‘PENGASSAN, NUPENG critical to new phase of Nigeria’s oil sector’

The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) being transformed to the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority yesterday, stated that a formidable workforce remained critical to projected objectives of the new phase of the nation’s oil and gas sector.

Director of the department, Sarki Auwalu insisted that the roles of Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) must be leveraged to leapfrog the sector.

Speaking in Abuja, at an event organised by PENGASSAN, Auwalu noted that the new regulators would continue to play a pivotal role in creating value and promoting industry growth, stability, and sustainability, while leveraging extant assets.

Auwalu noted that the workforce under PENGASSAN and NUPENG serves as the turbo engine that drives the wheels of the nation’s oil sector.

According to him, constructive unionism plays key roles in national development and the petroleum industry, in particular.

“There is no doubt that our great leader and the father of the nation, President Muhammadu Buhari, achieved a monumental feat in the advancement of the Nigerian oil and gas Industry through the signing of the Petroleum Industry Act into law, marking a notable milestone in the past two decades of legal reforms of the sector,” he said.

Auwalu explained that his Law holds the key to unlocking value from the nation’s hydrocarbon resources for the benefits of our generation and those of our children and children’s children.

“The law will enable far reaching reforms and sustainable overhaul of the industry, as there is a focused and committed implementation framework under the distinguished leadership of the President and the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva,” Auwalu said.

Stating that the nation’s oil industry is set on the path for greatness, Auwalu said there was need for unalloyed support for the smooth implementation and seamless take-off of the PIA.