BREAKING: ‘The Demons Have Been Defeated In This Chamber,’ Lawan Says As Senate Passes PIB

…Cuts Host Communities’ Fund To 3%

The Senate on Thursday passed the Petroleum Industry Bill and approved 3 per cent for the host communities

This is coming nine months after the bill was presented to the upper Chamber by President Muhammadu Buhari.

The lawmakers also passed the PIB, 2021 after the clause by clause consideration of the report of its joint committee on Petroleum (Upstream, Downstream and Gas) on PIB.

Although the Senate approved three per cent for the host communities despite protests from the South-South lawmakers, who advocated five per cent.

The Senate had before then, held a closed session with the Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva and the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Mele Kyari.

Senate President Ahmad Lawan congratulated the lawmakers and said the Ninth National Assembly has achieved one of its fundamental legislative agenda.

“The demons (of PIB) have been defeated in this Chamber. We have passed the bill,” he said.

The bill is expected to carry out significant reforms in the laws governing the petroleum industry, which had been encapsulated in two previous laws.

THE WHISTLER had exclusively reported that the proposed bill makes provision for creation of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.

The bill, also proposed the scrapping of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency while the NNPC Limited will be incorporated by the Minister of Petroleum.

With his Finance counterparts, the Minister will determine NNPC’s assets and liabilities inherited by the new firm.

The bill also proposed the establishment of an agency known as the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission, which will be responsible for the technical and commercial regulation of upstream petroleum operations.

When passed into law by the National Assembly, a total of 12 legislations in the oil and gas industry may be repealed.

The need to pass the bill into law had become imperative as low oil prices and a shift towards renewable energy have made competition tougher to attract investment from oil majors.

The Regulations that are expected to be repealed with the PIB are Associated Gas Reinjection Act, 1979 CAP A25 Laws of the Federation 2004, and its Amendments; Hydrocarbon Oil Refineries Act No. 17 of 1965, CAP H5 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004; Motor Spirits (Returns) Act, CAP M20 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004; and Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (Projects) Act No. 94 of 1993, CAP N124 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.

Also expected to be repealed is Section 31 of the Oil Pipelines Act, CAP 07 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004; Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Act 1977 No, 33 CAP N123 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria as amended, when NNPC ceases to exist pursuant to section 54(3) 83(3) of this Act; Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (Establishment) Act 2003; and Petroleum Equalisation Fund (Management Board etc.) Act No. 9 of 1975, CAP P11 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.

The PIB is also expected to repeal Section 7, Oil Terminal Dues Act 1965; Petroleum Equalisation Fund (Management Board, etc.) Act, 1975; Petroleum Profit Tax Act Cap P13 LFN 2004, and Deep Offshore and Inland Basin Production Sharing Contract Act 2019, as amended.