The National Assembly says it is working assiduously to pass the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) in April 2021.
The move according to the joint Adhoc Committee of the National Assembly, will help revive refineries to function optimally, adding that they are not happy with the present poor conditions of the refineries.
Revealing this in Rivers State during a visit to the Port Harcourt Refinery Company, the committee led by its Chairman, Mohammed Mougunu, noted that the committee is poised to pass the petroleum bill as soon as possible.
According to him, the main focus of the bill is to entrench reformation of all the nation’s refineries to international standard, adding that there as the need to make the country’s refineries more competitive.
He said: “The main thrust of the PIB is to reform our oil and gas industry, to make it more competitive and bring their operation in tandem with international best practices.
“We are here in Port Harcourt refinery to see their constraints and how best within the prodigies of PIB, leverage on same and then make their operations more competitive in a bid to attract the much-needed investment in the oil and gas industry, especially against the backdrop of the fact that the world is now moving away from fossil fuels to renewables.”
The committee’s co-chair went on to note that the National Assembly would ensure the passage of the long-awaited PIB in April, adding that the bill will bring to an end the capital flight.
