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Tag: Group Managing Director

  • NNPC: Kolmani River-II drilling ongoing

    The Kolmani River-II Well which spud-in was flagged off last month by President Muhammadu Buhari is progressing satisfactorily, with drilling so far of 6,700 feet, the Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru, has said.

    A release yesterday stated that Dr. Baru spoke while receiving an Award presented to him by the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN) Executive for his landmark achievement in the development of inland basins in the country, especially the drilling of the Kolmani River-II Well and his efforts in deepwater operations.

    Baru explained that the target was 14,200 feet, although the depth could be longer depending on findings, even as he explained to the visiting PETAN Executive that President Muhammadu Buhari should be commended on the progress being made on the drilling of the well.

    Read also: Zimbabwe Tour spurred our resurgence in Namibia, says Okpe

    Prospecting for oil and gas in Kolmani River-II Well is one of the recent foray of the government into inland exploration in parts of the country.

     

  • Baru praises Shell on deepwater operation

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Group Managing Director, Dr. Maikanti Baru, has praised Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo), the deepwater arm of Shell Companies in Nigeria, for pioneering the deepwater sector of the Nigerian oil and gas industry.

    NNPC is the senior partner of Shell Joint Ventures in Nigeria and represents the Federal Government in other operations, including deepwater.

    Baru described SNEPCo as a clear leader in deepwater whose performance is exemplary. “SNEPCo is a trail blazer. They set the pace with the Bonga floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO), being the first deep water exploration business in Nigeria,” Baru said while recieving ‘In pursuit of Excellence’, a SNEPCo publication, detailing the company’s entry into the offshore exploration in the Gulf of Guinea and how the venture has brought so much benefit to Nigeria. It also entails the development Nigerians’ local capacity and the growth of support industry, among others.

    SNEPCo Managing Director, Bayo Ojulari, who presented the 90-page book to NNPC leadership in Abuja, said the company was mindful of its pioneering role in deep-water exploration in Nigeria and would want others to learn from Shell group technical expertise to make Nigeria a leading oil and gas producing country.

    “We have documented lots of our efforts, which opened up Nigeria’s deep water and have contributed largely to the country’s oil revenue,” said Ojulari, who restated SNEPCo’s continued commitment to positive impact on Nigeria’s economy and the socio-economic welfare of the people through sustained social investments in education, health and sports.

    The company, with over 95 percent Nigerians as members of  staff, has helped to create the first generation of Nigerian deep-water oil and gas engineers and recently celebrated the 800-million-barrel mark in 13 years of operations.

    In recognition of its pioneering initiatives in Nigeria, SNEPCo was in early 2018 honoured as the best Nigerian oil and gas company in technology and innovation at the maiden edition of the Nigerian International Petroleum Summit (NIPS) held in Abuja for pioneering in-country Subsea Tree Refurbishment, a remarkable feat in local capacity potential, which resulted in significant savings. This was the first time in the Nigerian oil and gas industry that a Subsea Tree was fully stripped down and refurbished locally with all its original functionality restored.

    The FPSO vessel’s capacity was upgraded in recent years, allowing SNEPCo to expand the field with further drilling of wells in Bonga Phases 2 and 3 and through a subsea tie-back that unlocked the nearby Bonga North West field.

    SNEPCo is the operator of oil mining lease (OML) 118 under a production sharing contract with NNPC. The co-venture partners in OML 118 are Total E & P Nigerian Limited, Nigerian Agip Exploration Limited and Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria (Deepwater) Limited.

  • NNPC seeks investment in $48b oil industry

    The Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru has urged investors to take advantage of the over $48billion investment opportunities available in the upcoming capital projects in the country’s oil and gas industry.

    Speaking at a Panel Session on: Insights on Future Exploration Hotspots: Opportunities for Africa’s Oil & Gas Industry under the sub-theme: The New Frontier for Africa’s Oil & Gas at the 2019 International Petroleum Week conference  in London, he said the continent’s energy outlook was looking positive amid difficult operating and economic headwinds.

