The Ministry of Petroleum Resources, together with the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and NNPC Ltd., has opposed the creation of a new body, the National Commission for the Decommissioning of Oil and Gas Installations (NC-DOGI).
The opposition was presented during a public hearing held by the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream).
Dr. Heineken Lokpobiri, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, stated that establishing the commission would not solve community challenges, as these are already addressed through the Host Community Development Trust Fund (HCDT), which has funded nearly N400 billion worth of local projects.
Dr. Lokpobiri cautioned that creating NC-DOGI could deter investors at a time when Nigeria’s oil and gas sector is experiencing renewed activity across upstream, midstream, and downstream operations.
The minister also noted that the NUPRC, under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, already handles decommissioning responsibilities.
Lokpobiri also emphasised that duplicating these functions would undermine legal predictability, which is key to attracting investment.
NUPRC CEO, Mr. Gbenga Komolafe, stressed that decommissioning is an integral part of Field Development Plans (FDPs).
Separating it into a new agency would fragment regulatory oversight and conflict with international best practices.
Mr. Komolafe further noted that uncertainty in regulatory frameworks had previously led to a 75% decline in capital expenditure between 2014 and 2021.
Similarly, NNPC Upstream Executive Vice-President, Mr. Udobong Ntia, pointed out that decommissioning is not an immediate activity but occurs only at the end of a field’s life, sometimes decades away.
He also questioned the utility of a separate commission when major oil fields have no decommissioning scheduled until 2045.
Earlier, House Committee Chairman, Mr. Alhassan Doguwa, explained that the bill was intended to address environmental issues in oil-producing communities.
The Ministry, NUPRC, and NNPC collectively urged the committee to reconsider, arguing that the current regulatory and legal frameworks are sufficient and that creating NC-DOGI would be redundant and potentially counterproductive.
