The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Dr. Maikanti Baru

  • Crude oil production stands at 2.35m bpd – NNPC

    Crude oil production stands at 2.35m bpd – NNPC

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) said on Monday the nation’s current crude oil production has risen to 2.35 million barrels per day (bpd).

    Its Group Managing Director (GMD), Dr. Maikanti Baru, disclosed this at the inauguration of the corporation’s reconstituted anti corruption committee in Abuja.

    He said: “In the upstream, we have also been making strides in the stability and security in the Niger-Delta and production is coming back steadily.

    “At one point, we have reached the level of almost 2.35 million barrels per day, including condensates, which accounts for about 400,000 barrels per day.”

    Baru said it was great that petroleum products supply in the country was being sustained.

    He attributed the steady supply to conscious plan by the management, with support from staff and other stakeholders in the industry.

    “I want to thank each member of staff and our clients involved in the supplies of petroleum products and other services in the country, for sustaining the supply of petroleum products across the country. The status quo has been restored.

    “We are in the period of ease. It is not too long ago in December, January and February, when NNPC was a sole importer of petroleum products in this country with the challenges associated with distribution and the capped price of N145 to a liter of petrol.

    “We got some ease when the international price went down and the importers decided to come back to import because they can make some margin. They have raised the importation level to about 30 per, “the NNPC GMD added.

  • AuGF commends NNPC on transparency 

    AuGF commends NNPC on transparency 

    The gale of accountability and transparency pervading the operations of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), under the leadership of Dr. Maikanti Baru has received institutional endorsement with commendation from the Auditor General for the Federation, (AGF) Mr. Anthony Ayine.

    Leading a team of top management and auditors from the Office of the Auditor General for the Federation, (OAuGF) on a business visit to the NNPC Towers Abuja, the AGF said it had become imperative to acknowledge the demonstrable efforts and strides by the current NNPC Management in enshrining the virtue of probity, accountability and transparency in its operations and processes.

    The AuGF, according to the corporation in a statement on Friday, said: ‘’Let me at this juncture commend the Group Managing Director, (GMD) of NNPC, I note with delight that he assumed office in July last year but he has done quite  a number of things worthy of commendation…. Let me also note with delight that the information available to me is that the audited accounts of NNPC that were in arrears are now audited up to 31st December 2014.”

    Ayine noted that as the foremost accountability institution in the country, the OAuGF was not only delighted to note the significant changes in the Corporation but was further encouraged by the renewed assurance from the GMD of improved access to auditors from the office of the AGF during periodic checks on the books of the Corporation.

    He called for improved synergy between the OAuGF and the oil and gas industry especially in providing technical exposure and support for auditors on the beat.

    Responding, Dr. Baru said that transparency and accountability had become a way of life for management and staff of the Corporation noting that the era of unpublished or accumulated NNPC audit accounts had been confined to the history book.

    “This explains why we publish our operations and financial reports every month so that not only your office but the general public could follow the trail. I don’t think there is any government institution that has demonstrated this level of transparency,’’ Baru said.

    The GMD informed that the Corporation hopes to conclude on the 2015 audited account latest by the end of August 2017 while preparation of the 2016 audited account which began about a month ago would be concluded by the end of 2017.

    He said as an entity, the NNPC had a mandate to ensure that Nigeria reaped bountifully from the proceeds of its vast hydrocarbon resources and the Management is also willing at all times to adopt measures that would propel the realization of this noble objective.

  • Nigeria to extend gas pipeline to Côte d’ Ivoire

    Nigeria to extend gas pipeline to Côte d’ Ivoire

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on Wednesday said the West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP) would be extended from Ghana to Cote d’ Ivoire as part of the Federal Government West African energy integration policy.
    The Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Dr. Maikanti Baru, made this disclosure on  while receiving a delegation from Cote d’Ivoire at the NNPC Towers in Abuja.
    Represented by the Chief Operating Officer, Gas and Power, Engr. Saidu Mohammed, the GMD stated that the extension of WAGP to Cote d’Ivoire would facilitate easy transmission of gas within the West African sub-region.
    He noted that the visit would afford the NNPC and Cote d’Ivoire the opportunity to open a new vista for further bilateral discussion which would lead to the growth and development of the oil and gas sector.
    The GMD said Nigeria and indeed the NNPC has being into the business of oil and gas exploration and production for over fifty years, stressing that the interface would enable the NNPC to share its vast experiences in the sector with the delegation.
    The Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of the corporation, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu that disclosed this in a statement quoted Baru as saying that : “Petroleum exploration and production dates back to over fifty years in Nigeria and a lot of experiences in technology and personnel management have been acquired. We are ready to share our experiences with you so as to help you to avoid the mistakes we made in the past.”
    He expressed the readiness of the NNPC to develop the capacity of the delegation, adding that the NNPC was aware of the long history of refining in Cote d’ Ivoire.  
    Earlier, leader of the Ivoirian delegation and Deputy Director, Production, of Ministry of Petroleum, Cote d’ Ivoire, Mr. Patrick Marshal, said the visit was to learn from Nigeria some of its best practices in personnel management, exploration and production in the oil and gas industry.
    Highpoint of the visit was a technical session on the mode of operations of the NNPC in the petroleum sector.
  • We won’t chicken out of Chad Basin oil search-UniMaid

