OREANDA-NEWS.   The Minister of Petroleum Resources and Chairperson of the Board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC,   Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke has called on operators and service providers in the oil and gas industry to cooperate with the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority, NNRA, in its mandate to ensure effective monitoring of nuclear application in the industry.

Delivering a Keynote Address at the Technical meeting on Regulating Nuclear Application in the Oil and Gas Sector - Challenges and Stakeholders’ Expectations, organized by the NNRA in Abuja, Mrs. Alison-Madueke noted that as the biggest importer of radio-active materials in the country, petroleum industry operators must conform to basic safety and security standards.

Mrs. Alison-Madueke explained that nuclear applications in the petroleum industry in Nigeria are not new, with some practitioners having about half a century of experience. She said some companies have close to 200 radioactive sources in some instances stressing that these sources are High-Risk sources and may cause serious concerns if control over them is lost.

While commending the NNRA for organising the technical session, Mrs. Alison-Madueke averred that the Regulatory Authority has responsibility for Nuclear Safety and Radiological Protection Regulation.

The Petroleum Minister added that as an important and respected member of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and as a party to a number of binding and non-binding international treaties, conventions and agreements, the country is under obligation to properly regulate and control nuclear materials and radioactive sources.

 The Minister remarked that since its inception, the NNRA has taken steps to ensure a proper regulatory framework, within the context of its enabling Act, to effectively fulfill its major regulatory functions.

She listed the safety and practice specific regulations guidelines achieved by the NNRA to include: Nigerian Basic Ionizing Radiation Regulations (2003), Nigerian Safety and Security of Radioactive Sources Regulations, 2006, Nigerian Transportation of Radioactive Sources Regulations, 2006, Nigeria Radiation Safety in Industrial Radiography Regulations (2006), Nigeria Radioactive Waste Management Regulations (2006), Nigerian Radiation Safety in Nuclear Well Logging Regulations, 2008 and Nigerian Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials Regulations, 2008.