Urhoghide solicits N’Deltans’ support for Petroleum Industry Act

The chairman of Senate Committee on Appropriation, Senator Matthew Urhoghide (Edo South) has cleared the air on the misconception that the 30 per cent of profit from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited will be used for the development of the North.

Urhoghide, who maintained that he was at the centre of the passage of the bill, solicited the cooperation of Niger Delta leaders for the success of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), which was recently signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari, explaining that the belief that 30 per cent of the profit from NNPC which amounted to $320 million yearly is solely devoted to the development of the North was a misconception.

He said that the money was meant for investment in the six frontier basins which include Chad, Anambra, Ebonyi, Kwara, Gombe and elsewhere.

He said: “These are new areas where frontier basins have been existing but have not been explored for oil before now. Those are what we call the new acreages that are being opened besides existing frontier basins and that is what the money will be used for. Again, that money is an investment and not a commitment. It is a business venture for NNPC. It is a misconception that the money will be used in the North.”

Urhoghide defended the act, insisting that the lawmakers had no choice but to pass the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB)

The senator explained further that the oil companies initially proposed 2.5 per cent but the upper legislative arm recommended five per cent, noting that it was however, disheartening when three per cent was passed.

“We invited the General Managing Director of NNPC and the Minister of State for Petroleum to brief the senate on the day we debated the bill and they came up with all these details for us to see. Some of us were scared of the Venezuelan experience where investors said they are no longer going because the 10 per cent conditions given by the government are not right. At present, there is a trend going on where people are no longer interested in oil as a source of energy. Now, there are electric cars and nobody wants to use petrol or diesel to drive their engines anymore. So, most countries are trying to quickly use their oil resources to build up other national assets and because of that, fossil fuel has become another source. Renewable energy sources are opening up in the world.

“We are cut in between because we have a mono economy which is based on crude oil. With that realisation, our brothers in the north and south said we should allow the investors to come in first because in the last 10 years we have not had investments in that area. It is really offshore facilities we are using to build the activities in the oil sector.”

“So, we try to manage all the provisions of this bill; it must be a win-win between the people who are privileged to have it as a natural resource and the people who are investing. So, we must be able to strike a balance to say we want them to invest because we can’t do it ourselves, and we too want to get the benefit of having it as a blessing,” he said.

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