This will ensure that the PIA is in full throttle and in a manner that will enable Nigeria hedge against the impact of energy transition while taking advantage of the oil and gas supply gap resulting from the current developments in Russia and Ukraine.”
He listed the six draft regulations up for review at the forum to include: the Nigerian Upstream Fee and Rent Regulations, the Petroleum Licensing Round Regulations and the Domestic Gas Delivery Obligations Regulations.
Others are the Nigeria Conversion Regulations, the Nigeria Royalty Regulations and the Nigeria Host Community (Commission) Regulations.
He said that the commission would carry out other similar stakeholders’ engagements in the course of the implementation of the PIA.
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