As Nigerians awaits the passage of the highly anticipated Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, experts in the Oil & Gas Industry has called on the federal government to create incentives that will make international organisations committed to Nigeria.
Speaking at Stakeholders’ forum in Lagos, Professor of Petroleum Energy Economics, Omowumi Iledare, who is also Fellow EI Professor Emeritus, LSU Energy Studies, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA Ghana National Petroleum Research Chari, UCC Oil and Gas Institute, Ghana Executive Director, Emmanuel Egbogah Foundation Abuja and Nigeria Director, Africa Region, Society of Petroleum Engineers International, Dallas said the PIB must not be about government making money but creating value for the future.
Iledare who spoke on the topic, ‘Reforming the Oil & Gas sector in Nigeria- PIB 2020 Fiscals (Improving Competitiveness and Attractiveness of Nigeria as an Investment Destination)’, said the proposed PIB remains a veritable tool towards ensuring needed reform of the oil and gas sector in Nigeria.
“The reformation of the Oil and Gas sector begins with fiscal terms, Nigerian government is not nurturing the Oil and Gas Industry, that is the reason why the country is where it is today”, maintained Iledare.
Speaking further, he said government must move away from thinking that the budget must be funded, adding that this is the time to for the government to sacrifice for the sake of the future without necessarily breaking. He said oil as a source of revenue is destructive.
“Nigeria has all it takes to move away from dependence in oil. It is better to have a lot of people employed than to have a lot of people dependent. At times, the government needs to let go, while creating incentives, corporate rewards for risk investments are inevitable. It is better to export petroleum products than crude”, he stressed.
Iledare, further noted that the PIB is not only for today alone, “it is also for the future. “We must ensure that we develop our system to absorb whatever shocks that comes.
He said a good fiscal framework must be flexible to change with trend to help bring the desired investments.
“We need an effective policy for the sector to enable the country to effectively use oil revenue to develop other sectors of the economy. We need to create business hub to grow our economy, this is what PIB will facilitate when passed into law,” he added.
Also speaking at the event, the Senior Partner, Primera Africa Legal Director, Aspen Energy, Israel Aye, said that without good fiscal and legal framework, no investment would be made in the sector.
He said that no investor would invest in a place of uncertainty, adding that none would also want to invest where it would incur loses.
The Primera Africa Legal Director, further stated that legal framework is capable of attracting investment, stressing the need for independence of the oil sector regulator.
