The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) says Nigeria’s oil and gas production remains unaffected despite the closure of its offices nationwide by protesting workers.
The strike has paralysed administrative activities at the commission’s offices.
Eniola Akinkuotu, Head of Corporate Communications and Media at NUPRC, stated this on Monday while reacting to the ongoing industrial action.
Members of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) had blocked access to the NUPRC headquarters in protest against alleged irregularities in foreign training placements, forcing the 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 any way impacted activities at oil and gas facilities or production in general.
“The top management of the commission is meeting with the unions in order to bring the strike to an end and ultimately restore normalcy,” he said.
Akinkuotu added that regulatory oversight and field monitoring activities remained in place.
Protesting workers shut down the commission’s operations nationwide after negotiations with management reportedly broke down over issues relating to overseas training opportunities.
Competent sources said the disagreement stemmed from management’s decision to prioritise local training programmes over foreign capacity-building initiatives.
A member of staff, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the commission’s management argued that conducting specialised training in Nigeria would reduce costs and strengthen domestic institutional capacity.
NUPRC management also insisted that training programmes, including those linked to Factory Acceptance Tests for Positive Displacement (PD) Meters, should be conducted locally rather than overseas.
The workers, however, rejected the position and embarked on a strike, raising concerns about the impact of prolonged industrial unrest on regulatory activities.
