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Tag: Dr. Maikanti Baru

  • The era of fuel scarcity is gone for good, says NNPC GMD

    The Group Managing Director (GMD), Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr Maikanti Baru, on Saturday assured Nigerians that the era of fuel scarcity is gone for good.

    Receiving the Man of the Year Award from Nigeria NewsDirect newspaper, the NNPC GMD said that the corporation had learnt a great lesson during the recent fuel scarcity in the country.

    “We have actualized the lessons learnt, part of which is to ensure that at any point in time, there should be sufficient products available for distribution across the country.

    “Most of our PPMC depots in Ejigbo, Mosinmi, Ibadan and other parts of the nation have sufficient product for distribution now.

    ‘NNPC is discussing with security operatives to stop smuggling of petrol products across our borders.

    “We are working along side with them to ensure safety of our pipelines because we still have some areas in which vandals still disrupt our pipelines,” he said.

    Baru said he dedicated the Man of the Year award to all staff of the corporation.

    Also speaking, Dr Diran Fawibe, Chairman, International Energy Services, urged NNPC to ensure that the nation’s refineries worked to its full capacity.

    According to Fawibe, the oil and gas sector is a major sustainer of the nation’s economy.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that other Nigerians that received awards include the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Raji Fashola and CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele. (NAN)

  • NNPC mulls PPP for gas pipelines

    The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru, has urged the new Board of one of its downstream subsidiary companies, the Nigerian Pipeline Storage Company (NPSC), to partner with the private sector to build more pipelines parallel to the corporation’s existing ones.

    Baru who gave this charge while inaugurating the new Board of the company at the NNPC Towers, yesterday, in Abuja, said such partnership would enhance NPSC’s profitability.

    He said: “Your work also is to look at refurbishing these pipelines and storage along a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement by getting willing private companies to invest in these pipelines. NNPC Management is very much disposed to supporting your efforts in this regard,” the GMD stated.

    Baru further urged the company to double its pipeline network in the next 10 years, stressing that such a target was “absolutely necessary.”

    The GMD described pipelines as arteries of the nation’s Oil and Gas industry, adding that part of the reform process embarked upon by the Corporation under his watch was to birth an NPSC that has a clear focus which sees pipeline storage and distribution as real business.

    “I have a passion for this company and I believe this firm will be a leader in that segment of our operations. That is why we focused our energy on refurbishing, repairing and re-streaming of our storage facilities and pipelines over the last few months,” Baru noted.

    He charged them to also integrate, through their pipelines resources, the various butanisation depots which are used as reception points for Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG).

    “We have a lot of LPG that is being exported. This could be utilized domestically in line with our vision of providing alternative energy sources for domestic and industrial use nationwide,” he stressed.

    Baru tasked the NPSC management to engage the various host state governments towards the restoration of the Products Right of Way (PRoW) to ensure the safety of the citizens and products.

    He added that most of the state governments were ever-willing to support the corporation in preventing infringements on its PRoW.

    He expressed NNPC Management’s readiness to engage security agencies against any act of economic sabotage towards the pipelines.

    Responding, the Chairman of the NPSC Board and Chief Operating Officer, Corporate Services, NNPC, Mr. Isa Inuwa, pledged the readiness of the Board to support the NPSC management towards achieving its set targets.

    “It is our vision to transit NPSC to a market-phasing, competitive and profit-making organisation. We are committed as a Board to deliver on this mandate,” Inuwa stated.

    Also speaking, the Managing Director of the company, Luke Anele, an engineer, thanked the NNPC management, saying that although the task before his team was huge, it would nonetheless leave up to expectations.

    Aside Inuwa, the new Board also has Engr. Henry Ikem-Obi, Engr. Luke Anele, Mr. Umar Ajiya, Mr. Ahmadu Sambo, Mr. Abdullahi Gunda, Mr. Ahmed Danladi, Mrs. Betty A. Ugonna and Mr. Victor Omoluabi as members.

     

  • Buhari orders NNPC not to hike fuel price

    Buhari orders NNPC not to hike fuel price

    President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to ensure the pump price of fuel is not increased above the current price of N145 per litre.

    The Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Dr. Maikanti Baru, disclosed this to State House correspondents after observing jumaat service with President Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    According to him, any marketer found hoarding fuel or selling above the official price will be punished.

