For several years, government officials, civil society and Nigeria's legislature have been debating the revision and passage of the country's comprehensive Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), which has the stated goal of transforming the country's oil industry into a means for sustainable development. A new policy brief from Aaron Sayne of the Facility for Oil Sector Transparency in Nigeria (FOSTER), with an appendix on selected bill provisions by RWI Governance Advisor Alexandra Gillies, argues that if the final bill contains strong transparency and accountability provisions, the nation's oil sector performance has real opportunity to improve.
The potential for a stronger, better managed oil sector is substantial. Transparency encourages competition, discourages illicit behavior and attracts investment. Accountable government and oversight institutions reassure investors, improve regulation and revenue collection and result in higher production and earnings.
Although Nigeria has significant oil wealth, corruption and inefficient management have hampered its abilty to ensure resource revenues are used for the public good. Given oil's prominent role in the country's economy, Nigeria will struggle to break in to the top 20 economies without the reforms of a robust PIB.
Past drafts of the bill contain strong language serving these objectives that now need protection.
In this policy brief and appendix, the authors examine and underline provisions in the original 2008 presidency submission (HB 159); the final 2010 submission by the federal Inter-Agency Team (IAT); and the much-weakened 2011 Senate version (SB 236). Laws from other countries and international standards provide added guidance. All of the relevant provisions from the different drafts are compared in the appendix...Published by the Revenue Watch Institute.
For the entier brief and appendix-
For the entier brief and appendix-
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