PRESIDENT BUHARI SIGNS PETROLEUM INDUSTRY BILL INTO LAW, ADOPTS PETAN’S RECOMMENDATIONS

President Muhammadu Buhari has signed the Petroleum Industry Bill 2021 into law.This was contained in a press release made available earlier today and signed by hisSpecial Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina. It read:”Working from home in five days quarantine as required by the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19 after returning from London on Friday August 13, the President assented to the Bill Monday August 16, in his determination to fulfill his constitutional duty.”The ceremonial part of the new legislation will be done on Wednesday, after the days of mandatory isolation would have been fulfilled”.The Petroleum Industry Act provides legal, governance, regulatory and fiscal framework for the Nigerian petroleum industry, the development of host communities, and related matters.The Senate had passed the Bill on July 15, 2021, while the House of Representatives did same on July 16, thus ending a long wait since early 2000s, and notching another high for the Buhari administration.https://lnkd.in/eHtqse5YThree core areas were adopted as recommended by the PETAN & the NCDMB in their memoranda before the National Assembly; 1) We had recommended that the NOGICD Act should be exempted from the application of the PIB. This recommendation was accepted.2) Section 2 of the Bill provides for four (4) objectives of the PIB. The Board recommended that a new objective be added to section 2, i.e. Section 2(e) “Deepen local content practice in the Nigerian oil and gas industry”. This recommendation was also adopted. Hence, one of the five core objectives of the PIB is to deepen local content practice in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.3.) Further, Section 79(2)(g) of the Bill provides as follows: “The Commission shall evaluate the technical and commercial terms of the field development plan and shall only approve the field development plan where- (g) it includes an approved Nigerian content plan pursuant to the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act, 2010. Under this section, the PIB gives full recognition to the Nigerian Content Plan submitted under Sections 7, 8, 9 and 10 of the NOGICD Act.iv. Under Section 252(f) of the Bill, in the ‘Submission of a Host Community Development Plan’, it is required that the Plan must “conform with the Nigerian content requirements provided in the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development.