    We won’t chicken out of Chad Basin oil search-UniMaid

    The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Maiduguri, Prof. Ibrahim Njodi has pledged the commitment of the institution to go the whole hog with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, (NNPC) in the search for commercial hydrocarbon deposits in the Chad basin despite the recent insurgent attack.

    The don stated this over the weekend in Maiduguri while receiving the high powered delegation from the  Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu and the NNPC led by Engr. Saidu Mohammed, Chief Operating Officer in charge of gas and power unit of the Corporation.

     Njodo told the delegation that though the entire University community was distraught by the cruel incident of July 25th 2017, the University cannot “Chicken out’’ from doing what it is supposed to do when eventually the NNPC re-organizes and return to exploration work in the area.

    Tracing the University’s partnership with the Corporation to over 12 years ago when the NNPC teed-off exploration activities in the Chad Basin, the UniMaid VC described the cruel attack on the Frontier Exploration Services/Surface Geochemistry Sampling team comprising the NNPC, Consultants from University of Maiduguri, Consultants attached to the Integrated Data Services Limited, (IDSL) a subsidiary of the NNPC and Civilian escort team, as an act of God.

    The NNPC Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, who disclosed this in a statement yesterday said that Njodo noted that the situation painful as it might appear must be seen as a necessary sacrifice for the development of the country.

     Njodo, however, called on the NNPC to stand firmly beside the University and the families of the bereaved and provide the much-needed support to overcome the massive setback wrought by the insurgent attack.

    Responding, Engr. Mohammed said as a responsible corporate entity the NNPC would do everything within its means to support the University and the families of the victims of the attack.

    “We have been great partners with the University of Maiduguri for many years and certainly when losses like this happen and under this circumstance, we cannot abandon our partners to their fate,’’ Engr. Mohammed said.

    He promised to return to the University after conferring with the Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and the Group Managing Director of the NNPC.

    Earlier, the high powered delegation paid a similar visit to the Governor of Borno State at Government House Maiduguri where the deputy governor of the state, Alhaji Usman Durkwa, charged the NNPC not to allow the attack to dampen its morale in the quest for new oil finds in the region.

    Before leaving Maiduguri, the Delegation paid a visit to the Theatre Command Headquarters of operation Lafia Dole where a formal condolence letter from the HMSPR was handed over to Brig. Gen. Stevenson Olabanji who stood in for the theatre commander.

    General Olabanji restated the readiness of the military to perform its statutory role of providing security cover for exploration activities in the Chad Basin and beyond.

    Meanwhile, the Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Dr. Maikanti Baru upon return of the Delegation over the weekend, announced some short term palliatives for victims of the attacks.

  • NSE extols NNPC on fuel supply 

    NSE extols NNPC on fuel supply 

    The Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) has commended the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for stabilising the supply and distribution of petroleum products and for crashing the price of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) otherwise known as diesel across the length and breadth of the country.
     
    NSE President, Engr. Otis Anyaeji, gave this commendation when he paid a visit to the Group Managing Director (GMD) of NNPC, Dr. Maikanti Baru, in Abuja on Tuesday.
     
     Anyeaji said the NSE was proud of the NNPC for its scholarship programme, its various social investments in the promotion of healthcare and for its various interventions to boost the Nigerian economy, urging the Corporation to keep it up.
     
    He praised the NNPC for the engagement of indigenous Engineering Construction, Manufacturing, Chemical and Processing Firms in its various operations enjoining other Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to emulate the Corporation in the promotion and engagement of local content service providers.
     
    In his response, NNPC GMD, Dr. Baru, assured Nigerians that the Corporation under his watch would continue to ensure efficient supply and distribution of petroleum products, stressing that the fuel queues were gone for good.
     
