NUPRC Issues Directive on Standardised Templates and Measurement-Based Methane and GHG Reporting

On 13 April 2026, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) issued a Directive requiring upstream petroleum operators to use standardised templates for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions management planning and for reporting their methane and GHG accounting and inventories. The Directive applies across exploration, production, and associated upstream activities.

The instrument is significant because it converts a long-standing policy expectation into a documented, auditable compliance regime. Operators are now expected to maintain a written GHG Emissions Management Plan that follows the regulator’s template, with measurement-based estimation of methane and other GHGs rather than reliance on default emission factors where direct measurement is technically feasible.

Submissions will follow a defined reporting cycle and must reconcile against operational data, including production volumes, flaring, venting events, and equipment-level emissions. Operators should expect closer scrutiny of methodology choices, leak detection programmes, and source-level attribution, and should prepare for spot verification by the Commission.

The Directive also fits into Nigeria’s broader decarbonisation posture under the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021 and the Nigeria Climate Change Act, 2021. For sponsors, lenders, and offtakers, it strengthens the link between emissions performance and regulatory standing; a link that increasingly affects bankability and reputational risk on Nigerian upstream assets.

Operators that have not yet aligned internal reporting with the new templates should begin gap assessments now, with particular attention to data quality, measurement equipment, and the governance trail behind reported figures.