…recommend solutions on how to revive the oil and gas sector/economy
The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has called on the Federal Government to stabilize the exchange rate which it says is the main problem the economy is facing today.
It says 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.
President, PENGASSAN, Festus Osifo, while officially presenting the communique of the 2024 PENGASSAN Energy and Labour Summit to the media in Lagos on Tuesday, also called on the Federal Government to urgently fix the four national refineries and divest the majority share to the private sector.
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 added that Dangote Refinery as a business concern was right to have made such demand because it is in business to make money.
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 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.
He 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, they 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 stated that those caught in crude oil theft should be punished severely by competent courts of jurisdiction to serve as a deterrent to others.
Urging the government to implement the provision for host communities in the Petroleum Industry Act. He said the summit was worried that three years after the passage of the PIA the section of the act had not been implemented at all and called on the government to force the government to make the companies to pay up their contributions.
The act stipulated that 3% of the operational revenue of the oil companies should be contributed to the host community fund.
He enjoined the government to also create a business-friendly environment by creating incentives for 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.
The group also enjoined the Nigerian energy sector to leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI) advancement to improve productivity and sustainability, and tackle oil theft and smuggling.
