Page 10 - AfrOil Week 01 2023

AfrOil POLICY AfrOil

He also directed the Minister of Finance, Budget he would defer signing the country’s Finance
and National Planning to engage with the legis- Bill, due to conflicts with the Petroleum Indus-
lature to revisit changes made to the executive try Act (PIA). The Finance Bill has faced crit-
budget proposal and hopes for cooperation icism for disincentivising investments in the
from the National Assembly, This Day writes. petroleum sector and causing protests from
At the same ceremony, Buhari revealed that international oil companies (IOCs). ™

NUPRC gives oil and gas asset

holders 7 days to identify owners

NIGERIA THE Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory
Commission (NUPRC) has issued a directive
requiring all oil and gas sector licence and lease
holders operating in Nigeria to disclose the real
owners of their companies within a seven-day
period.
The directive, signed by NUPRC’s CEO
Gbenga Komolafe, outlines the requirements
for disclosing beneficial ownership information
and applies to individuals with significant con-
trol over at least 5% of shares or voting rights, or
those who have the ability to exercise significant
influence or control over a relevant person or
trust/firm.
All entities with a participating interest in an
exploration or production oil and gas licence,
lease or contract are required to provide infor-
mation on their owners, including the identity of NUPRC CEO Gbenga Komolafe, shown in September 2022 (Photo: NUPRC)
their beneficial owner(s), the level of ownership
and details about how that ownership or control engaging with oil and gas companies to ensure
is exercised. their mandatory compliance with the directive.
The NUPRC has emphasised the impor- “The commission is engaging the oil and
tance of full disclosure of beneficial ownership companies to ensure their mandatory compli-
information as a statutory requirement and is ance,” Komolafe said. ™

NNPCL denies allegations of

unofficial crude oil exports

NIGERIA STATE-OWNED Nigerian National Petroleum required for the shipment of goods outside of
Co. Ltd (NNPCL) has denied allegations made Nigeria and includes details of the goods being
by the country’s Auditor General that it had exported as well as information on the exporter’s
unofficially exported more than 17.8mn barrels domiciliary account in the country.
of crude oil between 2016 and 2020, Nairamet- In response to these accusations, the NNPC
rics reports. issued a statement through its chief corporate
The allegations, which were made on January communications officer, insisting that the pro-
1, claimed that the crude oil, which was valued at ceeds from the sale of the crude oil had been
over $1bn, was exported without the necessary properly accounted for and repatriated into
Nigeria Export Proceeds (NXP) forms being the company’s accounts, and subsequently
completed. into the Federation Accounts, according to
The NXP form is a mandatory document Nairametrics..

P10 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 01 05•January•2023