    Dr. Baru applauded the in-house unions of Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers(NUPENG) and other associations in the petroleum industry for partnering with NNPC in stabilising supply and distribution of petroleum products.
     
    He described the engineering profession as the cornerstone of the Oil and Gas Industry, adding that the profession had a lot of input in terms of technology both for the production of human goods and making life easy for all Nigerians.
     
    Dr. Baru pledged to partner the NSE in the areas of patronising engineering companies, consultancy, advocacy and development of standards and codes to promote the Nigerian Content drive. 
     
    The NNPC helmsman said the Corporation under his leadership was committed to transforming the NNPC from an Oil and Gas company to a world energy company that would contribute immensely to the energy landscape of the country.

    He noted that already, the NNPC was partnering GE to build power plants across the country with the capacity of 4,000 megawatts, adding that the GE was ready to give the Corporation all the required technical support to achieve the strategic plan.

    Earlier, Dr. Baru, who received the Vice Chancellor of the University of Abuja, Professor Michael Umale Adikwu, described education as the bedrock of any nation, saying it had the capacity to boost the capacity of the citizenry to grow and develop its economy.

    He said through the knowledge acquired from the Ivory Towers, NNPC was working round the clock in collaboration with others to end the recession.

    Responding, the Vice Chancellor, Professor Adikwu, applauded the NNPC for touching the lives of Nigerians in several positive ways especially in the area of steady supply of petroleum products.

  • NNPC loses 150,000mpd as militants strike pipeline in Ogoniland 

    NNPC loses 150,000mpd as militants strike pipeline in Ogoniland 

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Group Managing Director (GMD) Dr. Maikanti Baru on Monday announced that the corporation could not sustain its last week record of 2.2million barrel per day (mbd) owing to the Monday attack on the Trans Niger Pipeline in Ogoniland which culminated in the loss of 150,000barrel.

    Asked whether the NNPC was able to sustain its last week production record, he said: “Unfortunately, we have not been able to sustain it because of challenges. As I am talking to you this morning the Trans Niger pipeline has been breached in Ogoniland and that is 150,000 barrel per day of oil has been locked up day. That has been fairly an issue in that area. And We hope we can continue at that level.”

    He spoke to reporters after the opening ceremony of the “Extraordinary session of the Council of Ministers of the African Petroleum Producers’ Organization (APPO) in Abuja.

    Details later…

  • Nigeria hits 2.2m barrels per day

    Nigeria hits 2.2m barrels per day

    Nigeria’s crude oil production yesterday hit 2.2million barrels per day, according to the Group Managing Director (GMD), Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru.
    He spoke at the 6th Sustainability in the Extractive Industries (SITEI) conference in Abuja. The theme of the conference was “Building Local for Global.”
    The target, he said, is to build up the country’s oil reserve to about 2.5mb/d and its subsidiary; the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), has already transformed from 15,000mb/d to 210,000mb/d.
    He said the corporation had identified seven critical gas projects in order to enhance power supply and stimulate industrial growth.
    The NNPC’s Chief Operating Officer, Oil and Power, Mr. Mohammed Saidu, who represented him attributed the increase in production to the peace in the Niger Delta.
    He said that the calmness in the Niger Delta and renewed efforts in the North East are indications that the corporation has renewed its strength for building oil reserves.
    Baru said: “Current production is building up, we are doing about 2.2 million barrels per day today, but of course, the intension is to build on that, sustain production and grow it up to about three million barrels per day in the next few years.”
    “We have to grow the reserves. We have had little or zero exploration for the past years, but thank God we are now renewing that. With the calmness in the Niger Delta and some of the efforts in the North-Eastern region, we have now renewed our vigor towards building the reserves.
    “And so in that way we have gone back to the Benue Trough and the Chad Basin. Although the Chad Basin is slightly behind, in the sense that we were about to go back when security challenges erupt, we are just waiting for the final green light for us to go back there.
    “Again all these are towards building the reserves, for is you build up the production to about 2.3 or 2.5 million barrels per day, you need the reserves to sustain that volume. The NPDC has grown production from a mere 15,000 barrels per day to about 210,000 barrels per day as at today.”
    Baru also stated that the corporation had reclaimed the three main pipelines that supply crude oil to the refineries and that the product lines had also been reclaimed.
    He added that “For the first time in the last five years we have been pumping products from Kaduna to Kano and this is in effort to reclaim the inland distribution and storage capacity that the NNPC has built over the years.”
  • Calabar fire: NNPC cautions consumers over panic buying 

    Calabar fire: NNPC cautions consumers over panic buying 

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has advised consumers of petroleum products across the country not to engage in panic buying as a result of the fire incident which occurred in the wee hours of July 15 at a tank farm at Calabar Free Trade Zone (CFTZ), in Cross Rivers State.

