PIA: FG Scraps DPR/PPPRA/PEF

Federal Government of Nigeria has scrapped the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), and the Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF).

Gatekeepers News reports that two new regulatory agencies have been assigned to perform the duties of the defunct DPR, PPPRA, and PEF as specified by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

The names of the agencies are the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission (NURC) and the Nigerian Downstream and Midstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, disclosed this on Monday while inaugurating Gbenga Komolafe as the CEO of NURC and Farouk Ahmed as CEO of NMDPRA.

Sylva said the occasion marked the beginning of a new era in the oil and gas industry.

The Minister said, “The law states that all the assets and even the staff of the DPR are to be invested on the commission and also in authority. So that means the DPR doesn’t exist anymore.

“And, of course, the law specifically repeals the DPR Act, the Petroleum Inspectorate Act, the Petroleum Equalisation Fund Act, and the PPPRA Act. The law specifically repeals them. It is very clear that those agencies do not exist anymore.”

While revealing that staff rationalisation is ongoing, he explained that NMDPRA staff would come from the defunct PEF, PPPRA, and DPR, while NURC staff would come from DPR.

Sylva noted that the passage of the PIA into law after spending over 20 years in the process has finally made the coast clear for investors to invest in Nigeria’s oil sector.

The Minister continued, “Today’s (yesterday) event marks the beginning for the news agencies. Their assignment is simple – to make sure that the new agencies – take off immediately.

“I am expecting a lot of growth and development in the oil industry. The oil industry has been stagnated for a long time because the process of passing the PIA was on for over 20 years.

“So a lot of companies, a lot of investors took a sit-down-and-watch approach. The PIA has clarified the legal framework around the sector, and the agencies are in place. I don’t see anything now stopping investors from coming.

“And we are very lucky to have very competent industry people with proven experiences. So, we believe that they can hit the ground running, and Nigerians should brace up for exponential growth in the oil and gas sector.”

On his part, the CEO of NURC, Gbenga Komolafe, said the commission would deliver on its mandate as captured in the new petroleum act.

Komolafe said, “Nigerians should expect massive deliverables in the sense that the PIA has ended the regime of uncertainty in terms of the governance of the industry.”

He added that the commission would ensure that the country hits its OPEC quota in crude oil production, as the NURC would enable investments.