Tejiri Ebikeme
Major stakeholders in the petroleum industry made up of the National Union of Petroleum and Gas Workers Association (NUPENG), Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association (PENGASSAN) and other oil players yesterday rejected what they termed as uncontrollable powers given the minister of petroleum.
Both NUPENG and PENGASSAN in a joint presentation at the final public hearing on the PIB organised by the House of Representatives ad hoc committee on the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), submitted that the bill confers excessive powers on the minister.
The National Industrial relations officer and joint chairman of NUPENG/PENGASSAN on PIB, Comrade Chike Onuegbe who represented the unions said in line with global best practices, the minister should be concerned with broad policy framework and not the day-to-day running of the industry while the regulator is allowed to carry out its regulatory functions with no interference.
However, In its own presentation, general manager (commercial) of Shell Exploration and Production Africa, Marc den Hartog said the company fully supports the aspirations of government as contained in the PIB.
He suggested that the PIB should clearly define the roles and responsibilities of entities, especially regulators to avoid overlaps and conflicts and ensure that regulatory institutions are independent of the entities they regulate.
Meanwhile, NEITI has said in order to ensure transparency in the industry, the PIB should provide for a licence allocation process that is clear and transparent, and open to the general public.
The executive secretary of NEITI, Hajia Zainab Ahmed maintained that the PIB should provide for the creation of a publicly available register of the corporate entities that bid for, operate or invest in petroleum upstream assets, including the identities of their beneficial owners and their levels of ownership.
NEITI also suggested that there should be provision that allow for cash-call payments for Joint ventures (JVs) as a first line charge on the Federation Account. “This means that the federal government’s share of the expenses for JV operation would be paid based on agreed work-plan and budgets directly from the Federation Account, prior to other disbursements from the said account.
