NUPRC and NNRA Partner to Reduce Oil Costs and Improve Safety

Nigeria’s nuclear and oil watchdogs are forming a new alliance in an effort to address regulatory overlap.

According to Mrs. Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, Commission Chief Executive of the NUPRC, the industry’s complex regulations are detrimental to business.

In a recent meeting with NNRA Director-General/CEO Dr. Yau Idris at NUPRC headquarters, she stated, “The only way we can safeguard investments is to reduce our cost of operations and when you have a multiplicity of laws, the likelihood is that you will have higher costs because each law normally comes with its own fee and charges.”

“We have identified critical areas on both sides and we believe that as we collaborate, we can close existing gaps,” stated Eyesan, who assigned senior NUPRC officials to work directly with NNRA. Eyesan emphasized the need to address loopholes and duplicate regulations to increase ease of doing business.

She stated that NUPRC and NNRA will collaborate to reduce overall operational expenses while enforcing radiological safety in oil and gas operations.

The head of NUPRC, Eniola Akinkuotu, Head of Corporate Communications and Media, states in a news release that although NUPRC is responsible for the technical, commercial, and operational supervision of oil and gas exploration and production. In addition to promoting the safe use of radiation technology across businesses, NNRA oversees the possession, use, transportation, and disposal of radioactive materials.

Eyesan went on to explain that one of Nigeria’s largest users of radioactive sources and radiation-emitting equipment for nucleonic gauging, industrial radiography, and well logging is the upstream sector.

According to Dr. Idris, NNRA depends on NUPRC collaboration in order to fulfill its goal. Instead of requiring operators to submit the same data twice, he advocates for a “single window approach” in which both authorities share information.

Part of the statement says: Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials surface as a result of oil and gas operations. NNRA is requesting that NUPRC incorporate NORM management procedures into NUPRC’s upstream environmental guidelines and make sure operators conduct radiological effect assessments as part of their environmental impact assessments.

Additionally, both organizations will work together on training and information exchange about safe operations and radiation safety.

That preserves every detail while capturing the cost-cutting perspective from paragraph 3.