    In a statement, NNPC said Baru pointed out that over 41billion barrels of oil and 319trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of gas were yet to be discovered in sub-Saharan Africa alone, while between 2008 and 2017, exploratory success in the sub-region was at about 45 per cent.

    He said there has been a surge in capital expenditure (CAPEX) across Africa’s oil and gas sector, with close to $194billion earmarked to be spent between 2018 and 2025 on 93 upcoming oil and gas fields in Africa.

    “Out of this $194billion, Nigeria accounts for $48.04 billion (over 24.8 per cent) of the total CAPEX coming into upcoming projects in Africa over 2018 to 2025, with over 20 planned projects,” Baru said.

    He said 23.8 per cent of the CAPEX in Africa would be spent in Mozambique, 11.3 per cent in Angola while about 29.2 per cent would be spent in Tanzania, Senegal, Mauritania, Uganda, Egypt, Algeria and Kenya combined.

    Baru said with over 14 oil producing countries, Africa currently accounts for 7.5 per cent (126.5billion barrels of crude oil) and 7.1per cent (488 Tcf of gas) of global proven oil and gas reserves respectively.

    He said in terms of production, the continent accounted for 8.7 per cent (8.1million barrels per day) of global oil production and 6.1 per cent (21.8bscfd) of global gas production, even as it consumed 4million barrels of oil per day and 13.7bscfd of gas (equivalent to 4.1 per cent and 3.9 per cent of global oil and consumption respectively).

    Shedding more light on investment opportunities in Nigeria,  Baru said the NNPC’s Frontier Exploration Service was currently drilling the Kolmani River-2 Well where desktop estimates revealed that about 400Bcf of gas is expected to be encountered.

    He said several new frontiers for exploration opportunities abound in Nigeria, even as offshore discoveries in the country have mostly been limited to between 1,000 – 1,500m of water depth.

     

     

  • ‘We shouldn’t compromise safety in ground handling sector’

    Ground handling is competitive, with operators using pricing to attract clients. But, that should not compromise the business, taking it out of regulatory controls. Group Managing Director, Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO), Aviance Plc, Mrs Olatokunbo Fagbemi, tells KELVIN OSA-OKUNBOR why ground handling firms must review their strategies to remain relevant amid other contending issues.

    Despite the fact that ground  handling business has become more competitive, global airlines are divesting from it. What is responsible for this?

    Ground handling business, just like any business endeavour in the air transport value chain, is globally taking different shapes, twists and turns. Only organisations that could think out of the box can survive the increasingly competitive environment. This is purely about how business owners now draw a relationship between costs and returns. For most businesses, which are now core ventures, for instance, an airline involved in ground handling services, the managers have to seriously weigh cost and returns, and if the returns are not worth the huge investments, the better decision is to divest and outsource such arm of the business to another concern. This is fast becoming the trend in the global arena, where bigger airlines are now leaving ground handling business to concentrate on their core mandate of flying passengers.

    Infrastructure upgrade and technology are becoming defining template for driving patronage in aviation sector. How does this apply to ground handling business?

    Over the world, technology is changing the way organisations do business. Only companies that believe they have to modernise operational infrastructure are companies of the future. One good way of doing this, we have realised, is to continue to invest in the operational equipment that will give us the competing edge. If we fail to do this, clients will move to where the business is better organised. That is the secret of the business.

    In Nigeria, ground handling have also imbibed this culture of investment in technology, else they will be left behind in business. This explains why for instance, the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) Plc, plans to invest over N1.9 billion in operational infrastructure. Without huge investment in equipment, you cannot escalate the growth and development of any company.

    Regulation and compliance are assuming new dimensions in an effort to ramp up operations in aviation and allied sectors. How does this apply to the Nigerian environment?

    Fundamentally, in any sector or business, where there are no regulations, there will be no standards for people to comply with. In the aviation sector, all operations are guided by rules prescribed by both international and local regulators. In Nigeria, all ground handling companies comply with rules set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation and the International Air Transport Association. Compliance is compulsory because of certification issues.

