The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) says it has fully disbursed the Frontier Exploration Fund (FEF) allocations due to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, countering reports that the funds were being held back.

In a statement on Monday, Eniola Akinkuotu, spokesperson for the commission, said claims that NUPRC was withholding the money were inaccurate. He clarified that the fund is housed in a Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) account, not within the commission, and can only be accessed after NNPC submits its programme of work for certification.

According to him, NUPRC’s mandate is limited to reviewing NNPC’s proposed activities and approving payments only after contracts and related expenditures have been properly verified.

He added that the commission hired PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to independently review NNPC’s requests to strengthen transparency around the fund’s utilisation.

“So far, there is no pending amount. The most recent approval was issued on November 27, 2025, amounting to $140 million. Earlier releases included N14.9 billion and $45 million,” he said.

NUPRC urged stakeholders seeking information about the fund to rely on official sources rather than unverified claims circulating in the public.