Contrary to reports concerning the provisions of the Bill sent to the National Assembly by the President of Nigeria, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, has dismissed the scrapping of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and stated the National Oil Company will rather be commercialised.

Alleged excerpts from the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) showed that the NNPC and the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Authority (PPPRA) will be merged into NNPC Ltd.

This Minister disclosed this after a meeting with the leadership of the National Assembly, that is expected to read, deliberate on the provisions and pass the Bill soon. According to him, the Bill is the development of the midstream sector to accommodate a robust pipeline industry in the sector to sustain the grown of the oil and gas industry.

He said the Bill will affect the Petroleum Equalization Fund (PEF) and the Petroleum Product Pricing and Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), causing them to exist in new form.

He said the commercialisation of the NNPC will be of massive benefit to host communities.

Excerpts from his statement:

 “I have heard so much noise about NNPC being scrapped, that is not envisaged in the bill at all.

“NNPC will be commercialized, in transforming the industry, the new thing we are developing is developing the midstream.

“That is the pipeline sector, that sector in the midstream and the downstream because the framework is not fully developed.

“So we have provided robustly for the growth of the midstream sector.

“Host community has the best deal and it’s details you would hear in the next few days. The PIB will take care of that.”

 “PEF and the PPPRA will not exist in the form it is today.”