Reps demand gas inclusion in petroleum sharing contract …probe IOCs over labour laws abuse

The House of Representatives has called on the Federal Government to include gas in the Production Sharing Contact.

The House particularly urged the Federal Government to review the contract terms in the Production Sharing Contract, with a view to accommodating gas terms such as the gas development agreements, cost recovery and profit sharing.

Also, the House mandated the Committee on Petroleum (Gas) to liaise with all the contracting parties to the PSC, including the Department of Petroleum Resources, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and all other relevant stakeholders “to determine the current situation in the gas sector and create ways to attract investments as well as set out terms that would grow the economy with special reference to a legal backing to the pricing mechanism.”

Furthermore, the House mandated the Committee on Gas to effect amendment to the PSC Act, with a view to accommodating gas terms accordingly.

These resolutions were passed following the unanimous adoption of a motion moved by Kolawole Lawal at the plenary on Thursday.

Lawal said, “Gas is set to take over the petroleum industry because of the quest for alternative energy sources; hence, the neglect of income from gas only spells doom for the economy as there is no check on the fraudulent activities of operators.

“The House is also cognisant (of the fact) that an estimated 60 trillion cubic feet of gas is located in the offshore gas blocks covered by the PSCs and they are either flared or capped as of today. Gas terms for offshore PSC blocks will help unlock more trillion cubic feet of gas for Nigeria’s domestic gas market and it is of utmost importance that the irregularities are remedied with immediate effect.”

Meanwhile, the House at the plenary on Thursday also resolved to investigate the alleged abuse of Nigeria’s labour laws by the International Oil Companies.

The House resolved to investigate the matter after the unanimous adoption of a motion moved by Benjamin Kalu titled, ‘Need to investigate the alleged violation of labour laws by International Oil Companies.’

The lawmakers urged the Minister of Labour, Employment and Productivity, Chris Ngige, and other appropriate ministries, departments and agencies to address the challenges of exploitation and abuses of workers in the oil and gas sector.

“A report published by the Campaign for Democratic Workers Rights pegged the number of casual workers in the Nigerian workforce at 45 per cent and stated that 50 per cent of the burden of casualisation exists in the downstream oil and gas subsectors of the economy, telecommunications, banking, construction, mining and some other workplaces,” Kalu said.