    Interestingly, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority is there to ensure that all ground handling companies do the right thing. Besides, the civil aviation regulator, there is also the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, which insists that ground handling companies comply with the standard operating procedures. Any failure is often met with stiff penalties. This is an established template that operators understand.

    What is your take on issues of competition and price war among ground handling companies that could compromise safety?

    Every business throws up its issues whether it is price war or competition. What is important is the strategy put in place to handle it without having any negative effects on safety and security of operations. In the Nigerian environment, I do not think there is animosity among the ground handling companies, because of airlines moving from one to another. This is the basis of  a competitive environment. There are areas of competitions and there are also areas operators in ground handling business need to cooperate. In terms of determining prices for the services rendered, operators need to worry about issues of anti-trust. However, there has to be a part where we need to get the regulators to look at, such that we do not compete in such a manner that affects safety and security because that is the most important thing when it comes to air transport. We need the regulators to help in ensuring that there is clear understanding on issues like this, that no matter the level of competition among operators, it should not have any negative effects on the safety and security of ground handling operations at the airport. This is important, because safety and security are critical premium in air transport business.

    People, policy and programmes are pivotal to the growth and development of the aviation business. How applicable is this model in the running of ground handling activities?

    The hallmark of any good manager is the ability to deploy human and material resources to achieve success. One of the best ways of doing this is to put in place policies and programmes that will bring about a conducive business environment for people to thrive. Specifically, they should come from the industry regulator, the airport authority and other service providers to make it convenient and cost friendly for business to carry out ground handling in Nigerian airports. If this is done, the industry will be big enough for the anticipated growth.

    Recently, some changes took place in your organisation. What informed such initiative?

    Sometime in the middle of last year, we had some changes in the ownership structure of NAHCO. As a result of that change, the board of directors changed also. I joined the board as a non-executive sometime in August. One of the things I tried to do with the former MD was to look at the business review of the business itself because at every point in time, it is important for business like ours to go forward. We cannot plan to move forward if we do not know where we are.

    What were the steps taken to achieve the new drive in the company?

    We had to invest and we are still investing with KPMG on a business review and as part of that review, is that we have a new vision and mission and a new core statement and value, and we decided that we will run as a group structure.

    What has changed in the corporate values needed to change the narrative?

    Our new vision is not too far from the old vision, which is to be the leading service provider and reshaping our chosen market. Our mission is to consistently provide exceptional services, using professional teams, cutting edge technologies and leading practices to deliver value to all stakeholders, and our differentiating competent is service excellence.

    We have added empathy to our core value. Our core values are safety, integrity, reliability, respect and empathy. Empathy for us is very important because we want to operate in the place of excellence so that we are not just saying we are delivering customer service, but delivering customer service from the perspective of ‘how do you feel?’ and hopefully we believe that whether it is for the internal or external customer that come, it will be a great place for people to work in and a learning organisation. We want our turnover to grow by over five times and we want to grow across the Africa continent. We have a  five-year strategic plan.

    How do you hope to achieve this objective?

    We are going to invest heavily in our people and in automation. Automation does not mean that people will be laid off. Despite automation, people will still be employed. I know usually when we have changes like this, the first thing is that people are afraid, but things will be different and we will bring more professionalism. NAHCO today is the leader in this industry and we want to maintain that leadership, but we don’t want to be the leader without using excellent service. We want to be the leader, driving the business with innovations, with the right systems and right processes and using service excellence. In a nutshell, this is my story and it is very simple.

    In your five-year plan, what do you intend to invest in your business and human resource? What is expected as revenue?

