In anticipation of the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill currently before the National Assembly for third reading, the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Dr. Rilwanu Lukman has urged the World Bank to provide requisite technical assistance to the Country to enable it implement the transformation programme of the Oil and Gas industry successfully.

Receiving the World Bank Delegation which was on a working visit to the Ministry of Petroleum Resources on Friday, Dr. Lukman appealed to the visiting experts to hasten the process of providing the much needed technical assistance to Nigeria in good time for the passage of the PIB.

 "We will work out a comprehensive work programme to ensure that once the bill becomes law, the implementation will be assiduously pursued. To assist us in this we need support in capacity-building," Lukman said.

He maintained that the transformation of the Nigerian oil and gas industry cannot be delayed any longer saying all hands must be on deck to see it through.

According to Dr.Lukman given the fundamental changes proposed for the Nigerian oil and gas industry in the bill, it is natural to expect some reservations from some corners. He stated that having reviewed the report of the International Monetary Fund on the proposed bill; we had engaged the various stakeholders who had expressed misgivings about aspects of the bill, with a view to addressing their concerns.

“Several public hearings were conducted by the National Assembly and I am pleased to say that we have succeeded in reaching a broad consensus on most of the areas of concern. Let me once again stress that our objective in the reform programme is to create the most conducive environment for the Nigerian oil and gas industry to strive in an increasingly challenging global energy scene. The global nature of our industry dictates that we should run it according to international best practices,” Dr. Lukman averred.

He further noted that public hearings have been conducted by the National Assembly with relevant committees critically reviewing it saying that his Ministry has been providing the legislature all the necessary support in terms of additional information and clarifications.

The Minister of Petroleum Resources appealed to the World Bank and global credit providers not to discriminate against the forthcoming National Oil Company adding that though government owned, the new NOC would be run as a profit oriented business which must be allowed to compete favourably with other fully privately owned companies operating in the sector.

Responding, the Leader of the World Bank delegation, Mr. Charles McPherson expressed the willingness of the Bank to support the Country with the technical expertise that would enable it transform its oil and gas sector in line with international best practices.