The Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Dr. Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, says that the Commission is consulting widely with stakeholders in the industry on the idea for a domestic crude oil and gas swap to reduce cost and increased products availability.
Speaking during a courtesy visit to the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) in Abuja, Dr. Eyesan stated that once all the modalities are finalised, there will be an improved compliance with the Domestic Crude Supply Obligation (DCSO) and the Domestic Gas Supply Obligation.
According to her, this will also be coordinated along with the Gas Aggregation Company Nigeria Limited (GACN).
Eyesan explained that the commission is in discussions with stakeholders on the way forward.
“How the swap works is that I have an obligation somewhere and I am close to an export facility. Somebody else has an obligation inland and his own (facility) is close to a domestic off-taker.
“So, instead of trying to move from one end to the other, we just agree on a swap arrangement and there is a mechanism for them netting off,” she said.
The NUPRC boss said that in the case of crude oil, discussions were still at an early stage.
Eyesan promised to deepen collaboration with the NMDPRA in the overall interest of the sector.
In his remarks, the Chief Executive of the NMDPRA, Mallam Rabiu Umar, congratulated the commission for conducting a seamless and credible 2025 licensing round.
He also lauded the NUPRC for the improvement in the enforcement of the domestic crude supply to local refiners.
Umar said that even though the Petroleum Industry Act stipulated that all transactions would be done on a willing buyer and willing seller basis, issues of pricing remains a major factor.
The NMDPRA, therefore, expressed support for the creation of strategic reserves which will boost energy security and ensure price stability.
Meanwhile, the latest statistics by the NUPRC showed a massive improvement in domestic crude supply to local refineries as a total of 53.7 million barrels of crude oil were supplied to local refiners between April and June, showing an overall performance of 97.4 per cent for the second quarter of 2026.
GIK/APA