Stakeholders call for speedy passage of PIB

Stakeholders have continued to agitate for speedy passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) which is now called Petroleum Industry Institution Framework Governance Bill (PIGB).

According to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director of Oilserv Limited, Mr. Emeka Okwuosa, “Clearly, past administrations did not handle the PIB very well. From the Executive to the Legislators, plus purely in my own opinion it’s a huge joke. This is because every year we come here and we always hear the story that this year PIB will be passed and it went on for four years. There was no commitment to do that.

“I have stated it severally in the past that if Nigeria needs to move forward, we have to define the regime of all operations in the oil and gas because the investors cannot invest on the basis of an unknown framework or system that has the potential to impact on their own investment. Whenever there is a problem, you find out that companies take a back seat and wait for you to sort it out.

“So, it is major challenge. Now I believe that this current administration is serious about making a move. Few things I’ve seen showed me that they are serious, but what they are going to do about that, I don’t know. Let us remember, it is not just about the Executives, the major culprits in this situation is the Senate, and the House of Representatives.

“So if the legislatures do not do their works, the executives cannot also do it. From what I have heard recently in the briefing of the chairman of senate committee on upstream, he stated clearly that they are working on it, and I know that they are working on it.”

He argued that as the nation and investors await passage of PIGB, there is need for continued capacity building in the sector.

“Way forward is to continue to build local capacity in a very structured manner looking at long term plan. Being able to continue to invest in the oil and gas industry irrespective of the price regime,” he said.

Furthermore, Okwuosa posited that it is time for government to take its role in providing enabling environment for investors and formulate policies that will encourage more investment into the sector.

“Government should understand they have no business owning assets in oil and gas sector. Government’s duty is to regulate, tax and utilize the tax proceeds for the development of the country. Anytime you allow government to claim ownership of assets through Joint Ventures (JV) or other means, it will not work because they are not structured to manage business.

“Countries like the United States (US) doesn’t own any oil and gas assets, so far as you collect your tax and allow the private individuals to run their businesses, they will create capacity and make you collect more money in tax revenue which is a better way of doing business,” he said.

On how to address the challenge of high spate of pipeline vandalism in the Niger delta region, Okwuosa opined that “Government has to set up a system to guide the pipeline because it is a national asset. It is a very strategic national asset because anywhere in the world, you guide your pipelines. Either by using technology, engage the communities around there by putting up a proper security including military security, but you have to guide your pipelines.”

Pipelines are built based on what is called ‘engineering codes’.

“And these codes determine the way you scope the project, the way you scope the specifications of the projects and once that is done by the clients, our job is to build to that specifications. There are many ways to secure a pipeline, but the most important way to secure a pipeline is the engagement of stakeholders including the government, the community and all manners of people that have direct impact on the pipeline.

“There are various forms of technology like the defiled optic system, that’s not being installed in the pipeline because it wasn’t part of the original scope.

But what we have to know is that anybody that is tampering with a gas pipeline is a clear sabotage because you don’t tamper with gas pipeline to steal the gas.

“So, the incidence of gas pipeline vandalism is such that is not normal and not usual. Whenever it happens, it means that whoever that has gone up to vandalize the pipeline cannot be easily stopped because it is an act of sabotage,” he said.

Explaining how his company had tackled host communities’ unrest permanently in the course of their operations, he stated that “We have a process that has been working for us for years. Don’t forget that we are the only oil service company that was operating fully in repairs and recapitalization of pipelines between 2001-2008 when militancy was at its peak. We managed to operate in the middle of the swamp.

“So the trick is very simple, it is a matter of being able to understand what it should be, having a proper process in place to address them and be able to engage the community in a sustainable manner. If you deal with them, agree on anything and you do those things, when you come back, they will receive you.

“But when they see you as somebody that usually take advantage of them, there will be problems. It has to be a consistent relationship. This is from service company point of view, you can not solve the entire problem doing it that way. You require engagement of oil and gas producers, because after our works, they will remain there.

“The government has a lot to do on how they organize communities and how they make sure the communities become stakeholders in all they do. When the communities are shut out from theses processes, then they revert to where and how they can do something.”

Besides, the African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development argued that non passage of PIB within the first quarter of 2017 would further plunge the economy into more hardship. It stated that the delay in passing PIB has hurt the economy heavily which is mainly dependent on crude oil proceeds.

Other stakeholders including human rights activists, labour leaders and oil and gas experts believed that the PIB is so central to the survival of the Nigerian oil and gas sector and its passage would bring clarity on fiscal terms and perhaps attracts more investors into the sector.