The House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee on Decomissioning and Abandonment in the oil sector has alleged that the non-compliance to provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and other extant laws by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) is a major impediment.
It stated this following submissions by the officials of NUPRC and the NMDPRA at the resumed investigative hearing of the committee held at the National Assembly.
In their separate submissions, the NUPRC represented by Engineer Enorense Amadasu and the NMDPRA represented by Dr Mustapha Lamorde informed the committee that many factors have caused delays in the implementation of the regulations in the D&A in the oil sector despite the provisions in the PIA.
They also cited some legal technicalities in the Ministry of Justice, issues with responsibility of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Escrow accounts as well as other challenges.
In his remark, Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Bassey Ekpenyong lamented the delays in implementing the PIA provisions and other extant laws.