The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has announced plans to enhance transparency and accountability within Nigeria’s oil and gas sector through two significant initiatives: the Advance Cargo Declaration Solution and the Engineering Audit of Upstream Measurement Equipment and Facilities.
In a statement released over the weekend, the NUPRC outlined that the primary goal of these initiatives is to track the movement of crude oil being exported from the country, ensuring better transparency in the sector.
The projects will be carried out in collaboration with P-Lyne Energy and PE Energy Limited.
The Advance Cargo Declaration Solution, set to be executed by P-Lyne Energy, is designed to create a robust framework for declaring and tracking crude oil transportation and exports from Nigeria.
The solution’s key objectives include monitoring the movement of crude oil within the country, preventing disruptions, theft, under-declaration, and ensuring that only certified products are exported.
Additionally, it will allow real-time tracking, reconciliation, and reporting of crude oil exports, facilitating accurate revenue billing and generation.
“The primary objectives of the Advance Cargo Declaration Solution include preventing oil theft, under-declaration, and ensuring transparency in crude oil exports,” the statement disclosed.
Meanwhile, the Engineering Audit of Upstream Measurement Equipment and Facilities, to be carried out by PE Energy Limited, aims to establish reliable baseline data for all measurement points in the oil and gas sector.
It will identify gaps in production and allocation measurement, addressing issues such as obsolete equipment and the lack of a comprehensive database, which have led to oil losses.
Accurate measurement and real-time production monitoring are key to minimizing crude oil losses in Nigeria, which have been identified as a major contributor to discrepancies in production reports.
“These challenges have been identified as significant contributors to oil losses, with inaccurate measurement accounting for a substantial portion of crude oil losses in Nigeria,” the NUPRC noted in the statement.
The Chief Executive of the NUPRC, Gbenga Komolafe, reiterated that the initiatives align with the commission’s mandate under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, which aims to ensure optimal government revenues from upstream petroleum operations.
The NUPRC is also focused on ramping up Nigeria’s oil production, with a goal of reaching 2,000 million barrels per day in the near future.