PIA: NNPC Board faces redundancy as Tinubu approves amendment, cedes role to MOFI

By Udeme Akpan, Energy Editor

Members of the Board of NNPC Limited person been threatened by redundancy arsenic President Bola Tinubu authorised the amendment of the nation’s Petroleum Industry Act, PIA.

The PIA, Nigeria’s broad petroleum legislation, grants tremendous powerfulness to the committee members arsenic the highest determination making organ of the organisation.

The existent committee members of the institution include, Adedapo Segun (North West), Bello Rabiu (North West), Yusuf Usman (North East), Babs Omotowa (North Central), erstwhile Managing Director of Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas, Austin Avuru (South-South), Non-Executive Director, David Ige (South-West) and Henry Obih (South-East).

According to Africa Oil+Gas report, Nigeria’s Attorney General has already notified immoderate national agencies, of President Ahmed Tinubu’s support of the projected amendment to the PIA.

The study said the planned amendment was originated by the Minister of Finance, with the purpose of closing the “escalating fiscal leakage and gross nonaccomplishment confronting the Federation.”

However, reacting successful an interrogation with Vanguard, yesterday, a Petroleum Economist, Wumi Iledare, said: “Every Act yet undergoes amendments, and the PIA cannot beryllium an exception. However, it should person been allowed to tally its people portion the Tinubu Administration focused connected tackling the existent basal of the matter: corruption.

“What is astir worrisome successful these projected amendments is the thought of the Ministry of Finance strategizing for NNPCL. If this happens, I fearfulness committee members whitethorn see resigning, since their relation would beryllium rendered redundant. In my acquisition with IOCs, the committee is ever the highest strategical and readying organ.

“Before making these changes, 1 would expect lessons to beryllium drawn from institutions similar Petronas, Petrobras, Aramco, ADNOC, and Statoil. Surely, those who crafted the PIA indispensable person done extended studies earlier rolling it out. In the end, we indispensable fto the information talk for itself.”

The report, stated: “The astir consequential portion of the projected amendment is the overhaul of Section 8, which presently outlines the commercialized regulatory functions of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC). In summation to its existing roles of reviewing and approving the commercialized aspects of tract improvement plans successful upstream petroleum operations and processing outgo studies and benchmarks for evaluating upstream petroleum operations, the amendment proposes that:

“The NUPRC volition enactment arsenic the authorities typical successful each exemplary contracts attached to licenses and leases contemplated successful Section 85. The NUPRC volition regenerate the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) arsenic the concessionaire successful each subsisting Production Sharing Contracts, Profit Sharing Contracts, and Risk Service Contracts.

“In this role, the NUPRC volition beryllium liable for evaluating and approving each applicable enactment programs and verifying and approving each contractor costs to find cost-recoverable expenditure nether these contracts.”

It besides stated: “The amendment besides seeks to oust the Ministry of Petroleum Incorporated (MOPI) arsenic a co-equal shareholder of NNPCL with the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI). To execute this, Section 53 of the PIA volition beryllium amended to read: “Ownership of each shares successful NNPC Limited shall beryllium vested successful the Federation astatine Incorporation and held by the Ministry of Finance Incorporated arsenic the sole bare cause of the Federation.

“The amendment calls for a reversal of a colony from the aboriginal days of the Tinubu administration, regarding the delineation of duties betwixt the NUPRC and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) connected integrated associated operations. The existent instrumentality states that “where successful specified facilities oregon fixed oregon floating platforms oregon vessels supply for afloat integrated upstream and midstream petroleum operations, the Commission shall see and the Commission shall beryllium successful complaint of specified integrated operations and petroleum operations whitethorn beryllium considered integrated wherever determination is simply a associated usage of utilities utilized exclusively for the upstream and midstream operations.

“The amendment proposes a deletion of this proviso and alternatively proposes the constituting of a associated task squad of NUPRC and NMDPRA to beryllium liable for the method regularisation of integrated operations.

“The amendment ...