Fresh insight was provided yesterday why Anglo-Dutch Oil behemoth Shell is at the fore-front of a renewed attempt to scuttle the planned passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, which is currently before the National Assembly.

Speaking at the ongoing Nigeria Oil and Gas Conference/ Exhibition in Abuja, Dr. Pedro Van Meurs, world renowned energy consultant described Shell’s opposition to the fiscal provisions of the PIB as contained in the government memorandum to the National Assembly, as one induced by the desire to make more profit for its shareholders .

Ann Pickard the outgoing Regional Executive Vice President, Shell Exploration and Production, Africa, had on Tuesday while delivering a paper at the 2010 NOG, described the PIB as ``a cumbersome document that lacks insight into the very basics of our industry.”  While forecasting a bleak future for the oil and gas industry post-PIB, Pickard also criticized the fiscal provisions of the proposed law which she described as the “harshest in the world”.

But Van Meurs who incidentally is from Netherlands, the home country of Shell, stated that there is nothing in the proposed law that will scuttle future investment in the industry. 

“There is no truth in the allegation that PIB fiscal system is the harshest in the world or that it will halt investment.  I have been advising governments all over the world for over 40 years and I know that this is a battle whereby the oil company will try to get out of the parliament the highest possible share.  So they make loud noise so maybe somebody out there might be listening to them. But the role of the minister is to make sure that the country’s interest is protected by insisting on a fair share. I can tell you that for every one company that is planning to leave, I know of 50 new ones that are planning to come in once the door is open,” he said.

On the allegation that the fiscal system in Angola and other climes are friendlier than what is proposed under PIB, Van Meurs reeled out statistics of comparative government take to buttress his position.

He stressed that whereas the PIB allows  investors in small fields  to start deducting cost of production once production begins so that funds can be available for re-investment in other fields, in Angola you can only do that from future productions, “So tell me which is more investor friendly?” he quipped.

He described the PIB as an industry friendly legislation which has a fair deal for the companies, the host communities and the government.

Dr van Meurs is an energy consultant who specializes in world fiscal systems for oil and gas. He also provides yearly in-house courses for Shell and Statoil. He has helped in designing the fiscal provisions of regulations in countries like, Guatemala, Bolivia, and Algeria and also worked with the Chinese National Offshore Oil Company in the preparation of model contracts for its bidding rounds.

Meanwhile, the Vice President, Exploration and Production, Total Upstream Worldwide, Mr Wves Louis Darricarrere, has declared that Nigeria was a very important country in Total’s business and that it was ready to continue to invest in Nigeria.

Mr Darricarrere made this commitment during a courtesy visit to the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Dr Mohammed Sanusi Barkindo, on Tuesday.

“We want to continue to work in your country; we want to continue to invest. Nigeria is a very important country in our business,” he said.

Contrary to the pessimism expressed by some IOC’s concerning the future of investments in the Nigerian oil and gas sector, the Total boss expressed confidence in the future of the partnership between his company and the corporation and its investment in the country, adding: “I have no reason to be pessimistic.”

Dr Barkindo, in his welcome remarks dismissed insinuations that the Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, was designed to punish some operators in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.

“There is no intention whatsoever, no intention in any quarter as far as I know, and I think I should know, to penalize anyone in the oil and gas sector with the PIB,” Barkindo stated while giving an overview of the oil and gas sector reform and the legal framework upon which it is anchored.

He urged the Total boss to join the NNPC in building the infrastructure to support the implementation of the PIB when it eventually becomes an Act.