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Tag: Engr. Saidu Mohammed

  • NNPC pledges commitment to gas development

    The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru, has expressed the corporation’s commitment to support any project that would encourage production and utilization of natural gas for the benefit of the nation.

    Disclosing this recently at the signing ceremony of the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG) Train 7, Nigerian Content Plan, in Abuja, Dr. Baru, who was represented at the occasion by Chief Operating Officer (COO), Gas and Power, Engr. Saidu Mohammed, said the signing ceremony was important as one of the major processes to bring the Train 7 project on board.

    The NNPC spokesman, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu disclosed this in a statement Tuesday.

    He noted that the project had a lot of potentials that would benefit the nation, but called on the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) to ensure that Train 8 and any other LNG projects in the future should be designed to accommodate more local content in the fabrication of facilities.

    Commenting on the corporation’s interest in the signing agreement, he said that the Train 7 project was in line with NNPC’s vision of prioritizing the use of natural gas to the greater benefit of Nigerians.

    “Apart from being 49 per cent shareholder in NLNG, we are more interested because it will enhance the development of gas in the country. Bringing the gas to this Train 7 would involve a robust gathering system that will connect trunk lines from offshore to the hinterland, looking beyond NLNG to domestic market, which will open up a flexible system that allows us to swing gas either way, depending on need. This implies that if NLNG is not running, the gas meant for it can be sent to the local market, and when the local market has difficulty in getting the gas consumed, same can be sent back to NLNG.

    READ ALSO: NNPC boss seeks energy integration in Africa

    Baru stated that NNPC’s 49 per cent share in the NLNG meant more dividends to the corporation, even as he advised NCDB to make room for more Nigerian Content in subsequent LNG projects

    The GMD called on other partners in the project to obey the rules of engagement.

    “My fellow shareholders please let us continue to provide the necessary support that NLNG as a company requires and always remain compliant with what we are signing today”.

    Earlier in his address, NLNG Managing Director/CEO, Engr. Tony Attah, expressed gratitude to the management of the NNPC for its roles in seeing the project to this critical stage.

    Speaking in the same vein, Engr. Simi Wabote, NCDMB Executive Secretary, said that NNPC’s presence at the signing ceremony was an indication of the corporation’s commitment to ensuring that the Train 7 project gets to Final Investment Destination (FID) this year as projected.

  • 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.

  • Refining activities hit 10million barrel in Q1

    Refining activities hit 10million barrel in Q1

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), on Tuesday said that following the peace initiative in the Niger Delta, refining activities in Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna increased to 10million barrels of crude in the first quarter this year as against 8million and 24million barrels for the entire years of 2015 and 2016 respectively.

    Its Group Managing Director, Dr. Maikanti Baru, disclosed this in Abuja during an interactive session with a delegation from the United Kingdom Royal College of Defence Studies.  

    Baru, who was represented at the event by the Chief Operating Officer, Gas and Power, Engr. Saidu Mohammed stated that apart from the upbeat in the refineries activities attributable to the peace initiative which has lowered the rate of attacks on oil installations, the corporation has recorded increase in crude oil production to 2million barrels per day in recent times.

    The NNPC Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu who made this known in a statement, quoted him as saying: “As a nation, we have tried all available options, including military, to tackle the security challenge. We have discovered that guns are not as effective as the engagement option. The peace we are enjoying now is as a result of the engagement with stakeholders in the region led by the Acting President. We intend to build on that to achieve a lasting peace.”

    Dr. Maikanti Baru said having been satisfied with the prevailing respite in the Niger Delta which has engendered a conducive environment for oil and gas production operations in the past few months, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) would do all it could to build on the gains of the Federal Government engagement with stakeholders in the region to deepen and sustain the peace.

    Speaking earlier, the team lead of the UK Royal College of Defence Studies delegation, Major General Craig Lawrence, said the group was in NNPC to learn how the corporation was generating wealth and prosperity for the country in the face of daunting challenges.

    He thanked the management of NNPC for sparing the time to explain to the delegation the workings of the corporation.

    Members of the delegation included United Kingdom, France, Pakistan, and Thailand nationals, among others.

  • NNPC vows to resume oil search in Chad Basin

    NNPC vows to resume oil search in Chad Basin

    …plans to hit 3million bpd

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) will resume oil exploration activities in the Chad Basin of the Country.

    The projection came on the heels of improved security situation in the North-East of the country which had been devastated by insurgent upheavals.

    Group Managing Director of the Corporation, Dr. Maikanti Kacalla Baru made this disclosure yesterday during a courtesy visit to the Governor of Borno State, Hon. Kashim Shettima and the Shehu of Borno, Alh (Dr.) Abubakar Ibn Umar Garbai El-Kanemi, in Maiduguri.

    According to a statement that the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu issued on Monday, Baru said that: “We have been discussing with military authorities in the area and they have assured us of improved security. Once they give us the green light, we would resume operations in the area within six weeks.”

    The statement noted that it was the Chief Operating Officer, Gas & Power, Engr. Saidu Mohammed, that represented him in the visit.

    Baru informed the Governor that NNPC was keen on increasing its production from 1.9million bpd to 3million bpd as well as increasing its oil and gas reserves, a target that necessitated exploring for more oil within and across some of the nation’s inland basins.

    The GMD commended the efforts of President Muhammadu Buhari as well as the state Governor in the area of peace restoration, reconstruction and rehabilitation, stressing that as a responsible corporate citizen, the Corporation was ready to provide support in that regard.

    At the Shehu of Borno’s Palace, the GMD sought the fatherly support of the traditional ruler especially in the area of host community understanding towards the resumption of oil exploration activities within the State.

    The Corporation also presented relief items to the Shehu for onward delivery to the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the state.

    Earlier in his remarks, Governor Kashim Shettima said the insurgency had taken a huge toll on the North East region leading to the loss of over $9.6bn, with Borno state alone losing $5.6bn.

    “We need your support in our reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts so that when the history of the new Borno is written, NNPC’s name will be written in gold,” he stated.

    He stressed that much as the International donor agencies and good-spirited organisations like the NNPC were keen on helping the IDPs, the state’s ultimate target was to resettle the IDPs in their various communities.

    Also responding, the Shehu of Borno, Alh. (Dr.) Abubakar Umar Garbai El-Kanemi, thanked the NNPC Management for identifying with the Borno people, stressing that the Corporation should do more for the betterment of Nigerians.

    He expressed his happiness over the peace being enjoyed across the State now and the entire North East, stressing that in the nearest future, “Borno people will survive the onslaught of the insurgency.”