    We are still fine-tuning the plan, which is why we are doing this with KPMG and we are going to set up a programme management office to drive it. We are looking at growth in the region of five to seven times, which is achievable, given the plans that we have. In terms of investment in equipment, in the last couple of months, we have invested about N1.9 billion in equipment. You will begin to see the equipment by the end of the first quarter. By the end of the year, we will have spent about N3.6 billion in equipment. By September, we will have the next set of equipment coming in , that is what we are doing in terms of equipment. We are going to have a master plan for our facilities. I cannot give you the figure for this because it is based on what comes out of the master plan, but what we are doing immediately is to ensure that we refurbish what we have in terms of our facilities. We will make them look better, these include our buildings, the warehouses among others and improve on all the processes within the system. We are also drawing up a people’s plan for our people. These things are strategic for us.

    What steps are you taking to ensure that you bring back customers you have lost in the past few years?

    I am sure in business you lose customers, so I won’t say it is due to internal challenges because I have not done enough study to be able to tell you what the reasons are. What I will tell you is that we will do everything to retain the customers that we have. We will do everything to attract customers. We want to set new standards, bring professionalism into this service business. We know that as we improve on professionalism, the deserving customers will come to us.

    Are you looking at leveraging price to attract customers?

    In terms of price war, we are in a business where our customers are stronger than us. Most of them are the airlines, and that is the challenge in this ground handling business. Most of these strong customers are implementing the cost-cutting strategies. So, essentially, there is no secret that this brings a lot of pressure on pricing. But one thing that I have begun to discuss is that we should ensure that pressure on price does not drive any company in terms of safety and security in the provision of services. I will champion everything to ensure that the pressure on price does not compromise safety and security.

    Why are airlines divesting from ground handling companies?

    If you cast your mind back, a few years ago, most of the airlines began to divest from ground handling companies it had nothing to do with Nigeria or Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc. It had to do with decisions taken from the headquarters for each of the airlines to say which business do we invest in and which business do  we not invest in.

    So, each airline left NAHCO based on the decisions that were made at corporate levels to exit ground handling not just in Nigeria, but all over. dnata has picked up a lot of these airlines and that is why dnata has been able to get a lot of work. dnata is the arm of ground handling owned by Emirates. Lufthansa also in 2016 took that decision, so leaving NAHCO was corporate decision taken in 2016 that finally came to this in 2018.

    I don’t see why a decision taken in Frankfurt, Germany and the United Kingdom (UK), and used for every country should be an issue, if there is no mischief in telling the story and mischief in receiving it. If the truth is taken the way it is, that somebody in Frankfurt took a decision, I do not see why it affects our image. If the truth is told the way it is, it will not be interpreted another way. However, if the truth is told in another way, it will be interpreted as it is told. It is important to know that if Lufthansa had issues with us, they will not be doing business with us.

  • Buhari, Baru lauded over oil exploration in Chad Basin

    Buhari, Baru lauded over oil exploration in Chad Basin

    President Muhammadu Buhari and Group Managing Director, Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, Maikanti Baru, Thursday received commendation for oil exploration drive in the Chad Basin.

    A group, PMB’s Oil and Gas Progress gave the commendation after its annual meeting in Abuja.

    A statement by the coordinator of the group, Mohammed Abdullahi, said President Buhari and NNPC GMD has won the heart of majority of Nigerians for their political will to initiate and encourage oil exploration in the northern part of the country.

    It accused past governments in the country of paying lip service to oil exploration in the north.

    It expressed hope that with the commitment of the President and the zeal of the NNPC GMD, some states in the north will soon assume oil producing status.

    The group noted that the commitment of President Buhari administration toward the discovery of oil in the northern part of the country would go a long way to douse tension in the country and ensure economic stability in the north.

    It recalled that the GMD had visited some states in the north, including Nasarawa, Sokoto, Bauchi, Yobe, Katsina, among others, with a view to commencing oil exploration in the areas for the purpose of generating more revenue for the country.

    It also recalled that the GMD NNPC had declared his readiness to grow the country’s crude oil reserves and increasing daily national production with a view to boosting the nation’s revenue generation.

    The group noted that the GMD had expressed this desire during the flag-off ceremonies of the NNPC/First E&P Oil Mining Leases (OMLs) 83/85 partnership for marine seismic data acquisition in Lagos.

