Oil & Gas
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The National Assembly has said that the Petroleum Industry Bill which it will pass very soon will stand the test of time
| By Anayo Ezugwu | Oct. 20, 2014 @ 01:00 GMT |
THE National Assembly is likely to pass the much awaited Petroleum Industry Bill before the end of the year. On Wednesday October 1, Senator Nkechi Nwaogu, chairman, Senate Committee on Gas, confirmed that the joint committee currently working on the PIB had almost concluded its assignment and would soon present the report for final approval and passage by the upper chamber.
She said her committee had been working seriously with that of petroleum resources (Downstream and Upstream) to ensure the speedy passage of the bill. “The passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill is in progress. I am a member of the joint committee that is working on it and I know what we are doing. It is a complex bill with 16 pieces of other legislation. We are taking out the obsolete and duplicated ones, and we are putting in the things that are required in a 21st century petroleum industry bill. It is a bill that will stand the test of time,” she said.
Nwaogu had on Wednesday, March 19, during the Nigeria Oil and Gas Conference in Abuja, said that with the current status of the bill, its passage would not exceed the life of the present Senate. She said the Bill had gone through first reading, second reading and public hearing and was presently at a technical session of an Upstream, Midstream and Downstream Committee for fine-tuning.
The legislator, however, noted that Nigerians had not been fair with the Seventh Session of the Senate, saying that a number of interruptions occurred when it took over from the sixth assembly. According to Nwaogu, the nation was currently at a standstill, because investment in oil and gas has been delayed due to the delay in the passage of the bill. She added that when passed, the bill would open doors for investments and increase Nigeria’s revenue generation. She called on stakeholders to be patient with the senate, assuring that the bill would be passed after due process and would not be split into parts.
Also, David Mark, Senate President, on Saturday, September 27, assured Nigerians that the bill, which is expected to sanitise the oil and gas industry, would be passed into law before the end of the current legislative year. He said Nigeria must as a matter of urgency pass the Bill because oil companies are beginning to get worried, stressing that the situation might drive away investment in the nation’s oil and gas industry.
Mark during a democratic transition lecture organised by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, LCCI, said the PIB when passed, will update existing laws in the petroleum industry and also guarantee a win-win situation for oil companies and the Nigerian government. According to him, Nigeria is on the losing side as a result of the delay in the passage of the bill, maintaining that this is why the country must accelerate the passage of the bill into law. “We want to pass the PIB before the end of this current senate. We need to pass the bill as soon as possible because the oil companies are getting worried. The PIB will update the existing laws in the petroleum industry to ensure a win- win situation for both the oil companies and the country at large,” he said.
Mark, however, stated that the theme of the forum tagged, “Democratic Transition and the Nigeria Economy” is apt and timely, saying that with the elections approaching, there is a need to boost investors’ confidence by ensuring a smooth transition. “We at the National Assembly are conscious of the nexus between politics, governance and investment. All these are interrelated, mutually reinforcing and supportive.”
The Senate president added that the political leadership needs a robust private sector to ensure social and economic stability. He said most of the major sources of conflicts in many African countries are the quality of the electoral process, pointing out that for the electoral process to be successful, the quality of the electoral process must be credible.
He advised that whatever happens after the election, Nigeria must be able to promote the principles and values of freedom of choice, accountability and transparency, rule of law, protection of the rights of the minorities and citizen participation among others. He reiterated the need for the private sector to work closely with the National Assembly to ensure the creation of an enabling environment for businesses to thrive.
He said the current level of interest by the private sector in legislative activities was not encouraging, stressing that representation of the private sector at public hearings is often very low, both in terms of number and quality. He added that the National Assembly needs to be guided by the private sector on the kind of policies that are necessary to improve private sector productivity and capacity to create jobs. “I therefore invite you to be more active in promoting this partnership between the private sector and the legislature. Indeed it is our desire to encourage participatory democracy,” he said.
The proposed Bill in essence is a reform legislation which aims to establish in place of the existing myriad of legislative and administrative instruments, an omnibus legislation that seeks to establish clear rules, procedures and institutions for the administration of the petroleum industry in Nigeria.
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