LAGOS (Reuters) - Nigeria should break up its long-awaited Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) to speed its passage through parliament, Oil Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke said on Friday.
The big piece of legislation aims to reform oil taxes and licences and overhaul the structure of the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
It has been more than five years in the making and has not passed because of political wrangling over its many clauses. Oil majors are also unhappy about proposed fiscal terms.
Uncertainty while it is being debated has held up billions of dollars worth of exploration and production. President Goodluck Jonathan sent the latest draft of the bill to lawmakers almost two years ago.
"I think that it (PIB) should actually be broken up at this point in time if that will allow it to move forward," Alison-Madueke said at a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum in Abuja, Nigeria.
"We have been pondering for some time now. Of course that's something we have to look at alongside the National Assembly," she said.