    It said that Baru while performing the flag-off ceremony aboard Marine Vessel BGP Prospector offshore Lagos, declared that the project would boost NNPC’s drive towards enhancing the nation’s abundant hydrocarbon deposits.

    The development, Baru added, also reinforced the Federal Government’s commitment to further harness Nigeria’s numerous resources to enhance income streams and ultimately boost the nation’s economic prosperity.

     “Without doubt, this development resonates perfectly with NNPC’s commitment to growing the nation’s reserves and increase production, as enshrined in our corporate vision of 12 Business Focus Areas (12 BUFA),” Baru was quoted to have said. 

  • Another storm against Buhari’s men

    Another storm last week gathered again against some key officials in the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

    The two officials now in the eye of the storm are the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Maikanti Baru, and the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris.

    Despite one of the cardinal goal of the government being fighting corruption to a standstill, it is sad that the main issues against these two officials border on corruption.

    The lid was blown off the alleged irregularities and on-going mess in NNPC when a protest letter by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu addressed to the President, was leaked.

    The country is yet to fully recover from the massive looting that took place in the oil sector under the past administrations.

    While the prices of oil in the international market hovered over $100 per barrel under those administrations, observers noted that there was little to show in the country for the huge revenue.

    Rather than use the income to develop the country, Nigeria remained lacking in basic infrastructures while substantial parts of the income fraudulently found their ways into the private pockets of those in charge.

    The former Minister of Petroleum Resources under the last administration, Mrs. Diezani Allison-Madueke, is still facing one corrupt charge or the other in Nigeria and the United Kingdom.

    Besides other allegations against the current GMD of NNPC, Kachikwu had last week specifically alleged in the letter that $25 billion contracts awarded by Baru didn’t follow due process.

    The letter, titled ‘Re: Matters of insubordination and lack of adherence to due process by the GMD NNPC – Dr. Baru,’ with reference number HMS/MPR/001/VOL.1/100 and dated August 30, 2017, reads in parts “Mr. President, yesterday (August 29, 2017) like many other Nigerians, l resumed work and confronted with many publications of massive changes within the NNPC.

    “Like the previous reorganisations and ‘repostings’ done since Dr. Baru resumed as GMD, I was never given the opportunity before the announcements to discuss these appointments.

    “This is so despite being the Minister of State, Petroleum, and Chairman, NNPC Board.

    “The board of NNPC, which you appointed and which has met every month since its inauguration, and which, by the NNPC, is meant to review these planned appointments and postings, was never briefed.

    “Members of the board learnt of these appointments from the pages of social media and the press release of NNPC.”

    Stressing that Baru ignored his earlier warnings to him, he said “Not only did he not give my letter the courtesy of a reply, he proceeded to announce the appointments without consultation on board concurrence.

    “Mr. President, please note that there is a board service committee, whose function is to review potential appointments and termination of senior staff prior to implementation. This committee was also not consulted.

    “The effect of the attitude of the GMD and the sidelining of the board is that there is a fear culture in the NNPC,” Kachikwu said.

    In his prayers to the President, Kachikwu said “We save NNPC and the oil industry from collapse arising from the above non-transparent practices and empower the board you inaugurated to do the needful.

    “That you save the office of the Minister of State from further humiliation and disrespect by compelling all parastatals to submit to oversight regulatory mandate and proper supervision which I am supposed to manage on your behalf,” he stated

    The major opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) wasted no time to demand Baru’s immediate suspension.

    The National Publicity Secretary of PDP, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, had said “As a political party, we expect that the President, who prides himself as an indefatigable corruption fighter, would for once try to live above board, by genuinely allowing one of his own, accused of corruption, get properly investigated and prosecuted as a show of his impartiality in the war against corruption.

    “He should do this to correct the open impression Nigerians have about his so called anti-corruption war; that it’s just a tool of persecution of perceived enemies.

    “We view the allegations levelled against Baru by Kachikwu as too grave to be swept under the carpet and we insist that the NNPC GMD must be treated like an accused who should not have the opportunity to influence investigation into his alleged misdeeds.

