PIA

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulations Commission (NUPRC) says it will ensure that regulations and key policies necessitated by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 are developed and gazzetted.

The commission said this would enable the industry operators to align their operations with the PIA 2021 provisions as quickly as possible.

Mr Gbenga Komolafe, Commission Chief Executive, NUPRC, said this on Monday in Abuja at the opening of second phase of its consultation with stakeholders on regulations development as mandated by Section 216 of the PIA.

The seven draft regulations to be considered include Acreage Management (Drilling and Production) Regulations and Upstream Petroleum Environmental Regulations.

Others are Upstream Petroleum Environmental Remediation Fund Regulations; Upstream Petroleum Safety Regulations; Unitisation Regulations; Upstream Petroleum Decommissioning and Abandonment Regulations and Frontier Exploration Fund Regulations.

Komolafe, represented by Capt. John Tomla, Executive Commissioner, Health, Safety, Environment and Community, NUPRC, said that the consultation was in furtherance of the initial regulations reviewed in April.

He recalled that six draft regulations were presented for discussion in April during the first phase of its consultations with stakeholders which included Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Host Communities Development Regulations and Royalty Regulations.

Other regulations reviewed were Domestic Gas Delivery Obligation Regulations; Nigeria Conversion and Renewal (Licence and Lease) Regulations; Petroleum Licensing Round Regulations and Upstream Petroleum Fees and Rents Regulations.

He said that stakeholders’ inputs from the engagement were incorporated where necessary, in the draft regulations which were forwarded to the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice for vetting, legislative standardisation and approval.

According to him, one of the regulations, the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Host Community Development Trust regulations, has been gazetted while the remaining five have been finalised and ready for gazette.

“Our commitment to create an enabling environment for growth and investments in the Upstream Oil and Gas industry in Nigeria has steered our focus towards working with all stakeholders,’’ he said.

He reiterated that the process of formulating the above regulations had been rigorous because they were products of critical evaluation and hard work by the commission’s regulation development team and the Presidential Implementation Committee on PIA.

He called for robust and intellectual discussion on the regulations to come out with robust regulations with best international best standard.

Dr Joseph Tolorunse, Commission Head of Compliance and Enforcement, said that the forum served as an avenue to listen to stakeholders’ views on the regulations and secure their buy-in which would determine PIA’s implementation.

Tolorunse said for theory and practice of administrative rule making had poignantly shown that if regulation entities were part of regulations making, compliance would be achieved by more than 100 per cent.

“With this procedure of rulemaking, it is believed that consensus will be built, trust between the regulator and the regulated entities will improve and ultimately the regulations will be easier to implement and sustained.

The three-day forum has in attendance officials from the oil and gas operators, World Bank, Indigenous and International Oil Companies and other stakeholders in the industry.

The Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, has underscored the need for effective regulations in harnessing the gains of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) for global relevance.

Sylva said for Nigeria to continue to be relevant at the global stage it must design regulations that could balance the energy base load for Nigeria.

Sylva said this while declaring open a stakeholders’ consultation forum on draft regulations under the PIA on Wednesday in Abuja.

The draft regulations were prepared by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) in conjunction with the Presidential Steering Committee on the PIA.

The premier consultative forum was aimed at ensuring inputs and considerations of oil and gas stakeholders on the draft regulations for smooth implementation of the PIA.

The regulations include: Host communities’ development: Petroleum royalty: Upstream fess and rent: Domestic gas delivery obligations: Nigeria conversation; and Licencing regulations.

Sylva said effective regulations would ensure that Nigeria was not left behind in the energy transition train while still harnessing our rich natural hydrocarbon reserves.

The minister expressed hope that the input from various stakeholders would further clarify the draft regulations and eventual firming up of the final regulations for use.

According to the minister, government has a mandate of ensuring sound management of the oil and gas sector considering the key role the sector plays in revenue generation for the country.

He said it was on this background that the Presidential Steering Committee on PIA, which he chaired, played the pivotal role in collaborating with NUPRC in drafting the first set of regulations for review.

He commended the effort of the commission in the preparation of those draft regulations to beat the deadline set by the law for the commencement of the implementation of the PIA.

“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,’’ he added.

Recall that on Aug. 16, 2021, President Muhammadu Buhari assented to the PIA after the National Assembly passed the bill.

