FOLLOWING the exit of ConocoPhillips, the American oil giant, from Nigeria after 46 years, there are concerns that this may have dampened the government’s drive to attract fresh foreign direct investment, FDI, into the petroleum sector.

Last year May 29, President Goodluck Jonathan made sweeping statements regarding his energy vision for power and petroleum, for the benefits of all Nigerians.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has underlined its commitment to continue the search for oil in the inland basins, and notably the Chad Basin, to boost the hydro-carbon potentials of the country.

The Federal government has reiterated its commitment towards the eradication of lead poisoning brought about as a result of illegal and improper handling of mining operations in the country.

Members of the pro-labour civil society groups, have warned of a repeat of the January uprising in the country over the hike in the pump price of petrol, should the government go ahead to jerk up electricity tariff from June as being speculated.

UNITED Action for Democracy, UAD, one of the civil society allies of Labour, has said among the major shortcomings of the Subsidy Re-investment and Empowerment Programme, SURE, introduced by the Federal Government in the wake of January 1, 2012 hike in the pump price of petrol, is that SURE has no plan to reduce the level of imported fuel in the next four years.

The Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers, NCRIB, has said that it is compulsory for all brokers in the country to register with it before they can obtain operating license. President of the Council, Mrs. Laide Osijo disclosed this at a Brokers’ Members Evening. She said that the position of the law is that enlistment of an insurance broker with the NCRIB is a condition precedent to licensing by the National Insurance Commission, NAICOM.

Deputy Commissioner (Technical) of the National Insurance Commission, NAICOM, Mr. Ibrahim Hassan has called on insurance operators to discard the unhealthy attitude of struggling to gain a share of premium from oil and gas business by all cost.

Even as the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, NEITI, embarks on yet another audit of the oil and gas industry, its fourth since the process started in the country, there remain a lot of issues from previous audits that remain unresolved.

PORT HARCOURT – Hundreds of protesters recently blocked waterways in the Niger Delta to prevent Shell workers from reaching oil rigs.