Lawmakers, PHCCIMA Partner On Oil Industry

Plans to set up special platform for industry stakeholders
and operators to chart ways to properly propel the oil and gas industry in the
country have been concluded by the Rivers State House of Assembly Committee on
Energy and the Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce, Industry Mines and
Agriculture (PHCCIMA).

The event, which will take place in Port Harcourt from
September 25 to 28 is especially imperative now as the National Assembly will
soon begin the debate on the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), the spokesman of
PHCCIMA, Amabipi Martins, was quoted as saying.

Martins stated that stakeholders in the global oil industry
will at the event discuss critical issues that have to do with the operations
of the sector, adding that since 2010, the Port Harcourt Oil and Gas Conference
/ Exhibition has become a popular forum for technocrats, bureaucrats,
investors, the intelligentsia and policymakers in the oil industry in the country,
including International Oil Companies (IOCs) to compare notes on the politics,
funding, environmental issues, corporate social responsibility, community
affairs and other relevant and related issues that would promote growth of the
industry.

The conference, which was conceptualised by the Rivers State
House of Assembly House Committee on Energy and Natural Resources provides a
forum for critical examination of issues and challenges of the oil industry in
Nigeria and also enable law makers to understand the intricacies of the
industry.

This year’s gathering with the theme: “Nigerian Content Act
And Deregulation: Issues And Prospects,” promises to be much more pragmatic and
designed to grapple with issues relating to matters that have dominated
activities in the Nigerian oil and gas sector, since the enactment of the
Nigerian Content Act.

Those that would make presentations this year include the
Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board
(NCDMB), Engr. Ernest Nwapa, who will speak on “Policy Formation,
Implementation And Monitoring In The Oil And Gas Industry In Nigeria; The
Challenge Of The Nigerian Content Monitoring Board;” “Nigeria’s Oil And Gas
Development Act: Implications For Small And Medium Size Oil Services Companies”
by Engr. Emeka Ene, PETAN’s president; “Promoting The Nigerian Content Through
Deregulation Of The Downstream Sector” by Yomi Onanuga, general manager,
Nigerian Content, Total Exploration And Production Nigeria, and “Petroleum
Downstream Deregulation: Challenges And Opportunities,”  by the director,  Directorate of Petroleum Resources (DPR),
among others.