    He said: “I’m happy to report that we have tamed the monster that reared its head as a result of the rumoured price increase about three weeks ago.

    “Fortunately that rumour instigated a lot of marketers to be very greedy and they decided that their fellow citizens should not enjoy the Christmas holiday and New Year with ease. They decided to profiteer by hoarding and diverting products.

    “At the beginning I did address the press, telling the world that we have sufficient products that would last us 30 days through the New Year into January but because the marketers wanted to inflict harm and pains on fellow citizens, they decided to hoard products, divert them and in some cases even smuggle products out of the country.

    “This has been tamed by the actions we took and I personally led the war around Abuja and other teams led the war in Lagos and other parts of the country.

    “As of this morning, I have gone round the Abuja metropolis and I have seen that the queues have reduced significantly to almost normal level and few motorists that I heard speaking on a morning programme concerning what I have seen said they have not spent up to 30 minutes to fuel their car.

    “So the monster has been tamed in Lagos, the situation has been brought into normalcy as far as two days ago and we are also achieving the same thing in all other cities.

    “I promise that we have sufficient products that would last us for the next 30 days and we keep bringing in 50 per cent over and above our normal consumption into the country. And vessels have been lined up, at the moment I have eight vessels discharging products at various ports around the country.

    “So Nigerians should enjoy the New Year and that Mr. President’s directive and guidance which has been very helping has been executed and normalcy has returned.

    “Those marketers that have hidden products in odd locations you better bring them out and sell to the public at N145 per liter maximum. If NNPC sold it to you at N133.28, you have sufficient margin within that ambit to be able to supply and sell to the public at maximum N145 per liter.”

    “The NNPC are selling at N143 per liter so you should be able to sell at N145 per liter. If you go above that, the regulator, DPR and PPPRA with the support of law enforcement agencies particularly the civil defence, will make sure that the products are confiscated and given free to the public.

    “This is the directive that we are working on by Mr. President and is being executed to the later. Bring them out and sell these products, we don’t have any shortage and we are making massive loadings.

    “Normally we should be able to have 850 trucks to satisfy the National consumption but as at yesterday we loaded 1,750 trucks to go around the country. So we will continue massive load out until we reached the former position whereby all the stations will have products and truck siding.” he said.

  • Senate panel to grill Kachikwu, Baru over illegal subsidy payments

    Senate panel to grill Kachikwu, Baru over illegal subsidy payments

    The Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream) will on Thursday grill stakeholders in the Petroleum sector on subsidy payment allegedly being paid to some individuals and corporate bodies through the back door.

    Specifically, the Senate panel has picked holes in claims by Petroleum marketers and the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru, that the landing cost for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) is N171 while domestic pump price for the product is N145.

    Briefing journalists at the National Assembly on Friday, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), Senator Kabiru Marafa, raised questions on who pays the difference of N26 if the landing cost of PMS is N171 and the pump price is N145.

    Marafa said there are indications that a subsidy of N26 is being paid on every litre of petrol sold in the country and wondered who has been paying the subsidy.

    He said: “If there is subsidy payment, then who approved it and how much has been paid out as subsidy so far. If you want to provide subsidy, it should come through the National Assembly but we have not receive any request for subsidy payment from the Executive arm.

    Stating that about N10 trillion has been paid out as subsidy, Marafa lamented that stakeholders in the Petroleum industry, particularly the NNPC, have not been transparent in the running of the sector.

    He said these are some of the issues the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, Baru and others would be made to explain to Nigerians at the January 4 hearing.

    “We are going back to the same circle where only a few persons benefit from subsidy payment at the expense of the Nigerian people,” the senator said.

     

     

  • Senate summons Kachikwu, Baru, others over fuel scarcity

    Senate summons Kachikwu, Baru, others over fuel scarcity

    The Senate on Thursday summoned the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru and other relevant stakeholders in oil and gas industry over the persistent fuel scarcity in the country.

    They are expected to appear before the Senate committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream) on January 4, 2018 for a “crucial meeting” with the committee to discuss the way forward on the matter.

    A statement issued on Thursday by the office of the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, directed the committee On Petroleum Resources (Downstream) to cut short its recess and immediately convene a meeting with industry stakeholders.

