Who is Nigeria’s new Minister of Petroleum Resources?
Like his predecessor, President Bola Tinubu is the Minister of Petroleum Resources. Heineken Lokpobiri, the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources (Oil) and Ekperikpe Ekpo, the Minister of State of petroleum Resources (Gas) will assist the president.
How Petroleum Resources Ministry Came About
The discovery of the first crude oil in Oloibiri, the present-day Bayelsa State, in 1956, made Nigeria to have its first commercial oil sale two years after (in 1958) and the need to have a ministry that would manage the exploration and sales of the oil and gas became imperative.
And of course, the coming on board of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources necessitated the establishment of several parastatals also referred to as agencies to help the ministry achieve its core mandate.
The ministry would later become an embassy where the most corruption, embezzlement, and financial crimes would be committed and perpetrated as we’ve seen in the case of Diezeni Alison-Madueke, former “oil” minister, who is being investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, some of her properties and personal belongings like bra and necklaces have been put on auction.
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How Did Ministry Of Petroleum Resources Come About?
After the discovery of oil in Nigeria, the management of oil and petroleum matters was managed by the Hydrocarbon Section of the Ministry of Lagos Affairs and reported directly to the Governor-general.
On Independence, the unit was upgraded to a Petroleum Division under the Ministry of Mines and Power.
By 1971, the military regime of Gen. Yakubu Gowon created the Nigerian National Oil Corporation (NNOC) and was saddled with the responsibility of managing direct commercial operational activities in the oil industry for Nigeria’s Government.
In 1975, the Department of Petroleum Resources was restructured and upgraded to the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy.
By 1985, the military regime of Ibrahim Babangida came up with the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.
Structure of Petroleum Resources Ministry
The ministry is headed by a minister, a political appointee of the president, and a Permanent Secretary who is a career officer and the Chief Accounting Officer of the Ministry.
However, we’ve seen a situation where Nigeria’s president keeps the senior minister’s office for himself.
For instance, when President Muhammadu Buhari kept the office of a senior minister of petroleum to himself when he announced his first-term cabinet in November 2015, he repeated the same in 2019.
The ministry has 10 departments, they are:
- Oil Services
- Gas
- General Services
- Legal
- Finance & Accounts
- Procurement
- Press
- Human Resources
- Reforms
- Planning, Research, and Statistics
Agencies of Nigeria’s Ministry of Petroleum Resources:
Before the signing of the passage of the Petroleum Industrial Bill by the National Assembly, the ministry had eight parastatal, but the signing into law PIA by Buhari led to the scrapping of three old agencies: 1) Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), 2) Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), and Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF).
They were replaced by Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission (NURC) and Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA)
So, the seven agencies are:
- Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is now known as the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
- Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission (NURC)
- Petroleum Training Institute (PTI)
- Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF)
- Nigeria Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA)
- Nigerian Content Development Management Board (NCDMB)
- Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA)
When were the agencies founded?
| Parastatal | Year of Establishment |
| NNPC | April 1, 1977 |
| NURC | August 16, 2021 |
| PTI | 1973 |
| PTDF | 1973 |
| NNRA | August 3, 1995 |
| NCDMB | 2010 |
| NMDPRA | August 16, 2021 |
Key functions of the agencies of Nigeria’s Ministry of Petroleum Resources
NNPC Limited
To drive Nigeria’s economy through crude exploration and sales
NURC
It’s a new agency saddled with the responsibility of technical and commercial regulation of the upstream petroleum operations.
PTI
Located in Effurun, Delta State, t is to train indigenous middle-level manpower to meet the labour force demands of the Petroleum and Allied Industry in Nigeria and the West African
PTDF
To train Nigerians to qualify as graduates, professionals, technicians and craftsmen in the field of Engineering, Geology, Science, and Management in the petroleum sector
NNRA
It is responsible for nuclear safety and radiological protection regulation in Nigeria.
NCDMB
To review, assess and approve Nigerian Content plans developed by operators.
NMDPRA
To regulate and monitor technical and commercial midstream and downstream petroleum operations in Nigeria
Note:
The Petroleum Industrial Bill 2021 (PIB) which established the creation of the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission (NURC) and Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) was signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari on August 16, 2021, becoming Petroleum Industrial Act 2021
PIB was passed by the House of Senate on July 15, 2021, while the House of Representatives did the same on July 16.
The PIB has been generating controversies since the 2000s.
And on October 6, 2021, the Senate confirms the appointment of Board Members of the two new regulatory agencies under the Ministry of Petroleum Resources headed by Buhari and assisted by Minister of State, Petroleum, Chief Timipre Sylva, former governor of Bayelsa State.
Core Mandates of Nigeria’s Ministry of Petroleum Resources:
With all the departments, units, and agencies under the ministry, below are the core mandates of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources in driving Nigeria’s economy:
1) To formulate policies in the development of the Petroleum Industry in Nigeria
2) To draft, implement upon approval by the government, all policies in the marketing of oil and gas and other petroleum products within and outside Nigeria
3) To oversee concession policies in the oil and gas industry.
4) To come up with policies that will drive Foreign Direct Investment in the oil and gas industry.
5) To always represent the interest of the government in oil-related matters in the international community.
6) To licence all Petroleum and gas operations and activities
7) To approve the allocation of oil fields to investors who meet all conditions of oil deal.
8) The ministry conducts research geared towards discovering of crude oil across Nigeria.
9) To liaise with oil-producing states in Nigeria in designing policies that will lead to the infrastructural development of oil-producing communities.
10) To develop hydro-carbon industries including natural gas, processing, refineries and Petrochemical industries through public-private partnership (PPP)
11) To design a workable model geared towards meeting the quota of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
12) To supervise all its agencies and departments in collectively achieving the goal of using revenues from the sales of oil to develop Nigeria’s economy.
Office:
Block D, NNPC Towers, Herbert Macaulay way,
Central Business District, Abuja.
- info@petroleumresources.gov.ng
- Social handle: facebook.com/FMPRng
- Official website: petroleumresources.gov.ng
Wrapping up:
The Ministry of Petroleum Resources has seven agencies or parastatals after the passage into law the Petroleum Industrial Bill.
The creation of the ministry was necessitated by the need to develop and implement sound policies that will serve as a backbone for the rapid development of the oil and gas sector.
The ministry has one of the sweetest mandates, however, it has failed over the years to use oil proceeds to drive Nigeria’s economy. More than half of Nigeria’s population lives in poverty while the political office holders live large.
