The frequent amendments to the key Petroleum Industrial Act could hamper investment in the nation’s oil and gas sector, Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has warned.
President of PENGASSAN, Comrade Festus Osifo, who raised the concerns at the ongoing 4th Petroleum and Energy Advancement and Leadership Summit (PEALS) Wednesday in Abuja, said frequent reviews and amendments of laws and policies does not create the needed stability investors seek.
“The recent amendment to PIA by removing the fiscal section and transferring it to the Nigeria Tax Administration Act has created some level of anxiety in the industry. As if this is not enough, there are plans to further distort the act by a series of proposed amendments.
“Amendments to laws are inevitable, but not done haphazardly and intermittently even before those the laws are intended to serve understand what it contains.
“Investors certainly need medium to long term planning. Policy summersault and frequent changes to laws doesn’t aid stability. At best, it is a disincentive to investment,” he said.
The union leader applauded the recent executive orders signed by President Bola Tinubu which he described as steps in the right direction and noted that they would boost oil production, advance.gas development, and streamline contracting processes.
Lamenting the unsafe conditions some workers were exposed and compelled to work under, Osifo said every worker in the oil and gas industry deserves to return home safely.
“Unsafe conditions must never be the price of resilience. From the creeks to offshore platforms, every worker deserves a secure environment, robust safety processes, continuous training, advanced technologies and transparent reporting,” he said.
Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Bayo Ojulari, said the company was determined to put in place sustainable solutions that would make all refineries in the country fully operational.
He said the organised labour, government and the oil and gas industry must work together to de-risk the oil and gas sector, attract and return investments.
“This new NNPC’s drive includes restructuring our joint venture, monetize our assets, and investing in critical infrastructure such as upgrading our existing pipeline as well as building new ones, upgrading our gas hubs as well as building new ones.
“We are determined to make sure that our refineries work. With the spending, a lot of detailed reviews, taking all the learnings, we are driven by the fact that the Nigerian states and the future of Nigeria’s success is opposed to any individual,” he said.
SOURCE: blueprint.ng
