Oritsegbubemi Omatseyin
Lagos — The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC, is partnering the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority, NNRA, in order to enforce radiological safety in oil and gas operations and reduce the overall cost of operations.
This was the outcome of a meeting between the Commission Chief Executive, NUPRC, Mrs. Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, and the Director-General/CEO of NNRA, Dr. Yau Idris; at the NUPRC headquarters recently.
While the NUPRC regulates the technical, commercial and operational aspects of oil and gas exploration and production, the NNRA oversees the possession, use, transportation and disposal of radioactive sources while also facilitating the beneficial use of radiation technologies across various sectors of the economy.
In her remarks, the Commission Chief Executive said there was indeed a need to tackle regulatory gaps and the multiplicity of rules and regulations in the oil and gas industry in order to improve the ease of doing business.
“The only way we can safeguard investments is to reduce our cost of operations and when you have a multiplicity of laws, the likelihood is that you will have higher costs because each law normally will come with its own fee and charges,” the NUPRC boss said.
Eyesan nominated senior officials from the Commission that will work closely with NNRA on the task ahead.
“We have identified critical areas on both sides and we believe that as we collaborate, we can close existing gaps,” she said.
Responding, the DG of the NNRA stated that given that the upstream petroleum sector is one of the largest users of radioactive sources and ionizing and radiation-emitting equipment in Nigeria – particularly for well logging, industrial radiography and nucleonic gauging – the NNRA relies on the cooperation of the NUPRC in order to fulfil its mandate.
“The goal is a single window approach, where both agencies share information rather than requiring operators to submit the same data twice,” he said.
Idris further stated that since oil and gas extraction often brings Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials, NORM, to the surface, the NNRA seeks the assistance of the Commission to ensure that operators conduct radiological impact assessments as part of their broader Environmental Impact Assessments while NORM management protocols are incorporated into the NUPRC’s environmental guidelines for the upstream sector.
Both institutions are also expected to collaborate in training and knowledge sharing in the area of radiation protection and safe operations.