Sylva said that the eventual assent signalled a new era and opportunities in the oil and gas sector of the economy after almost two decades of unsuccessful efforts to have the law passed in Nigeria.

Sylva, while decrying challenges posed by huge divestments in the hydrocarbon explorations by oil majors in the past due to global energy transition called for more innovative ways in fossil fuel exploitation and exploration in Nigeria.

In a remark, Mr Gbenga Komolafe, Commission Chief Executive, NUPRC said the forum was expected to discuss and finalise the draft Regulations in line with Section 216 of the PIA 2021.

Komolafe said besides the statutory imperative on the part of the commission to have the regulations finalised on time, there was also the compelling need for the nation to conclude the regulations-making process for PIA implementation.

This, he said, would enable Nigeria to hedge against the impact of energy transition and take advantage of the oil and gas supply gap resulting from the current developments in Russia and Ukraine.

“We are conscious of prioritising regulations to meet the timelines in the PIA. As such, this first phase of the stakeholders’ engagement will capture burning issues on the implementation in line with Section 235 of the PIA.

“And also finalising the 2020 bid round through issuance of Petroleum Prospecting Licence (PPL) in line with Section 94 (2) of the PIA and a host of others,’’ the CCE said.

The CCE was optimistic that all grey areas would receive adequate clarification with a view to giving meaning to the intent of the PIA for user-friendly implementation and attractive investments.

The Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) will provide enormous opportunities to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd. (NNPC) to earn more revenue for the country.

The NNPC, Chief Executive Officer, Malam Mele Kyari, said this while addressing staff of the organisation in a townhall meeting at NNPC Towers, Abuja.

Kyari, in a statement on Sunday by Mr Garba Muhammad, Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, highlighted the significance of the PIA to the NNPC and by extension the Nigerian economy.

Kyari said the new legislation had raised shareholders’ expectations on the company.

He added that the PIA had given the company a wide room to make progress.

According to him, the PIA has put “all money-making options on the table; it is up to us to take advantage of it.”

He said the company due to the new legislation would not only shed some of its toxic liabilities due to the new legislation but would be the largest and most capitalised company in Africa.

Kyari charged the workers to ensure the company becomes a commercially viable entity and a multi-billion-dollar entity that would continuously deliver value to its shareholders.

Some stakeholders in the oil producing communities in Delta have asserted that effective implementation of the three per cent of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 would accelerate repositioning of the communities for national development.

The stakeholders made the assertion  on Tuesday at a stakeholders interactive session on the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021  with theme as: “What Is In It for Community and the Economy?”.

The traditional leader of Okpe Community, the Orodje of Okpe, HRH Felix Mujakperuo, said that the three per cent was not tangible.

“The PIA is here, we must now put our efforts toward its effective implementation.

“We need to maximise our three per cent as the world transits to cleaner sources of energy,” he said.

HRH Isaac Obi, the Odu-osa of Utagba-Ogbe in Ndokwa West LGA of Delta,   said that the percentage earmarked for oil-producing communities was small owing to the negative impact of oil exploration in those communities.

Representing his HRH, the High Chief of Uteagba-Ogbe, Ejechi Dennis, said that the three percent share was not just  to the oil-producing communities, considering the “level of multi-dimensional poverty and degradation” in the communities.

Also, the Omu Anioma, HRM Obi Martha Dunkwu, argued that for any meaningful understanding to be established between the people of the oil bearing communities and government, National Orientation Agency (NOA)  must play its role.

“Its role of educating and sensitising the people on the `nitty gritty’ of the law.

“The people are still agitated even after the passage of the PIA; government should earnestly engage the people through the instrumentality of NOA as a body saddled with such responsibility of managing crisis.

“They should explain the perspectives and educate the citizenry on policies and programmes of government.

“I can tell you authoritatively  as a traditionalist living amongst the people that the issue of the three per cent allocation to host communities has not been put to rest.

“The NOA has enormous task ahead of it, to educate the people more about the Act and make them to understand their rights, benefits and obligations in the Act.

“You must have to produce Jingles in local languages and pidgin and broadcast in all the states of the federation, especially using the radio to pass the message for wider reach,” she said.

Contributing, the Director-General of National Orientation Agency, Gabriel Abari, said that the aim of the interactive session was for NOA to enlighten the host communities to leverage the PIA.

