HOUSE OF REPS SET TO PROBE NIGERIA'S DWINDLING OIL REVENUE.

The House of Representatives has mandated the Committees on Petroleum resources (Upstream and Downstream), National Planning and Finance, to investigate relevant government agencies over dwindling oil revenue in Nigeria.  The committees are expected to report back to the House within four weeks.This resolution followed a motion moved by Rep. Ben Nwankwo which was unanimously adopted. Nwankwo said that the near total dependence on oil as the major source of revenue had almost reduced the country to a mono-product economy. According to him, Nigeria's crude oil market is under serious threat arising from the discovery of shale gas through hydraulic fracturing or franking. Franking is a process of forcing water, chemicals and sand at high pressure into underground rocks. Nwankwo  said that dwindling revenue from crude oil was threatening the implementation of the 2013 budget, adding that it could get worse as more countries and corporations invest in the production of energy through franking.