The House of Representatives has passed the National Gas Resources Development Agency (Establishment) Bill, 2016 for second reading. Leading the debate at the plenary session of November 16th 2016, Hon. Frederick Agbedi (PDP: Bayelsa) explained that the Bill seeks to establish a National Gas Development Agency aimed at regulating the development of the gas resources sector.
According to Hon. Agbedi, the recent development in the Oil and Gas industry indicates that gas is now recognized as a valuable product its exploitation can considerably increase Nigeria’s revenue. He further noted that the Petroleum Industry Bill does not explicitly provide for an institutional organ that would be responsible for the management, exploration, exploitation and utilization of Gas resources. Hence there was need to establish the proposed agency.
Hon. Agbedi identified the objectives of the Bill to include:
- Collating and harnessing all existing gas resources developments schemes in the country and developing a holistic and strategic policy for upstream exploration.
- Working to entrench acceptable global best practices on the application of technologies for the retrieval of gas for commercial marketing.
- Issuing permits necessary for seismic activities, design and construction of all facilities for operations.
- Conducting bid rounds for the award of gas prospecting licenses and mining lease on approval of the Minister; and
- Developing an institutional framework that ensures safety and well-being of host communities.
The Bill which was unanimously adopted was referred to the Committee on Gas Resources for further legislative input.
