PIB’ll Add Value, Wealth To Oil Sector, Omo-Agege Affirms

The Deputy President of Senate, Sen. Ovie Omo-Agege, says the new Petroleum Industry Bill (BIP) would help drive the nation’s economy through added value and wealth from the oil and gas sector.
Omo-Agege said this at the Host Community Colloquium on the PIB in Owerri, yesterday.
Represented by his Chief of Staff, Mr Otive Igbuzor, he said that it was unfortunate that the sector had been denied of the necessary regulations needed to activate huge potential to create value and wealth associated with the industry.
“But behind such a dark cloud, is a silver lining. The good news is that the proposed Petroleum Industry Bill (2020) is coming to change all that.
“The two major planks of the Bill is to run the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) as a business enterprise by the name, NNPC Limited.
According to him, the objectives of the bill are to promote economic growth through increased oil and gas production, promote economic growth through strong investments in midstream gas infrastructure to increase gas-based power generation and industries.
He said others included the promotion of the frontier for exploration, the establishment of an effective acreage management system and creation of transparency and non-confidentiality mechanism.
The deputy president of the senate said that promoting improved environmental measures and assisting host communities in petroleum operation to achieve their aspirations were part of the desired objectives of the PIB.
He said that the second aspect of the PIB that would help the growth of the industry was the creation of different regulatory bodies for the upstream midstream and downstream oil sector.
Omo-Agege said that the establishment of the infrastructure fund would also help in the development of the sector, the region and country at large.
He called on all stakeholders and youths in the Niger Delta region to support ongoing efforts to ensure that the PIB was passed.
The Deputy Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Niger Delta, Hon. Henry Nwawuba, expressed regret that the PIB was yet to be passed in the country.
He, however, said the 9th Assembly was determined to ensure its passage before the expiration of its tenure.
Earlier, the Executive Director, OrderPaper, an advocacy initiative, Mr Oke Epia, said that the aim of the colloquium was to bring stakeholders together to brainstorm on the PIB that was before the National Assembly.