PENGASSAN Calls for full Implementation of PIA to Benefit Host Communities.

Fred Shaka-Braimah

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) is worried that after three years of the passage of the Petroleum Industry Act, the provision for host communities in the PIA is yet to be implemented.

The act stipulates that 3% of the operational revenue of the oil companies be contributed to the host community fund.

The President of PENGASSAN, Festus Osifo, while officially presenting the communique of the 2024 PENGASSAN Energy and Labour Summit to the media in Lagos, also called on the Federal Government to urgently fix the four national refineries and divest the majority share to the private sector.

According to him, the refineries should be modeled after the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) model, which he said has been successful.

“Ramping up efforts to make the nation’s four refineries work; once operational, the government should divest majority shareholdings and own at most 49% of the shareholding in the four refineries. Core investors will be brought in to take the 51% as applicable in NLNG”.

He called on the Federal Government to stabilize the exchange rate which he says is the main problem the economy is facing today.

According to the communique, no country floats its currency the way Nigeria has done to the Naira and will not run into trouble. “No country allows its currency to floated anyhow”

It also advocated that the government increase its stakes in Dangote Refinery from 7% to 45% to ensure energy security in the country.

On the issue of Dangote and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company NNPCL, over price, the PENGASSAN boss said disagreement came between the two parties when Dangote Refinery asked NNPCL to pay a premium on the petrol it is going to sell to NNPCL. NNPCL refused, adding that the government is still subsidizing a litre of petrol with about N250 per litre.

He expressed dismay at the situation whereby the inter-land petroleum depots in six geopolitical zones of the country are dilapidated and advised the government to get the depots fixed in collaboration with the private sector to ensure the smooth distribution of petroleum products and enhance the national strategic reserve.

The PENGASSAN Boss called for the expansion of pipelines that could be used in the delivery of refined petroleum products across the length and breadth of the country as this would reduce the pressure put on the roads by trucks carrying the products.

Among other things, the Association also advised the government to include the use of digital technology to curtail crude oil theft; re-engineer security architecture; and ensure ease of doing business, by reducing bureaucracies or complex regulations that make the gas investment unattractive to investors, among others.

The PENGASSAN President noted with dismal that those caught in crude oil theft have never been punished by competent courts of jurisdiction to serve as a deterrent to others.

He enjoined the government to also create a business-friendly environment by giving incentives to more investors to tap into the nation’s abundant gas resources.

In the upstream, it suggested an amendment of the PIA to include the divestment framework, noting that the previous divestments are not yielding results as the companies lack the financial capacity to sustain and expand the divested oil wells.

It also enjoined the Nigerian energy sector to leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI) advancement to improve productivity and sustainability, and tackle oil theft and smuggling.