    NNPC wishes to assure that the unfortunate fire incident at a private tank farm had not affected its operations, and that the Corporation’s stock holding was robust.

    In its yesterday statement, the corporation said “NNPC has over 40 day-sufficiency for petrol, and adequate volumes of diesel and kerosene to meet consumers’ demand nationwide, therefore it is pointless to engage in panic buying.”

    NNPC Group Managing Director, Dr. Maikanti Baru, who received briefs on the incidents, expressed regrets over the unfortunate loss of life in the inferno.

    The GMD consoled the families of those who lost their loved ones in the incident, advising communities in areas of Oil and Gas operations to always exercise caution and be vigilant at all times.

  • NNPC gets $2b discounts on upstream contracts

    NNPC gets $2b discounts on upstream contracts

    …reduces cost of prodcution to $22/barrel
    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation  (NNPC), has secured $2billion discounts in the last one year from renegotiated Upstream contracts being executed by its various service providers.

    The Corporation said the feat was achieved in the quest to continually drive down the high cost of production in the industry.

    This was made known on Tuesday by NNPC Group Managing Director, Dr. Maikanti Baru, in a podcast message to the Corporation’s Staff to mark One-Year Anniversary of his appointment as the Corporation’s helmsman.

    Dr. Baru, who took over the mantle of leadership of NNPC from Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, July 4, last year, said already NNPC had lowered operating costs of production from $27/barrels to $22/barrels.

    “For the Upstream, cost reduction and efficiency are key features that we will pay attention to”, Dr. Baru stated in the 25-minute podcast.

    Dr. Baru directed that focal points for efficiency in each of the Corporation’s Autonomous Business Units, ABUs, and Corporate Services Units, CSUs, should be identified to ensure the realisation of the key performance indicators enshrined in the 2017 budget, adding that the Corporation must attain a six-month contracting cycle.  

    Speaking further on the achievement of NNPC in the past year with him at the helms of affairs of the Corporation, Dr. Baru said there had been a significant increase in crude oil reserves and production, stressing that during the period, the national average daily production was 1.83million barrels of oil and condensate while currently, the Year-To-Date 2017 average production hovers around 1.88million barrels.

    He said with the improvement in security and resumption of production operation on the Forcados Oil Terminal (FOT) and Qua Iboe Terminal (QIT) pipelines, the average national production was expected to increase and surpass 2017 target of 2.2million barrels of oil and condensate per day.

    The GMD stated that in October last year, the Owowo Field, located close to the producing ExxonMobil-operated Usan Field was found, adding that the Field’s location could allow for early production through a tie-back to the Usan Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO).

    The Field, he noted, had added a currently estimated reserve of 1billion barrels to the national crude oil reserves.

    Baru noted that the Corporation had grown the production of the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, NPDC, NNPC’s flagship Upstream Company, from 15,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) to the current peak-operated volume of 210,000bopd in June 2017.

    He stated that the ownership of Oil Mining Licence, OML13 had been restored to NPDC following a presidential intervention, with first oil from the well expected before the end of the year.

    The GMD said the confidence of the NNPC JV partners to pursue new projects had been rekindled following the repayment agreements for JV cash call arrears that were negotiated and executed for outstanding up to end 2015 by all the IOC Partners of the Corporation’s Joint Venture Companies (JVCs).

    In the gas sector, the GMD said gas supply to power plants and industries in the Country had been significantly increased.

    Dr. Baru listed the accomplishments of the Corporation in the sector to include: Completion of the repairs of the vandalized 20” Escravos Lagos Pipeline System A (ELPS –A) in August 2016 which ramped up Chevron Escravos Gas plant supply from nil to 259MMscfd and the Completion of repairs of the vandalized Chevron offshore gas pipeline in February 2017 which equally peaked the company’s gas supply to 430MMscfd.

    Other accomplishments under this category are: the completion of repair works on the vandalized 48” Forcados Oil Terminal (FOT) export gas pipeline in June 2017, which had reactivated shut down gas plants, including Oredo Gas Plant, Sapele Gas Plant, Ovade Gas Plant, Oben and NGC Gas Compressors; and the commissioning of NPDC’s Utorogu NAG2 and Oredo EPF 2 gas plants.

