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Tag: Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation

  • Ijaw youths angry over ‘unfair’ recruitment

    All is seemingly not well among the Ijaw people in the Niger Delta as a result of recent announcement by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to engage new employees in the corporation.

    Already, the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) Worldwide has expressed displeasure over the recruitment process, saying it lacked transparency and fairness. The IYC particularly alleged that the corporation was sidelining qualified Ijaw people from its recent employment process.

    The Ijaw youths held an emergency meeting in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital recently to criticise the process.

    Speaking after the meeting, the IYC Secretary-General, Alfred Kemepado, alleged that the employment announced recently by NNPC had been hijacked by some powerful people at the corporation and the Presidency.

    Kemepado said it smacked of injustice and unfairness for the Ijaw people, who suffer pains of oil exploration and exploitation, to be marginalised whenever there are job opportunities in the oil sector, especially the NNPC.

    He said: “Recently, you may have discovered that NNPC advertised for qualified individuals to apply for various positions in NNPC and applications were made around the country and as qualified and competent as the Ijaw are, most of us also applied for those jobs.

    “But information reaching us indicate that the Presidency has hijacked the process of recruitment and that the Ijaw people are being sidelined and we find that very offensive for many reasons.

    “One of the reasons is that we cannot continue to dwell in a country where they come around the Niger Delta, especially in the Ijaw territory drill the oil, take the oil and sustain this country called Nigeria and leave us with the associated diseases such as leukemia and the degraded environment. But when there is opportunity for employment, our people are always sidelined, marginalised and not considered at all. We find that very offensive.”

    Describing the situation as intolerable, Kemepado appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari and the new Group Managing Director (GMD) of NNPC to look into the issue and consider Ijaw people who are qualified for the existing job opportunities.

    “We appeal to the Presidency and the new GMD to look into this issue and ensure that Ijaw people who applied for those positions, whom we know are qualified for these positions should be considered and not sidelined by the list from the Presidency.

    “If that really happens, we will take it as an insult. From the inception of this government, we have been provoked many times. The time officials from the Presidency visited the Niger Delta, they promised that international oil companies would relocate to the Niger Delta. We did not see that happen. But we frown at this one and we are calling on the Presidency to have a rethink and do what is right.”

    Kemepado also maintained that the IYC received information to the effect that, following the appointment of the new boss of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), the corporation would be restructured, even as he called on the Federal Government to consider Ijaw people during the process.

    He noted that Ijaw youths had been trained in the activities of the oil sector through various interventionist programmes such as the Amnesty Office, the NDDC and other scholarship schemes sponsored by the government.

    “They are eminently qualified since they possess local and foreign certificates. So, nobody can doubt the competence of the Ijaw people. Therefore, the country should not continue to provoke this region. The Ijaw Youth Council and the elders have done our beat to keep the peace in this region.

    “Let us make it abundantly clear that the peace that President Buhari has enjoyed for the past four years and the peace that has prevailed as a result of the continuous flow of oil was not as a result of what this government has done for the people of the Niger Delta.

    “It is only as a result of our resolve as a people to keep the peace here with the hope that in situation such as this, our people will not continue to be sidelined and I don’t want the Presidency to push its luck too far and further provoke our people.

  • Why Eastern ports are not viable, by NPA boss

    The Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) Hajia Hadiza Bala Usman has given fresh insight on why the nation’s eastern port has remained unviable for business.

    The NPA has two ports including the Western port which comprises Apapa and Tincan Island ports while the Eastern port is made up of Calabar, Delta and Port Harcourt, respectively.

    Speaking in an interview with The Nation, the NPA boss said a number of factors may be responsible for the general lull in business at the Eastern port.

    Specifically, she said the challenge with the eastern port is the issue of draft limitation. “As you are aware, our Calabar Port has a draft limitation. Hitherto, I inherited a Joint Venture for the Calabar Channel Management Dredge and that was a big issue that we had to cancel. It’s an ongoing investigation about an unverifiable dredging works. So we have started another process. But it translated into huge volumes to the extent that we are looking at spending about N45-50billion on dredging of Calabar Port.”

    Pressed further, she said, “Delta is also one of our Eastern Ports, and it has a limited draft because of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPPC) Pipelines that have been buried in that location. So in the last year, at the end of 2018, we got approval to dredge the Escravos Bay, which permitted a depth of about 7.5metres that would enable vessels to that side. So we can go deeper than that because of the NNPC pipelines that are buried there. We are discussing with the NNPPC and I remember saying to the GMD that let us start the process of relocating the pipelines. It may not happen in a year or two years or five years but we must understand that that location requires deeper depth and start the process of relocating the pipelines.”

    The Port Harcourt Port, she declared, “is in a bad state. We have commissioned a condition survey. They have submitted a report which will determine the totality of investment into that Port Harcourt Port because it has reached its limits in terms of utilisation. So the conditional survey had provided what is required. So we need to literally build new kits, new infrastructure, in that place. And when we look at what is expected of the vessels type that would come globally now, do you want to invest in this kind of port now when you can invest in deep seaports to enable you now reach where you want to go. Onne Port is in a good state. We have the attendant draft required and it’s a port that usually has a lot of oil and gas cargo and transactions so every other activity there is available, they have a private container terminal that is operating there. So this is the summary of what the Eastern Port entails right now.”

