The Chief Executive of Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Mrs. Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, has encouraged NNPC, as the country’s national oil company, to participate in the ongoing 2025 licensing round and deepen exploration.
Eyesan gave this council at a meeting between the management of the NUPRC and the NNPC at the Commission’s corporate headquarters in Abuja on Friday, where the NUPRC and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) pledged to deepen collaboration in order to boost operational efficiency.
The CCE said the NUPRC and the NNPC – as creations of the Nigerian government – have similar goals.She added, “As major instruments of the government in the industry, we are aligned toward the same goal and I think this is pivotal and we must not lose this golden opportunity.”
Eyesan said the NUPRC is focused on reducing the cost of operations by harmonizing fees and rents to make Nigeria’s oil and gas sector more competitive.
To this end, the NUPRC boss revealed that the Commission was working closely with the Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS) to address the multiplicity of fees and rents in order to improve Nigeria’s competitiveness.
“We are working with the industry on harmonizing the fees and rents that we charge,” she said, adding, “The whole idea is to harmonise and reduce it to the barest minimum so that we can reduce the cost of operations.”
Eyesan further stated that the Commission is working on enhancing measurement and hydrocarbon accounting.
“We have done the first phase, which is to audit what we already have.
The second phase, which will commence shortly, will be the real implementation of the metering standards and this entire programme will entail us having a data center and having all the meters in all our locations to standard,” she stated.
The NUPRC boss said the Host Community Development Trust (HCDT) had so far been a success but maintained that there was a need to fully utilise these funds for its intended purpose, as this would enhance community peace and improve the operating environment.
In his remarks, Ojulari presented the National Gas Master Plan, highlighting progress on critical projects like the OB3 and AKK gas pipelines.
He emphasized the need to reduce operational costs to attract investments and boost energy security, relying on NUPRC’s regulatory support.
“Our success is tied to the regulatory framework, and we’re confident that deepening this partnership will unlock more value for Nigeria,” Ojulari stated.
