…As reps assures of speedy passage of PIB
The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation,
NNPC, Mallam Mele Kyari, has said that the absence of a stable fiscal
environment is inhibiting the growth of the Nigerian petroleum industry, especially
the upstream sector.
Mallam Kyari, who stated this while playing host to members of the House of
Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream) who were on an
oversight visit to the Corporation recently, said international investors were losing
confidence in the nation’s oil and gas industry and tasked the lawmakers to act fast
and arrest the situation.
“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,” the GMD stated.
He said foreign capital was needed in the upstream sector and that the only way to
attract it was to have stable laws and a friendly business environment that could
guarantee cost recovery and a decent return on investment for investors.
He disclosed that the uncertainty in the sector created by the long delay in the
passage of the PIB has led to a number of divestments from the country in the
recent past.
The GMD also stated that the drive by the management of NNPC to entrench the
culture of transparency in the Corporation has improved its business fortunes and
creditworthiness as lenders are now willing to grant credit to it.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Musa Sarki Adar, expressed
the readiness of his committee to provide the necessary support for the Corporation
to discharge its duties without hindrance.
He acknowledged the Corporation’s efforts at deepening transparency and
accountability, stressing that the Committee was impressed with the level of
professionalism exhibited by the NNPC Management and the leadership role
played by the GMD in rallying the oil and gas industry to provide support for the
Federal Government’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