    The statement quoted the chairman of the Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream), Senator Kabiru Marafa, as saying that proceedings at the meeting would be transmitted live by the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA).

    The Senate, which is presently on Christmas and New Year break is billed to resume committee work for budget defence on January 9, and commence plenary on January 16.

  • NNPC doubles fuel supply as scarcity bites harder

    NNPC doubles fuel supply as scarcity bites harder

    The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru, said on Thursday the Corporation has doubled the daily supply of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) from 700 trucks (about 27million – 30million) litres per day to 80million litres per day since the current hiccup in the supply chain was noticed few days ago.

    Baru stated this shortly before the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Corporation and the Benue State Government on the Agasha-Guma Bio-fuels Projects in Abuja.

    The NNPC GMD, according to a statement issued by the Corporation, attributed the hiccups in the supply of PMS to rumours about planned increase in the price of petrol.

    “But we swiftly swung into action by doubling our supply nationwide. At the time the rumour started, we had about 30 day sufficiency. The normal daily supply to the nation is 700 trucks, equaling about 27-30m litres per day,” he said.

    He said the NNPC has enough PMS that would last 30 days.

    Meanwhile, scarcity of petrol continued in several cities across the nation on Thursday, with traveling motorists forced to buy the product from black market operators.

  • Baru returns home as fuel scarcity persists

    Baru returns home as fuel scarcity persists

    In a bid to resolve the fuel supply and distribution challenges witnessed in some parts of the country, the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru, on Tuesday cut short his trip to London.

    Baru, who was billed to receive the Forbes Oil and Gas Man of the Year Award for 2017 in the British capital on Tuesday, returned home to address what he described as a “matter of urgent national importance.”

    Speaking on the development shortly before he left London, Baru urged Nigerians to stop panic buying as the Corporation was doing everything within its reach to address the situation.

    The NNPC’s Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Mr.  Ndu Ughamadu, in a statement quoted the NNPC GMD as saying “for the umpteenth time, I wish to call on all Nigerians to stop panic buying. We have said times without number that NNPC has sufficient products to cater for the needs of all consumers. ”

    Baru directed that more truckload of petroleum products be dispatched to various parts of the country to cushion the effects of excessive demand caused by panic buying.

    Read Also: NNPC to select core investor for Benue bio-fuel project – Baru

     

  • NNPC to announce core investor for Benue bio-fuel project soon — Baru

    NNPC to announce core investor for Benue bio-fuel project soon — Baru

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) says it has almost concluded discussion on the choice of a core investor for the proposed bio-fuel plant in Benue.

    The Group Managing Director of the corporation, Dr Maikanti Baru, said this in a statement issued by Mr Ndu Ughamadu, NNPC Group General Manager Public Affairs Division in Abuja on Sunday.

    Baru, after a follow-up meeting with a Benue State delegation led by Dep. Gov. Benson Abounu, said arrangements had been finalised to name the prospective investor in the weeks ahead.

    Read Also: NNPC begins exploration in Benue

    Represented at the meeting by the Chief Operating Officer, Ventures Directorate, Dr Babatunde Adeniran, Baru explained that the core investor would provide 70 per cent of the required funding for the project.

    According to Baru, the Benue State government and the NNPC will take up the balance equity contribution.

    He said upon completion, the plant was projected to generate about one million direct and indirect jobs for the populace, noting that the project would help link the energy sector with the agricultural sector through the commercial production of bio-fuels from selected energy crops.

    The NNPC boss listed other components of the project to include a sugar cane feedstock plantation of about 20,000 hectares; a cane mill and raw/refined sugar plant capable of producing 126,000 tonnes annually.

    According to him, it also includes a fuel-ethanol processing plant with production capacity of 84 million litres annually.

    “The bio-fuels projects will also help to establish the bio-gas cogeneration power plant which will generate 64 MW; a carbon dioxide recovery and bottling plant that will produce 2, 000 tonnes annually as well as an animal feed plant that will produce 63, 000 tons annually.’’

    The statement also quoted Abonu, Benue deputy governor as saying “Benue State is offering the 20, 000 hectares of irrigable land space along the bank of the river Benue as its equity contribution to the project’’.

