The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has rules out disruption of Nigeria’s oil and gas production, even as workers shut down the regulator’s offices and halted its administrative operations nationwide.
Staff — many of them members of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) — blocked access to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission’s headquarters in protest over alleged irregularities in foreign training placements, forcing suspension of administrative services.
“It is true that some administrative activities were affected today due to industrial action taken by the unions. However, this has not in anyway impacted activities in oil and gas facilities or production in general,” Eniola Akinkuotu, head of Corporate Communications and Media at NUPRC, said.
“The top management of the Commission is meeting with the unions in order to put an end to the strike and ultimately restore normalcy,” Akinkuotu added, noting that regulatory oversight and field monitoring remained in place.
Earlier, workers of the commission had shut down operations nationwide after negotiations with management reportedly broke down over issues relating to overseas training opportunities.
Sources within the commission said the disagreement centred on management’s decision to prioritize local training programmes over foreign capacity-building initiatives.
According to the sources, the commission argued that conducting specialised training within Nigeria would help reduce costs while strengthening domestic institutional capacity.
A staff member, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed that offices of the commission across the country were affected by the industrial action.
“We shut down the headquarters and the field offices of the commission across the country over a dispute concerning foreign training programmes,” the source said.
The worker explained that management had insisted that training programmes, including those linked to Factory Acceptance Tests for Positive Displacement (PD) Meters, should be conducted locally rather than overseas. The position, he said, was rejected by employees, leading to the strike.
The development has raised concerns within the industry over the potential impact of prolonged labour unrest on regulatory activities.
However, the commission’s assurance that upstream operations and crude oil production remain unaffected is expected to calm fears among investors and operators while negotiations continue between management and the union.