    “In this light, we demand an immediate suspension of the NNPC GMD so that proper investigation can be carried out by the relevant anti-corruption agencies.” he said

    Also worried by the allegations in the oil sector, the Senate last week set up a committee chaired by Senator Aliyu Wammako, to investigate the issue.

    Unlike the Baru case where the allegations were raised within the executive arm of government, the allegations against the Inspector General of Police was spearhead by a sitting Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Isa Hamma Misau (Bauchi Central).

    Apart from corruption allegations, Misau also raised allegation of infidelity against the Inspector General of Police.

    The Senate constituted a Special panel, headed by the Senate Deputy Chief Whip Francis Alimikhena (Edo North) to investigate the Inspector General of Police for alleged misappropriation of funds, illegal promotion and posting of senior officers and bribery and to also investigate claims that the IG put an officer in the family way and secretly wedded her in Kaduna.

    It also mandated its Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions to investigate claims of professional misconduct against the IGP.

    All these allegations came to the public domain few months after some top officials of the government including  the suspended Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir David Lawal, was investigated on alleged corruption charges.

    His case is yet to be resolved as the President might still be studying the investigative report submitted by the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo led three man committee.

    Also the resolution by the Senate not to confirm the appointment of the acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, is still subsisting.

    It will be a plus for the government to do everything possible to get to the bottom of these fresh cases.

    The administration should  also remain fair and just to all those involved in the alleged corruption issues, by giving all, fair hearing in a bit to get to the root of the issues.

    This is important, at least, to counter the frequent claims of selectiveness of its anti-corruption battle been leveled by the opposition party against the government.

    It should guide against being seen and viewed as playing the ostrich when corruption case is leveled against one of its officials.

     

  • FCMB Group appoints new MD, GMD

    FCMB Group appoints new MD, GMD

    First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Group this morning announced the appointment of Adam Nuru as the Managing Director of the commercial banking arm First City Monument Bank Limited.

    Nuru will from March 20, replace the current Group Managing Director, Ladi Balogun.

    Balogun, having served as Group Managing Director of the FCMB Limited for 10 years, will be stepping down in this capacity. He will assume the role of Group Chief Executive of the Holding Company, FCMB Group Plc. The holding company comprises FCMB Limited, FCMB Capital Markets, CSL Stockbrokers and CSL Trustees.

    Under Ladi Balogun’s leadership, FCMB Limited has undergone a successful transformation from a merchant bank to a top 10 commercial bank in Nigeria across key metrics. During this period the bank has emerged as a leader in consumer finance, agricultural banking and electronic banking. The bank’s franchise has grown to 4 million customers, 220 branches and a successful banking subsidiary in the United Kingdom.

    Nuru, who is currently the Executive Director in charge of Business Development for the bank. He previously served as Regional Director, in charge of Abuja and Northern Nigeria, where he was responsible for growing the bank’s Northern franchise to become the largest and most profitable region of the bank.

    Nuru has 28 years of banking experience, with seven years spent with FCMB. He is a graduate of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, where he studied Business Administration, and has attended management programmes at leading international educational institutions.

     

  • NNPC moves to grow oil, gas reserves

    NNPC moves to grow oil, gas reserves

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is set to grow the nation’s oil and gas reserves, the Group Managing Director, Dr. Maikanti Baru, has said.

    He made this assertion in Lagos on yes while delivering a keynote address at the 34th Annual International Conference and Exhibition of the Nigerian association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE) with the theme ‘Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry: Tackling Our Realities’.

    The Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Ndu Ughamadu disclosed this in a statement Tuesday.

    He noted that NNPC would continue to ring-fence exploration budgets in both Joint Venture and Production Sharing Contract arrangements to ensure there was work for all service providers in order to provide the needed impetus to grow the nation’s oil and gas reserves.

    ‘’There is no need re-inventing the wheel. We are now progressing with the use of exploratory techniques that have worked on our neighbour’s side of the Basin to achieve similar results on our side.  This will also provide a vista for NAPE and its professionals to further analyse the concept of oil generation, expulsion and entrapment in rift basins which we now know is different from the Niger Delta Basin that we are used to,’’ the GMD posited.

