The Petroleum Industry Governance Bill 2017, passed by the Nigerian Senate on May 25, 2017,proposesthe establishment of the Nigeria Petroleum Regulatory Commission, which is a more independent and enlarged version of the existing Department of Petroleum Resources.
“The intendment of the Bill is to rationalise and merge two existing agencies including the Department of Petroleum Resources and the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency and will result, mutatis mutandis, in the repeal of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (Establishment) Act, CAP P43, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004”.
The new Commission will be funded by appropriation through the National Assembly. The Federal Republic of Nigeria Appropriation Act 2016 provides for the funding through appropriation of the Department of Petroleum Resources of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency.
“The recurrent and capital expenditure components of the Appropriation Act 2016 (Nigeria’s 2016 Budget) aforesaid are more than adequate to provide for the finance of the establishment of the Nigeria Petroleum Regulatory Commission”, the bill says. “Therefore, no further financial requirements are needed for the establishment of the Commission”.
