Operators in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector stated on Monday that even after the Petroleum Industry Bill was passed almost two years ago, there was still uncertainty surrounding investments in the sector.
The Punch reported that the sector leaders linked Nigeria’s low oil production and income decline to investment anxiety, urging the National Assembly to reconsider the PIA 2021.
Former President Muhammadu Buhari signed the PIA into law in August 2021, after it languished as a bill in the National Assembly for nearly two decades.
Speaking at the Oil and Gas Industry Policy Roundtable for members of the National Assembly sponsored by the Independent Petroleum Producers Group and Oil Producers Trade Section, IPPG Chairman Abdulrazaq Isa said the sector’s issues were impeding its expansion despite the PIA.
“As you are aware, it has been two years since the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act, and this landmark legislation is still transforming the Nigerian oil and gas industry and laying a solid foundation for its growth and development,” he said.
According to him, investor uncertainty, a key component of the ongoing reforms, persists, and this is exacerbated by the global energy transition drive and insecurity in the Niger Delta, resulting in a significant drop in the nation’s production output.
“As a result, Nigeria suffers a massive drop in revenue from its vast hydrocarbon resources. As a result, it has become critical for us as an industry to assure the immediate ramp-up of oil and gas production in order to shore up the nation’s revenue base and create the much-needed foreign cash for macroeconomic stability.”
Making this happen in the short to medium term, according to Isa, would necessitate a focus on a few key areas.
The first was an “amendment of critical aspects of the PIA primarily aimed at establishing a strong regulatory and governance framework to guide the effective implementation of the PIA and ensure that the intended benefits of the industry-wide reforms are realized,” he said.
“Enhancing the competitiveness of the industry in order to attract the level of funding required to fully optimize our vast hydrocarbon resources for today and future generations,” among others.”
