Post by fireopal on Oct 26, 2009 4:23:03 GMT 4
Nigeria: Ekweremadu - Senate Will Pass Petroleum Bill Soon
Ejiofor Alike
16 October 2009
Lagos — Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, has said the Senate will pass the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) before the end of this year, as part of its determination to place Nigeria in the league of first class oil producing nations.
The Bill is designed to provide legal and regulatory framework for the industry.
Speaking at a reception party in honour of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) visiting team, led by Secretary General of the organisation, Abdalla S. El-Badri, Ekweremadu said members of the Senate have resolved to pass the oil reform bill before the end of the year.
"The timing of this visit, which is coming after we just completed the successful amnesty programme is very good for Nigeria. We want to take our rightful place in OPEC as a leading producer of oil and gas and the passage of the PIB will help us to achieve that effectively," Ekweremadu said.
Earlier, Minister of Petroleum, Dr. Rilwanu Lukman, called on the Senate to do a good job on the PIB, to strengthen Nigeria's position in the international oil market.
The PIB is a proposed legislation currently before the National Assembly, through which the Federal Government is seeking to set out a new legal, regulatory and fiscal framework for the organisation and operation of the entire oil and gas industry in Nigeria. The PIB is based on the report of the Oil and Gas Sector Reform Implementation Committee (OGIC), set up by the Federal Government in 2000, to carry out a comprehensive reform of the oil and gas industry.
In addition, the suggestions and recommendations of the Inter-Agency Team constituted by the Federal Government have since been incorporated in the form of a memorandum on the PIB to the National Assembly for ease of reference and comparative analysis.
Meanwhile, OPEC has pledged its support for the proposed deregulation of the downstream sector and the PIB before the National Assembly.
El-Badri made the pledge yesterday, after the second technical session with OPEC visiting team, some Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) management and other top government functionaries at the board room of the NNPC in Abuja.
He spoke on a wide range of issues affecting OPEC member countries, adding that Nigeria was on the right path in proposing the law to free NNPC of regulatory roles in order to enable it concentrate on production and compete effectively with international oil companies.
Ejiofor Alike
16 October 2009
Lagos — Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, has said the Senate will pass the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) before the end of this year, as part of its determination to place Nigeria in the league of first class oil producing nations.
The Bill is designed to provide legal and regulatory framework for the industry.
Speaking at a reception party in honour of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) visiting team, led by Secretary General of the organisation, Abdalla S. El-Badri, Ekweremadu said members of the Senate have resolved to pass the oil reform bill before the end of the year.
"The timing of this visit, which is coming after we just completed the successful amnesty programme is very good for Nigeria. We want to take our rightful place in OPEC as a leading producer of oil and gas and the passage of the PIB will help us to achieve that effectively," Ekweremadu said.
Earlier, Minister of Petroleum, Dr. Rilwanu Lukman, called on the Senate to do a good job on the PIB, to strengthen Nigeria's position in the international oil market.
The PIB is a proposed legislation currently before the National Assembly, through which the Federal Government is seeking to set out a new legal, regulatory and fiscal framework for the organisation and operation of the entire oil and gas industry in Nigeria. The PIB is based on the report of the Oil and Gas Sector Reform Implementation Committee (OGIC), set up by the Federal Government in 2000, to carry out a comprehensive reform of the oil and gas industry.
In addition, the suggestions and recommendations of the Inter-Agency Team constituted by the Federal Government have since been incorporated in the form of a memorandum on the PIB to the National Assembly for ease of reference and comparative analysis.
Meanwhile, OPEC has pledged its support for the proposed deregulation of the downstream sector and the PIB before the National Assembly.
El-Badri made the pledge yesterday, after the second technical session with OPEC visiting team, some Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) management and other top government functionaries at the board room of the NNPC in Abuja.
He spoke on a wide range of issues affecting OPEC member countries, adding that Nigeria was on the right path in proposing the law to free NNPC of regulatory roles in order to enable it concentrate on production and compete effectively with international oil companies.