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Tag: Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)

  • Nigeria revenue from deep water operations exceeds $180b

    Nigeria’s deep water operations have generated revenue exceeding $180billion following industry players’ capital investment in excess of $65billion with the potentials for growth amidst untapped abundant opportunities in the sector.

    The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru, made this disclosure while delivering a paper entitled: “Deepwater Operations in Nigeria: The journey so far” at the Panel session of the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN) in the ongoing golden anniversary of the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston, Texas.

    Represented by the Chief Operating Officer, Upstream of the NNPC, Mallam Bello Rabiu, Baru stated that Nigeria held approximately 13billion barrels of oil, out of which about 2billion has been produced with a huge volume yet untapped.

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

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    Baru said Nigeria remained an active player relative to other regions in terms of deep water development, stressing that the industry started with the deployment of latest technology, a stride it has continued to maintain.

    “Out of the 15 Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) in Nigeria, seven have been deployed for deep water operations.  Nigeria ranks only behind Angola within the African deepwater operations in terms of FPSO deployment,” Dr. Baru informed.

    According to the GMD, the country has utilised each deep water project as an avenue to upscale its unique human capital skills in different areas not limited to engineering design, project management, welding and diving.

    He added the local content contribution or services share in deep water had continued to grow and improve from the sub 1% level to an aggregate contribution of over 25%, from engineering man-hours of less than 20,000 to over 1.1million in recent Egina project.

    “With the Nigerian content, tonnage has grown by 600% from the first deepwater project till date,” Baru noted.

    The NNPC helmsman stated that deep water projects had benefited the wider economy by boosting demand for a range of goods and services, including offshore vessels and platforms, materials, floating hotels, helicopters and manpower, creating jobs and providing wide range of training and maintenance services to the industry locally.

    He added that services in areas such as manpower supply, logistics, and vessel supply, chemical supplies had more or less been domesticated in the deep water value chain.

  • 132 firms bid to buy 14 cargoes of Nigerian crude monthly

    132 local and international companies on Thursday offered to buy 14 cargoes of Nigerian crude oil monthly in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) 2019/2020 Direct Sale and Direct Purchase bid opening ceremony in Abuja.

    The Group Managing Director (GMD) Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru, who presided over the opening, said that the corporation would receive about 14 billion litres in a year as exchange for the crude.

    “Well, we are looking about 14 cargoes a month kind of situation and about 14billion litres of in a year of products,” he said.

    He said the occasion marked the beginning of yet another landmark event in the bid to miximise the value of the Nigerians and other stakeholders in the bid to guarantee energy security for the nation.

    Baru noted that the DSDP scheme was introduced in 2016 with efficient and cost systems and processes to plug the value eroding loopholes of the January 2015 Offshore Processing Agreement (OPA contracts).

    According to him: “Since the inception of the DSDP scheme in 2016 to March 2019, 29.5million meteoric tons (39.6 billion liters) of petroleum products have been supplied under the scheme representing over 90% of the national requirement.”

    The NNPC boss said through a transparent competitive bidding and evaluation process, the scheme has enlisted a robust supplier mix comprising of the big international players and strong Nigerian downstream companies for supply flexibility and local capacity development.

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    Baru said that the scheme prides itself with a competitive pricing framework (lower than the Petroleum Product Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) benchmark) which  over the years has ensured significant reduction in product demurrage cost in the range of 84% and cost savings of about $2.2billion.

    He explained that the 2019-2020 DSDP tender objectives were to engage reputable qualified companies for the Direct Sales of Nigerian crude oil and Direct Purchase of petroleum products.

    He added the objectives were also to ensure the selection of off-takers is aligned with tested transparent and accountable procedures in compliance with the Public Procurement & Nigerian Content Acts.

    Baru said that another objective of the scheme was to sustain transparency in all the nation’s processes and establish the best partners through a robust mix of big international players and strong Nigerian downstream companies to ensure supply reliability and local capacity development.

    According to him, the scheme is also to encourage Nigerian downstream companies while leveraging on the capacity and expertise of foreign partners.

    He revealed that the DSDP has been delivering value optimisation to the federation.

    There were agents of the Bureau of Public Procurement and the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiatives monitoring the transparency of the bid opening.

