As Federal Government sets up a committee to ensure speedy implementation of the recently gazetted Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), Dr. Bello Aliyu Gusau, Executive Secretary, Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), who is the head of PIA Implementation Steering Committee’s Coordinating Secretariat and Implementation Working Group, has stated that the Fund is ready to respond to the new responsibilities created in the law by providing people and institutions with required competences that will drive the implementation of the act.

Dr Gusau made the disclosure at the PTDF Headquarters in Abuja while receiving the Management of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) led by its Director /CEO Engr. Sarki Auwalu on a courtesy call.

He said as the agency of government empowered by law to carry out the mandate of capacity building for the oil and gas industry, PTDF is fully ready to align itself with the new challenges and role that will be provided by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) which requires training and capacity building for effective implementation.

He said the major role of the PIA Working Group is to provide guidance and coordination on the expectations of all the stakeholders, he added that whilst most of the work is going to be carried out by people and existing institutions in the petroleum industry saying, the task requires more training and retraining to effectively deal with the challenges of the new industry will be confronted with.

“I believe there will be new responsibilities, new roles and functions and I know it will require a lot of training and retraining for people who are going to assume these responsibilities as provided for in the new law and in the kind of arrangement that this law is going to provide for. What I can say is that I am pledging the readiness of the PTDF to help to provide capacities, the skills and the trainings and retraining that are required. This is what our mandate is as enshrined in the PTDF Act”

Dr. Bello Gusau thanked the management of the DPR for allowing some of its staffs to contribute to the formulation of the act and described DPR as the heart of the industry with capability to play more role in the implementation process. He further commended the management for anticipating the changes that may occur with the implementation of the PIA and proactively positioning itself to be relevant to the new dispensation.

“I am so happy that the DPR is already going ahead to anticipate what is going to happen in the implementation process because it is going to be a journey and it is better to commence this journey early that will go a long way in simplifying the process and it’s a proactive step that I assure you is going to assist the implementation process”.

Dr. Gusau applauded the partnership between PTDF and DPR which resulted in the two institutions jointly tracking the inflow funds into the signature bonus account which is the main lifeline of the PTDF. He also commended the initiative of inviting the Fund to attend the presentation of oil fields development plans, which he said will aid in shaping the PTDF’s capacity-building projections.

“The leadership of DPR invited us to be sitting in the presentation of field development plans and that is important to us because it focuses our attention to where to direct our activities, by attending such meetings we get to know where the industry is heading and what will be the skills and capacity requirements of the industry and we make up our plans accordingly”.

Engr. Sarki Auwalu, the Director and Chief Executive of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), earlier in his address, stated that he believes it is critical to lead a powerful delegation on a courtesy call to the Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) in the spirit of inter-agency collaboration and to assure him of their readiness to support the full implementation of the recently passed Petroleum Industry Act, in which the Executive Secretary played a vital role towards its drafting and still has  a key role to play in seeing its final implementation.

“Our visit is in two fold one to establish and guarantee our support to the PTDF in its quest of establishing skills and capacities for Nigerians especially those that have the interest in oil and gas and to guarantee our own capacity as regulators and give our support to the Secretary of the PIA implementation committee in his own capacity and  show our readiness to ensure that the PIA work in the interest of Nigerians and the benefit of our future generations”.

He described the Executive Secretary, PTDF as one of the brains behind the then PIB who after 20 years has been priviledged to witness the passage and implementation of the PIA. “The leadership of PTDF has a lot of institutional memory and capacity for the entire industry and that being recognized the entire process of de-risking the oil and gas industry is put in his hand to manage which he did very well, and we are not surprised that Dr Bello Aliyu Gusau has carried everybody as a neutral, balanced and unbiased umpire”.

Engr. Sarki Auwalu then emphasized the need for capacity building in the journey to the implementation of the PIA and said that with the quality of scholars and industry trainings provided by PTDF over the years the Fund is well positioned to support that process. He said the industry requires capacity and skills for values to be created without which the industry will never go anywhere.

The presentation of the officially gazetted copy of the bill by the Executive Secretary, PTDF to the Director and management of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) was a highlight of the occasion.

By

Press and External Relations Unit