Nigeria’s Senate takes more time on oil reform legislation

ABUJA – Nigeria’s Senate on Wednesday approved a two-week extension for committee members to finalise controversial legislation that would overhaul Africa’s biggest oil and gas sector.

The Opec member wants to drastically change its oil sector with legislation to restructure state-run Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) into a profit-driven firm like those in Brazil, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia.But foreign oil companies in Nigeria have warned the plans contained in the Petroleum Industry Bill could threaten billions of dollars of investment if they go ahead in their current form. A joint Senate committee was expected to send a final version of the nearly 1 000-page bill to the full Senate this week, but lawmakers said they needed more time.’We are worried about the bill,’ Senate President David Mark told committee members. ‘The Senate has given the joint committee two (more) weeks to get its report ready and present it.’The far-reaching bill, which has been in planning in some form for more than a decade, has been promoted by the presidency as the answer to problems including funding shortfalls, domestic gas shortages and budget-debilitating fuel subsidies.Analysts have said they expect the bill to pass as it is and that its sponsors will try to win over lawmakers opposed to its terms by convincing them that to vote against the legislation would be to act against Nigeria’s national interest.In its present draft, the legislation could allow the government to renegotiate old contracts, impose higher costs on oil companies and retake acreage that firms have yet to explore.China has already indicated its desire to move in on oil blocks currently licensed to Western oil firms, including Royal Dutch Shell , Chevron and ExxonMobil.Chinese firms have proposed to buy six billion barrels of Nigeria’s crude oil reserves and the West African country said last week that it could sell stakes in its joint ventures with Western oil firms to help Beijing do so.- Nampa-Reuters