Nigeria would continue to be faced with severe cases of capital flight and paucity of new investments in its oil and gas sector if it continues to delay in passing the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) and if it also fails to undertake far-reaching reforms of the sector.
These were the views of energy experts and stakeholders in the oil and gas industry, who spoke, weekend, in Abuja.
In an interview in Abuja, Engr. Bank-Anthony Okoroafor, immediate past President of the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN) and Managing Director of CB Geophysical Solutions Limited, disclosed that the delay in the passage of the PIB was holding down lots of final Investment Decisions (FID) and critical investments in the Nigerian oil sector.
According to Okoroafor, the uncertainty created by the lack of passage of the reforms have significantly affected investments in the Nigerian oil and gas sector, adding that It is important for the country to send a signal to the market that the government is serious about the oil reform agenda.
“Time is of the essence now to pass this PIB. There is no better time than now, especially as oil is being found everywhere around the globe,” he argued.
