OpeOluwani Akintayo
14 February 2018, Sweetcrude, Lagos — Minister of States, Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu has revealed the two oil and gas policy bills currently under negotiation in the National Assembly.
The minister while fielding questions from journalists at an event in Lagos on Tuesday, said the fiscal policy bill and host community bill are currently being debated in the House.
According to him, the two policies are part of the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill, PGIB which already had the gas and Petroleum bill and the governance bill passed.
“We have passed the gas and petroleum policies. We are negotiating the fiscal policy. But in fairness to the Assembly, they have passed the PIGB which is a good feat after eight years. The Host community bill is also being considered. We are working together, and there are lots of interest to be satisfied when passing these policies but for the fact that that the main one, governance bill has been passed is a very good one”.
However, Kachikwu said irrespective of the legislative aspect of the policy, the government is driving the practical aspect in terms of bringing investment which, according to him, is essential to keep the country going.
He added that investments in the sector “are booming”.
“The Egina FSPO is a $16 billion investment. Bonga is between $9b-11b, Zabazaba is fairly a healthy sum too.”
Talking about infrastructure, the minister said they are “ready for revamping”.
“There are so many opportunities. What we need is to get the policies and incentives to drive this policy”, he said.
