Stakeholders in the nation’s oil and gas sector on Thursday charged the Executive and Legislative arms of government to finalise the enactment processes of the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill, (PIGB) to improve the performance of the hydrocarbon resources industry.
The call came against the backdrop of the fact that the Bill, which had been passed and harmonised by both the Senate and House of Representatives, is abandoned now in the National Assembly.
Making a strong case for the enactment at the 2018 National Association of Energy Correspondents, (NAEC) in Lagos, the National President of Petroleum Club Nigeria Dr. Goodwill Ihetu, told participants that despite the passage of the Bill by the two chambers of the National Assembly, the harmonized version was yet to be formally transmitted to the President for assent.
Specifically, the industry expert, who are served as and panel chairman at the plenary session of the forum, recalled that at the Senate public hearing on the Bill on June 3rd this year, convened to consider the Petroleum Industry Fiscal Bill, the Petroleum Industry Administration Bill and the Petroleum Industry Host and Impacted Communities Bill, lamented that the PIGB remained still with the lawmakers.
According to him, the Senate President confirmed at the public hearing that lawyers were tidying up the legal aspects of the Bill before it would be transmitted to the President.
Ihetu expressed serious concern about the prolonged delay in encating the Bill, especially in view of its implications for the nation’s revenue generation and investments.
He therefore challenged industry stakeholders to mount pressure on the Legislature to speed up the process of enacting the Bill to facilitate commencement of its implementation.
Similarly, the industry player identified the retention of the Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF) in the PIGB as another issue that remained questionable as the Fund should have been abolished through the provisions in the new bill.
In his remarks at the forum, the Deputy Managing Director, Deep Water District of Total Exploration and Production, Mallam Ahmadu-Kida Musa, noted that there was the need for extensive dialogue among industry experts, the National Assembly, operators and government in order to ensure that the objectives of the PIGB are not undermined.
Noting that the PIGB is the first in a series of four proposed Bills that constitute the legal framework for the hydrocarbon resources industry reforms, he explained that concerns about the PIGB and other bills had been raised by his group others in the past.
He said: “As it is usually the case with new legislation, especially one as fundamental as this, there are bound to be some initial concerns. But we believe that these concerns can be easily addressed through dialogue and legislative public hearings.
“Our thoughts and concerns on the PIGB and rest of the proposed bills have been articulated by our umbrella organisation, the Oil Producers Trade Sections, OPTS of Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry”, Musa stressed
