The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Group Public Affairs Division

  • Buhari’s re-election will guarantee refinery revamping – NNPC

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) says the re-election of president Muhammadu Buhari will help to facilitate the revamping of the nation’s refineries.

    Mr Ndu Ughamadu, NNPC Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs division told the News Agency of Nigeria( NAN)  in Abuja that the president had been supportive to the corporation.

    “The reelection of president Buhari is a welcome development to the corporation. As the Minister of Petroleum he has been very supportive.

    ” His reelection means that more support will come for the work the corporation is doing.

    “He has been very supportive with all the work going on in ensuring the revamping of the three refineries and has directed the corporation to ensure exploration of oil in the frontier inland basin, ” he said.

    Ughamadu noted that in product supply, the corporation had witnessed the president’s support in which the nation had continued to have adequate supply of products.

    “In gas production, the president gave the corporation all the support it needed especially with the Ajeokuta Kaduna Kano(AKK) gas pipeline project.

    “For us, his coming back is a welcome development and the industry at large is happy with it,” he said.

    The NNPC General Manager, Security, Mr Sam Otobueze also said that the re-election of president Buhari was no doubt a happy survival to NNPC.

    “It is a sigh of relief to the staff, burdened by uncertainties of the future, ” he said.

    Mr Sumaila Abdullahi, an oil marketers told NAN that the re-election of Buhari for a second term in office would go along way to consolidate some of the modest gains recorded in the Oil and Gas Industry.

    “To start with, the stable supply of petroleum products have come to stay and fuel scarcity is now a thing of the past.

    ” The seven big wins of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources will definetely be taken to the next level and this stability in policy drive would boost investor confidence and attract more investors into the industry.

    “The re-election of Mr. President will likely boost exploration of Oil and Gas in the frontier inland basins,” he said. (NAN)

  • No plans to hike petrol price – NNPC 

    No plans to hike petrol price – NNPC 

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Monday  said that  it has no plan to increase the prices of petroleum products both at the ex-depot level and pump price ahead of the forthcoming yuletide.

    The NNPC in a release informed that the ex-depot petrol price of N133.38 per litre and the pump price of N143/N145 per litre have not changed noting that the Corporation has enough stock of fuel to ensure seamless supply and distribution of products across the country.

    While enjoining motorists and other users of petroleum products to disregard trending rumours of an impending fuel price hike in some online news platforms, the NNPC said it has the full commitment of all downstream stakeholders including petroleum marketers and industry unions to cooperate in achieving zero fuel scarcity this season and beyond.

    Its Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu disclosed this in a statement.

    The explanation followed the emergence of petrol scarcity in Abuja.

    Most of the sales outlets including the Corporation’s affiliate stations were not opened to customers.

    This resulted in long queues around petrol stations in the federal capital territory.

    The NNPC however enjoined motorists not to engage in panic buying or indulge in the dangerous practice of stocking petroleum products in jerry cans at home.

    The Corporation noted that its downstream subsidiary companies namely the Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC) and NNPC Retail Limited are fully geared up to ensure that motorists enjoy uninterrupted access to petrol throughout the nation.

  • Nigeria’s gas fare rate reduces to 12 percent 

    Nigeria’s gas fare rate reduces to 12 percent 

    The Gas flare rate in Nigeria stands at 12.00 per cent, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Monthly Financial and Operations Report for August has revealed.

    The monthly report which was released Wednesday in Abuja said that the 12.00 per cent gas flare rate which translates to 919.73mmscfd was at August 2017 compared to 10.03 per cent for the preceding month of July 2017.

    NNPC’s Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu mad this known in a statement yesterday.

    According to the statement, Nigeria was among countries with highest gas flare rates, but a number of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects aimed at appropriate gas utilization have improved the country’s standing in this the regard.

    The report gave an average gas flare rate of 10.15 per cent, which is 734.56mmscfd, for the period August 2016 to August 2017.

    The monthly report also showed that despite enormous challenges facing the downstream sub-sector of the Petroleum Industry, the NNPC has continued to maintain adequate products supply nationwide.

    It attributed the success story to strategic interventions by the Corporation in respect of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) supply, revamp and re-commissioning of critical pipelines and depots across the country, as well as robust engagement with critical Downstream stakeholders, among which are Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, (MOMAN), Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), Petroleum Tanker Drivers Association of Nigeria (PTDAN) as well as the Independent Petroleum Marketers (IPMAN).

    The NNPC informed that Products pipeline breaches stood at 70 points for the month of August 2017 out of which 62 pipelines were vandalized.

    The strategic Port Harcourt-Aba pipeline was singled out as a major culprit, accounting for 46 vandalized points (or 74 per cent of total recorded cases).

    To tackle the challenge, the Corporation in collaboration with Federal Government has continued to engage members of various host communities to stem incidences of pipeline infractions.

