The House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee on Decommissioning and Abandonment in the oil sector has raised alarm over widespread non-compliance with 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).

Lawmakers expressed their concerns during an investigative hearing on operators’ and regulators’ adherence to PIA provisions on decommissioning and abandonment (D&A). The probe, triggered by a staggering funding gap of about $20 billion, is examining companies’ D&A plans, financial safeguards such as escrow accounts, and the level of regulatory enforcement required to prevent environmental and fiscal risks linked to aging oil and gas assets.

The committee noted that failure to fully comply with the law poses serious dangers to host communities and the environment, especially as abandoned infrastructure continues to accumulate across the sector.

Officials of the NUPRC and NMDPRA, however, insisted in their presentations that both agencies have been operating in line with the regulatory requirements governing decommissioning and abandonment.