…Warns move may scare investors, jeopardise reforms
By Charles Ebi
Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria ,PENGASSAN, has faulted moves to amend the four-year-old Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, warning that such a move could send the wrong signal to investors and international oil companies.
PENGASSAN President Festus Osifo argued that any attempt to tamper with the PIA would undermine the Bola Tinubu administration’s efforts to unlock oil and gas investments at a time when the industry is already grappling with dwindling capital inflows.
The warning comes amid discussions around amending the Act by removing its fiscal provisions and transferring them to the Nigeria Tax Administration Act.
Osifo made the remarks in his keynote address at the 2025 PENGASSAN Energy and Labour Summit held at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja. The three-day summit had as its theme: “Building a Resilient Oil and Gas Sector in Nigeria”.
The labour leader, who also doubles as the President of the Trade Union Congress, noted that some successes had been recorded in increasing crude oil output from around 800,000 barrels per day to Nigeria’s OPEC quota of 1.5 million barrels per day.
“Our crude oil output fell from 2.4 million barrels per day to around 800,000 in 2021. Thanks to the initiatives of regulators, the resilience of our workforce, and operator support, production is now climbing”, Osifo said.
He recalled the signing of three Executive Orders in March 2024 aimed at removing obstacles to investment in Nigeria, harnessing the nation’s resources, and diversifying the economy for the benefit of all Nigerians.
The PENGASSAN President said, “On achieving incremental production and incentivising investment, the president and C-in-C recently signed some executive orders; this is the right step in the right direction, mostly as it concerns the contracting cycle, non-associated gas developments, extending the duration of third-party contracts, performance-based tax incentives, etc”.
However, he cautioned that the gains made so far in the oil and gas sector could be eroded by attempts to tamper with the PIA.
Osifo warned, “Beyond the executive orders, the recent amendment to PIA by removing the fiscal section and transferring it to the Nigeria Tax Administration Act has created some level of anxiety in the industry.
“As if this is not enough, there are plans to further distort the Act by a series of proposed amendments. Amendments to laws are inevitable but not done haphazardly and intermittently, even before those the laws are intended to serve understand what it contains”.
The labour leader stressed that investors require policy consistency to make sound medium- and long-term plans.
According to him, constant policy reversals and frequent legal changes undermine stability and, at best, discourage investment.
Osifo said, “Investors need certainty for medium- to long-term planning. Policy somersaults and frequent changes to laws don’t aid stability. At best, it’s a disincentive to Investment”.
