House Probes Oil Regulators Over Lapses In Decommissioning Compliance

The House of Representatives ad hoc committee
on decommissioning and abandonment in the oil sector
accused Nigeria’s oil and gas regulators of failing to comply with key provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) governing decommissioning and abandonment of ageing assets

The committee said non-compliance by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has become a major obstacle, following submissions from both agencies at a resumed investigative hearing at the National Assembly.

The NUPRC represented by Executive Commissioner for Development and Production Engineering Enorense Amadasu,
NMDPRA, represented by Executive Director of Health, Safety, Environment and Communities, Dr. Mustafa Lamorde,

In their separate submissions, the NUPRC represented by Engineer Enorense Amadasu and the NMDPRA represented by Dr Mustapha Lamorde informed the committee that many factors have caused delays in the implementation of the regulations in the D&A in the oil sector despite the provisions in the PIA.

They also cited some legal technicalities in the Ministry of Justice, issues with responsibility of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Escrow accounts as well as other challenges.

The NUPRC stated, “So, our response was clear that the NUPRC has strongly enforced the provisions of section 232 and 233 of the petroleum acts by the PIA 2021, which together with the subsidiary legislative market classes ceases to serve any decommissioning and abandonment plan for their assets and for which extensive engagements in the industry have been held to test ways of engagement in the industry to the extent that every field health plan that is submitted to the NUPRC now have been approved, we also have to engage them for them to provide the plan”.

“So it’s also important for us to understand that the D&A is actually, the D&A plan that we reviewed then, it is actually for them to tell us what will happen at the end of the life cycle of the plan, just like you observed, such that at the end the environment will be restored back close to its original state”.

In his remark, Chairman of the Committee, Bassey Ekpenyong lamented the delays in implementing the PIA provisions and other extant laws.

“The regulation is a regulation that was approved in 2003. And I want to believe that as soon as you did that, you submitted it to the Minister of Justice.

Oduyemi Odumade, Edited By Grace Namiji