*Mike Sangster
Abuja — Mike Sangster, the Managing Director of TotalEnergies upstream oil and gas business in Nigeria, has commended the Federal Government and the National Assembly for the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).
Sangster said this at the Industry Leaders panel at the ongoing Nigeria oil and Gas Conference in Abuja on Wednesday.
He spoke on the topic ‘What is the future outlook for investment into Nigeria’s energy sector’
“Navigating to pass the PIB by the National Assembly is a great one and both the federal government and the assembly deserve commendation.
“We look forward to the harmonisation of the bill and we hope to see a working document that will enhance the sector.
“The collaboration between the Executive and the Legislature is very important for the desire to have a bill that will work for the country,” he said.
According to him, Nigeria has huge reserve of oil that will take about 50 years to develop, no one knows how the demand will be in the future.
He said the PIB would go a long way to facilitate the needed investment that would drive growth and stability in the sector.
He said that with global drive for energy transition, Nigeria must work hard to ensure that it continued to remain relevant in the system.
He said the key things that affected the sector which the bill must tackle included security, insuring incentivizing, the oil bearing communities, infrastructure development among others.
He said that infrastructure development would help to encourage domestic gas demand as the country moves to develop gas.
He said effort must be made to improve on logistics, contract clarity among others adding that production cost reduction must be key priority.
Richard Kennedy, the Managing Director, Chevron Nigeria/Mid-Africa Business Unit, said the national assembly did a fantastic job in the passage of the PIB.
“We are looking forward to seeing the final version which we believe will enhance operations in the sector,” he said.
He noted that following the COVID-19 pandemic and the global discussion on energy transition, the passage of the PIB was a step in the right direction.
Mr Osagie Okunbor, the Managing Director, Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria, congratulated the legislature on the passage of the PIB.
“We tried to hold them responsible during the Nigeria Petroleum Summit and we are happy to hear that the bill has been passed.
“We want to believe that the harmonised bill will meet the demands and expectations of the industry,” he said.
He said the role of the oil bearing communities was central in sustainability of operations in the industry, especially with the protection of infrastructure.
“Protecting the infrastructure is key, when they are affected, production is affected.
”Most pipelines are needs reconciliation factors because only about 56 per cent of products is being delivered, 44 per cent disappears and these are material for the country.
“If we get the bill right and incentivize the host communities, we will all be better for it,” he said.
