Oil and gas industry experts have called for a quick presidential assent on the passed Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) to fast-track the enforcement of the “Drill or Drop” clause in the bill.
They said it will ensure efficient use of mining assets in the country against the dwindling revenue into the federation account, even as fossil fuel gradually loses its relevance. An oil sector governance reform expert, Mr Ademola Adigun, who spoke on the revocation of some marginal oil fields’ licenses by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), in a statement, said the controversy would be laid to rest as soon as the PIB was passed into law.
According to him, the Drill or Drop provision in the law will prevent process abuse and usurpation of regulatory responsibilities or powers.
“One of the greatest things that has happened, which is in the PIB, is the idea of Drill or Drop. We have had a history.
“Now, a lot of people get these licences or win these bids then go sell it off. They sell it off to those who lack capacity and the whole thing stalls and we suffer as a country.
“We have two problems in the sector right now; we have declining take from the barrel and we have declining returns from crude. Now, we are limited to 1.45 million barrels a day by OPEC quota and unable to ramp up 2.1 million barrels per day.
Immediate past Chairman of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, Joe Nwakwe, “It is clear that the Petroleum Act gives the power to award and revoke oil blocks to the Minister of Petroleum Resources and that power has been delegated to the DPR in this matter.”