PIB : Barkindo seeks CBN support

….Sanusi says oil industry bill critical to banking reform

The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi Barkindo has solicited the cooperation of the Central Bank of Nigeria in the on going reform of the oil and gas sector for it to impact positively on the Nigerian economy.

The GMD of the Corporation stated this while on a courtesy visit to the CBN Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, in Abuja on Wednesday.

Dr. Barkindo described the Petroleum sector reform and the Banking Industry reform as major catalysts that are critical to the growth and development of the country.

“Our industry together with yours has been intertwined for as long as I can remember and for us in the Nigerian economy the duo are inseparable. When we embarked on the reforms in the oil and gas sector, it became obvious that the reform must include the reform in the financial sector. The impact of the financial market on oil and gas has become more and more evident even before the global melt down”, he stated.

* Dr. Barkindo

Dr. Barkindo averred that the complete disconnect between the oil market and the supply demand fundamentals in 2008 led to several abnormalities in the global financial sector which affected the dollar negatively.

The NNPC helmsman maintained that for the petroleum industry bill to succeed there was every need for the Corporation to partner with the Banking sector in the country.

According to him, `’coming back home, we have seen the challenges of post consolidation, we have seen how the financial market impacted on the marketing sub sector. Therefore, the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Bill when passed into law, the reforms that will sweep through the oil and gas sector would be massive and can only be achieved with a holistic synergy with the banking sector”.

The GMD added that the PIB when passed by the National Assembly would transform the Corporation from a cost centre to a profit centre that would be capitalised into an Incorporated Joint Venture in a bid to move from a quasi-government agency to a well run National Oil Company.

Dr. Barkindo lauded President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua for his efforts to reform the key sectors of the economy expressing optimism that the reforms would put the Nigerian oil and gas industry in to global reckoning.
Responding, the CBN Governor posited that reforms are always confronted with challenges and expressed his readiness to partner with the NNPC as it transforms into a profit making National Oil Company that will boost the national treasury.

“For us in the CBN, we are totally in support of the PIB and we are totally in support of deregulation of the downstream sector of the Petroleum industry because it would create a conducive environment that will ultimately attract investors into the Nigerian economy,” Sanusi enthused.

He urged the GMD to continue with the reforms in the petroleum sector irrespective of the prevailing challenges saying they were critical to the banking sector in Nigeria .

The NNPC GMD was accompanied on the visit by all the six Group Executive Directors of the Corporation.
“To take this calculated risk on behalf of the people and today we are beginning to see the fruits of this spearheading role that you took that culminated in a comprehensive amnesty across the region.”

Barkindo lamented that the Oyigbo gas plant within the state was lying idle for nearly two years, noting that time has come to get it back to life following the restoration of normalcy in the state.

He said, “We are engaging our partners in the Joint Venture with your assistance to mainstream Omigbo where we have an installed capacity of 9 million scf which translates to nearly 300 megawatt of power that is lying idle.
“Oyigbo I understand is not only lying idle but because of encroachment of some settlers around the facility and the high level of health, safety and environment of gas plant, it has become very difficult to continue to run the plant.”

He, therefore, sought the assistance of the governor towards getting the plant back on stream by relocating residents that have encroached on the property around the gas plant.

He said, “We have no option opened to us than to work with the governor, the local government chairman and Shell to immediately see how we can quickly relocate these people who have encroached on this facility.

“This is disaster waiting to happen. We shutting down 90 million scald of gas at a time when every molecules is very important for our domestic gas obligations but life comes first and the decision to shut down this facility is a right on by Shell.”

On his own part, the governor directed the Commissioner for Urban Development in the state to value the properties and enumerate the people.

He said, “It is 200 metres from each side. A month after that, the properties should be demolished. He has also been mandated to call everybody around to explain to them why we are doing what we are doing. We are doing this because we need to protect their lives.”

He added, “We should not forget that the Nigerians economy is dependent on oil and we cannot abandon this project because 200 metres have been encroached upon by illegal occupants.

“We are not going to see them as illegal occupants; we see them as genuine Rivers people who in search of land may have been misled into buying land here. We are not going to look at who is right or wrong but we are going to look at the lives of the people.”