The President of the Senate,
Bukola Saraki, has said the National Assembly will ensure the passage of the
Petroleum Industry Bill by December this year.
Saraki stated this in Lagos at
the Nigeria Oil and Gas Industry Research and Development Fair and Conference
2017, organised by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board.
He said the PIB was split into
four parts – Petroleum Industry Governance Bill, Petroleum Industry
Administration Bill, Petroleum Industry Fiscal Bill and Petroleum Host
Community Bill – to fast-track its passage into law.
Saraki, who was represented by
the Chairman, Senate Committee on Petroleum (Upstream), Senator Tayo
Alasoadura, said the PIB established clear rules, regulations, procedures and
institutions for the efficient administration of the petroleum industry.
He stated, “This bill establishes
the legal and regulatory framework, institutions and regulatory authorities for
the Nigerian petroleum industry. It also stipulates deadline for operations in
the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors.
“Given the high expectations for
the PIB and the long controversy that had surrounded the passage of the bill
for over a decade, we needed to break it into four parts to enable its passage
into law within the short time frame we have.”
He noted that the Petroleum
Industry Administration Bill, Petroleum Industry Fiscal Bill and Petroleum Host
Community Bill had all gone through second reading.
“We expect the report from the
committees in no distant time and hope to pass the bills into law within the
next quarter,” Saraki added.
The Minister of State for
Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, said the nation’s oil and gas industry
had operated for about 60 years, but sufficient attention had not been paid to
the development of local research capabilities.
He stated, “Over the years,
international oil operating and service companies in Nigeria took all their
research problems back to their home countries or to centres across the globe
without recourse to our involvement by local universities and research
centres.”
It could be recalled that Senator
Alasoadura recently alleged that he was offered
bribe to kill the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB).
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