3 November 2009
Sopuruchi Onwuka — Organization of Petrroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has endorsed the controversial Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) currently undergoing review in the National Assembly, saying the provision for transformation of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to become a commercial player was reasonable.
Secretary General of the oil exporters' group, Mr. Abdalla El-Badri, who was in Abuja on a working visit told reporters at a workshop on activities of the group that it OPEC was following trends in the Nigerian petroleum industry, adding that the reforms in the sector was in the right direction.
He however declined comments on the dispute between the oil multinationals in the country and government over some of the provisions of the bill which entail alteration of operating agreements with the oil companies.
Mr. El-Badri who said the group does not interfere with the internal affairs and policies of member countries however pointed out that his understanding of the core objectives of the bill suggested that government was positioning the industry to derive optimum value from petroleum resources.
According to him, the principal objective should be to transform the activities of the NNPC from revenue collector to revenue earner through competitive commercial operations at home and offshore.
He pointed out that most national oil companies have exited passive ooperations to compete favourably with international oil companies. He cited Chinese oil firms, Norwegian Statoil, Brazilian Petrobras, South Africa's Sasol, Malaysian Petronas and Korean KNOC as some of the national oil companies that have transformed into global competitors.
He said the objectives of OPEC at inception was to use national oil companies in developing the capacity to retrieve the industry from commercial multinationals that have dominated operations in OPEC countries.
He pointed out that the international oil companies have however helped in the development of resource rich countries and deserved the understanding of their host governments over issues of operating agreements.
He again said that the best ways to resolve such disputes would be decided by the governments of the country, adding that he has great confidence in the wisdom and industry reputation of the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Dr. Rilwanu Lukman, to efficiently address issues arising from the reforms.
"This organisation was created to defend our rights against the multinationals and we've been able to do so. We have very successfully defended our rights. We create our national companies and now we are on equal basis. We have contracts with them the way we want. Member countries should really cooperate with the IOCs because they have the finance, they have the technology and we can cooperate together now because we are on equal basis, not as in the past.
"This industry is an international industry; really, you cannot depend on yourself, this deep drilling, there are very few companies that are specialised in it, and so we have to buy that technology. Nigeria or Libya or even Saudi Arabia cannot do everything on their own; they cannot have the seismic technology, they cannot have deep drilling, whether off shore or onshore.
"So, sometimes you have to rely on the services of other specialised companies who have nothing but this specialty."
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