  • There’d be adequate fuel supply in Easter, NNPC reassures

    The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru, on Friday said that the corporation is now accountable for 75 per cent of gas supply to power in the country.

    The volume is about 300 million standard cubic feet per day.

    He reaffirmed the readiness of the NNPC to ensure adequate supply of petroleum products in all the nook and cranny of the country during the Easter holidays and beyond.

    Baru who gave this commitment during the conferment on him of the “Distinguished Merit Award’’ by the Association of Business Managers and Administrators of Nigeria in Abuja, said the corporation currently had 1.7 billion litres of petrol in stock equivalent to 35 days sufficiency without adding a drop.

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    He said plans were afoot to increase it to 2.4 billion litres by the end of the month.

    A release by the NNPC Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, stated the corporation’s helmsman informed that currently NNPC was responsible for 75 per cent of gas supply to power in the country to the tune of over 300 million standard cubic feet (Scf) of gas per day.

    The excited NNPC GMD dedicated the award to President Muhammadu Buhari for his support for the oil and gas Industry.

     

     

  • Kachikwu: Firms should raise Nigeria’s oil production to 7m bpd

    The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu has challenged exploration and production companies in Nigeria to strive to raise daily crude oil production to seven million barrels per day (bpd) from the about 2.1 million bpd currently produced.

    Kachikwu, who spoke at the just concluded second edition of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Opportunity Fair (NOGOF) organised by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, urged all stakeholders in the petroleum industry to put all hands on deck to actualise the aspiration.

    He said: “Industry players should strive for improvements in all facets of their operations because Nigeria should be producing over seven million barrels of crude oil every day and enough gas to meet its electricity needs. The oil and gas sector should have rapidly developing infrastructure, while oil bearing communities ought to be well developed with proceeds from the sale of crude oil.”

    He encouraged Nigerian operators to move into other African countries and use Nigeria’s 60 years’ experience in the sector to lead the operations of their fields.

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    The Executive Secretary NCDMB, Simbi Kesiye Wabote, said the Board had identified over 80 oil and gas opportunities that would be developed by major international and indigenous operating companies in the short and long term, with the estimated cumulative value of the projects exceeding $100 billion.

    The projects, according to him, are contained in the Compendium of Nigerian Content Opportunities in the Oil and Gas Industry launched at the event. The projects and opportunities cover the upstream, midstream and downstream subsectors of the Nigerian oil and gas sector and were collated from presentations by various oil and gas companies at the first edition of NOGOF in 2017 and updated at workshops organised by the Board in October 2018.

    Wabote explained that the compendium was intended to create a database of Nigerian Content opportunities and help indigenous and potential investors prepare, improve their capacities and capabilities to participate in available and upcoming contracts and projects.

    He added that the compendium gives the industry a five-year outlook and enables stakeholders to key into those opportunities. The NCDMB chief said: “Two years ago when we held this workshop, we talked about ExxonMobil’s Ibot, Total’s Ikike and NLNG Train 7. Today, they are going through the funnel and within the next few weeks they would take Final Investment Decisions (FIDs) on Ikike and Ibot and before the end of the year they would take FID on Train 7. We focus and follow through on those opportunities. Every two years we roll on new opportunities and add to the compendium.”

    Kachikwu, who was just re-elected the President of the African Petroleum Producers Organisation (APPO) for a third term at the association’s meeting in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, also noted that the speedy development of the identified $100billion opportunities would require the roles and contributions of various entities including the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) for approvals, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for negotiations and the oil companies, who would take FIDs, among others.

    He promised that the Ministry of Petroleum Resources would midwife a special arrangement that would involve every agency of government and entity that has a role to play in the approval and development of the identified projects. “We must avoid a situation whereby NCDMB might work very fast and gets to the goal post and others are just taking off. We would create an arrangement that involves everybody and be clear about the deliverables, timelines and opportunities and bring out something which everyone can then drive.”

