By Ikechukwu Okaforadi and Musa Adamu
The Senate has said that the three new Petroleum Industry Bills (PIB) which it is considering will boost economic growth and lead to a more efficient oil sector that is globally competitive.
The bills are the Petroleum Industry Administration Bill 2018, Petroleum Industry Fiscal Bill 2018 and the Petroleum Host and Impacted Communities Bill 2018, respectively.
Declaring open a three-day public hearing on the PIB, organized by the Senate Joint Committees on the PIB in Abuja yesterday, the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, who said this, pointed out that the three bills under consideration would have tremendous impact on the economy and investment opportunities when passed into law.
He explained that the Petroleum Industry Administration Bill is to transform the administration of the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors of the Nigerian petroleum industry.
“Firstly, the Bill creates a framework that will free up acreages that are not being developed by current license and lease holders, thereby creating opportunities for new investors. This will bring substantial new investment to our oil and gas industry.
“Secondly, it ensures effective management of the environment by petroleum operators and administrators.
“Thirdly, it provides a framework to unleash midstream activities which will open up the market for the supply of gas and other downstream products, for economic growth. Above all, I believe the most important feature of this Bill is that it provides much needed legal backing for the deregulation of our downstream petroleum sector”, he stated.
On the Petroleum Industry Fiscal Bill, he said this would help fix the issues in the nation’s existing fiscal framework for the petroleum industry which is outdated, especially with regards to royalty and tax regimes.
“For instance, billions of dollars have been lost through non-invocation of provisions in subsisting laws, at those times when crude oil price crosses certain thresholds. The Bill will fix this as well as remove difficulties and uncertainties surrounding our tax assessment and collection system.
“Additionally, it will remove distortions created by the Associated Gas Framework Agreement; and provide comprehensive fiscal terms for the development of our abundant natural gas resources”, he stressed.
The Petroleum Host and Impacted Communities Bill, according to him, provide for a legal framework for the development of the petroleum host and impacted communities.
He stated further that the bills are critical to the growth of the nation’s economy, the livelihood of all Nigerians and the interests of investors.
Earlier, chairman of the joint committees, Senator Kabiru Marafa (APC Zamfara Central), said given the peculiar nature of the oil industry, the committee involved the services of expert.
The essence of the public hearing was to enable the public own the bills, but added that everything regarding the bill is subject to change. Marafa further revealed that the Bill deals with how the petroleum industry of Nigeria should be managed transparently.
According the chairman, the bill when finally passed into law, will go a long way to ensure that the country is financially competent and well positioned to attract international investment.
