Eight months after President Muhammadu Buhari signed the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), the Presidential Steering Committee on the PIA and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) have unveiled six draft regulations for the oil industry.
Presenting the regulations to stakeholders in Abuja on Wednesday, the Minister of State Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, who chairs the committee said effective regulations are key to harnessing the gains of the PIA.
Sylva said: “This is why the Presidential Steering Committee on the PIA, which I chair as the Minister of State Petroleum Resources, has played this pivotal role in collaborating with the commission in the drafting of the first set of regulations, which will be presented for review at this interactive forum.”
Buhari had signed the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) into law on August 16, 2021, forming NUPRC and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
“I am hopeful that the regulations, when fully implemented, will help in no small measure in the smooth take-off of the day-to-day operations of the NUPRC,” Sylva noted.
Listing the six draft regulations at the event, the Commission Chief Executive (CCE) of NUPRC, Gbenga Komolafe, said they are: 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.
He said the discussions at the engagement are on issues dealing with royalty, licensing rounds, fees and rentals, burning issues on implementation of host community fund, finalising the 2020 bid round by issuing Petroleum Prospecting Licence (PPL).
“We are very optimistic that this engagement will be fruitful, and all grey areas will receive adequate clarification with a view to giving meaning to the intent of the PIA and in a manner that the regulations become attractive to investors and user friendly in implementation,” said Komolafe.
