Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, has inaugurated an ad hoc committee to investigate decommissioning and non-compliance in Nigeria’s petroleum industry.

Speaking at the occasion, Mr Tajudeen stressed the need to take a closer look at the decommissioning and abandonment compliance of operators across the petroleum sector.

He said that it had become necessary to ensure that the requirements of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) were properly upheld.

He noted, “The work before this committee has wide-ranging implications for the well-being of host communities, our environment and the credibility of our regulatory institutions.

“The committee is mandated to examine the level of compliance by industry operators with the law and to review the decommissioning and abandonment plans already submitted by companies.

“This includes evaluating whether operators have made adequate financial arrangements to meet their obligations so that the country does not face future environmental or operational burdens. This assignment demands close attention to detail, adequate knowledge of relevant laws and independence of judgement.”

The speaker pledged the support of the house to the committee to enable it to carry out the assignment while urging all relevant stakeholders to cooperate with the committee.

In his remarks, the chairman of the committee, Akiba Ekpenyong (LP-Cross River), said that the assignment was of ‘great national importance.’

Mr Ekpenyong said that environmental degradation, economic loss, community conflict, safety hazards and institutional failure associated with abandoned and non-decommissioned oil and gas installations were noticeable across the country.

According to him, many of the facilities have exceeded their design life by decades; hence, the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) to end the problem.

“In carrying out this work, we shall engage with the NUPRC and MDPRA as primary regulators. We shall also engage with the operators and licensees across all basins.

“We shall also engage with civil society and the academia. Our approach will be fair, provisional, evidence-driven and transparent. This is not an adversarial inquiry. It is a national responsibility to secure our environment, protect our economy and uphold the rule of law, in line with PIA.

“To the NUPRC and the MDPRA, which we look at as primary regulators, we count on your full cooperation. Your technical submissions and participations are essential. We also strongly encourage you to invite operators and licensees under your supervision to attend the committee engagement as may be directed from time to time,” he said.

The lawmaker pledged that the committee would deliver on its mandate, in accordance with the expectation of Nigerians. 

(NAN)