Mr Gogo Iyayi, Director of NOA, Bayelsa,  who represented Abari, said the essence of the interactive session was to encourage the HostComms to form Board of Trustees as indicated by the law to manage the three per cent fund.

“In line with approving the appointments  of a Management Board and Advisory Board to handle different things, especially projects for such funds,” he said.

Also, Mr Auwal Musa, Executive Director of Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC),  said their interest was on what the people stood to gain in the PIA.

“If conversations are not opened up, the oil companies may take advantage of the situation,” he said.

The  Program Coordinator of OXFAM, Mr Henry Ushie, highlighted that it had become  pertinent to get the HostComms to collaborate with oil companies within their spaces to create needed structures for effective take off of the three per cent regime.

“OXFAM is pushing for 10 per cent of that three per cent to be used to address the issues of women,” Ushie said.

President Muhammadu Buhari has written to the National Assembly to effect Administrative Structure Amendments to the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.
Mr Femi Adesina, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, made this known in a statement on Tuesday, in Abuja.
In the letter to President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, the president said:
“Having carefully reviewed the administrative structure of both the Commission and the Authority, I would like to propose the following amendments:
A. Appointment of Non-Executive Board Members
B. Removal of the Ministries of Petroleum and Finance from the Board of the two institutions
C. Appointment of Executive Directors.’’
Adesina stated that Under A, President Buhari observed that PIA 2021 provided for the appointment of two non-executive members for the board of the two regulatory institutions.
According to him, the president is of the view that the membership limitation has not addressed the principle of balanced geopolitical representation of the country.
“I, therefore, pray for the intervention of the 9th Assembly to correct this oversight in the interest of our national unity,” he added.
Buhari noted that the amendment, when approved, would increase the number of the non-executive members from two to six: one person from each of the geopolitical zones of the country.
He also opined that under B, the proposed amendment would increase the membership of the Board from nine to 13, “and strengthen the institutions and guarantee national spread, and also achieve the expected policy contributions.’’
According to him, the Ministries of Petroleum and Finance already have supervision or inter-governmental relations, and can continue to perform such roles without being in the Board.
On C, which is appointment of Executive Directors, Buhari noted the need to exempt serving public officers from the established confirmation process for political appointments.
He added that it would ensure effective management of the regulatory institutions through uniform implementation of public service rules for employees of the Authority.
The president stressed that “the proposed amendments to the PIA 2021 is strictly about the structure, aimed at ensuring smooth take-off and consequent growth of the two institutions.’’

Mr Adeniyi Adebayo, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, has inaugurated a technical committee to review the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 and its implications on statutory responsibilities of the ministry.
Adebayo, in a statement by his Special Assistant (Media), Mr Ifedayo Sayo, on Monday, noted that the Act tampered significantly with some statutory roles of the ministry.
Essentially, the technical committee, headed by the Director, Legal Services of the ministry, Muhammed Alhassan, will review the PIA 2021 and its implication on Oil and Gas Export Permit being issued to exporters by Commodity Export Department (CED).
The minister said that the committee would review the Act 2021 in relation to the Weights and Measures ACT, and its implication on the Department.
“The committee will highlight the implication of the ACT on the roles of CED and Weights and Measures Departments under the Nigerian Export Supervision Scheme (NESS).
“It will suggest an appropriate strategy to use in bringing the NESS scheme to FMITI since the scheme is about exports, which is a core mandate of the ministry.
“It will suggest ways to remedy the infractions on the responsibilities of the ministry if any; and prepare relevant letters to President Muhammadu Buhari and the National Assembly,” he said.
He explained that some of the ministry’s roles as they related to the administration of Pre-shipment inspection and the NESS had hitherto been under the Ministry of Finance, and are now under the new commission under the Act.
He stressed that the need by the ministry to leverage on the window provided by the review of the Act to enable it to play a more significant role under the scheme in line with its mandate.
“Therefore, your Technical Committee is expected to take a professional look at the document, come up with strategies that will help redress the identified issues.
“There is a sense of urgency in the execution of your assignment so that we can seek the amendment of the infractions on the statutory functions of the ministry, especially through a request to relevant institutions of government.
“It is important to state that your assignment is critical to the continuity of some of our roles as a Ministry. I am confident in the quality of members chosen to undertake this assignment.
“Therefore, I task you all to make far-reaching recommendations that will help sustain and stabilize our operations,” he said.
The committee which comprises directors in the ministry has two weeks within which it is to submit its report.