Nigeria Needs Petroleum Industry Law Now – Funmi Ogbue
The Managing Director of Jake Riley, Funmi Ogbue, has emphasised the need for the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) to be passed into law, saying the prolonged period of uncertainty is dampening the enthusiasm of prospective investors with interests in Nigeria.
Ogbue, who gave the advice in her closing remarks at the Nigeria Oil and Gas Opportunity Fair (NOGOF) 2021 which held virtually last week, urged state actors, investors, operators, and service companies alike to take advantage of the identified opportunities at the confab
“We must deliberately move away from the regular practice of gathering to recite our national issues without a clear path forward. Thankfully, that has not been the scenario with NOGOF. Anyone can pick up the previous compendiums from the last two editions of NOGOF to do a comparison with actual realities. The same is true of this year’s compendium of opportunities which will also be published soon. Along with the communique, these documents form a compass for the industry, and we follow them religiously in order to plan, collaborate and build capacity towards keeping the industry spend in-country.
“However, I’m appealing to the representatives of government who participated and committed to the driving implementation of key policies and legislation. We need the PIB now more than ever before.
“The prolonged period of uncertainty is dampening the enthusiasm of prospective investors with interests in Nigeria. It is true that the contracting cycle is being reduced from what it used to be by service level agreements (SLA), but we need specific enabling laws that will cement these policies and give industry players the confidence of operating in a very competitive environment without fear of sudden interruptions. It can’t be business as usual to see Nigeria attract a paltry five per cent of investment inflows into Africa as registered for the period between 2015 and 2019,” Ogbue said.
Among several topical issues, some operators and service companies pointed to the opportunities in collocating projects and joint ownership of pipelines and other assets. From economies of scale to judicious use of scarce resources and available facilities, even down to industrialisation of areas and zones, there were submissions from panellists around benefits of collaboration.
Besides, the NNPC condensate refinery program targeting the continuous supply of feedstock to mini refineries is expected to gain traction in the coming months with PMS and DPK in view as end products. Previous NOGOF had highlighted the potential with modular refineries and the intervening plans by NCDMB. Today, the reality is that modular refineries are springing up in different parts of the country. This has broken the jinx that held 40 out of the 44 active licensees back as of 2018 from translating their licenses into actual projects.
Ogbue appreciated the Executive Secretary of National Content Development Monitoring Board, Engr. Simbi Wabote, for the opportunity, granted Jake Riley to organise the event.
She also thanked the opportunity presenters, sponsors, panellists, media partners and her team at Jake Riley.
Source: Independent.ng
