“PIB Legislation hope for future of oil and gas industry” OPS

PIB Legislation hope for future of oil and gas industry”
OPS

Following the last week signing of the Petroleum Industry Bill. H President Muhammad Buhari, members of the Organized Private Sector (OPS) have tagged the legislative move a hope for the nation’s oil and gas industry.

For members of the body, the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) would usher in a leveled playground into the oil and gas sector and making it economically viable for more opportunities.

Other bodies have also applauded this development as a Hallmark achievement for the industry. Members of the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), and the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) have cited a number of revenue potentials and investment opportunities that will be ushered into the Nigerian economy following the legislative decision.

They opined that when it comes to erasing the age-long uncertainties that has plagued the industry for decades, the new act holds promises. The law meets these standards in the way it furnishes the industry with the legal framework and machineries necessary for transformative reforms that will make the sector a hotspot for global investors.

According to the OPS, the Petroleum Industry Act would create the atmosphere for healthy competition in an organic pattern that would foster systemic growth, product choices, and sustainable price lowering mechanisms.

While host communities remain aggrieved over the three per cent, and the concerns of state government over exclusion, the Act still opens a window of optimism.

On Monday, 16th August, 2021, Nigeria’s President Buhari signed the decade-old Petroleum Industry Bill which has evolved into an operational manual and bible for the nation’s oil and gas industry.

For the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), the bill now law means a turning point for the industry’s icon the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). While plans are in place to unbundle the entity, the chamber advised that the process is not subject to redtapes and bottlenecks. This standard should also be upheld both in contract administration and in how the sector goes about project management. For the LCCI, the unbundling process should be according to the standards enshrined in the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) and the Code of Corporate Governance (CCG).

In this same thread, the Director-General of the NACCIMA, Ambassador Ayo Olukanni, has commended the legislative move of signing the 13 year old bill as bold, strategic and transformative. It was a major stride taken to restore the confidence of foreign investors as well as local participants.

According to Olukanni, the long wait stalled the influx of a lot of investments, and even the depleted the health of existing assets due to the unfavorable policy climate. The new Petroleum Industry Act may still have some unfinished business, yet it offers improvement for the nation’s oil and gas industry.

EntekHub.com

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