On 30 March 2017 — three months after the initial January deadline — the Senate announced that it will receive the final copy of the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB) on 24 April. The final report on the bill will be presented by the Senate’s joint committee on petroleum which merges the Senate’s upstream, downstream and gas committees.

Based on the Senate’s schedule, the members of the joint committee held their final one day retreat on the bill on 4 April, at which they received further input on the bill and then deliberate on their recommendations. A final printed copy of their conclusions will be ready on 6 April and will be sent to all senators, after which the draft Petroleum Industry Governance Bill will be laid before the Senate on 24 April.

This version of the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill — which is a diluted version of the original Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) — has been in the Senate for the past year and forms one of the 11 economic bills that the Senate has decided to give an expedited hearing. When passed, it will provide the governance and institutional framework for Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.

A strong criticism of the country’s oil and gas industry is the lack of a clear regulatory framework since the PIB sought to replace the current regulatory framework, but it has been stuck in National Assembly since 2007 when it was first presented to the house. The Ministry of Petroleum Resources (MPR) has its own version of the bill which it has sent to the National Assembly. Sources have told Nigeria Politics & Security that the ministry’s position, and that of National Assembly, has been harmonised and that this will pave the way for the faster signing of the bill when it is passed.

Maikanti Baru — the Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) — said on 28 March that NNPC has been actively collaborating with the legislature and other industry stakeholders for the passage of the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill. He also disclosed that the NNPC has a full department headed by a general manager whose sole responsibility is to manage the relationship between the National Assembly and the NNPC.