    “In addition to a yet to be specified tranche of funds to shore up its stake to the level of directorship in the yet to be constituted board.’’

    Abonu also commended the NNPC on the strides so far recorded, and assured that the state government had since taken concrete measures to sensitise the host communities on the bio-fuel project.

    According to the deputy governor, the state government has also sensitised host communities to ongoing effort by the corporation for fresh hydrocarbon found in the Benue trough.

  • Senate accuses CBN, NNPC, others of frustrating passage of 2018 budget

    Senate accuses CBN, NNPC, others of frustrating passage of 2018 budget

    The Senate Wednesday said that the refusal of key government officials to honour its invitation for the consideration of templates contained in the 2018 budget is hampering its plan to pass the budget before the end of December 2017.

    The upper chamber specifically named the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Mr. Godwin Emefiele, Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Group Managing Director, Dr. Maikanti Baru and Controller General, Nigeria Customs Service, Hameed Ali as some of those who failed to honour its invitation.

    The Director, Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and the Director, National Bureau of Statistics, were also listed to have refused to appear before its committee to provide information that would aid the Senate to pass the budget on time.

    Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi raised the alarm at a news briefing yesterday in Abuja.

    Abdullahi said that the Senate is disturbed by a situation where heads of ministries, departments and agencies are invited by the Senate in relation to the 2018 budget without the government official honouring the invitation.

    He noted that the joint Senate committee on Appropriation, Finance and National Planning held a crucial meeting on Tuesday to consider the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) where some heads of key MDAs were invited to throw light on the MTEF.

    He said that CBN governor, NNPC GMD, Customs Controller General, Director DPR and Director, National Bureau for Statistics who were duly invited failed to honour the invitation.

    The Senate’s spoke person said that the zeal of the upper chamber to pass the budget before the end of the year was being constrained by the action of the key agency officials.

    He said that some agency heads decided to send lowly placed officers who cannot be held responsible for any resolution.

    Insisting that it is important that the government top officials honour their invitation, Abdullahi said that dispatching lowly placed officers to stand in for them does not help matter.

    He said that nothing could be more important than the annual budget of a country “but these people decided to stay away.

    Asked whether the development would affect passage of the 2018 budget before the end of the year, Abdullahi said: “We are reporting back to the people of Nigeria the hurdle we are facing in the process of trying to meet the target. For me, I cannot give you any concrete commitment. What we are doing is to report back to the people.”

    Abdullahi said: “We want to report that the Senate is disturbed by a new trend where heads or chief executives of critical institutions who should play a critical role in this budget process but who choose to ignore the invitation by the Senate to appear before it for deliberation.

    “Specifically yesterday when we had a deliberation, the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning was around. But based on the discussion we were supposed to have, to look at the revenue projections which are the basis for the MTEF, I want to report here that the GMD of NNPC refused to show up. Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria refused to show up. The Comptroller General of Customs refused to show up. The Director General of the National Bureau of Statistics refused to show up. And the Director of DPR refused to show up.

    “The question to ask here is this: if the national budget is very important and all of us depend on the resources of the country to run our businesses, what other business could be more important than looking at this very critical assignment for this country.

    “When you decide to send a representative that is powerless; that cannot answer critical questions; that cannot provide critical insight, it is as good as not showing up. And some of them never even sent anybody to represent them.

    “It is important that we report this because, overall, the media will still come back to us asking what progress are we making and why are we slow in taking decisions. I must make this very clear. We are trying our best and we want to see what progress we can make but we are constrained by some of these types of decisions or actions by some chief executives from the Executive side. Let it also be said that some people are not giving maximum cooperation to the National Assembly for us to do our job.

    “For example, on the issue revenue projections, where there are shortages, we will look at the performance in 2017 to see what informed the projection for 2018. But where these people are not there, how do you get answers to the things that agitate your mind? We are worried about this development and we want to urge all those who are responsible for some of these critical assignments must begin to realise that when the National Assembly is calling them, it is a national duty; it is a constitutional duty and they must take it seriously.

    “It is in anticipation of these kinds of questions that we are reporting back to you. The hurdles we are meeting in the process; when the National Assembly seeks for answers from the Executive, I think we should get those answers. That way, the process will not be impeded. I cannot make any concrete commitment because as much as we have our own internal conditions that are within our control, we also have external variables that seem to be beyond our control. One of such external variables is what I am reporting to you today.

