Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Mele Kyari, says the 3% operating expense allocated to host communities in the recently assented Petroleum Industry Act 2021 is more than the 30% profit share for oil exploration in the entire north
The NNPC GMD stated this on Tuesday when he featured as a guest on NTA’s ‘Good Morning Nigeria’ breakfast show monitored by The PUNCH.
He also said the Host Communities Fund would be within the control of the host communities, and would not be managed by the NNPC.
The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), had signed the Petroleum Industry Bill 2021 into law last week Monday, ending about 20 years of legislative stalemate of the bill. Now known as the PIA, the legislation would regulate all aspects of the oil sector.
By assenting to the bill, the President approved at least 30 per cent of the profit to be generated by the proposed Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to go to the exploration of oil in ‘ the north basins according to Section 9 of the PIB.
The nothern basins include Chad Basin, Gongola Basin, Sokoto Basin, Dahomey Basin, Bida Basin, Benue Basin, amongst others.
At the moment, crude oil is obtained from eight states in the Niger Delta region which include: Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo and Rivers States.
The 19 northern state governments had in 2016 intensified their search for oil and gas in the region with the appointment of a British firm to carry out the exploration activities which was sequel to Buhari’s directive to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation to increase the tempo of the crude oil find in the North-East.
With the presidential assent to the PIB, the oil exploration move of the 19 northern governors had received a huge boost.
However, the Pan Niger Delta Forum had lambasted the President for assenting to the PIB without the amendment of some controversial sections, adding that the move was a way to siphon oil money from Southern Nigeria to the North.
The group described as outrageous and fraudulent, the allocation of 30 per cent for the exploration of oil in the nothern basins, noting that oil business is a private affair and that investors should use their resources in the search for oil anywhere in the country.
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