The Speaker of the House of Representatives Alex Tyler has assured a robust reform in the country gas and oil sector principally to ensure that every Liberian benefits and not a select few.

The House Speaker at the same time frowned on the manner and form authorities of the National Oil Company of Liberia (NOCAL) are conducting the country's gas and oil sector by serving as regulator, revenue manager as well as negotiator of concession agreements, among others.

To ensure that transparency and accountability exist in the sector, Speaker Tyler said the 53rd Legislature will put to rest the hullabaloo by enactment of new laws as well as amending existing ones.

Speaking recently at the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism weekly Press Briefing, he disclosed that a specialized legislative committee from the Liberian Senate and the House of Representatives were off to Ghana, Cote D'Ivoire, Nigeria, Norway and Brazil respectively to learn about methodologies used by those countries.

Speaker Tyler told journalists the legislative committees visiting those oil producing nations was to gather data and policies that will inform the crafting of key legislations that conform to international best practice.

"The National Oil Company, NOCAL, as we speak, is the oil policy maker, Oil Company and manager of Revenue it generates, this will be separated under new laws". Speaker Tyler added.

The Bomi County Representative maintained that the visit will give the legislators firsthand understanding on the toxic waste, local content and revenue management laws in those countries.

Members of the Ad-Hoc committee have since returned to Liberia and are expected to begin drafting propose laws with the assistance from a team of hired consultants and legal drafting technicians.

The lawmakers began intervening in the oil saga last year when a communication from Rep. Emmanuel Nuquay of Margibi County called for a review of the Oil Laws and the situation with the revenue from the Japanese oil and rice grants.

In his communication in May of 2012, Hon. Nuquay alarmed that the 2011/2012 fiscal budget was at a risk of losing some US$27 Million as captured in said budget due to NOCAL's failure to execute a legislative mandate to complete the negotiation of Oil Block 13.

As a result of the company's failure to execute said mandate, Hon. Nuquay added, a budget deficit was created in breach of the National Budget Law.

The communication also accused the Executive Branch of undermining the budget law by depositing revenue generated from the sale of the Japanese food aid and petroleum product into an escrow account.

In keeping with government's appropriation and disbursement procedures, the communication added, such revenue was supposed to be deposited into government's consolidated account and not into an escrow account.

Pursuant to the communication, the body immediately constituted an investigative committee which unveiled that the 2011/2012 National Budget fell short of the US$27M as NOCAL did not execute the mandate of the House.

The outcome of the investigation also revealed that the Acts creating NOCAL in 2000, the New Petroleum Law of 2002 and the Production Sharing Contract (PSC) were in complete disharmony, thereby recommending the need for review and new laws.

Findings of the committee's investigation in fact, also revealed that the Petroleum Sharing Contract did not provide for Liberians' participation and ownership in violation of the New Petroleum Law of 2002; thus prompting the need for a review of the oil contracts in its totality.

Speaker Tyler in the MICAT's event on Capitol Hill came barely three days after he declared that they had returned with renewed vigor to robustly do the people's business.

He pointed out the significant progress the House made during its first sitting in 2012 despite new members being on board by the 2011 elections to undergo variety of familiarization processes and the making of new rules governing the House.

Speaker Tyler named the passage of 25 out of 50 bills into law covering variety of subjects including support to rural community radios and community colleges; support to Liberian business entrepreneurs as well as decent work bill; energy and tax reform.