    “It is not pleasant that when we commit to do our job, somebody is summoned and there is no response or send someone who is as good as not coming. If we ask an officer (certain questions) and they tell us they have to go back to confirm (the facts), then you have not sent an officer. If you send an officer who has full authority, when we ask then to explain issues, they can; if we ask them to make commitments, they can make it.

    “For the budget, what we are trying to say is that it is serious enough for all of these chief executives to honour the National Assembly by their presence so that we can look at these issues critically. In doing so, they will be honouring the request by their principal and our overall President and Commander-in-Chief, President Muhammadu Buhari.

    Meanwhile Joint Committee on Finance, Appropriation and National Planning and Economic Affairs laid the report of 2018-2020 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper for consideration and adoption.”

    The MTEF and FSP are the plant upon which the budget estimates are built.

    Its adoption will pave the way for the consideration of the 2018 budget.

  • NNPC completes 539km of gas pipeline projects

    NNPC completes 539km of gas pipeline projects

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) says it has completed, commissioned and delivered 500 kilometers (km) of gas pipelines between 2010 to date.

    The Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Dr Maikanti Baru, said this on Tuesday in Abuja in a statement by Mr Ndu Ughamadu, the corporation’s Group General Manager Public Affairs Division.

    According to him, this is part of an aggressive expansion of gas pipeline infrastructure across the country.

    The statement said that Baru delivered a paper entitled, “Revival and Development of Local Manufacturing Industries: Chemical and Petrochemical Industries” at the 2017 Conference and Annual General Meeting of the Nigerian Society of Engineers.

    In the paper, he said the accelerated expansion of the gas pipeline system was sequel to the directive of the then President Olusegun Obasanjo to aid power generation.

    Read also: NNPC, Chevron seal $1.7b deal to raise oil, gas production

    Baru said the directive became imperative after the government realised that adequate power supply was key to reviving the moribund industries.

    He listed the gas pipelines so far delivered by the corporation to include; the 196km Oben Gas Plant to Geregu Power Plant pipeline, 110km Escravos-Warri-Oben gas pipeline, 128km Ukanafun-Calabar pipeline.

    Others are 50km Emuren-Itoki pipeline, 31km Itoki- Olorunshogo pipeline and 24km Imo River-Alaoji gas pipeline.

    He noted that all available thermal power plants in the country were today connected with permanent gas supply pipelines.

    Baru added that NNPC was driving the realisation of Federal Government’s aspiration to expand the gas pipeline network to all parts of the country.

    He said with this, about 2,700 megawatts of Thermal electricity was expected to be added to the national grid in the near future to generate more power for new industrial revolution and sustenance of economic growth.

    Providing details of the planned expansion of the gas infrastructure, Baru said the lines would be bolstered with the ongoing construction of the 127 km East-West OB3 gas pipeline joining Oben to Obiafu-Obrikom.

    He explained that the strategic infrastructure was scheduled for completion by the fourth quarter of 2018, while the 363km looping expansion of Escravos-Lagos Gas Pipeline System was expected for delivery by first quarter of 2018.

    He also explained that Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) tender evaluation process for Ajaokuta-Abuja-Kaduna-Kano (popularly known as AKK683km) gas pipeline contract, and the EPC tender process for the Qua Iboe Terminal to Obiafu/Obrikom (QIT-Ob/Ob gas pipeline) gas pipeline were on-going.

    ”Upon completion, the remaining projects are expected to add over 1000 kilometers to the nation’s gas pipeline network.”

    On funding of oil and gas development projects, Baru said the corporation was adopting the Public Private Partnership models in building and expanding the gas infrastructures.

    He said the development of the Ajaokuta–Abuja-Kaduna–Kano (AKK) Gas pipelines which was the first in line under the arrangement would be built through contractor-financing.

    He explained that contractor-financing was a situation where the selected contractors would finance the project and recover their cost through transportation tariff.

    ”This model will be extended to other major backbone pipelines in the Nigerian Gas Master Plan,” he said.

    He concluded that once these projects were completed, a nationwide gas infrastructure backbone would be in place.

    ”This is to fully enable the establishment of an integrated gas pipeline infrastructure grid across the entire country.”