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DPR to begin electronic processing, issuance of service permits

By BusinessNews Staff on July 9, 2014

The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) is to commence electronic processing and issuance of statutory oil and gas industry service permits (OGISP), in line with initiatives of the agency to reposition and ensure enhanced service delivery.

By this development, Nigerian registered companies seeking to render services in the oil and gas industry would be required to submit online application for new permits and renewal of expired ones to the oil and industry regulatory agency with the required documents.

Head, Public Affairs at the DPR, Ms. Dorothy Bassey, who confirmed the development at the weekend explained that the electronic application system for statutory permits is the beginning of digitalisation of the agency’s entire licensing and permitting system and is geared to remove bottlenecks and ensure quality service.

She explained that the online application system will require applicants to log onto the DPR website to create their company accounts from which they can apply for different categories of permits upon completion of the applicable forms.

She said duly completed applications would be processed within 72 hours.

“With the introduction of online application system, payments for DPR permits could be made through banks or any of the known credit/debt cards including but not limited to Mastercard, Visa, Verse, Quickteller and other credit or debt cards as may be applicable,” she added.

In addition to the online processing, the regulatory agency said it would continue to carry out due diligence on individual companies, especially those applying in the major and specialised categories.

“A valid offshore safety permit (OSP) continues to be a requirement for companies that provide service offshore. All companies are therefore advised to obtain OSP prior to applying for the permit”, Bassey said.

The OGISP is a statutory requirement for Nigerian registered companies seeking to render services in the oil and gas industry and are processed by the DPR under three categories, namely: General, Major and Specialised.

The agency said necessary security precautions would be taken to safeguard documents that would be submitted online, and warned that uploading fake documents would render an application invalid.

The Department further stated that all statutory fees will remain unchanged, while companies would be required to pay processing fees of N500, N2,500 and N7,500 for the three categories of service permits respectively. It however noted that payment of fees does not guarantee issuance of permit.

“All Required steps for the online application processes, including the specified fees and charges for all the statutory service permits are currently posted on the DPR website.

[This Day]

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