…Says Bill Aims to Promote Environmental Protection, Development in Host Communities
By Gift Chapi-Odekina, Abuja
The House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream) on Thursday held a public hearing on the National Commission for Decommissioning of Oil and Gas Installations (NC-DOGI) Bill, 2024, which seeks to establish a regulatory body to oversee the safe dismantling, removal, and environmental restoration of oil and gas facilities across Nigeria.
Declaring the session open at the National Assembly Complex, the Committee Chairman, Hon. Alhassan Doguwa, said the hearing was a crucial part of the legislative process to ensure transparency, inclusiveness, and public participation in law-making.
According to him, the proposed Commission aims to tackle long-standing challenges associated with the abandonment and decommissioning of oil and gas installations, which have continued to pose environmental, economic, and social risks—particularly to host communities in the Niger Delta and other oil-producing regions.
“This Bill is a significant legislative proposal because it touches on the welfare of our people, the protection of our environment, and the livelihoods of host communities,” Doguwa stated. “It reflects Parliament’s commitment to ensuring that the growth of the oil and gas sector aligns with environmental responsibility and sustainable community development.”
He clarified that the session was not an investigative hearing but a forum to gather inputs that would guide the Committee and the House toward an informed and balanced legislative decision.
“Our role is to listen objectively, collate all viewpoints, and evaluate them carefully before presenting our recommendations to the House,” he said.
Doguwa acknowledged that while the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) already provides for decommissioning and abandonment under Sections 232 and 233—assigning roles to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and the Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (MDPRA)—the growing scale and complexity of such activities may warrant a specialized institution.
He explained that the hearing was therefore designed to determine whether the existing framework is sufficient or whether a dedicated Commission would better serve the national interest.
Among the critical stakeholders invited to the hearing were representatives from the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Federal Ministry of Environment, NUPRC, National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), industry operators, civil society groups, and the academic community.
Doguwa urged participants to make evidence-based submissions to help shape a balanced, effective, and sustainable framework for managing decommissioning activities in the oil and gas industry.
He reaffirmed the Committee’s commitment to ensuring that the legislative process strengthens Nigeria’s environmental governance and safeguards the well-being of oil-producing communities.
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