The Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) will drive investment across the oil and gas value chain, the Federal Government has said.

It reiterated its commitment to the promotion of programmes, policies and investment cooperation with other countries as it seeks to drive growth in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.

Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum Resources Dr Nasir Sani-Gwarzo, made this declaration in a keynote address at the Nigeria Oil and Gas Outlook 2021, yesterday.

The event has as its theme “Achieving energy security; the engine for secured economic growth.”

Sani-Gwarzo, who spoke virtually, stressed that the PIA and other policies in the oil and gas industry will drive investment across the oil and gas value chain.

Read Also: PIA one year take off plan ‘strange to law’, says Kyari

According to Sani-Gwarzo, the PIA provides opportunity for purposeful investment into the development of Nigeria’s oil and resources by providing clear and simple fiscal terms that would guarantee reasonable investors’ margin.

He said: “One central theme that runs through the oil and gas sector is the importance of implementation of the PIA on public finances, oil and gas production, fiscal regime for international oil companies, transparency in the petroleum sector and indeed the entire sections of the proposed law.

“We couldn’t agree more. Effective implementation is at the heart of this Act and remains the route through which value will be unlocked into the economy”.

“The PIA aims to incentivise optimality and cost-efficiency and cost-effectiveness in oil production.

Different levers such as the cost-price ratio, the replacement of the investment tax allowances and investment tax credits (which encourage gold plating) with production allowances which reward incremental production have been instituted. These measures are in addition to industry-wide initiatives already rolled out by government which focus on cost reduction and enablers in this regard.”