For the first time in Nigeria’s Petroleum Industry history, the new Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) currently before the National Assembly will give a legal backing to a regulator in the upstream sector with the establishment of the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission.
The new Bill, when passed into law, will scrap the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) which has existed as an extension of the Office of the Minister of Petroleum Resources.
The new Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission would assume the upstream functions of the DPR but would become an independent self-funding regulator for oil and gas upstream operation.
A copy of the Bill obtained by ExpressDay shows that the Commission will have both technical and commercial regulatory powers in all upstream operations.
In Chapter one, Part III, this is what the PIB says of the Commission:
“Establishment of the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission
(1) There is established the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission (the “Commission”) which shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal.
(2) The Commission shall have the power to acquire, hold and dispose of property, sue and be sued in its own name.
(3) The Commission shall be responsible for the technical and commercial regulation of upstream petroleum operations.
In sessions that follow, it says:
Application of this Part
The objects and functions of the Commission in this Part are limited to upstream petroleum operations.
6. Objectives of the Commission
The objectives of the Commission shall be to –
(a) regulate upstream petroleum operations including technical, operational and commercial activities;
(b) ensure compliance with all applicable laws and Regulations governing upstream petroleum operations;
(c) ensure that upstream petroleum operations are carried out in a manner to minimise waste and achieve optimal government revenues;
(d) promote healthy, safe, efficient and effective conduct of upstream petroleum operations in an environmentally acceptable and sustainable manner;
(e) ensure efficient, safe, effective and sustainable infrastructural development of upstream petroleum operations;
(f) determine, administer and ensure the implementation and maintenance of technical standards, codes, practices and specifications applicable to upstream petroleum operations pursuant to good international petroleum industry practices;
(g) implement government policies for upstream petroleum operations as directed by the minister of petroleum and in accordance with this act;
(h) promote an enabling environment for investment in upstream petroleum operations;
(i) ensure strict implementation of environmental policies, laws and regulations for upstream petroleum operations;
(j) ensure the implementation of national policies for upstream petroleum www.petroleumindustrybill.com operations; and
(k) implement such other policies and objectives as are consistent with the provisions of this act.
In Chapter one, Part III, this is what the PIB says of the Commission:
“Establishment of the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission
(1) There is established the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission (the “Commission”) which shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal.
(2) The Commission shall have the power to acquire, hold and dispose of property, sue and be sued in its own name.
(3) The Commission shall be responsible for the technical and commercial regulation of upstream petroleum operations.
In sessions that follow, it says:
Application of this Part
The objects and functions of the Commission in this Part are limited to upstream petroleum operations.
6. Objectives of the Commission
The objectives of the Commission shall be to –
(a) regulate upstream petroleum operations including technical, operational and commercial activities;
(b) ensure compliance with all applicable laws and Regulations governing upstream petroleum operations;
(c) ensure that upstream petroleum operations are carried out in a manner to minimise waste and achieve optimal government revenues;
(d) promote healthy, safe, efficient and effective conduct of upstream petroleum operations in an environmentally acceptable and sustainable manner;
(e) ensure efficient, safe, effective and sustainable infrastructural development of upstream petroleum operations;
(f) determine, administer and ensure the implementation and maintenance of technical standards, codes, practices and specifications applicable to upstream petroleum operations pursuant to good international petroleum industry practices;
(g) implement government policies for upstream petroleum operations as directed by the minister of petroleum and in accordance with this act;
(h) promote an enabling environment for investment in upstream petroleum operations;
(i) ensure strict implementation of environmental policies, laws and regulations for upstream petroleum operations;
(j) ensure the implementation of national policies for upstream petroleum www.petroleumindustrybill.com operations; and
(k) implement such other policies and objectives as are consistent with the provisions of this act.
