SAN FRANCISCO, March 03, (THEWILL) – Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, on Thursday assured that the National Assembly would consider and expedite the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).
Dogara gave the assurance at the 2016 Annual Oloibiri Lecture Series and Energy Forum organised by the Society of Petroleum Engineering (SPE), Nigeria Council, in Abuja.
He disclosed that the processes of passing the PIB were at the final stages and explained that the bill was designed to provide legal and regulatory framework for the oil industry.
The Speaker, who was represented by the Chairman, Committee on Gas Resources of the house, Agbedi Frederick, said that passage of the bill would enhance the restructuring and deregulation of oil downstream sector.
According to him, the passage will enhance competition in all segments, including open access to the pipelines as well as providing a robust tariff mechanism for all players.
He said that a strong local refining and petrochemical industry was the catalyst to ensure the country’s growth and sustainable development through diversifying revenue stream and growth in other sectors.
Dogara expressed concern over the impact of sharp decline in oil price on the economy, and said that there was the need to further examine the situation at the backdrop of the nation’s economic projections.
In his speech, Chairman, SPE in Nigeria, Mr George Kalu, said that the lecture focused on “Technological Advances in Hydrocarbon Exploration and Exploitation: Solutions to Global Oil Price Stability”.
Kalu said that the forum provided Nigeria the opportunity to maximize benefits from adoption of low cost technology in asset management.
According to him, it will also enhance industry collaboration among buyers, suppliers and vendors and other operators in the oil and gas Industry.
“With an all-time high Crude Oil Inventory by OECD, the oil prices dip this time around is different from previous cyclical scenarios.
“This was partly occasioned by the demand-supply landscape in the global oil market and need to hedge against supply shortfall to the OECD.
“The emergence of oil supplies from the US shale areas plus the decline in oil demand from Europe and North America has contributed to a large extent.
“Simple innovative technology such as water shut-off, short radius horizontal sidetrack in existing assets will ensure low cost oil production,” Kalu said.
NAN
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