NUPRC Delays Enforcement of Nigeria's Anti-Flaring Law

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has not effectively enforced the anti-flaring law established by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) enacted in August 2021, which aimed to mitigate methane emissions and end gas flaring. The PIA required natural gas producers to submit a Natural Gas Flare Elimination and Monetisation Plan (FEMP) within 12 months of the law's effective date.

However, the regulations necessary for these plans were not signed until May 2023, nearly two years after the PIA's enactment, and were only gazetted in July 2023, resulting in an 11-month delay past the original deadline of August 2022. The NUPRC introduced a new six-month deadline for companies to submit their plans, raising legal questions about the authority of an agency to extend a timeline set by an Act of the National Assembly.

Legal practitioner Ekemini Udim expressed concern that this delay undermines the law's implementation.