PIA: NMDPRA To Roll Out Four Fresh Regulations For Oil & Gas Sector

The Nigeria Midstream Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority will in the coming weeks release four more regulations for the midstream and downstream sector of the oil and gas industry.

The Authority’s Secretary and Legal Adviser, Dr Joseph Tolorunshe said this during the NMDPRA General Counsel and Legal Advisers’ Forum held on Wednesday in Abuja.

The purpose of the event is to discuss issues pertaining to deepening industry legal practitioners’ understanding of the Authority’s powers, functions, and regulations; provide clarity on perceived regulatory overlaps between the Authority and Commission; promote the business enabling and investment opportunities derivable from the licences, permits and authorisations issued by the Authority; and address legal concerns arising from the implementation of the PIA and the Authority’s regulations.

He said following the passage of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021, about 12 Regulations have been gazetted and eight more are about to be gazetted bringing the total that will be gazetted to about 20

This is just as NMDPRA Chief Executive, Farouk Ahmed, said the essence of the engagement is to deliberate on the current legal
framework for the Nigerian oil and gas industry as intended by the PIA 2021.

He said this would help
present clarity and insights to the sections of the law with diverse different interpretations.

Ahmed who was represented by the Executive Director
Distribution Systems, Storage & Retailing Infrastructure, Ogbugo Ukoha, said the Authority is aware that stakeholders and potential investors require regulatory
clarity to drive investment decisions and guide operations to ensure
compliance with legal provisions and prevent reputational damage.

He said, “The PIA was designed to restructure the industry by creating a demarcation between the upstream, midstream and downstream value chain for growth
and efficiency.

“To fully achieve this key objective, it also created two regulatory bodies from the erstwhile regulators with clear, distinct functions and mandates.

“The NUPRC is mandated to fully regulate all Upstream
operations as defined in Section 318 in the PIA, conduct measurement of crude oil and natural gas produced for the purpose of royalty determination
and ensure an arm’s length transfer to midstream operations at measurement points while the NMDPRA on the other hand is saddled with regulating the
Midstream and downstream operations whether or not related to a lease.

“Part of the change management in the Implementation of the PIA is that the
entire industry, especially those dealing with the defunct regulators must
understand that the two Agencies are not the same, complimentary or
substitutes for each other as their functions are clear and distinct.”

Beyond the restructuring of the regulatory agencies, he said the law also required the restructuring of companies and operations in the oil and gas industry, while
also addressing hitherto industry established norms such as what is upstream.

“I am not oblivious of the major policy shift that the implementation of
the PIA has necessitated which may have significantly impacted our business
models.

“I dare say it might take a while to fully adjust and change our modus
operandi but you will agree with me that to meet the objectives of the PIA we require complete commitment from all stakeholders.

“To fast track the
implementation of the PIA, all stakeholders must adhere to the provisions of the law and in situation where ambiguities or lacunas exists, engagements
such as this forum must be encouraged to seek clarity and deepen collaboration,” he added.

ENDS