    The GMD explained that the concomitant effect of the efforts was a significant growth in domestic gas supply in the last few months, adding that during the period, domestic gas supply had increased from an average of 700MMscf in July 2016 to an average of 1,220MMscfd currently, with about 7 of the volume supplied to thermal power plants.

    “A lot of Generation Companies (GENCOs) are rejecting gas due to the inability of Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), to wheel-out the power generated”, Dr. Baru said.

    Dr. Baru informed that since his assumption of office a year ago, resources had been deployed to the Benue Trough, with exploration efforts commenced there in earnest.

    He explained that seismic data acquisition was ongoing in the frontier region using the services of Integrated Data Services limited, IDSL, and her partners to pursue Government’s aspiration to grow the reserves base of the Country.

    The GMD stated that drilling activities were expected to commence in Benue Trough in Q4 this year.
    He said: “We are working with the security agencies for an early return to the Chad Basin. Drilling activities will be a priority on resumption while continuing with seismic data acquisition with improved parameters.”

    In the Downstream Sector, Dr. Baru explained that in the last one year, NNPC had stabilised the market with sufficient products’ availability across the Country through modest local refining efforts as well as the Direct Supply Direct Purchase, DSDP, scheme,  which he observed had saved the nation about N40billion in 2017.

    “We have also commenced the resuscitation of our products transportation pipelines network, thus enabling us to move products to depots at a faster rate and cheaper distribution costs to consumers. The Aba, Mosimi, Atlas-Cove and Kano Depots have all been re-commissioned and are currently receiving products, thereby enhancing products’ availability across the Country”, the GMD said. 

    Baru said in the last one year, NNPC had improved capacity utilisation of the refineries with the projection that they would attain supplying 50 per cent of the non-gasoline white products to the nation, including Diesel and Kerosene that are commonly consumed in the Country.

    The GMD said after more than seven years of dormancy, the Asphalt Blowing Unit of the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company, KRPC, was resuscitated to meet road construction needs in the Country.
    He declared that efforts were ongoing to secure 3rd party financing to revamp the refineries to their full operational capacities.

    Drawing his address to a close, Dr. Baru disclosed that the overwhelming support he received from the Corporation’s staff and the Industry’s in-house Unions, Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, and Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, contributed to the successes recorded by NNPC Management under his leadership in the past year.

    “I look forward to your continued cooperation and support as we navigate the Corporation out of its current challenges towards profitability with integrity and transparency,” the GMD stated.

  • France to invest over €1b in Nigeria oil industry

    France to invest over €1b in Nigeria oil industry

    The French Government has said that it has set aside about one billion euros to be invested in the Nigeria Oil and Gas industry, stating that Nigeria remains her first economic trading partner in Africa.

    France Ambassador to Nigeria, Denys Gauer, declared this when the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division (GPAD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, led a delegation to his office in Abuja.

    Mr. Gauer said that French Development Agency has put in place about one billion Euros to encourage French investors to invest in the Nigeria Oil and Gas sector, adding that the French government is also cooperating with the Federal Government in the fight against Boko Haram insurgency.

    The French Ambassador commended the Federal Government for stemming the Niger Delta insecurity situation noting that Total, a French multinational Oil and Gas Company, had significant investment equity in the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG) and Egina project.

    NNPC Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu made this known in a statement on Tuesday.

    He however, expressed concern that some other French companies were having challenges with the unclear Nigeria’s fiscal policies in the Oil and Gas sector revealing that some French investors were currently developing wind energy and solar energy in Katsina State.

    Earlier, the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of NNPC, Mr. Ughamadu, said the Corporation under the current management led by the Group Managing Director, Dr. Maikanti Baru, was well positioned and open to investment opportunities from the French Government and investors.

    Mr. Ughamadu noted that with the significant scale down in pipeline vandalism and insecurity which has boosted oil production, global investors such as the French Government can now invest in renewable energy, gas and power infrastructural development, pipeline construction, storage facility and the direct sales and direct purchase of Nigeria crude oil grades.

    He said the NNPC as the state-owned oil and gas Corporation had global operations and called for closer collaboration between the French Government and the Corporation especially in the area of consular services in order to enable NNPC top executives and staff meet their global engagements.

    The GGM thanked the Ambassador for the warm reception accorded the NNPC delegation and assured him that with the leadership of the new NNPC management, the Corporation was determined to develop a robust business atmosphere for investors.