Oil & Gas: Host community fund rises to ₦373bn — NUPRC

— 536 Projects Ongoing Across Host Communities

By Obas Esiedesa, Abuja

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has announced that the Host Community Development Trust (HCDT) money has grown to ₦373 cardinal arsenic of October 13, 2025, with 536 projects presently ongoing crossed assorted big communities.

In a connection issued by the Commission’s Head of Media and Strategic Communications, Eniola Akinkuotu, the NUPRC disclosed that the money comprises ₦125 cardinal and $168.9 million, acceptable speech by lipid companies successful enactment with Section 235 of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), 2021.

The Act mandates lipid and state operators (settlers) to lend 3% of their yearly operating expenditure from the erstwhile twelvemonth to a spot money benefiting big communities. These funds are held successful BBB-rated banks and are utilized to execute improvement projects determined done a community-led needs assessment.

The money is aimed astatine driving infrastructure development, education, healthcare, biology protection, and younker empowerment successful oil-producing communities, particularly successful the Niger Delta. This attack is expected to curb pipeline vandalism and foster bid and shared prosperity successful these regions.

Each spot is managed by a Board of Trustees and a Management Committee, ensuring transparency and assemblage involvement. While the NUPRC does not power the funds directly, it monitors compliance and advancement done a dedicated dashboard known arsenic HostComply, successful enactment with its regulatory mandate.

As portion of the implementation of the PIA, the NUPRC precocious facilitated the commissioning of implicit 10 completed projects and the motorboat of 10 much nether the Obagi Host Community Development Trust (HCDT) successful Rivers State, operated by TotalEnergies.

The two-day event, held from September 24–25, 2025, astatine Ogbogu Community successful Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area, marked a large milestone successful the execution of the PIA’s big assemblage provisions.

Key Projects Commissioned Include:

Construction of two-storey schoolroom blocks with 18 afloat furnished classrooms astatine Ogbogu.

Remodeling of the Ogbogu Cottage Hospital and operation of a caller diagnostic center.

Revitalization and infrastructure upgrade of the 1,200-capacity Ogbogu Ultra-Modern Civic Centre.

Construction of 260m asphalt pavement connected Obe Road and 320m reinforced factual pavement connected SDA Road successful Oboburu Community.

Establishment of the Amah Bottled Water Factory with a 1,500 bottles/hour capableness and sachet h2o works (2,000 sachets/hour).

Procurement of a Gas Skid Plant successful Erema Community.

Renovation and re-equipping of Akabuka South and North Primary Schools.

These projects were selected based connected needs identified by the communities themselves — a halfway request of the PIA.

NUPRC Commission Chief Executive, Engr. Gbenga Komolafe, represented by Capt. John Roland Tonglagha, lauded the initiative, stating the projects would heighten education, healthcare, and occupation creation. He urged big communities to instrumentality ownership of the infrastructure and enactment the lipid and state sector’s growth.

Rivers State Deputy Governor, Prof. (Mrs.) Ngozi Nma Odu, praised the Obagi HCDT’s transparency, noting the stark quality from past administrations wherever assemblage funds were often mismanaged.

Senator Benson Agadaga, Chairman, Senate Committee connected Oil and Gas Host Communities, noted that the palmy implementation of the PIA is contributing to bid successful the Niger Delta, supporting the nation’s extremity to transcend 2 cardinal barrels per time successful lipid production.

TotalEnergies Nigeria MD, Matthieu Bouyer, expressed pridefulness successful starring the HCDT implementation. He highlighted that implicit 500 projects crossed 60 communities person been identified nether the assemblage improvement plan, creating much than 1,000 jobs and impacting implicit 30,000 people.

Chairman of the Obagi HCDT Board, High Chief Dike Hopeson Dike, assured continued practice with stakeholders. He noted that wrong 1 year, the spot had delivered implicit 125 units of...