Aryanews- Nigeria's proposed oil industry reforms could drive away billions in investment, slow development of deep water reserves, and help Angola eclipse it as Africa's biggest oil producer, oil majors said on Tuesday.
The firms pressed their point at an industry forum dubbed the Nigerian Oil Summit in Abuja two weeks after acting President Goodluck Jonathan assumed executive powers in the absence of the OPEC member's ailing leader.
Under the current version of the proposed Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), the government would be allowed to renegotiate old contracts, impose higher costs on oil companies and retake acreage that firms have yet to explore.
Jonathan on Monday urged parliament to pass the bill quickly, saying it was vital for Nigeria's national interest and that it was the country's "unreserved determination" to implement the reforms.
The legislation has been stalled by the dispute between government and the international firms, which already complain of funding difficulties and have suffered years of unrest in the oil-producing Niger Delta region.
"The PIB threatens to make a bad situation worse," Royal Dutch Shell's Executive Vice President for sub-Saharan Africa, Ann Pickard, told the conference.
"If passed in the form currently proposed its mistakes will take years to correct," she said, adding harsh terms for deepwater projects could drive as much as $50 billion in investment elsewhere.
Nigeria says it wants Africa's biggest oil and gas industry to better serve the interests of its 140 million people, not least by addressing chronic power shortages, ending budget-debilitating fuel subsidies, and increasing the involvement of local firms.
Minister of State for Petroleum Odein Ajumogobia said the proposed legislation had been drafted in full consultation with industry and that 56 changes had been made to the bill in response to comments from foreign oil firms alone.