₦airaland Forum

• Says TSA right step towards transparency, fiscal discipline
• How I was ‘arrested’ from Canada to draft PIB’
• Petroleum Industry Bill must be reworked’
• Why I rejected Obasanjo, Yar’Adua’s ministerial offers’
• Kaduna refinery can't work; not designed to refine light oil.
• How the 6th and 7th senate, GEJ and Diezani bastardized the PIB’


Dr. Emmanuel Egbogah, who has varied experience and earned a reputation as ‘Mr. Fix’ in the global oil and gas industry, for his pioneering work in Venezuela, Brazil and Canada, was co-opted by former President Olusegun Obasanjo to draft the foremost version of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) together with former minister for petroleum resources, late Dr. Rilwan Lukman . . .


I am more worried than any other person. It is a shame that Nigeria, the sixth largest exporter of oil and the tenth largest reserve owner in the world, is importing its petroleum product. We have four refineries that don’t work. It is not made to work by those who have special interests . . .

I made my case to Yar’Adua. I told him the subsidy we are paying was more than enough to construct this refinery that will produce 600,000 barrels per day. I said, count the Kaduna refinery out; count it out because it is so obsolete, so bad that there is no way it will ever produce oil. Even today, I don’t care what they tell you, it can never function properly; it is impossible.
What exactly makes it impossible?
It is an analogue refinery.

Different from Warri and Port Harcourt plants?
For Warri and Port Harcourt facilities, I can put my money on them when they are properly rehabilitated, not the Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) they do every day and nothing works. They need to be rehabilitated but the authorities are wasting money. The TAM was awarded to people on political bases; it is not awarded to a company that does refineries. It is awarded to a party man, whose company is still doing the maintenance till today . . .

Seven years back, 18 licences were granted to people, who said they want to build refineries; those licences where granted on the basis that those people who want to build refineries would get crude allocations. All those efforts were to get crude.
But the promoters of the private refineries would have to complete their plants before they could get crude?

Yes. at that time, indigenous operators were given some encouragement; some of them were given some crude to help them grow. So, people rushed to apply so that they could get this crude allocation and they were never going to build any refineries . . .

A private sector operator contacted me and I led him to India. He believed that I knew how to do these things and that if it was China or India; we would go and talk to them. He said he would come behind me and I would talk to the people so that they could listen to what we had to say. That is what we did; but people blocked them here in Nigeria. These people, who have greater interest for things not working than for them to work, would have no room for all these hanky-panky if we get things right . . .


I am on the side of restructuring to have progressive fiscal regime, where it will be a win-win situation. A win for them for being the ones bringing the oil out and a win for us for being the owners.
Were all of those factored into the PIB version you crafted?
There was a problem, in that sense, that it has not been done to their satisfaction. That is what they are objecting to.
The original bill was not passed in the 6th and 7th Assemblies. It was rewritten and I do not agree with it, because they bastardised what we had written and personalised it, and too much authority and discretion has been left with the Minister and the President.

For instance, the President would award oil blocs as he wishes, and the Minister will approve a lot of things as he or she deems fit, which, in a way, brings back the corruption we are trying to avoid. Openness, transparency and accountability, which we were writing against, has now been reintroduced into the system.
What were your specific recommendations, which according to you were bastardised?

I recommended a lot of things; we are talking about a 279-page report.
In terms of who decides what, how do you recommend that the President allocate oil blocs? There are things the President can approve, but cannot have the right to allocate oil blocs at his discretion. This was what was done in the past as a gift, a political gift to party friends and others. That has been the biggest weakness in the industry because there are a lot of people seeking these favours. That is why the industry has not grown.

Go and check who is allocated oil blocs in Nigeria, and why they got it. We are using it for gifts to friends, politicians and parties. We want that removed. In the United States and other places, the President does not have such right to make discretional awards to his friends or whoever. It should not be in the system because it leaves room for high level of corruption.
What they have now has it and that is what I am fighting.

And this was not in what you recommended earlier?
Yes. Few months ago, I gave a talk on what I called The Interrogation of the Petroleum Industry Bill to point out all these things that are not in the Bill and advised against passing it in the present state, and recommending that President Buhari withdraw it so that we would rewrite it and put back the essentials that give it integrity.

We need to make it whole so that it can provide a better future and growth for our industry before it can be given back to the Parliament. The Minister has so many rights of discretion. There are things the Minister must authorise, but not that he or she would decide how much fiscal regime to give to a company. There must be a standard, the same rule for everyone, but not for selective treatment.

One of the most important things in the PIB, which is not going well and I want changed because I pioneered the whole concept, is the issue of giving something back to communities where oil is produced. This was the basis of the Amnesty, which President Yar’Adua granted to the communities in October 28, 2008.

Yar’adua, at the time, said his adviser was a genius, who came up with the concept of sharing the nation’s resources with host communities. What I recommended was that 10 per cent share of revenue should go to host communities. And since they were partners with government, they would protect what is theirs.

