NUPRC Sets Up Teams to Oversee Oil Metering Audit, Advanced Cargo Programme

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has inaugurated two separate teams that would oversee the newly planned oil metering audit and the advanced cargo scheme.

Speaking at the event, the Chief Executive of the NUPRC, Mr Gbenga Komolafe, recalled that the  Federal Executive Council (FEC) recently considered and approved the implementation of the two key projects proposed and driven by the commission.

The projects, he said, were geared towards strengthening the commission’s regulatory oversight in line with this administration’s vision and renewed hope agenda.

One of the commission’s objectives as specified in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), 2021, Komolafe said, was to ensure that upstream petroleum operations are carried out in a manner to minimise waste and achieve optimal government revenues.

To achieve this, he said that it was important that, in addition to the measures already established by the commission, the measurement and reporting of oil and production was regularly reviewed and improved upon to keep pace with the rapidly evolving industry.

He added that the audit of upstream measurement equipment and facilities in the Nigerian oil and gas industry will ensure that some of the identified gaps in the system were resolved.

 These, he said, include the presence of obsolete and non-serviceable measurement equipment at some allocation or measurement points in the industry, lack of a comprehensive database or information about all the installed measurement equipment in the industry, and lack of real-time production measurement across many locations.

Therefore, the project, Komolafe said, had been carefully scoped by the commission to establish reliable and comprehensible baseline data for all measurement points, systems and measurement equipment.

In addition, he stated that it will help to carry out a formal gap analysis for production, allocation and custody transfer measurement requirements.

He explained that it aimed to propose and implement appropriate and targeted intervention actions to enhance production measurement, and flare metering including recommendations to procure, install and commission new metering infrastructure.

The second project, the advance cargo declaration solution, he stressed, was meant to establish a robust system for the declaration and tracking of crude oil transportation and export from Nigeria.

In addition, he said it will help to monitor and account for the movement of crude oil within Nigeria from production to delivery points, prevent disruptions, theft, and under-declaration of crude oil within Nigeria and at export terminals as well as establish a comprehensive database and control centre for monitoring and tracking crude oil exports from Nigeria.

Besides, he said that it will help to ensure that only certified production related to upstream crude oil operations are exported from Nigeria and ensure accurate accountability of hydrocarbons for calculating crude oil revenue accruable to the Government.

Furthermore, Komolafe explained that it will help enable real-time tracking, reconciliation, and reporting for crude oil exported to facilitate appropriate revenue billing and generation.

“It is obvious that these technologically driven projects collectively present a game-changing solution for transparency in production monitoring and crude oil accounting.

“For effective implementation, the commission has carefully assembled a team for each of these projects. These teams are to be overseen by the Executive Commissioner, Development & Production, Enorense Amadasu, but will directly provide daily report and feedback to my office,” Komolafe added.

Members of the audit of upstream measurement equipment and facilities include: Manuel Ibituroko – Deputy Director, Facilities Engineering & Optimisation; Mohammed Sirajo – Manager, Facilities Engineering; Ike Chidi – Manager, Facilities Engineering and Bashir Shariff – Principal Regulatory Officer.

For the Advance Cargo Declaration Solution project, members include: Bello Shehu – Assistant Director, Crude Oil & Gas terminal Operations; Abdulrahman Idris – Manager, Petroleum Accounting; Omeje Desmond – Deputy Manager, COTO PHC ; Dimkpa I. H. – PRO, COTO Warri and Olatunji Babatunde.

“Their duties shall include liaising with the Contractor to ensure the fulfilment of the commission’s specified obligations and monitoring the implementation of the projects to ensure alignment with the scope and specifications,” Komolafe stated.

While charging them to discharge their assigned duties diligently and professionally, Komolafe stated that the project was to be delivered in four months, stressing that management will frown upon any request to extend the project timeline.

“ I am confident that these projects will be delivered as planned as I am personally committed to its implementation. The commission uses this opportunity to request the cooperation of all relevant stakeholders – the contractors, industry operators and staff of the commission – to ensure the successful implementation of the projects,” he stressed.