    On government’s support for modular refineries as a strategy for ending crude oil theft, vandalism and environmental degradation, Kachikwu said the Ministry of Petroleum would develop a policy that would encourage persons living in oil producing communities to form cooperatives, with which they can set up and own modular refineries. He said: “We would have some agreements with them to stop the sabotage. We can work with NCDMB to put in a bit of funding. Then we put in technical know-how, business structure around it and have a major shareholder who is an entrepreneur. That way the locals get to participate, get jobs, polish their skills sets, crude is paid for and not stolen and the environment is better dealt with.”

    Kachikwu expressed regret that the potentialities of the Nigerian oil and gas sector was not being maximised and advised stakeholders to accelerate their activities because oil is a fast degenerating asset and developed countries were already switching to cleaner energy options

    He praised Wabote for his numerous achievements, particularly for the construction of the Board’s 17-storey headquarters building. “The building is not just important to NCDMB but also for Bayelsa State, because it had cried out for long that federal presence was not here. This is a big federal presence. By the time they finish the power supply they are doing with Agip, you will have a near 100 per cent supply of power to most of the Board’s facilities.”

    Over 1000 delegates including attended the event. The Fair’s theme was: Maximizing oil & gas industry for the benefit of the Nigerian people.

  • 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.

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    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 eyes energy integration in Africa

    The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru, has called for more integration among countries within the West African sub-region towards providing lasting solutions to the region’s numerous energy challenges.

    He spoke during a meeting with the United States Energy Secretary, Rick Perry and some African petroleum ministers, on the sidelines of the 19th CERAWeek Conference taking place in Houston, United States.

    A statement yesterday explained that Baru said energy integration across the sub-region was necessary as it will drastically reduce unemployment and restiveness as well as improve the economies of the affected countries.

    “Nigeria as a regional leader has already encouraged regional integration by first putting up the West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP) to ensure gas is available to West Africa. We are also doing the Trans Sahara Gas Pipeline (TSGP), even as we are intent on extending the WAGP to Morocco,” Baru was quoted to have said on the occasion.

    He said the intention was to come up with a West African Power Pool that would put up power plants and other gas-based industries along those areas within the respective countries.

    The GMD said Nigeria’s crude oil production had seen tremendous improvement in recent years, due to Federal Government’s laudable efforts in ensuring security in the Niger Delta region.

    He said Nigeria and the U.S have been very good partners with about $35billion worth of trade between the two countries.

    Earlier in his remarks,  Perry expressed U.S commitment towards helping Africa achieve energy independence for the benefit of the people.

    “For our part, we will support progress by engaging economically as well as championing open markets in societies. We endorse the modernisation of critical oil and gas infrastructure which leads to better security and diversification of energy supplies and exports,” he said.

    Describing innovation as the surest path to energy security, Perry said once countries innovate, they are greeted with greater economic growth, opportunities and national security.

    “We support efforts to improve the regional inter-connectivity. We also see energy access as critical to increasing prosperity and combating the cycle of poverty,” he said.

    He said as the number one producer of oil and natural gas in the world, the U.S was more than well-positioned to not only share its resources, but also its technology and know-how.

    He said his country would work towards transforming the Africa’s domestic energy systems so that it would provide power, create jobs, foster development, open up new opportunities and improve almost every facet of human existence on the continent.

     

  • 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 set to punish procurement defaulters

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) says severe penalty awaits anyone who defaults in the procurement process in project execution in the corporation.

    NNPC Managing Director, Dr Maikanti Baru, also warned management and staff of the corporation against any action that contravened the provisions of the Public Procurement Act in the award of contracts.

    He gave the warning on Wednesday in Abuja at a Supply Chain Management workshop for NNPC Procurement Managers.

    Baru cautioned staff against contract splitting and accumulation, which he described as a deliberate act by procurement managers to subvert due process in the procurement process.

    He noted that the corporation was committed to transparency in every aspect of its operations, adding that all procurements and contract awards in the corporation under his watch so far had been carried out in conformity with the Public Procurement Act.

    The NNPC boss directed the Supply Chain Management Division to step up its level of monitoring of the various tender boards within the corporation for full compliance.

    He commended President Muhammadu Buhari for the early approval of the NNPC budget, assuring that as the chief revenue earner for the nation, NNPC was committed to the economic policies of the Federal Government.

    “The whole essence of the next level is to ensure that things are done correctly and speedily for the benefit of the people”, the NNPC boss said in a statement.

  • 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)