Oil & Gas
Nigerian Parliament to Review Laws on Oil Industry
By AFX News Limited
Feb 17, 2005, 11:34

Nigerian lawmakers will launch a three day public hearing on Tuesday in the capital Abuja, to discuss how to amend the laws governing the oil industry in order to create more local jobs and boost government revenues, AFP reported.

The House of Representatives committee on petroleum resources will review the 1969 Petroleum Act in order to bring "dynamism into the oil industry and improve the revenue and economic base" of the country, AFP said, citing a statement.

Nigeria's exports of around 2.5 mln barrels of crude per day make it the world's sixth largest supplier of oil, and the country relies on the industry for more than 95 pct of its foreign income.

Nevertheless, more than three-quarters of its 130 mln strong population surviving on less than one dollar per day.

Nigerian unions complain that the best jobs in the industry are reserved for well-paid expatriate workers, while communities living near oil wells accuse foreign firms of poisoning the environment and neglecting local development.



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