Engr. Farouk Ahmed is into his fourth year as the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), yet the zeal with which he carries out that assignment at inception is nowhere near burning out. His consistent high output has been sustained by a combination of his professional expertise, industry experience, a flair for innovation as well as visionary, perceptive and result-oriented leadership.
To underscore the impact Engr. Ahmed’s leadership has had on the NMDPRA, Gbolahan Elias, a leading authority on Mergers and Acquisition, in an article titled, “A general introduction to Energy Mergers & Acquisitions in Nigeria”, noted of the agency:
“The…NMDPRA are aggressively churning out new regulations, guidelines and information circulars to operationalize several of the innovative provisions of the PIA. These regulations range from simple administrative matters to complex operational issues with significant impact on the oil and gas sector.”
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority was created in August 2021 in line with the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 which provides legal, governance, regulatory and fiscal framework for the Nigerian Petroleum Industry as well as development of host communities. NMDPRA emerged from the merger of three defunct regulatory agencies: Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), Petroleum Equalization Fund {Management} Board (PEFMB), the Midstream and Downstream Divisions of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR).
Engr. Ahmed who became the Authority’s pioneer Chief Executive has established a progressive regulatory framework that encourages investment and full optimization of the midstream and downstream sector of the petroleum industry in Nigeria.
Since becoming the Chief Executive Officer, Ahmed has been leading NMDPRA to fulfill its mandate. In March 2023, NMDPRA unveiled six regulations that would govern the activities of the midstream and downstream sectors of the Nigerian petroleum industry. The six regulations address issues such as petroleum transportation and shipment, assignment or transfer of licenses and permits, gas pricing for domestic demand and delivery, natural gas pipeline tariffs, petroleum measurement and midstream and downstream petroleum operations.
Later in July, the agency announced the introduction of four new additional regulations aimed at addressing environmental and safety concerns in the midstream and downstream petroleum sector. The new regulations include the Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Environmental Regulation 2023, designed to ensure that environmental standards and practices are upheld across midstream and downstream petroleum operations.
Others are the Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Safety Regulation 2023, which prioritizes safety measures and procedures; Midstream and Downstream Decommissioning and Abandonment Regulation 2023, which outlines the requirements and procedures for the decommissioning and abandonment of petroleum facilities; and the Midstream and Downstream Environmental Remediation Fund Regulation 2023, which sets out the establishment and financial contribution of the Fund for operations.
The fund aims to provide resources for the cleanup, rehabilitation or management of negative environmental impact from petroleum operations nationwide. These regulations, according to the agency, will enhance value, create an enabling environment and deepen activities in the midstream and downstream sectors for the benefit of Nigerians.
In December 2023, the NMDPRA Authority Chief Executive (ACE) as he is officially known, assured the world that Nigeria can attract $575 billion in investments. Engr. Ahmed speaking through Dr. Mustapha Lamorde, Executive Director of Health, Safety and Environment Division of the agency at the United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference (COP 28), said the plan is possible through the NMDPRA’S Industry Sustainability Initiative (ISI).
Whilst the ISI incubates, Engr. Ahmed and his team at NMDPRA are unlocking investments in gas by determining the appropriate tariff methodology and setting cost benchmarks for operations in the sector the agency regulates. Recently, the agency announced the establishment of the year 2024 Domestic Base Price and applicable wholesale price on natural gas for the strategic sectors.
This led to an increase in the price of natural gas for the strategic domestic sectors including power generation companies by 11 percent. The increased gas pricing is expected to spur gas suppliers to bring on-stream gas from higher cost fields. Without significant new gas development, the shortfall in gas supply by 2030 is expected to be as high as 3 BCF per day, worsening gas challenges for the power sector, and severely affecting facility utilization for commercial, GBI sectors, and export markets.
What has equipped Engr. Ahmed with the needed technical and administrative skills that helped him navigate the tortuous terrain of petroleum sector regulation is his rich professional background complement by his equally sound educational background.
A graduate of Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, USA, Ahmed obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree in Engineering Technology, with cumulative professional and career experience spanning over 34 years in the American technological space and in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.
He commenced his career as a Logic Board Verification Engineer at Apple Computer Incorporated, which was later changed to Apple Incorporated, in Dallas, Texas, USA.
He later returned to Nigeria to participate in the mandatory one-year National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme. Thereafter, he joined the then Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), now Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), where he rose through the ranks to hold top management positions in the organization. Some of the positions Ahmed occupied in his over three decades career in the oil and gas industry include: Senior Crude Oil Trader, Duke Oil Incorporated; Manager, Crude Oil Export Programming and Nominations, Shipping and Terminals (Crude Oil Marketing Division-NNPC); Executive Director, Commercial, Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC); Managing Director, NiDAS Marine Limited; Executive Secretary, Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Authority (PPPRA); Managing Director, PPMC; and Special Adviser (Downstream) to Group Managing Director (GMD), NNPC.
The NMDPRA boss was a member of the Governing Board of the Nigerian Shippers Council and has also been the MD/CEO, Hauwath Consulting Limited. Ahmed is a Member of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) as well as a Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE-USA). He is also a registered member of the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN).
The selection of Engr. Ahmed by the Top10 magazine as one of the regulatory agency leaders in Nigeria is in recognition of his outstanding achievements as the Authority Chief Executive (ACE) in the efficient delivery on its statutory mandate of regulatory initiatives and oversight, rev
