{"id":57742,"date":"2022-09-22T00:25:35","date_gmt":"2022-09-22T00:25:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africannewspaper.net\/2022\/09\/22\/has-nigerias-petroleum-industry-act-reshaped-the-industry-african-business\/"},"modified":"2022-09-22T00:25:53","modified_gmt":"2022-09-22T00:25:53","slug":"has-nigerias-petroleum-industry-act-reshaped-the-industry-african-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africannewspaper.net\/2022\/09\/22\/has-nigerias-petroleum-industry-act-reshaped-the-industry-african-business\/","title":{"rendered":"Has Nigeria’s Petroleum Industry Act reshaped the industry? – African Business"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Nigeria is now more that one year away from the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), hitting the statutes. This landmark piece of legislation saw glacial progress through Nigeria\u2019s parliament over two decades, but the lengthy gestation should not hide its significance to the oil and gas sector\u2019s future. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Nigeria is keen to ensure that its oil and gas sector is on a steady footing with elections in 2023.\u00a0The PIA has played a crucial role in forging both stronger sector growth\u00a0by establishing a new framework for Nigeria\u2019s oil and gas sector, including two new regulators, the National Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority.<\/p>\n

It also paves the ground for the professionalisation of the loss-making state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), turning it into the NNPC Ltd, a quasi-commercial entity which nonetheless remains owned by the government \u2013 a process that was completed in mid-July. NNPC Ltd\u2019s focus is now to boost productivity.<\/p>\n

In the words of President Muhammadu Buhari, the state energy company will be \u201ccommercial, independent and viable\u201d, operating without relying on government funding and free from institutional regulations.<\/p>\n

There is still much to do. Even though the PIA has been in place for a year, it is still in transition. Committees are trying to determine what it means in practice. A Nigerian analyst who is experienced was contacted by African Business<\/em>It was questioned how much the NNPC would change after it became a limited company. However, there is some evidence that things could be changing post-PIA.<\/p>\n