Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC says 82 Host Communities Development Trusts have been successfully incorporated at the Corporate Affairs Commission, while 120 HCDT applications have been received from 35 settlors (oil and gas firms) as at November 2023.
Among the 82 successfully incorporated HCDTs, Shell has incorporated and funded 26, with seven proposed and yet to be incorporated; TotalEnergies has three incorporated and funded three; Seplat has incorporated four HCDTs but yet to fund any; NNPC E&P has three proposed HCDTs, while Moni Pulo has successfully incorporated and funded its single HCDT in OML114.
The Commission also disclosed that it has established an Alternative Dispute Resolution, ADR, to handle issues from the implementation of the 3percent operational expenditure of oil firms accruable to host communities in the Petroleum Industry Act.
The Chief Executive Officer of NUPRC, Engr. Gbenga Komolafe, disclosed these in Port Harcourt during a two-day Technical Session on the Implementation of Host Communities Development Trusts organized by Spaces for Change, S4C for stakeholders, with support from the Ford Foundation.
Komolafe represented by NUPRC Director, Health Safety, Environment and Community, Mrs Ejiro Ufondu, noted that the ADR which was domiciled in Bayelsa State, would ensure that disputes arising from the implementation of the PIA were quickly resolved.
He noted that it was the duty of the Commission to set up mechanisms to resolve any issues that may affect the smooth implementation of the process, make regulations on the administration, guide and safeguard the utilisation of the trust fund as well as to ensure that the projects proposed by the Board of Trustees are implemented.
He listed the Commission’s achievements to include, “Successful gazette of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Host Communities’ Development Regulation 2022, development of HCDT implementation template, ongoing sensitization programmes across oil producing states.
Others are, “Periodic hosting of stakeholders’ workshop, establishment of Alternative Dispute Resolution office in the Niger Delta (Bayelsa State), pre-qualification of (reserve) fund managers, onboarding of new PPL awardees, etc.”
The NUPRC boss listed challenges facing the Commission to include, “Litigation by aggrieved parties; protracted delineation of the NUPRC/NMDPRA after the passage of the PIA; legacy disputes such as inter-communities, intra-communities, communities vs settlors; change of asset ownership or operatorship as well as Interference by interested parties not captured by the Act.”
Also, making a presentation at the event, Chevron Nigeria Limited said it has set up seven HCDTs, while four out of the seven have successfully been registered at the Corporate Affairs Commission.
Chevron Lead, Social Risk and Impact Management Advisor, Mrs Oladunke Itegbe, said its HCDT structure was ethnic based, with three for Ijaw, two Itsekiri, one for Ilaje and one for deepwater.
“We have also worked extensively in the funding matrix, that is, getting the funds from Chevron to the HCDTs, and from the HCDTs to each communities. We consulted the traditional rulers of our host communities for nominees of HCDT Board of Trustees, then we also carried our due diligence on the nominees before compiling the complete list of successful candidates. We followed an objective process.”