By Joel Okwara
The House of Representatives on Wednesday, May 22, asked the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) to stop granting consent to divesting International Oil Companies (IOCs) until there is full compliance with the Guidelines for Decommissioning and the Regulations made pursuant to the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
Adopting a motion by Hon Ikeagwuonu Onyinye Ugochinyere (PDP, Imo), the House directed its oil and gas-related committees to investigate the level of compliance with the Decommissioning and Abandonment Guidelines of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) as enshrined in the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021.
Leading the debate on the motion, Ugochinyere said that Section 232 of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 provides that the decommissioning and abandonment of petroleum wells, installations, structures, utilities, plants, and pipelines for petroleum operations on land and offshore shall be conducted under good international petroleum industry practice and guidelines issued by the Commission or Authority.
He said that Section 232(1)(b) of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) issued the Nigerian Upstream Decommissioning and Abandonment Regulations, 2023, which among other things, provided certain guidelines to be followed when carrying out offshore decommissioning operations.
He said the guidelines put in place by the NUPRC for decommissioning and abandonment procedures are in tandem with global best practices.
Ugochinyere alleged that most of the international oil companies involved in petrol operations in the country are closing up their petroleum operations in Nigeria and relocating out of the country, without clearly following or complying with the decommissioning and abandonment guidelines as prescribed by NUPRC and enshrined in the PIA.
He said that as a result of the exploration and other activities of the international oil companies in the Niger Delta, the region has suffered great environmental degradation for years, with farmlands and water bodies being destroyed, leaving the communities’ ecosystems completely milked and irreparably exploited.
Ugochinyere said if consent is given for the divestment of the assets of the international oil companies (IOCs) without ensuring their compliance with the guidelines and regulations put in place, the host communities will suffer irredeemably, and the companies taking over the assets of the IOCs will not be able to remedy the degradation.
