The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has urged the government to simplify the fiscal provisions in the Petroleum Industry Fiscal Bill (PIFB) to ensure easy implementation of the law for developing oil and gas industry
Dr Maikanti Baru, group managing director of NNPC, said this during the Senate Joint Committee Public Hearing on the Petroleum Industry Fiscal Bill (PIFB), Petroleum Host and Impacted Communities Development Bill (PHICDB) and Petroleum Industry Administration Bill (PIAB) at the National Assembly.
NNPC advocated for incentivising oil and gas operations to attract international investment into the country.
According to Baru, Nigeria needs to leave out all regulatory issues in the Bill to ensure progressivity and empower the regulatory commission to effectively regulate the oil and gas industry.
NNPC has extended its full support of the Petroleum Industry Reform Bill which has now been broken into regulatory, operational and administrative segments for easy passage.
Baru added, “It is laudable to note that the Governance Bill has been passed by the Legislature while the Fiscal Bill, Administration Bill, and the Host and Impacted Communities Development Bill are going through legislative processes.”
“NNPC appreciates the opportunity to review these bills and we have employed our deep expertise and experiences in the industry to assess their provisions and will gladly make contributions that will not only enforce the desires of the National Assembly but will ensure that the reform bills when passed into law meet the expectations of Nigerians and investors alike,” Baru stated.
Earlier, Kabiru Marafa, lead Senate Committee chairman, said that the public hearing on the three bills was the first time that the National Assembly was sponsoring the bills for easy consideration and speedy passage of regulations that would lead to the reform of the Nigerian oil and gas industry.
