Nigeria needs national petroleum, energy policy council, says expert

A professor of petroleum economics has stressed the need for the creation of an advisory National Petroleum and Energy Policy Council to drive the nation’s oil and gas industry.

Wumi Iledare, director, Energy Information and Data Division, Centre for Energy Studies at the Louisiana State University, United States,said: “If you see what is going on in the US today, you will not be surprised it is as a result of many years of hard work by geoscientists and engineers. Nigeria, right

now, has no functioning energy or petroleum policy. Look at how long it has taken to even pass a simple modus operandi to guide oil and gas operations in the country—2000-2013.

The advisory council on energy and petroleum would stand in the gap to offer non-partisan and unbiased views on evolving contemporary energy and petroleum policy issues long before they surface.”

Continuing, he said: “Such an institution exists in the US over the years. It is advisory and what it publishes is not necessarily binding but educative. The US Council has academia, government, and industry members. The Council studies events and gives reports for public consumption and government can develop white papers on their findings.”

Citing an example, he said