Nigeria’s oil and nuclear watchdogs are forming a new alliance in an effort to address regulatory overlap.
According to Mrs. Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, the chief executive of the NUPRC Commission, business is being negatively impacted by the industry’s complex regulations.
At 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,” Eyesan said, highlighting the need to address gaps and redundant regulations to improve ease of doing business. She has designated senior NUPRC officials to work directly with NNRA.
She stated that NUPRC and NNRA will work together 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 production and exploration. NNRA oversees the ownership, use, transportation, and disposal of radioactive materials and encourages the safe application of radiation technology in all sectors of the economy.
Eyesan went on to explain that one of Nigeria’s largest users of radioactive sources and radiation-emitting machinery for nucleonic gauging, industrial radiography, and well logging is the upstream industry.
In order to fulfill its mandate, NNRA depends on NUPRC collaboration, according to Dr. Idris. Instead of requiring operators to submit the same data twice, he favors a “single window approach” where both agencies share information.
Part of the statement says: Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials are brought to the surface by oil and gas exploitation. NNRA is requesting that NUPRC incorporate NORM management procedures into NUPRC’s upstream environmental guidelines and guarantee that operators conduct radiological impact assessments as part of their environmental impact assessments.
Additionally, both organizations will work together to share knowledge and provide training on radiation protection and safe operations.
That preserves every detail while capturing the cost-cutting aspect from paragraph 3.
