NUPRC disburses N97b, $149m to host community trusts for development projects

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has announced that approximately 102 Host Community Development Trusts (HCDTs) have received a total of N97 billion and $149 million in development funds from settlors.

The Senior Manager of Health, Safety, Environment and Community, NUPRC, Mrs. Chidinma Nwabueze, disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja at a Media Workshop, organised by the commission.

According to her, at NUPRC, these funds are part of the three percent Operating Expenditure (OPEX) of the previous year’s annual expenses from oil companies, aimed at promoting sustainable development and peace in host communities.

Nwabueze said, “The commission facilitated the remittances of N97 billion and 149 million dollars into the HCDTs fund account as at May 19.

“The Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) requires oil exploration companies/settlors to allocate three per cent of their Operating Expenditure (OPEX) of previous year for their host communities’ development.

Nwabueze further said that the HCDT was incorporated and funded by the Settlors (Licencees) from the three per cent of the OPEX of the annual expenses from the preceding year.

Her words: “Currently, about 102 HCDTs have received in excess of N97 billion and 149 million dollars as HCDT fund remitted by Settlors into the HCDT fund account.

“Within three years a lot of the HCDTs are completing projects. Last week we were in Bayelsa to commission 67 projects from Renaissance Energy Company Ltd., and in Rivers State to commission some other projects,” she said. .

She further said that the commission had also been able to approve 167 applications fully issued as approval to incorporate.

“Out of these, we have 146 fully incorporated HCDTs at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) while 21 are under processing.

“Out of 146 fully incorporated HCDTs we have over 102 HCDTs account opened and funded to the tune of N97 billion and 149 million dollars,’’ she said.

Nwabueze also said that the HCDT aligned completely with the objective of the NUPRC by promoting sustainable development of the upstream petroleum responses in Nigeria for sheer prosperity within host communities.

She added that it entrenched direct social and economic benefits from the petroleum operations to the communities, providing a framework for the establishment of peace between the dwellers and the

She said the speedy execution of host community development regulation and incorporation of HCDT fund is to curb rampant community restiveness and provide conducive business environment for operations and shared prosperity to thrive.

Speaking on the timeline required to effectively incorporate HCDT, she said that it must be incorporated prior to the application Field Development Plan (FDP) and commencement of the commercial operations for a petroleum mining license.

“Three strategic stakeholders in HCDT are the regulator, charged with making regulations and providing oversight functions for implementation of developmental projects, and the settlors who provide the three per cent OPEX to fund the trust.

“The third one is the Board of Trustees, being the community members, nominated by the community dwellers to serve on the board, to manage and administer the HCDT fund,” she said.

She said that though the host communities were funded through the three per cent OPEX of the settlors, there are other sources of fund, namely donation, gifts and grants, as well as profits, interest and reserve funds.

“The three per cent OPEX is considered 100 per cent when it enters the collection account and sub divided into 75 per cent for capital project development and 25 per cent for investment,’’ she said.

Nwabueze, however, said that the NUPRC also developed innovative software and a one-stop-shop called HostComply.

She said that the software was for end-to-end reporting and monitoring HCDT activities to enable effective implementation of the HostCom provisions of the PIA.