Favour Ishember, Abuja
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) says wrapping up work on its new corporate home will make the agency run more smoothly and make Nigeria more attractive to investors.
The building, named The Barrel, is a 10-floor tower designed to hold between 900 and 1,000 staff. Its architecture is modeled after a convex, curved cylinder that swells out at the middle.
Construction started in 2020 at the Central Business District in Abuja. Four years later, it is still unfinished. Because of the delay, the regulator has been operating out of several smaller offices spread across the Federal Capital Territory.
During a site visit, NUPRC Board Chairman Senator Magnus Abe said the scattered setup sends the wrong signal. According to him, major oil and gas firms that fly in to negotiate multi-billion dollar deals currently have to shuttle between different NUPRC offices around Abuja to meet various departments.
“It is a thing of great embarrassment to this country when major oil and gas companies come to Nigeria to discuss investments worth billions of dollars, only to meet the regulator in a block of flats and from there proceed to other parts of the city to see different departments to conduct transactions with the NUPRC,” Abe stated.
“This image is not just bad for the country, but bad for business.”
He argued that a permanent headquarters would consolidate all Commission activities under one roof and serve as an engagement hub for industry players. Beyond operations, Abe said the structure should also stand as a mark of national pride and as proof of confidence in Nigeria’s petroleum sector.
“The edifice will enable the industry to operate from one central location, bring pride to our nation and serve as a symbol of confidence,” Senator Abe added.
The Chairman also praised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for appointing the board and for what he called strong backing, clear policy direction, and a defined roadmap for oil and gas. Abe noted that the administration’s reforms are already showing results, with renewed investment flowing into Nigeria’s upstream space.
He said those investments are translating into jobs, new business opportunities, growth in host communities, and higher government revenue.
NUPRC Commission Chief Executive, Mrs. Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, who also spoke at the inspection, urged the contractor to speed up work and hand over the project in the first quarter of 2027.
Responding, the Managing Director of Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, Engineer Peer Lubasch, pledged that the company would do everything possible to meet that deadline.
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