*Targets $17.4bn
*Seeks merger of NUPRC, NMDPRA, NCDMB
Peter Uzoho
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Policy Advisory Council has proposed the sale of the major stakes of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) in the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors of the oil and gas industry.
THISDAY gathered from the Policy Advisory Council Report dated May 2023, that the federal government will earn about $17 billion from the sale of the NNPC’s majority stakes in the oil and gas assets.
According to the submissions from the Energy and Natural Resources sub-committees of the advisory council, Tinubu’s administration should consolidate the regulatory agencies by merging the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) under a single regulator.
The members of the council include: Austin Avuru, Olu Verheijen, AbdulRasaq Isa, Bashir Bello, Ifeanyi Ajuluchukwu, Doyin Akinyanju, Tinuade Sande, Ahmad Zakari, George Etomi, Nasiru Wada, Mohammed Abbas, and Segun Lawson.
They proposed that the government should work towards achieving some milestones within the first 100 days ending August 2023.
The council advised Tinubu’s administration to re-organise NUPRC and NMDPRA to deliver set milestone goals and headhunt and place capable resources in critical positions in the oil and gas sector.
The council further advised that the president should head-hunt competent, tested, reform-focused leaders in NNPCL and ensure the company discharges its function as a commercial entity as stipulated in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
The council advised that NNPC should also be strengthened and placed in a position where it would be paying taxes, royalties and profits to the Federation Account and properly regulated by NUPRC, NMDPRA and NCDMB.
Though the president has removed the petrol subsidy, the council, which was set up when Tinubu emerged as the president-elect, equally proposed the deregulation of petrol pricing and implementing the Federal Direct Cash Transfer Programme, with the disbursement of $8 billion in Direct Cash Transfer to the poorest 30 million Nigerians.
It advised the president to end insecurity in oil-producing states, particularly in Imo, Delta, Ondo, Rivers, Bayelsa and Akwa-Ibom by engaging key political and community stakeholders.
The council called for the reforming of the operations of the military task force with clearly defined key performance indicators (KPIs) and consequent management to tackle deficiencies.
To improve financing in the oil and gas sector, the council called for a debt repayment framework and a transition to market prices for gas.
It stressed the need for Tinubu’s government to put robust policies in place in order to unlock Nigeria’s energy potential to fuel economic growth and diversification while improving energy security sustainably.
It proposed that the government should work to raise Nigeria’s oil and gas production to 1.8 million barrels per day (mbpd) and 3.5 billion cubic feet (bcf) in the next 18 months ending December 2024.
The advisory council urged President Tinubu to mandate NNPCL, NUPRC and NMDPRA to close out outstanding divestments and contract issues for project delivery clarity.
It further urged the president to strip NNPCL of policy-making roles and keep NCDMB within its mandate as prescribed by the Local Content Act.
The council advised the president to consider integrating NUPRC, NMDPRA, and NCDMB into a single regulator or include all midstream activities into NUPRC’s scope.
The advisory council also called for the expansion of domestic gas reserves and the promotion of the development of a diversified oil and gas industry by implementing reforms in the PIA, including the National Gas Transportation Network Code (NGTNC).
While proposing the development of a sustainable financing model to facilitate boost oil and gas development projects, the council stressed the need for the government to facilitate a third-party gas pricing framework for the export market.
The report further advised Tinubu’s administration to, “Enact Fiscal Enablers for NAG and Deepwater via Finance Act and expand stabilisation in PIA to cover full credit for post-Final Investment Decision (FID) levies and taxes FROM THISDAY NEWSPAPER
