Nigerian president advances oil bill placing NNPCL under control of Finance Ministry, upstream regulator

Report suggest a move is afoot to amend Nigeria's landmark Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) to reassign control of the oil sector from the "independent" state oil company NNPCL to the Ministry of Finance and upstream regulator NUPRC, dramatically shifting the responsibilities and balance of power among agencies and officials. 

President Bola Tinubu has reportedly endorsed a draft Petroleum Industry Act (Amendment) Bill 2025 for preliminary consultations, according to a notification sent by the Attorney General to industry agencies, reported by a handful of media. As of September 16, no official gazette or National Assembly record of a “Petroleum Industry Act (Amendment) Bill 2025” had been made public.

According to Africa Oil & Gas Report, the amendment in question was drafted by the Minister of Finance, with the stated goal of addressing the “escalating fiscal leakage and revenue loss confronting the Federation.”

The bill would transfer ownership of NNPCL to the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI), replacing the current arrangement under the Ministry of Petroleum Incorporated (MOPI), and empower the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) to act as the government’s concessionaire in oil contracts.

Under the proposed changes, NUPRC would represent the state in production-sharing, profit-sharing and service contracts, and verify cost-recovery claims and annual work programmes, The Africa Report noted in an overview of the potential impact.

The bill further seeks to codify joint oversight of integrated upstream-midstream projects by NUPRC and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), following earlier territorial rows between the two agencies.

NUPRC’s dual function as both regulator and contracting authority could raise questions over potential conflicts of interest, though concentrating responsibility within fewer agencies could cut administrative costs and reduce red tape, the publication writes.

Clementine Wallop of consultancy Horizon Engage told The Africa Report the restructuring drive indicates a move towards stronger state oversight, making it more difficult to present NNPCL as an “independent” commercial enterprise.

The bill would expand the influence of Finance Minister Wale Edun and his ministry, which would direct NNPCL’s corporate strategy and boost the authority of NUPRC leadership in contract negotiations. By contrast, the powers of NNPCL’s board and executive management would be significantly reduced.

ThisDay columnist Samuel Ajayi warned last week that the proposed amendment to the PIA would set the nation’s oil and gas industry back by decades and erase the gains of the last five years, in terms of undermining investor confidence.

“The PIA did not only reduce a lot of legal and operational bottlenecks from the operations of the upstream sector of the nation’s oil and gas industry, it also created an unprecedented confidence in the minds of foreign investors in the sector,” Ajayi wrote.

“However, it seems some individuals and interests within the corridors of power are bent on destroying whatever gains the country has made since the passing of the PIA. Sources close to the corridors of power told [ThisDay] that an amendment to the PIA is being packaged as an Executive Bill.”