It was cheering news when federal legislators ended their 20-year foot-dragging on the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB). The bill was first sent to the National Assembly in December 2008 by the then President Umaru Yar’Adua. But it was never signed into law due to objections from the International Oil Companies (IOCs) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) over certain contents. Again in 2018, a version of the Bill, the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB), was passed by the 8th National Assembly. However, President Muhammadu Buhari refused to assent to it. President Buhari on September 29, 2020, transmitted the current PIB to the legislators.


The new PIB was titled: ‘A Bill for an Act to Provide Legal, Governance, Regulatory and Fiscal Framework for the Nigerian Petroleum Industry, the Development of Host Community and for Related Matters’. The Bill, which was beset by disagreements, eventually awarded a three percent development fund to host communities.
Nigeria, due to corruption, inefficiency, high production costs, and security concerns, is said to have drawn only a small fraction of global petroleum investments. The PIB is supposed to provide a clearer framework for oil companies working in Nigeria, which currently produces around 1.9 million Barrels Per Day (BPD). It is also to attract new foreign investment to the country’s struggling petroleum industry.

The Bill also gives the legal power for the government to remove fuel subsidies. But if assented by the President, analysts feel petrol price will rise to as much as N280 per litre. Industry analysts are of the view that it is unripe for Nigerians to rejoice at the passage of the Bill, stressing that there are still many hurdles ahead of it.
https://thejournalnigeria.com/pib-oil-sector-nation/