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Uche Usim, Abuja
Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Mr Timipre Sylva on Thursday assured Nigerians the long-awaited Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) currently with the National Assembly will be passed before May this year.
Sylva said the hopes of passing the bill is premised on the existing harmonious relationship between the executive and legislative arms of government.
Speaking at his maiden press briefing with energy journalists in Abuja, the Minister said engagements with international oil companies on the recovery $62 billion, arising from a 2018 Supreme Court ruling that enabled it to increase its share of income from production-sharing contracts, were ongoing.
According to him, the matter remains a sensitive one as using a harsh approach could drive away the IOCs and hurt the Nigerian economy in the process.
Sylva said: “The Nigerian government is aware that there is no
$62 billion anywhere. This is a matter of engagement. Anyone calling for my sack can continue to do so. It’s a court issue. Discussions are ongoing”, he said.
On the PIB, the Minister described it as a vital legislative document that when passed into law, will grow the fortunes of the country.
“Team work with stakeholders on PIB is at the final stage of finalization. It’ll create an enabling environment for investors to thrive.”
Sylva said the goal of the Ministry under his watch is to take the petroleum industry to the next level, saying “it has not moved very fast and I am the first person to admit it.”
He regretted that a few years ago, Nigeria produced over two million barrels of crude oil per day.
“Then, we had targeted to move to three and then four million bpd. As at that time, UAE was producing 2.7 million bpd now it has grown it to 4 million bpd as at today.
“We were not even stagnant. We have moved backwards. As at today, we’re producing 1.774m according to OPEC quota.
We have the mandate to grow it. That’s the mandate of President Muhammadu Buhari.
On plans by the Ministry to end fuel importation, Sylva said plans were afoot to fix the ailing refineries by signing a contract with the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) who were hitherto excluded in earlier efforts to fix them.
He also revealed that the management of the refineries by government was a huge challenge because of the incredible bureaucracy that impedes smooth operations of the facilities.
“So, government bureaucracy cannot be applied to the management of refineries plus other leakages.
We’re trying to ensure that we will put an operation and management contract in place after they’re fixed that they can function optimally,” he added.
The Minister also revealed that two regulators were being considered for the mid-stream and downstream sub-sectors of the industry.
He also noted that the government was determined more than ever before to tackle the issue of insecurity in the oil region headlong to guarantee growth of the economy.
“We’re doing that by We are deploying ICT, engagement of unemployed youth in building modular refineries, revamp security architecture, increase supply to underserved areas, increase community stakeholder engagements, among others,” he said.
He also said Nigerians will be made to utilize the compressed natural gas (CNG) which is cheaper than petrol as a way of cutting down on energy expenses.
