Senate Passes Petroleum Industry Governance Bill

Cross Section Of Nigeria Senate

The Senate have passed the Petroleum Industry Bill.

The report on the bill, produced by the Senate joint committee on gas, petroleum (downstream) and petroleum (upstream), was presented on Thursday by Donald Alasoadura, APC-Ondo

Senate President Bukola Saraki while commenting on the bill said “This is a Bill #PIGB that has been here for many years, we made a commitment and it’s being fulfilled.

Continuing, Saraki said, “this Bill is not only for Nigerians but for our investors. We are proud of what has been done.”

The PIG bill was read the third time at the Senate’s plenary before it was passed.

The PIGB was passed after the Senate, in the Committee of the Whole, considered the Report of the Committee on Petroleum Upstream, Petroleum Downstream and Gas presented by Senator Donald Alasoadura.

If eventually passed by the House of Representatives and signed by the president, the bill will restructure some organisations like the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and the Department of Petroleum Resources, while setting up new ones like the National Oil Company and the National Petroleum Assets Management Commission, NPAMC.

The NOC, as proposed in the bill, will be an “integrated oil and gas company operating as a fully commercial entity and will run like a private company”, while the NPAMC will be a “single petroleum regulatory commission which will focus mainly on regulating the industry”.
The commission will also have responsibility for health and safety regulations in the industry, while collaborating with the Ministry of Environment on environmental issues.