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LAST UPDATED AT Mon Nov, 15 2010
Anxiety as PIB date for passage draws near

The Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) at the weekend struck another anxiety among oil firms in Nigeria as date for the passage of the bill draws near.

Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezni Alison-Madueke, had earlier stated that the National Assembly might pass the bill before the end of December.

This is expected to pave the way for a new exploration licensing round, the country’s presidential advisor on energy, Emmanuel Egbogah, added.

But findings by **Daily Independent** at the weekend showed that many oil firms that have earlier opposed to the fiscal provisions in the bill still believe that the federal government has not rectified the sections.

“It is likely to be passed by the year end,” Egbogah told Reuters in New Delhi where he is attending an energy conference.

Egbogah said once the legislation is approved, Nigeria would launch its next oil exploration licensing round in the first half of 2011.

The Federal Government says the bill will make state oil firm, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), more transparent; encourage investment; promote local oil company involvement in the industry, and increase gas supplies to the dilapidated domestic power sector.

But international oil companies like Royal Dutch Shell, Exxon Mobil, Total and Chevron, which have dominated Nigeria’s energy sector for decades, are worried the Bill will impose higher taxes and royalties while failing to address key issues of under-funding, corruption and security.

The Bill has been repeatedly delayed by revisions and disagreement.

But on Monday, Egbogah said all the terms relating to the bill have been finalised.

He also said Nigeria is currently producing 2.6 to 2.7 million barrels of oil per day (bpd) versus an output capacity of 3.6 million bpd.

Crude oil supplies from the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) which, together produce over a third of global oil supplies, rose in October because of higher supply from Angola and smaller increases from other members, reducing adherence to agreed output targets, a Reuters survey showed on Friday.

When asked about China’s bid to lock in oil reserves in Nigeria, Egbogah said, “discussions have not progressed.”
China had offered to invest $50 billion to acquire 6 billion barrels of Nigerian oil reserves in proposal made in June 2009.

http://www.independentngonline.com/DailyIndependent/Article.aspx?id=23866