The African Development Bank, through its African Legal Support Facility and the National Petroleum and Gas Commission (NPGC) of South Sudan, has selected Centurion Law Group (Centurion) to build capacity and improve legal frameworks in South Sudan’s oil and gas sector.
As South Sudan works to increase production and attract foreign investment into its oil and gas sector, improved legal frameworks are expected to enhance the NPGC’s ability to fully exercise its functions as a regulator and a facilitator in the sector.
“The National Petroleum and Gas Commission is a key institutional pillar of South Sudan’s oil and gas sector. We are delighted to be working with a reputable firm like Centurion to enable our country’s oil industry to meet its obligation to our citizens and investors. Building capacity is key to us ensuring that we deliver on the promise of making oil work for everyone in South Sudan,” said Caesar Oliha Marko, Chairperson of the NPGC.
The NPGC provides general policy direction with respect to petroleum resources, acts as a supervisory body in matters relating to petroleum resource management, approves all petroleum agreements on behalf of the government and ensures that they are consistent with the South Sudan Petroleum Act of 2012.
“It is a real honor to have been selected for this project with the Petroleum Commission,” said NJ Ayuk, CEO of Centurion, adding that local content development and domestic capacity building is at the core of everything Centurion does as a firm.
“We take this project as a unique opportunity to contribute to the development of South Sudan and Africa’s oil industry in general. We are grateful to the African Development Bank and the Republic of South Sudan for entrusting us with this responsibility.”
Centurion will review South Sudan’s existing legal and fiscal framework and ensure the transfer of skills and knowledge to government representatives and experts.