Nigerian Senate passes oil overhaul bill

(Corrects paragraph 3 to remove reference to bill being cleared for presidential approval)

ABUJA - The Nigerian Senate passed a long-awaited oil industry reform bill which will overhaul nearly every aspect of oil and gas production in the West African country, in a plenary session witnessed by Reuters on Thursday.

The House of Representatives had passed the bill earlier.

Its passage by both chambers is the first step towards the bill being signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari.