The attention of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has been drawn to reports in some newspaper publications indicating that the Senate Committee on Public Accounts expects the NUPRC to respond to allegations of non remittance of funds into the Consolidated Revenue Fund by the defunct Petroleum Equalization Fund (PEF).

The Commission wishes to state that the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 signed by President Muhammad Buhari GCFR created two regulatory agencies for the oil and gas industry namely NUPRC which is responsible for the technical and commercial regulation of Upstream business and the Nigerian Midstream Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) responsible for Downstream and Midstream business in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.

In furtherance of the PIA, NMDPRA became a merger of PEF, Petroleum Product Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) and part of defunct Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR).

This implies that the activities of the defunct PEF is not within the operational purview of the Commission and as such the Commission will not be expected to answer any legislative query pertaining to the defunct PEF as alleged in the publications.

The general public is hereby advised to disregard the uninformed allegations as the Commission will continue to enable Upstream buisness in the Nigerian oil and gas industry to improve create revenue streams for development of social infrastructure.