Stakeholders in the oil and gas sector said passage of the much-awaited Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB) would ensure transparency and improve Nigeria’s revenue.

The stakeholders, who said this in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Tuesday, said that the Bill would attract more Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) into the country when the President assents to it.

NAN reports that passage of the bill followed its unanimous adoption of the report on the Bill presented by Chairman, Senate Committee on Petroleum (Upstream), Sen. Tayo Alasoadura, by the lawmakers at plenary.

The Bill is the culmination of several years of efforts at reforming the oil and gas industry.

The process began under former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2000, with the establishment of “Oil and Gas Implementation Committee (OGIC)’’.

Prof. Adeola Adenikiju, the Director, Centre for Petroleum Economics Energy and Law at the University of Ibadan, said passage of the Bill was a good development for the industry.

“If you look at the governance structure in the industry compared to other countries, the Nigerian oil companies have not been doing well.

“You will notice that the NNPC has not adhered to market discipline. There are so many interferences from government and this Bill will enable it perform commercially.

“Part of the share will be sold to the public and Nigerians will have a say. It will allow for a clear delineation of rules in the industry, because on one hand, it plays regulatory and on another commercial role, that has been separated.

“It also reduces the power of the Minister of Petroleum and the power will revert to the Board.

“Overall, it will bring about transparency, efficiency and align us with global best practices and that will bring us so much respect as a country’’ Adenikiju said.

The National President of the Nigeria Association for Energy Economics, Prof. Wumi Iledare, told NAN that aside promoting transparency and reducing government interference, the Bill would clearly assign roles.

“Regulators will be regulators, commercial will be commercial, it will be well-defined.

“In the next six months, it will reduce the level of investment uncertainty that limits direct investment flow into the industry.

“The fact that a single regulator is involved like the CBN, will reduce bottlenecks. It will provide a one-stop shop,’’ Iledare said.

An insider in the industry, who prefers anonymity, said the Bill was long overdue as NNPC had been the Achilles heel of the oil and gas industry overtime.

“By unbundling it, the Bill will bring prosperity and profits to the sector’’.

NAN recalls that the House had passed the PIGB, which is one of the four segments of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) in January, while the Senate passed it in 2017.

Other segments of the bill include the Host Communities Bill, Fiscal Reforms Bill and the Upstream and Downstream Bill.

When signed into law, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) would be unbundled, and the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Incorporated would be established.

The Bill would also lead to the establishment of the Nigerian Petroleum Regulatory Commission, Nigerian Petroleum Assets Management Company and the National Petroleum Company and Petroleum Equalisation Fund.  (NAN)

– Apr. 10, 2018 @ 16:02 GMT |