NMDPRA Disputes Auditor-General's Gas Flare Revenue Claims

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has rejected claims made by the Auditor-General of the Federation regarding unaccounted gas flare revenues. NMDPRA stated that the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) is solely responsible for collecting gas flare penalties, while the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund (MDGIF) only receives its statutory allocation from the NUPRC.

The discrepancies noted in the Auditor-General's report, which identified about N94.4 billion in alleged financial irregularities, were attributed to timing and reconciliation issues within the Federation Account process. NMDPRA emphasized that gas flare penalty remittances are collected by NUPRC and subsequently paid into the Federation Account before allocations are made to MDGIF.

The authority has formally requested a review of the Auditor-General's findings, providing supporting records from the Federation Account Allocation Committee. NMDPRA reiterated that any shortfall in collections falls under the responsibility of the collecting agencies, not MDGIF.