By Elisha Bala-Gbogbo
December 3, 2009 03:04AMT print email
The federal government's interagency technical team on the Petroleum Industry Bill is racing to produce yet another draft of the bill barely three weeks after a new version was completed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)-led group, an industry source revealed on Wednesday.
The need for another draft was prompted after it was discovered that certain clauses inserted in the bill by Tim Okon, NNPC's Group General Manger on Strategy, seem unworkable and might require some amendments.
The interagency team, led by Mr. Okon, the NNPC's chief strategist, comprises the Ministries of Petroleum Resources, Finance and Justice, as well as the Department of Petroleum Resources, the Federal Inland Revenue Service, the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission and the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.
It was gathered that a new draft is in the works after the Lee Maeba-led Senate committee on upstream petroleum rejected the provisions put forward by the NNPC chief strategist. The provision centred on the gas sector, which the international oil companies have also criticised.
The changes Mr. Okon made included the removal of the National Petroleum Management Agency and replacing it with the National Midstream Regulatory Agency, that was neither considered in the original documents nor approved by the presidency.
This prompted the Petroleum Resources Minister, Rilwanu Lukman, to invite Pedro Van Muers, the international consultant to the ministry on the PIB. Petroleum ministry sources say Mr. Van Muers had amended some of the provisions made by Mr. Okon and others, in some places, reverting to industry standard from the provisions customised by the NNPC strategist.
Work on PIB delayed
This implies that the National Assembly's responsibility of reviewing and amending the bill will be delayed further than expected; a situation that will further delay the eventual passage of the bill into law.
This is despite the Senate concluding most of its work on the bill, having written its own version on the basis of the original PIB version sent to the National Assembly from the presidency.
Since the Senate rejected the interagency team's provisions, particularly those relating to the midstream, the team now has its work cut out as it has become pertinent for the group to get its version adopted by the House of Representatives and hope that the lower arm of the National Assembly can prevail on the Senate in the final readings by the joint Senate and house committees to adopt its own version.
To this end, Mr. Okon spent two days with the House committee members, who were more amenable to his nationalistic view on the bill, in Warri in mid November. He is said to be unhappy with Mr. Van Muers' adjustments. Mr. Okon's argument is why the Minister would need an international expert to work on the bill when the NNPC has the necessary expertise to get the job done; this position finds favour among the committee members.
According to Bassey Otu, the deputy chairman, House committee on upstream petroleum, "There's no way we're going to change our provisions because what we're doing is in the national interest. We want what is best for Nigeria; what we've done is what is obtainable in other jurisdictions."
December 3, 2009 03:04AMT print email
The federal government's interagency technical team on the Petroleum Industry Bill is racing to produce yet another draft of the bill barely three weeks after a new version was completed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)-led group, an industry source revealed on Wednesday.
The need for another draft was prompted after it was discovered that certain clauses inserted in the bill by Tim Okon, NNPC's Group General Manger on Strategy, seem unworkable and might require some amendments.
The interagency team, led by Mr. Okon, the NNPC's chief strategist, comprises the Ministries of Petroleum Resources, Finance and Justice, as well as the Department of Petroleum Resources, the Federal Inland Revenue Service, the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission and the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.
It was gathered that a new draft is in the works after the Lee Maeba-led Senate committee on upstream petroleum rejected the provisions put forward by the NNPC chief strategist. The provision centred on the gas sector, which the international oil companies have also criticised.
The changes Mr. Okon made included the removal of the National Petroleum Management Agency and replacing it with the National Midstream Regulatory Agency, that was neither considered in the original documents nor approved by the presidency.
This prompted the Petroleum Resources Minister, Rilwanu Lukman, to invite Pedro Van Muers, the international consultant to the ministry on the PIB. Petroleum ministry sources say Mr. Van Muers had amended some of the provisions made by Mr. Okon and others, in some places, reverting to industry standard from the provisions customised by the NNPC strategist.
Work on PIB delayed
This implies that the National Assembly's responsibility of reviewing and amending the bill will be delayed further than expected; a situation that will further delay the eventual passage of the bill into law.
This is despite the Senate concluding most of its work on the bill, having written its own version on the basis of the original PIB version sent to the National Assembly from the presidency.
Since the Senate rejected the interagency team's provisions, particularly those relating to the midstream, the team now has its work cut out as it has become pertinent for the group to get its version adopted by the House of Representatives and hope that the lower arm of the National Assembly can prevail on the Senate in the final readings by the joint Senate and house committees to adopt its own version.
To this end, Mr. Okon spent two days with the House committee members, who were more amenable to his nationalistic view on the bill, in Warri in mid November. He is said to be unhappy with Mr. Van Muers' adjustments. Mr. Okon's argument is why the Minister would need an international expert to work on the bill when the NNPC has the necessary expertise to get the job done; this position finds favour among the committee members.
According to Bassey Otu, the deputy chairman, House committee on upstream petroleum, "There's no way we're going to change our provisions because what we're doing is in the national interest. We want what is best for Nigeria; what we've done is what is obtainable in other jurisdictions."
Mr. Okon, a former senior executive at ExxonMobil, is widely known for his nationalistic views on the petroleum industry reforms; a posture the International Oil Companies (IOCs) find uncomfortable. But with the support of Mohammed Barkindo, the NNPC Group Managing Director, Mr. Okon is leading the charge for an NNPC agenda that will maximise its control of the proposed Incorporated Joint Ventures (IJVs) and reduce the influence of the IOCs. As the leader of the intergovernmental team, the NNPC chief strategist has refused to guarantee the IOCs that they will retain the same percentage of equity they hold under the joint venture arrangement when the IJVs take off.
Source: http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Money/Business/5490541-147/Petroleum_industry_bill_controversy_assumes_a.csp
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