ngrclimatereports August 10th, 2009
Dr. Rilwan Lukman
The Guardian, Lagos, August 5, 2009: IF the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), a document put together by the Oil and Gas Reform Implementation Committee (OGIC) headed by the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Dr. Rilwanu Lukman that is currently before the National Assembly sails through, Nigeria may soon witness a major structural and administrative changes in the management and running of the nation’s oil and gas industry, writes Yakubu Lawal.
Lukman said the proposed bill would result in a significant increase in transparency.
“From now on, petroleum prospecting licences and petroleum mining leases can only be granted by the Minister through a truly competitive bidding process. Such process will be open and accessible to all qualified companies,”he said. Continue Reading »
ngrclimatereports August 6th, 2009
By: George Oji and Ejiofor Alike (Abuja )
Liyel Imoke
THIS DAY, August 5, 2009: The controversy surrounding the exclusion of payment of royalties to oil-producing communities in the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) is about to be resolved.
The original bill gave five per cent of the royalties to the community and 25 per cent to the states where the oil is produced.
It was, however, withdrawn and a second bill was introduced in which the host communities would not be entitled to any interest if passed. Continue Reading »
ngrclimatereports August 6th, 2009
By: Yakubu Lawal and Taiwo Hassan
NNPC
The Guardian, Lagos, August 5, 2009: STRONG boardroom politics fuelled by the envisaged passage of the controversial Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) by the National Assembly has taken a toll on the much-publicised Nigerian content also known as local content policy in the oil and gas industry.
At the centre of the dispute over which regulator controls and drives the policy is the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). The ministry, which for now has gained the upper hand in the “supremacy contest”, has removed the local content policy from the jurisdiction of the NNPC. Hitherto, the NNPC had a local content department headed by a senior official. Continue Reading »
ngrclimatereports August 6th, 2009
Daily Trust, Abuja, August 5, 2009
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Society For Petroleum Engineers
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Dr Goodluck Jonathan
The Federal government Monday sought the support of petroleum engineers for speedy passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill currently before the National Assembly.
Vice President GoodLuck Jonathan, who called for the support in Abuja at the 33rd Conference of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), explained that the bill, when passed into law will ensure that petroleum business in the country is done in accordance with the principles of good governance, transparency and sustainable economic development. Continue Reading »
ngrclimatereports August 3rd, 2009
Press Release, Amnesty International, July 31, 2009
The Petroleum Industry Bill, currently being considered by the national legislature, reflects the most comprehensive review of the legal framework for the oil and gas sector in Nigeria since the industry began commercial operations in the 1960s.
Civil society groups working on the Niger Delta and with communities in the oil producing areas welcome the initiative to review and revise the legal framework. This provides an important opportunity to ensure that the social and human rights impacts of the oil industry are adequately addressed. The lack of effective regulation of the social and human rights impacts of the industry has been a significant problem for decades and addressing this issue was one of the main recommendations of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in its 2002 decision on the Ogoni Communication. Continue Reading »
ngrclimatereports August 3rd, 2009
Benin City interview
by Simon Ebegbulem,
Vanguard, 31 July 2009
Former Provost Marshal of the Nigeria Army and Chairman of the South South Elders and Leaders Forum (SSELF), Brig.Gen. Don Idada Ikpomnwen is one of the foremost leaders in the Niger Delta struggle who has never ceased expressing his frustration in what he described as the unserious attitude of the Federal Government towards finding lasting solution to the Niger Delta crisis. He described as an insult and a slap on the face of the people of the Niger Delta, the proposed up-grading of the Petroleum Institute in Kaduna by the Federal Government. He expressed the angst of the elders and leaders of the region towards the policies of the President Yar’Adua-led administration so far and declared that what the people need now is action and not rhetoric. Continue Reading »
ngrclimatereports August 3rd, 2009
By Sufuyan Ojeifo and Onwuka Nzeshi
Senator David Mark
Abuja, THISDAY, July 31, 2009 But for Senate President, Senator David Mark’s deft move, the Senate would have been embroiled in ethnic feud on account of the call Wednesday by the South-South Caucus in the Senate that the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) be withdrawn.
The Caucus had also called on President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua to immediately sack the Minister of Petroleum resources, Dr. Rilwanu Lukman for his anti-Niger Delta actions since stepping in the saddle.
It specifically cited the allleged lopsided reorganisation in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) as another example of the minister’s actions. Continue Reading »
ngrclimatereports August 3rd, 2009
By Levi Ajuonuma
I am writing on the just-concluded public hearing on the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) for many reasons, chief among which is that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) where I currently work is a major stakeholder in any issue dealing with oil and gas exploration in Nigeria.
The NNPC, along with the other parastatals under the supervision of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, feels very strong that this review of laws governing the management of our nation’s hydro-carbon resources is long over due. As soon as President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua submitted a Bill backing up the much needed reforms in the oil and gas industry, the Oil and Gas Implementation Committee (OGIC) went into action putting together an inter-agency memorandum on the Bill as submitted by the President. Continue Reading »
