Nigeria Loses $15bn To Non-Passage Of PIB -

Bello Isiaka
Nigeria Loses $15bn To Non-Passage Of PIB -
Kachikwu
THE Group Managing Director of the Nigeria
National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr
Emmanuel Kachikwu, on Wednesday said Nigeria
loses $15 billion (about N3.3 trillion) to non-
passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).
Kachikwu, who stated this while appearing
before the Senate during the ministerial
screening, said the new government would,
however, tinker with the bill to ensure its
passage.
“I will not be constrained by lack of PIB to
continue to tinker with the operations of NNPC
to ensure efficiency. As long as we would like to
pass a holistic PIB, which will be cumbersome, it
is better we break it up and take it in parts.
“We lose $15 billion yearly due to lack of PIB,
because we have started the bill and no investor
is willing to invest in an uncertain environment,”
he said.
He spoke at length on the reforms he already put
in place at the NNPC, adding that the revival of
the refineries was paramount to his agenda.
“When I cancel contracts, it is not against the
person behind the contract, but the terms of the
contract. Contracts was the problem, structure
was the problem. The expenditure in NNPC was
so high. A lot of services in NNPC is done by
subsidiaries. NNPC spends 40 per cent of its
earnings.
“I am putting together NNPC manual which will
be a monthly publication of events in the
corporation. We have about 12 to 13,000 staff
and we have started a weekly broadcast for
NNPC staff. I also give weekly update to the
president. Information to the public is a right of
the citizens.
“We have also contracted Pricewaterhouse
Cooper for a forensic audit of NNPC from 2010
to 2014 and their audit report is almost ready,”
he said.
He also said some factors were militating
against the take-off of companies licensed to
build refineries, as, according to him, many of
those who applied for licences to build refineries
did not understand the financial implication of
such a project.
He said some others were out to use the license
to have access to crude oil.
Kachikwu also said NNPC would distribute free
gas cylinders to Nigerians in 2016, as a way of
popularising the use of gas.
He said that the NNPC was not planning to
reduce pump price of petroleum products, adding
that the corporation was working on the capacity
of the refineries.
“There was no plan to increase price of PMS.
We have enough fuel to last another 50 weeks.
Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna are being
maintained. The landed cost of imported
products is higher, that is why we want to make
our refineries work.
“When refineries work, kerosene will continue to
be available. We want to make cylinder available
free to all,” he said.
“Apart from being someone from the South-
South for which the environment is a major
concern to me, gas flaring cannot be a
commercial way of dealing with issues.
“Although we approached gas flaring from a
position of penalty for flared gas, we need to
begin to look at taking away flaring from a
position of investment in the translation of flare
to money.
“To stop flare, we need investment and a lot of
that money is not there, so we need to provide a
National Master Gas Plan which must be
gazzetted,” he added.