With that, there cannot be cases of pipeline vandalism and other things that halted oil production. Because benefits get to these communities, if there are acts of vandalism or anything that will make oil to stop flowing, they will lose for that year. Therefore, they will now have to protect rather than vandalise pipelines. Yar’Adua said he wondered why we didn’t do this before. It is clear that they wouldn’t burst their own pipelines. He said it was a genius concept and that was the basis for granting the Amnesty. That has been bastardised in the PIB, which I must redo for to restore its integrity . . .

How worried are you that the PIB you authored and nurtured has suffered such political battery?
Nigerians do not understood the opportunities the PIB presents to this country. If they do, they will leave their personal desires of little things. What the bill can do for the nation is bigger than what the individuals gain from it.

Are you ready to redraft the PIB?
I wouldn’t redraft, but make changes to what the former minister bastardised. It is not a big task, just small changes needed. If I were happy with the present Bill, I would not be making this plea to the government. I have given the notice to the President on what should happen and I am prepared to step in to do it.




It is a long one, I had to clip over half of it. You can read more from the link below.
http://guardian.ng/interview/why-kaduna-refinery-is-not-fit-for-nigerias-oil-by-egbogah/

They need to revert the 10% host communities allowance back into the bill. Similar structure exists in Alaska and many developed countries.

Give back to the communities and let the country know peace and prosperity.

kayfra:
They need to revert the 10% host communities allowance back into the bill. Similar structure exists in Alaska and many developed countries.

Give back to the communities and let the country know peace and prosperity.

This is sound but..

1.How would the funds be administered?

2. Any distinction between that and 13%?

3. What about the constitutional ammendment that it would require

4. In a place where there is multi ethnicity, how would the inevitable land grabbing/communal clashes be solved (offshore)

I personally would love this, Gold and other minerals abound in SW......


*nostalgia about what Cocoa proceeds got SW before the black gold curse turned everybody into a nation of laggards*

The Northern Politicians are majority in Executive cabinet and NASS hence constitute outright opposition to any Southern President formulating a policy that is perceived to be giving advantage to any part of Southern Nigeria.

For Nigeria to work, it needs restructuring.

modath:
This is sound but..

1.How would the funds be administered?

2. Any distinction between that and 13%?

3. What about the constitutional ammendment that it would require

4. In a place where there is multi ethnicity, how would the inevitable land grabbing/communal clashes be solved (offshore)

I personally would love this, Gold and other minerals abound in SW......


*nostalgia about what Cocoa proceeds got SW before the black gold curse turned everybody into a nation of laggards*

1 The PIB created a board comprising of members of the community, the government and the IOCs or oil Companies for that purpose

2 the 10% community fund is separate from the 13% derivation monies accuring to ND states. The 10% fund is basically for the host communities to spend and develop their environments.

3 The PIB does not need any constitutional requirements, it actually repeals 18 Laws and unbundles the NNPC into standalone units for profitable purposes

4 I can't answer this but I believe land grabbing is a small issue all mineral resources belong to the FG and whoever has better claim to the Land (Freehold) will be deemed "owners" of the land
The office of the minister of petroleum was made so powerful, the version of the PIB I had even made that office more powerful than the president of Nigeria. It had very heavy punishments also for International oil companies and offshore companies as Gas flaring and oil spillage were granted heavy infractions once committed.

989900:
GEJ, Diezani, and the 'lawbreakers' bastardized the PIB according to the author. Kindly go thru again.

If the NDA are any serious, they should be blowing up GEJ's and Diezani's investments for not looking out for them.

Nobody can fool us any more, we know why our problems linger.

Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) Rejects Confab Implementation

The North has no faith in the National Conference organized by the outgone administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, according to the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF).

The group, in a statement issued in Kaduna State on Thursday, declared that the conference was skewed against the geo-political zone.

The declaration was in reaction to a statement credited to prominent Yoruba elder, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, who has consistently urged the Muhammadu Buhari administration to implement the recommendations of the conference.

The Yoruba socio-political umbrella organization, Afenifere, to which Chief Adebanjo belongs, had consistently advocated the convocation of a National Conference as the solution to Nigeria’s many problems.


http://dailytimes.com.ng/jonathans-confab-anti-north-says-acf/

[b][/b]

modath:
This is sound but..

1.How would the funds be administered?

2. Any distinction between that and 13%?

3. What about the constitutional ammendment that it would require

4. In a place where there is multi ethnicity, how would the inevitable land grabbing/communal clashes be solved (offshore)

I personally would love this, Gold and other minerals abound in SW......


*nostalgia about what Cocoa proceeds got SW before the black gold curse turned everybody into a nation of laggards*

1.How would the funds be administered?

The host communities create a trust fund, each family and household is identified and catered for this way.

In fact this all ready exist in ND ask any one working in oil and to tell u
2. Any distinction between that and 13%?
13% derivation goes to state, as oil producer state, compare to other nations with oil this is to small

What we need is true federalism, the American govt does not control oil found inside Texas

3. What about the constitutional ammendment that it would require

Yes a constitutional amendment is needed

4. In a place where there is multi ethnicity, how would the inevitable land grabbing/communal clashes be solved (offshore)

There where civility and education comes in...

NB some of u are call ur self progressive only in name, u are not ready for the bold ideas that will truly move Nigeria forward

That's why PMB took one year to remove subsidy (which cripples the economy)

I ear he finally what's to devalue now