Financial Energy Review
The Governor of Bayelsa State, Douye Diri has disclosed that exploration and production companies operating in the state have enjoyed relative peace over the last three years due to the efforts of his administration, despite being downplayed by the Federal Government in the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Acts(PIA).
The Bayelsa State Government made this known at the just concluded Nigerian Oil and Gas Opportunity Fair (NOGOF), organised by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), held in Yenagoa, Bayelsa state.
According to him, it is unfortunate that the Federal Government has sidelined the sub-nationals in the process of implementing the Petroleum Industry Act(PIA), despite the significant roles we play in creating enabling environment for investors.
The Bayelsa State Governor, who was represented at the programme by Ebieri Jones, Commissioner for Mineral Resources, said that most all the oil and gas sector players in the state have enjoyed a peaceful and secured operational environment due to the mechanism put in place by the state for host community youth to entrench peaceful atmosphere despite limitations of the PIA.
He said that it is unfortunate that the Federal Government does not recognise the roles that the state governments can play in the implementation of the PIA.
The Bayelsa State Commissioner for Mineral Resource, while corroborating the statement of the Governor further emphasised that the regulator’s promise to capture the role of sub-nationals in regulations being gazetted in the PIA described the place of the Niger Delta Governors in the entire implementation process.
He said, “I am struggling to understand how the regulation is more important than the acts in itself.”
On what is responsible for the peaceful business environment in Bayelsa State, Ebieri Jones, “As the State Government we are ensuring that we provide a conducive environment for the operators in the oil and gas sector, that is why we have done two programmes that are tailored towards ensuring that host communities in Bayelsa State understand the need for collaboration with the oil producers.
“This is because ff we do not do this there can’t be prosperity. We all know that the oil industry is the major focus of the economy as a mono-product economy. That is why we decided to do that.
“The statistics showed that in six years, so much has been done in the state, while there has been a lot more peace in Bayelsa for the last three years than in previous years.
“Shell Petroleum Development Company(SPDC) can attest to the role that Governor Diri has played in guaranteeing peace in the communities that they are operating.
Speaking about the PIA, he mentioned that the act in itself was skewed against the overall interest of the people of the Niger Delta. adding that the three per cent of the overhead operational cost of the oil company committed to the oil community development funds is not sustainable.
