The Minister of State Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, has credited the “arduous” process of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) as the cause of the stagnation of Nigeria’s oil industry.
He said this at the inauguration ceremony of the chief executive officers of the Upstream Regulatory Commission and the Nigerian Midstream & Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NPRA).
Sylva noted that the passage of the PIA opened doors for prospective investors looking to invest in the oil sector, following a defined “framework” created by the Act.
He said that he expected “a lot of growth and development of the industry. The oil industry has been stagnated for a long time because the process of passing the PIA has been very arduous and took over 20 years.
“A lot of companies and investors took and a sit-down and watch approach, but the PIA has now clarified the framework around the sector, I don’t see anything stopping investors from coming in.”
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On the installment of the CEOs of the agencies, the minister charged them to spur growth in the industry.
He said, “This is historic because it marks the beginning of the successor agencies. The PIA provides for the Upstream Regulatory Commission and the establishment of the Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority, the CEOs of these are agencies are now in place.
“Therefore the agencies have taken off because they now have clear leadership and today’s event marks that beginning for the new agencies.”
