The regulator stated on Friday that large oil companies that seek to withdraw from Nigeria’s onshore oil, like Exxon Mobil and Shell, can receive approval more quickly if they accept responsibility for spills instead of waiting for authorities to assign blame.
In order to concentrate on deepwater drilling, Exxon, Shell, TotalEnergies, and Eni, have all attempted to withdraw from Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta in recent years, citing security issues, including theft and sabotage. Regulatory obstacles have, however, caused their exits to be postponed.
Laptops 1000Gbenga Komolafe, the head of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), presented the firms with a short-term option that would receive quicker approval if they agreed to clean up spills and compensate local people during a meeting in Abuja.
Here is the undertaking that we have. Despite being scheduled for June, this consent could be granted considerably sooner,” he stated.
“If you agree to take that option, you sign the undertaking knowing that there are obligations to be fulfilled,” said Komolafe.
The second long-term alternative might push back the final approval until August by requiring NURPC to identify and assign all liabilities first.
NURPC aims to strike a compromise between expediting the oil majors’ departure and safeguarding the ecosystem, nearby populations, and the assets’ long-term sustainability.
According to them, the corporations are considering their alternatives and will reply shortly.
According to analysts, the expedited alternative may result in millions of dollars being spent on cleanup and compensation for oil companies.
Laptops 1000Energy lawyer Ayodele Oni of the Lagos-based Bloomfield legal firm stated, “The risk with option 1 is the transferor will continue to take responsibility for the asset until the process is completed, while option 2 puts them at the mercy of the regulator since they waived their right to deemed approval.
With the majors leaving, 26 onshore blocks are available for purchase, with an estimated 13.76 billion barrels of oil, 2.70 billion barrels of condensate, and roughly 90,717 billion cubic feet of gas in reserve, according to NUPRC.
“We aim to ensure that the companies that take over these blocks have the necessary financial resources and possess the technical expertise required to responsibly manage the blocks throughout their lifecycle in accordance with good asset stewardship practices,” said Komolafe.
NUPRC has enlisted the services of two international oil and gas decommissioning experts, S&P Global Commodity Insights and Boston Consulting Group to conduct due diligence on the assets that need to be disposed of.