    ‘’The NNPC will aggressively pursue domestic refining to take advantage of improved refining margin during periods of low oil prices.  To address the current sub-optimal performance of the domestic refineries, a new rehabilitation strategy which includes the rehabilitation of refineries, modification of the refinery business model and governance structures that tie capital investment performance to actual refinery output are being pursued,’’ Dr. Baru disclosed.

    In terms of security challenges, the NNPC helmsman appealed to those behind indiscriminate acts of infrastructure vandalism to put an end to the despicable acts forthwith, stressing that the destruction of critical energy infrastructure is a great threat to the economy, environment and energy security.

    Conferring the highest NAPE Honorary Award on the GMD, the President of the Association, Mr. Nosa Omorodion, described Dr. Baru as a thorough bred professional who has impacted the industry positively assuring of NAPE’s readiness to continue to provide professional support for the Oil and Gas Industry.

  • CMC Connect clinches premium steel PR account

    CMC Connect clinches premium steel PR account

    CMC Connect, perception management consulting firm has clinched the PR account of Nigerian integrated steel manufacturing giant, Premium Steel & Mines Limited (PSML), following a pitch process which lasted two months.

    Premium Steel and Mines Limited is an integrated steel manufacturing company, with stated objectives of becoming a market leader in the sub-Saharan African steel industry.

    Reacting to the success of the account, Group Managing Director, CMC Connect Limited, Mr Yomi Badejo-Okusanya, said the appointment of his agency as the public relations consultants to Premium Steel, a key player in the steel sector, is an addition to the organisation’s impressive portfolio. He noted that the agency is tasked with the responsibility of managing the corporate PR activities of the steel giant, which include, reputation management, media management, CSR leveraging and strategic communication.

    “We are glad to be connected with a brand like Premium Steel. Their drive to become a notable contributor to the diversification of the Nigerian economy aligns with Federal Government’s current focus. Our goal is to ensure a partnership that delivers on the seamless resumption of operations, that guarantees efficient delivery and support the brand’s business objectives with strategic and innovative PR ideas. We are very happy with the appointment and our appreciation goes to the team for their diligence and confidence in winning the account,” Badejo-Okusanya noted.

    In his reaction to CMC Connect clinching the lucrative account, Managing Director, Premium Steel, Mr Mishra Prasanta, expressed delight at the new partnership between the two iconic brands. “We are excited to work with an experienced PR firm such as CMC Connect Burson-Marsteller, which stands out among other communications consultants in the industry. We strongly believe that working with CMC Connect will help us in achieving our overall objectives.”

    Premium Steel reiterated its confidence in CMC Connect’s expertise, noting that the firm will strategically help Premium Steel in delivering its mandate to add value to the Nigerian economy. With the new communications consultant on board, the organisation will be positioned in line with the current government’s desire to diversify the economy and create new streams of revenue for the government.

    Premium Steel and Mines Limited is a subsidiary of the Stallion Group and have recently taken over the assets of the former Delta Steel Company located in Ovwian-Aladja, Delta State. Premium Steel has its technical partners MECON Steel of India.

    CMC Connect had earlier this year won the PR business for FBNQuest Limited, the Investment Banking and Asset Management business of FBN Holdings Plc, a key player in the financial sector of the Nigerian economy. The core responsibilities include providing strategic communications, advisory and media management services, corporate communications, financial communications, brand PR, digital PR and monitoring, among several other services.

    CMC Connect is a strategic communications consultancy firm that started in 1992 with the mission to deliver cutting-edge, strategy-driven perception solutions that add intrinsic value to its clients’ businesses, utilising the best talent resources, in the best traditions of work excellence and creativity.

    The firm has become a holding company under the group’s new business structure with four other firms namely; Tangalo Africa, I-Octane, Re-Ignite Public Affairs, and CMC Connect Burson-Marsteller, the flagship business.

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