The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has called for preparation against national emergencies and disasters such as massive floods, to reduce the impacts and damages in terms of loss of lives and property.
Following the Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NiMet) forecasts in 2023, the country is anticipating catastrophic floods across states this year.
Chief Executive Officer of the commission, Gbenga Komolafe, spoke on the sidelines of the Nigeria Special Annual QHSSE and Risk Managers Hybrid Congress & 4th Annual Emergency Preparedness Week/Exhibitions of the Emergency, Crisis and Disaster Risk Management, held in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
He said the NUPRC had given priority to preparedness for emergency occurrences in the oil and gas industry, and had put in place the requisite logistics to handle such emergency situations in the sector.
Komolafe, represented by the Bayelsa Field Coordinator, NUPRC, Bighoro Sylvester, said: “As it relates to the upstream sector that the commission regulates, we have details of our workers in the offshore and offshore safety permit.
“We even have Emergency Response Centre (ERC) and we have been doing our best. The commission is prepared to handle any emergency that happens within the industry.”
He noted that the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) had vested the commission with the responsibility of ensuring regulations for the management of emergency situations in the oil and gas industry.
“If you look at the Petroleum Industry Act very well, you will see that we are saddled with the responsibility of evolving regulations to take care of emergencies, the environment and all these are part of our functions,” Komolafe said.
The NUPRC boss said the agency, as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR), donated relief materials to victims of the monster floods in Bayelsa last year, to reduce people’s sufferings.
Speaking about the essence of the institute’s annual emergency forum, Komolafe said the imperatives of emergency, crisis, disaster and risk management required sufficient understanding for the planning and execution of emergency response.