The NUPRC Chief Executive, Engr. Gbenga Komolafe FNSE, OFR on Friday 16thAugust 2024 visited Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) and the National Decommissioning Centre (NDC) in Aberdeen as part of efforts to establish relationships and adopt best practices for Decommissioning and Abandonment in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry. This aligns with the Commission’s objective to set international standards and integrate global best practices in implementing the Decommissioning and Abandonment in accordance with the provisions of sections 232 and 233 of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.

During the visit, discussions were held with the Decommissioning Manager of OEUK to foster collaboration and learn from UK decommissioning projects. The Commission Chief Executive further toured the state-of-the-art National Decommissioning Centre in Newburgh, Aberdeen, which is operated by the University of Aberdeen and the NetZero Technology Centre. The Centre is acknowledged to lead research and development that supports oil and gas sector to achieve cost and emissions reductions, improve environmental outcomes and transform approaches to deliver sustainable net zero decommissioning.

The visit explored potential areas of collaboration that could lead to the establishment of a Decommissioning and Abandonment Centre in Nigeria.” This is expected to position the Commission as African leading regulator as a further achievement in the implementation of key regulatory focus area.