Finally, the House of Representatives has passed the bill for an Act to provide for the Governance and Institutional framework for the Petroleum Industry and for other related matters, through third reading.
The bill which seeks to unbundle the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) provides for establishment of the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Incorporated; Nigerian Petroleum Regulatory Commission; Nigerian Petroleum Assets Management Company and National Petroleum Company and Petroleum Equalisation Fund.
Victor Nwokolo, deputy chairman, Ad-hoc Committee on Petroleum Industry Bills, who led the debate on the report, explained that the regulatory bill will balkanise the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and create a National Petroleum Commission, which will take over the functions of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR).
Nwokolo explained that some subsidiaries of the NNPC had also been merged into an entity to be known as the Nigeria Petroleum Regulatory Commission.
According to him, the House Ad-hoc Committee adopted the Senate version of the PIGB.
Clause 3(2 & 3) provides for a ten-year jail term and forfeiture of petroleum products and facilities for any person who fails or neglects to comply with a requisition to obtain all petroleum products made by or on behalf of the Minister in the event of a state of national emergency.
As stipulated in Part 3 of the bill, the Nigerian Petroleum Regulatory Commission, when established, shall be vested with all assets, funds, resources and other movable and immovable properties owned by the Petroleum Inspectorate, Department of Petroleum Resources and Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency.
The bill further provides that “upon the recommendations of the new commission, the minister of petroleum resources can grant, amend, renew, extend or revoke any licence or lease required for petroleum or production, pursuant to the provisions of the Act, or any other enactment.”
The power for issuing and revoking licenses was also domiciled in the commission, as well as allocation of petroleum production quotas in a non-discriminatory manner.
The commission was further empowered to advise the Minister on fiscal and other issues pertaining to the petroleum industry; establish a framework for the validation and certification of national hydrocarbon reserves; undertake evaluation of national reserves and reservoir management studies.
It will as well conduct regular audits of the activities of operators engaged in petroleum operations and oil service companies, in order to ensure compliance with Nigerian laws and requirements for petroleum operations.
It also seeks to establish the methodology for determining appropriate tariffs for gas processing, gas transportation, transmission and transportation of crude oil and bulk storage of oil and gas.
Similarly, the Commission is to regulate and set rules for petroleum products distribution, petroleum product pipelines, retail outlets, trucking of petroleum products and storage depots; develop market rules for trading in wholesale gas supplies to downstream gas distributors; ensure security of petroleum products supply, market development and competition.
When the bill was mentioned for consideration at the Committee of the Whole, only 30 members of the House of Representatives considered and passed the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB) within 23 minutes (2:19pm to 2:42pm).
Copies of the 191 page PIGB report which was laid on resumption from Christmas/New Year recess on Tuesday, were slated for consideration.
Contrary to legislative procedure, clean copies of the 134 clauses were not circulated to enable them make input during the debate.
KEHINDE AKINTOLA, Abuja
