The NNPC said that the recently submitted draft Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) would go a long way in transforming operations in the oil and gas industry if passed into law.
Mr Fidel Pepple, the acting Group General Manger, Public Affairs Division of NNPC, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Abuja.
The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke, had on Friday presented the draft bill to President Goodluck Jonathan after about six months of review by a special task force.
Pepple described the presentation of the draft bill to the President, as a major step toward the eventual passage of the bill.
He said that the minister was committed to pushing for the speedy passage of the bill in view of the professionalism and transformation it would enthrone in the industry.
He added that the minister had ensured that stakeholders contributed their quota in order to have a holistic bill that would stand the test of time.
“This bill will go a long way in transforming the sector and that is why the minister is concerned about presenting a holistic document,’’ he said.
Pepple urged stakeholders in the sector and members of the National Assembly to continue to build synergy for quick passage of the bill.
The PIB, which had been engulfed in controversies and delay, is expected to herald a new era of reform and world class industry for the nation.
The bill is expected to usher in a new operational and fiscal term for revenue management so that government can retain a higher proportion of the revenues derived from operations in the petroleum industry. (NAN)