    The NNPC Report also listed security synergy with IOCs as part of the steps taken to stem oil and gas sabotage which involved deployment of a structured and holistic security apparatus in operational areas.

    The NNPC report further revealed that 950.67 million litres of white products were distributed and sold by the Petroleum Products Marketing Company, PPMC in the month of August 2017. Although the figure was lower than the 1,121.92 million litres in the preceding month of July 2017, yet it was enough to ensure adequate supply of petroleum products.

    A further breakdown down of the figure indicated that Premium Motor Spirit, otherwise called petrol distributed during the period was 814.02 million litres, Dual Purpose Kerosene (DPK), or kerosene supply stood at 59.92 million litres, while 76.73 million litres of Automotive Gas Oil or diesel was also distributed to the domestic market during the period under reference.

    The report indicated that special products supplied for the month of August 2017 was 11.09 million litres, comprising 10.13 million litres of Low Pure Fuel Oil, LPFO and other special products of 0.96 million litres.

    The August 2017 NNPC Financial and Operations Report is the 25th edition of the series.

    Read Also: NNPC stocks N2b liters of petrol

  • Why there are fuel queues in Abuja—-NNPC

    Why there are fuel queues in Abuja—-NNPC

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) yesterday explained that the queues that resurfaced at Abuja petrol stations were the ripple effects of the strike that oil workers under the umbrella of Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria  (PENGASSAN) embarked upon that it suspended on Tuesday.

    It however advised customers to desist from panic buying of petroleum products as it has stock that could last for 30 days.

    Its Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Malam Garba Deen that made this known in a statement, noted that “as a result all PENGASSAN members have since resumed work on Wednesday 13th July, 2016.

    “Therefore any perceived or visible shortage of petrol is only a ripple effect of the period when the strike was in progress and does not represent a shortage in supply.

    Members of the public are advised not to engage in panic buying as there is no shortage of petrol.

    “The Corporation has sufficiency that will last for over 30 days.”

  • IPMAN raises alarm as banks threaten to take over stations

    IPMAN raises alarm as banks threaten to take over stations

    • Says NNPC holds down over N60b petrol tickets for two years

    The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) on Friday cried out over the imminent move of some commercial banks to take over some petrol stations following their loan repayment defaults.

    According to its Vice President, Alhaji Abubakar Maigandi Dankigari, who disclosed this to The Nation at Abuja, the marketers could not service their loans because the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has refused to supply their over N60 billion petrol tickets since two years ago.

    He revealed that instead of loading whatever volume of petrol the over N60 billion can buy at the new pump price, the NNPC is requesting them to pay the balance before providing the products.

    He added that it is even now cheaper to buy petrol from independent depots than NNPC, which has used the ploy to tie down their fund.

    The Vice President noted that the marketers know that even after paying the balance that NNPC is requesting for, it will still take a very long time for them to get the products, hence they have resorted to patronize the private depots.

    This, he said, has made it impossible for the marketers to repay of servicing loans.

    However, all efforts by The Nation to contact the NNPC Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Malam Garba Deen Muhammad for the corporation’s side of the story, proved abortive as no reply was given to all messages put forward.

    Meanwhile, Dankigari maintained: “The implication is so high because we borrow most of the money from the bank. Automatically if NNPC refuses to load, you will find out that some of our marketers will lose their filling stations.

    “Already the banks are in courts with some of the filling stations because they failed to repay the banks. So, I am advising the NNPC to try as much as possible to load the product to the marketers so that the marketers don’t lose their filling stations. And you know that losing their filling stations means a creation of another unemployment.”

    Suggesting what NNPC should do in the situation, he advised that it should either refund the money to the marketers or sell what their outstanding N60 billion can buy to them.

    The Vice President added that it would be better for them to recover the over N60 billion from NNPC and buy from the private depots.

    He lamented about the rate at which the corporation sells petrol to the independent marketers, stressing that NNPC now sells the product at a higher rate than private depots.

    His words: “And then secondly in terms of the rate, NNPC is selling the product to the marketers at the rate of N133.28k per litre while the private depots are selling this product at the rate of N128 per litre.

    “And this same NNPC when you buy N133.28 from them, they will come to their filling stations and be selling this product at the rate of N135 per litre. So where do you expect the marketers to make their profit?

    “So it will be better for NNPC to refund our money so that we can buy from the private depots.

    But now our money is with them and whether you like it or not you must bring your money and that is the reason they are selling it at a higher rate to us and it is affecting our business.

    “And even if you complete the balance, they will create a delay tactic -before you load it will take a very long time. And that is why you see some of the marketers now abandon the NNPC tickets and they are buying from the private depots. Because they know that even after paying the balance that NNPC is asking for it is going to take a very long time for them (marketers) to get their products.”