TheCable

The presidency has finalised plans to submit the petroleum industry bill to the senate next week, Reuters is reporting.

According to the news agency, President Muhammadu Buhari has signed the draft.

The petroleum industry bill, which has been in the works for 20 years is expected to cause reforms in the oil and gas sector.

Some of the provisions included in previous versions of the bill include restructuring of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), reducing the powers of the petroleum minister and delegating the duties to the NNPC board.

In 2018, the national assembly under the leadership of Bukola Saraki and Ike Ekweremadu sent the bill to Buhari for presidential assent.

However, the president declined saying the bill reduced his powers as petroleum minister and lacked fiscal content.

The COVID-19 pandemic and lowered oil prices have made it necessary for Nigeria to put in place legislation that will attract investment.

Mele Kyari, the NNPC group managing director, to lawmakers during a courtesy call to the corporation on Wednesday that non-passage of the PIB is making investors lose interest in Nigeria.

“We need to act quickly to move from this unstable situation to a very stable one and the only way is for us to get the petroleum industry bill (PIB) to work so that countries and investors can work with us,” he had said.

Kyari said upstream section of the sector needs foreign capital and the only way to attract such is to have stable laws and a friendly business environment that guarantee cost recovery and a decent return on investment for investors.