The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has called for stable and competitive policies to strengthen Nigeria’s oil and gas industry and attract sustainable investment.
The association made the call in a communiqué issued at the end of its three-day PENGASSAN Energy and Labour Summit held in Abuja.
The summit brought together stakeholders and industry participants to discuss challenges affecting the sector, including proposed amendments to the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), regulatory uncertainty, investment, policy consistency, incentives, project execution, and the protection of workers and host communities.
The communiqué, signed by PENGASSAN President Festus Osifo and General Secretary Jerry Amah, said the government should provide stable and competitive policies, while regulators should protect the national interest and facilitate responsible investment.
It also called on operators and investors to deploy capital responsibly and uphold safety and labour standards, while urging host communities to become genuine development partners.
The association said labour should continue to promote productivity, professionalism, workers’ welfare, skills development and constructive industrial relations.
The summit recognised the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 as an important milestone in the reform of Nigeria’s petroleum industry but noted that long-term investment depended on the predictability, durability, transparency and consistent application of laws and regulations.
It therefore called for greater stability in the country’s fiscal and regulatory environment, urging the government and regulatory institutions to minimise abrupt policy changes and ensure adequate consultation with stakeholders before introducing significant changes.
The association said regulation should protect Nigeria’s national interests, workers, communities, investors, safety and the environment while enabling legitimate businesses to operate efficiently.
The summit also called for smarter regulation through greater use of technology and improved coordination among regulatory and government institutions.
It said such measures would help eliminate overlapping mandates, repetitive approvals and conflicting directives, thereby reducing the cost of doing business and improving Nigeria’s competitiveness for global energy investment.
The summit welcomed the commitment of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) to continually review regulations to determine whether they were achieving their intended objectives and to maintain transparent and time-bound licensing processes.
Investment and Gas Development
On investment, production and sustainable employment, the communiqué said there was a direct relationship between regulatory certainty, investment, project development, production, government revenue and employment.
It noted that Nigeria was competing with other jurisdictions for limited global capital and could not rely solely on its hydrocarbon resources to attract investors.
The association said the country needed competitive fiscal and commercial terms, improved security, predictable regulation and efficient project execution.
It urged the government and regulators to consolidate recent reforms and incentives that had encouraged renewed investment and Final Investment Decisions, while ensuring that Nigeria remained competitive in attracting international capital.
On gas, the summit noted that Nigeria had more than 215 trillion cubic feet of proven reserves but continued to face challenges in converting the resource into reliable energy, industrial growth and economic development.
It called for an integrated national approach to gas development covering upstream supply, processing facilities, pipelines, storage, liquefied natural gas (LNG), liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and compressed natural gas (CNG) infrastructure.
The association also called for commercially sustainable gas pricing, bankable offtake arrangements and creditworthy customers to support investment in the sector.
It urged the accelerated use of gas for power generation, manufacturing, transportation, fertiliser production, petrochemicals and domestic cooking, while calling for measures to reduce routine gas flaring and methane emissions.
The summit said converting otherwise wasted gas into economic value would support Nigeria’s energy security and broader economic development.
