Exclusive – Draft of Nigeria oil bill being finalised
ABUJA/LAGOS |
ABUJA/LAGOS (Reuters) – A new draft of Nigeria’s long delayed oil bill, whose passage is needed to unblock billions of dollars of stalled investment into exploration and production, will be finalised this week, sources close to the matter said on Thursday.
A copy of the 200-page Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) obtained by Reuters includes plans to partly privatise and list the state oil firm, tax oil company profits at 20 percent for deep offshore and 50 percent for shallow or onshore, and give the oil minister supervisory powers over all institutions in the industry.
Current oil firm profit taxes are not published. A spokesman for Nigeria’s leading operator Shell said he did not know what current tax rates were.
Oil majors have worried that the PIB could increase the fiscal burden on them, and it is not clear whether license renewals that have been ongoing will include exemptions from any unfavourable change of terms brought about by the law.
The PIB has been years in the making and the delays have caused uncertainty over the future framework of working in Nigeria, costing the industry billions of dollars of potential investment and the government much-needed revenues.
Without it, most analysts expect oil production in Nigeria to decline substantially over the next few years.
Nigeria exports more than 2 million barrels a day (bpd) of crude oil popular with U.S. buyers because it is light and easy to refine. China and India are also growing takers.
UNCERTAIN PASSAGE
Even when this version gets to parliament, there is no guarantee lawmakers will push it through, as powerful
Category: Politics
