Emeka Ezekwesiri

By Emeka Ezekwesiri, Victor Ayo-Odewale

Pulished on Mondaq

As Nigeria’s oil and gas production capacity continues to increase, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (“NUPRC”) is responding with regulatory reforms aimed at improving operational efficiencies across the upstream value chain in order to sustain this growth trajectory. One of such key reforms is the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum (Commercial) Regulations, 2025 (the “Regulations”) issued by the NUPRC further to its powers under the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021 (the “PIA”) to regulate commercial activities in Nigeria’s upstream petroleum operations. The Regulations generally provide the structure for the approval and continuous regulatory evaluation of the commercial components of upstream activities, including field development plan, annual work programme and status report, and operation budgets for upstream licences and leases granted pursuant to, and those preserved by, the PIA.

In this article, our aim is to describe and examine the key provisions of the Regulations and their potential impact on upstream petroleum operations. We conclude that the framework introduced by the Regulations is welcome, but further refinement is necessary in light of the concerns highlighted in our analysis below to ensure a more predictable investment environment, reduce administrative burdens, and better align regulatory requirements with operational realities.

Emeka Ezekwesiri*, Favour Ogini** and Iyanuoluwa Adeyemo***

A core objective of the Electricity Act 2023 (the “Act“) is to provide a holistic, integrated policy plan that recognizes and promotes all sources for generating, transmitting, and distributing electricity, including integrating renewable energy into Nigeria’s energy mix. The Act repealed the Electric Power Sector Reform Act (“EPSRA“), the erstwhile principal Nigerian electric power sector legislation since 2005. The Act also recognizes federating states’ electric sector law-making powers and identifies the borderline distinction between electricity supply and distribution. This article analyses the Act and examines in detail the significant changes introduced by the Act to the electric power sector, viz-a-viz the EPSRA, focusing on its significance and impact on the Nigerian electricity supply industry. This article also identifies and addresses issues arising from the provisions of the Act and proffers solutions to some of the challenges that may arise.

Keywords: Electric power, legislative powers, renewable energy.

INTRODUCTION
On 9 June 2023, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed the Electricity Act 2023 (the “New Act” or the “Act“) into law. This is a significant milestone in the Nigerian electric power sector since passing the Electric Power Sector Reform Act of 2005 (the ‘EPSRA’ or the “Repealed Act’).

The Act repealed the following laws – (a) EPSRA (b) Hydro Electric Power Producing Areas Development Commission (Establishment, etc) Act, 2010 (the “Hydro Electric Act“); (c) HydroElectric Act (Amendment) Act, 2013; (d) Hydro Electric Act (Amendment) Act, 2018; and (e) the Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (Establishment, etc) Act, 2015. The Act has consolidated the provisions of the foregoing repealed laws with certain modifications and enhancements.

This article highlights the objectives of the Act. It examines in detail the significant changes introduced by the Act to the electric power sector viz-a-viz the EPSRA and issues arising from that place. The article also provides a legal analysis of the impact the Act will likely have on the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (“NESI”) and proffers solutions to some of the challenges that may arise.

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