I have to concede that prior to reading the views of Ann Pickard, the
American spy (?)who doubled as the Executive Vice President for Shell
Companies in Africa, on why the International Oil Companies and some
European nations and the United States of America were opposed to the
Petroleum Industry Bill, I also had my reservations on the same.
(http://www.saharareporters.com/sites/default/files/page_images/articles/2010/Ann_Pickard.JPG?1292098510)
At the core of my reservations on the PIB was that in an effort to
comprehensively deal with the challenges of the petroleum sector, the
drafters of the Bill not only redefined some of the existing
government agencies but also went on to propose the creation of
additional government agencies adding to the bureaucracy that already
exists in that sector.
In addition to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the
Minister of Petroleum Resources, the Nigeria National Petroleum
Corporation, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board it is
proposed that the following agencies be created, such as National
Petroleum Assets Management Agency, Nigerian National Petroleum
Research Centre, and National Frontier Exploration Service.
Others are the Petroleum Technology Development Fund, National
Petroleum Directorate, Nigerian Petroleum Inspectorate, and Petroleum
Equalization Fund, but the IOCs and their backers probably have no
issues with these agencies being created as all they have to do is to
recruit more moles for implanting in these agencies so as to continue
with business as usual.
But the Wikileaks revelations of the cables from the American embassy
in Nigeria shows that there is more to the PIB that has made the IOCs
who are ordinarily fierce rivals to become totally aligned at every
level to ensure that the status quo on the petroleum sector is
maintained or at best that PIB as proposed is radically altered to
suit the IOCs and their backers.
Ann Pickard concedes that the PIB has potential benefits such as "the
creation of fully integrated independently functioning international
joint ventures (IJV) would solve the oil and gas industry's
longstanding funding problems if the IJVs are done right", a position
supported by the World Bank who are already working to make the IJVs
bankable to the annoyance of Ann Pickard.
Moles in High Places -Part 2 (http://www.saharareporters.com/article/moles-high-places-part-2)