The Federal Government has resolved to privatise the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation based on the content of the Petroleum Industrial Bill, which is set to be read on the floor of National Assembly on Tuesday.
The President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, confirmed the receipt of the bill from the Presidency on Monday.
Lawan said the bill was received about two weeks ago.
According to the bill, a Limited Liability Corporation will be created into which the Ministers of Finance and Petroleum would transfer the assets of the NNPC.
The government would then pay cash for shares of the company and it would operate as a commercial entity without access to state funds.
The legislation would also amend controversial changes to deep offshore royalties made late last year by cutting the royalty that companies pay the government for offshore fields producing less than 15,000 barrels per day to 7.5 per cent from 10 per cent.
According to Reuters, it would also codify in law that companies cannot deduct gas flaring penalties from taxes, a practice that was the subject of a court case.
The measure would also scrap the Petroleum Equalisation Fund, which used to distribute cash to keep nationwide petrol prices uniform, and create new regulatory bodies, scrapping the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency and transferring to a new commission many of the tasks currently handled by the Department of Petroleum Resources.