Energy Summit 2022 to focus on PIA, say organisers

The enacted Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 and its implementation, will face scrutiny by industry professionals, policy makers and stakeholders at the 2022 Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES 2022), a statement from the organisers on Monday has said.

According to a statement the NIES 2022 has been scheduled to take place in Abuja from Feb. 27, to March 3, 2022.

The Petroleum Industry Act 2021 was assented and signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari on Aug. 16, 2021 to repeal the extant Petroleum Act 2004.

The PIA was enacted to provide for the legal, governance, regulatory, and fiscal framework for the Nigerian Petroleum Industry, the establishment, and development of host communities and other related matters in the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors.

Mr James Shindi, Managing Director, Brevity and Anderson, event producers of NIES 2022, noted that the passing of PIA delivered the much-needed stability to the industry, by settling the applicable regulatory and fiscal terms.

“It is now time for industry experts and stakeholders to assess whether it creates a framework that can support long-term challenges of declining investments and project development, especially against the backdrop of the energy transition.”

“The PIA is a historic move. It is a major feat by the Buhari presidency.”

“And we want to use the NIES platform to ensure that its implementation turns out to be a win-win for government, industry and the Nigerian people,” Shindi said.

According to an Ernst and Young publication, the PIA seeks to ensure an increased level of transparency and accountability in the sector.

This, according to the publication, is by strengthening governance institutions to attract investment capital through changes to the governance, administrative, regulatory and fiscal framework of the Nigerian oil and gas industry.

It should be noted that from the inception of the summit in 2018, discussions around the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) had taken centre stage.

The discussions were often tilted to heated debates at the conference with the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, making definitive statements on the passage of the bill which happened few months later.

The NIES, formerly known as the Nigerian International Petroleum Summit (NIPS), is the official oil and gas meeting event of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

With the full backing of the Federal Government of Nigeria, NIES had, over the years, witnessed the highest level of attendance by top decision makers, industry leaders and all stakeholders from both the public and private sectors.

NIES is an official petroleum industry event of the Federal Government, with the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and its parastatals, including the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), among others.