House Committee Pledges Effective Oversight On Petroleum Sector

Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Midstream), Hon Henry Odianosen Okojie, has assured effective oversight to ensure value addition to the sector.

In his welcome address at the recent inaugural meeting of the committee at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja, Okojie, who represents Esan North East and Esan South East federal constituency of Edo State, said the committee would work to ensure accountability and transparency as well as compliance with regulations.

He said it was the first House Committee on Petroleum Resources (Midstream), which is as a result of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, which provided the legal, regulatory and fiscal framework for the Nigerian petroleum industry hence a lot is expected of them.

He expressed gratitude to the leadership of the House led by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas for the confidence to carry out the responsibility and assured that the Committee would diligently carry out its mandate.

He said, “This inaugural meeting is to set the stage for the enormous responsibilities we are to accomplish. Our goal, therefore is to provide effective leadership and oversight for the midstream petroleum sector and to ensure that there is value addition.

“As you are aware, the Petroleum Resource (Midstream) handles the midstream activities in Nigeria, which includes the technical, operational and commercial aspects of operations in the oil and gas industry. The sector deals with the movement, storage and processing of crude oil and natural gas. It also covers wholesale marketing of crude or refined petroleum products.

“Essentially, this is the first House Committee on Petroleum Resources (Midstream), which is as a result of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), 2021 which provided the legal, regulatory and fiscal framework for the Nigerian Petroleum Industry. A lot is expected from us.

“Principally, the committee shall have jurisdiction over the following: Oversight over the Ministry responsible for Petroleum Resources; the Nigeria Midstream and Down Stream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), The Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Ltd (NNPCL), on midstream activities; Crude Oil Refining; Bulk Storage; Transportation Pipelines; Transportation Network Operations; Wholesale Petroleum Liquid Supply; Petroleum Product Distribution and Operation of facilities for the production of Petrochemicals; Crude Oil Marketing and Revenue from Petro-chemicals; Examination and Scrutinizing NNPCL, its subsidiaries and all related Companies in the Midstream Sector; Jointly work with the Committee on Petroleum Resources Upstream to oversight on environmental remediation activities; Examining and scrutinizing, in conjunction with other related Committees on Petroleum Resources, the annual budget estimate of NNPCL and its subsidiaries and all oil related companies and present same to the House for consideration and approval.

“The committee shall also emphasize on issues of finance, prices and fees for midstream services; ensuring health, safety and environmental standards are met; support activities that encourage investment and competition in the midstream sector; and to also set standards that can help develop gas infrastructure and use; as well as dealing with issues that affect host communities and stakeholders,” he said.