The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has officially opposed the proposed National Commission for Decommissioning of Oil and Gas Installations (NC-DOGI) Bill, 2024, arguing that the current legal and institutional structures under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 are adequate for managing oil and gas infrastructure decommissioning.
Speaking on Thursday at the public hearing of the bill in Abuja, NUPRC Director Emmanuel Macjaja emphasized that while the intent behind establishing a dedicated commission is understood, the PIA 2021 already provides a comprehensive and globally aligned framework for Decommissioning and Abandonment (D&A) activities.
Macjaja stated, “The Petroleum Industry Act assigns statutory responsibility for D&A planning, execution, and oversight to NUPRC for upstream operations and to the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) for midstream and downstream sectors.”
He further explained that both agencies possess the technical expertise and regulatory powers needed to effectively manage cessation of production approvals, administration of D&A funds, programme evaluation, and execution monitoring.
“The introduction of a new commission will lead to regulatory overlap, increase fragmentation, and impose additional financial and institutional burdens on the federal government,” Macjaja warned.
The NUPRC official highlighted that the PIA 2021 is the result of years of stakeholder engagement and legislative refinement, deliberately allocating decommissioning responsibilities to avoid duplication and ensure regulatory clarity.
Macjaja cautioned that the creation of NC-DOGI could undermine the PIA’s objectives, complicate project approvals, raise costs for investors, and weaken accountability, especially in relation to the management of D&A funds.
He concluded, “The current model under PIA clearly delineates roles and responsibilities, and both NUPRC and NMDPRA are effectively carrying out their mandates in regulating decommissioning activities.”
The proposed NC-DOGI Bill seeks to establish a standalone agency tasked with overseeing the decommissioning, abandonment, and environmental restoration of oil and gas installations nationwide.
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