Govt unveils new regulations for petrol import licence
CHIGOZIE AMADI
The Federal Government through the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority has unveiled new regulations to simplify the process for petrol import licence and other operations regulations in the industry into a single document.
It said previous regulations administered by the defunct Department of Petroleum Resources in respect of midstream and downstream operations have been revoked.
The proposed 2024 Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Operations Regulations will enable the authority to reduce the complexities of navigating and implementing their numerous regulations in the petroleum industry.
The Managing Director NMDPRA, Farouk Ahmed, while speaking at a stakeholders’ engagement on the proposed operations regulations on Tuesday in Abuja said the event was in accordance with section 216 of Petroleum Industry Act which mandates consultation with stakeholders prior to the finalisation of Regulations made under the Act.
The MD who was represented by the Director of Distribution System Storage and Retailing Infrastructure, Mr Ogbugo Ukoha, stated that the proposed operations regulations would consolidate 12 of the authority’s earlier gazetted or published regulations.
He said “The consolidation process has enabled us address the inconsistencies in the regulatory space; and to engender further compliance with the PIA and Regulations made hitherto and it is also a commitment to promoting ease of doing business in Nigeria.
Ukoha said the regulations will be read in conjunction with other regulations made by the authority including the Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Fees Regulations which provide for the prescribed fees for midstream and downstream petroleum activities.
“After today’s job is done, we will have to sit down with the Federal Ministry of Justice who will look at it, cross the ‘Ts’, dot the ‘Is’, and then the requisite government office that gazettes regulations will publish it,” he said.
It is expected that the Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Fees Regulations, following a successful stakeholder consultation and having received the approval of the Ministers of State for Petroleum Resources, will soon be published in the Federal Government Gazette.
The authority’s legal adviser, Dr Joseph Tolorunse, while giving an overview of the midstream and downstream regulations operations in 2024, said the objective of the regulation was to consolidate all the 16 regulations they have drafted and streamline the regulations for ease of reference.
He said “We discovered that having numerous regulations will be so unworthy for the industry to follow through but when we have the same regulations that talk about the midstream and downstream value chain then it will be easy for people to understand and refer to it”
“The operations regulations regulate companies in the midstream and downstream industry as it talks about activities relating to transportation, loading, and shipment of natural gas and also assigning of licences and making it accessible to the public.”
He added that the regulations also talk about fines and penalties that will be applied in case there is a breach of the regulations.
“The regulation is structured in such a way that it captures some of the existing regulations and tries to harmonise, adding that it has midstream and downstream code of conduct regulations, as well as the regulations of licences, permits and authorization and several aspects of the PIA” he stated.
