The Long awaited Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) was today passed by Both the Senate and House of Representatives of the National Assembly, following the consideration and adoption of the bill’s 318 clauses.
The Bill seeks to introduce changes to the governance, administrative, regulatory, and fiscal framework of the Nigerian oil and gas industry, in order to ensure transparency, strengthen the governing institutions, and attract investment capital, among other objectives.
The Senate however gave approval for three percent for host community Trust fund as against five percent recommended by the Joint Committee of the National Assembly on Petroleum (Upstream and Downstream) and Gas in its report.
The upper chamber also approved amongst others the funding mechanism of thirty percent of NNPC limited’s oil and gas profit in the production sharing, profit sharing, and risk service contracts to fund exploration of frontier basins.
It also approved Clause 4 of the bill which seeks the establishment of the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission to provide technical regulatory functions that would enforce, administer and implement laws, regulations and policies relating to upstream petroleum operations.
The Senate President Ahmed Lawan in his remarks said the bill, when signed into law, will strengthen accountability and transparency in activities of the NNPC, as well as attract capital investment inflows to the sector.
