NUPRC moves to cut costly legal delays in oil sector with ADR

Mkpoikana Udoma

Port Harcourt — The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC, says its Alternative Dispute Resolution Centre, ADRC, is now a key pillar in reducing operational delays and cutting millions of dollars in legal costs for oil and gas companies, as the industry pushes to meet urgent production and investment targets.

Speaking at a sensitisation forum in Lagos, the Commission Chief Executive, Engr. Gbenga Komolafe, represented by the Commission Secretary and Legal Adviser, Olayemi Adeboyejo, said prolonged court battles have been one of the silent drains on upstream investments, affecting project timelines and overall sector competitiveness.

“Every delayed project represents lost revenue for investors and the country,” Komolafe said.

“With ADRC, we are shortening dispute cycles, lowering operational costs, and ensuring that projects move from planning to execution without years of legal bottlenecks.”

He said the Centre has been structured to offer quicker, cheaper, and expert-led resolutions that directly improve productivity and reduce overheads for operators already grappling with rising costs, security challenges, and global capital constraints.

“Our job as a regulator is to remove obstacles, not create them. The ADRC reinforces our commitment to a more efficient, more predictable upstream environment,” he added.

Komolafe told industry players that global investors now measure jurisdictions by how quickly disputes are resolved, stressing that the Commission is positioning Nigeria to match international best practice.

According to him, improved regulatory efficiency could speed up the development of marginal fields, enhance JV project approvals, and stimulate new well optimisation programmes, especially for declining assets.

“If operators can resolve issues in weeks rather than years, we will see faster drilling campaigns, quicker tie-ins, and reduced downtime across the value chain,” he said.

The Commission urged producers and service companies to make ADR their first point of call, describing it as a vital tool for lowering operating cost profiles and boosting Nigeria’s ability to meet its production and revenue goals under the Petroleum Industry Act, PIA.