    She was however quick to add that “One of the other things that I forgot to mention about the Eastern Port is charge on insurance cost. The vessels that are coming to the Eastern Port for example, have to have war insurance for coming into the place because there are lots of piracy and even besides insurance, they have to pay money for private security. That is one issue that is responsible for the unviability of the Eastern Port as it relates to the shipping industry.”

    • Full text of interview on pages 10 & 11

  • NNPC unfolds plan to bridge 20ml PMS gap

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Thursday disclosed how it planned to bridge the 20million liter shortfall in the nation’s Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) refining capacity. 

    The Group Managing Director, Dr. Maikanti Baru unfolded the plan in his presentation titled “The Roadmap for Energy Sustainability in Nigeria,” in the Society of Petroleum Engineers Oloibiri Lecture Series and Energy Forum 2019 at Abuja.

    The theme of the forum was “Energy Security and Sustainable Development in Nigeria: The Way Forward.”

    He earlier noted that despite abundant oil and gas reserves, Nigeria experiences shortages in electric power. 

    According to him, based on Nigeria’s Energy consumption current and forecast, statistics showed an increase from 6GW in 2015 to 30GW by 2025 and the primary source of the current power supply is hydro and gas.  

    Baru insisted that the future consumption which is expected to drive growth by 2025 would need aggressive development of gas and renewables projects to meet the exponential demand.

    On the refining capacity, the NNPC boss said that “Nigeria needs a refining capacity of 1.52million Barrel Per Stream Day (BPSD) of crude oil in order to meet its PMS requirement by 2025. 

    “This capacity requirement includes Dangote’s 650,000 BPSD Refinery  and NNPC’s current nameplate capacity of 445,000 BPSD (WRPC, KRPC and PHRC). This leaves a shortfall of 20million liters which is equivalent to 427,000BPSD.”

    The Group Managing Director however explained that in order to address this shortfall in PMS demand,  NNPC is adding 215,000 BPSD of refining capacity through private sector driven co-location of our existing facilities in Port Harcourt Refinery Company (PHRC-100,000 (BSPD) and Warri Refining  and Petrochemicals  Company (WRPC-115,000 BPSD) respectively.

    Continuing, Baru said that “Additionally, NNPC through  its new initiative of establishing Condensate Refineries with private sector participation is providing clusters for in-country refining capacity totaling about 250,000BSPD which closes the PMS supply-demand gap and creates positive margins to the investors. 

    These improved in-country refining capacity plan ensures Nigeria’s domestic crude oil plan ensures Nigeria’s domestic crude oil utilization of up to 66% with its attendant local.”

    Nigeria, said Baru, is the largest economy in Africa and dominant in the West African sub-region, with an increasing energy demand. 

    He added that based on available forecast, Nigeria’s real GDP was US$320 billion as at 2015 with a growth potential of US$476 Billion by 2025 (averaging 4% per annum).

    Baru said that Nigeria’s petroleum product demand is expected to grow from 13.2 million metric tonnes in 2015, 15.1 million metric tonnes in 2020 and 17.3 million metric tonnes by 2025 while the population growth corresponding to this demand is 182 million in 2015, 207 million in 2020 and 234 million in 2025 respectively. 

    The average population growth rate is 3% per annum, he said. 

    The GMD recalled that evolving new funding mechanisms for the Joint Venture operations was part of the focus of the reforms undertaken by Government to eliminate the often difficult cash call regime, enhance efficiency of the management of oil and gas resources and guarantee growth.

    He said that in order to encourage the existing players in the Industry, particularly “our traditional JV partners, we undertook to settle all outstanding cash call arrears amounting to a negotiated sum of a little over $5billion. 

    This has restored confidence in the Nigeria Oil and Gas Industry. We have signed third party financing deals with several international and local banks on new oil and gas developments worth over $3billion despite the depression in 2016/201 7. This demonstrates the faith in our Industry and the potentials we can unlock.

    “For our IOC partners, we would continue to leverage the strong credit rating of partners, identify key quick-win projects that are easy to mature with strong cash flow projections and attract the necessary funding from the capital market.

    “These alternative financing approaches to fund NNPC’s JV obligations have helped to renew investors’ confidence and stimulate further Foreign Direct Investments. In particular, this has deepened local banks participation in financing the Upstream Sector as the financing are syndicated from local banks and International lenders.

    In his presentation titled “Nigeria’s Energy Security and Sustainable Development in Nigeria: The Way Forward,” the Managing Director, Shell Nigeria Exploration & Production Co (SNEPCo), Mr. Bayo Ojulari, said $40billion to $200billion is what it will cost to address energy gap.

    He said that a nation without a secured energy system cannot have power. 

    He expressed concern that 70% of Nigeria installed capacity is lost before it reaches the customers. 

    According to him because of aging equipment and vandalism, 70% of the populace has less than four hours electricity per day. 

    He said that “energy is not standing alone; it is about its impact on the society.”

    In the next 10 years, said Ojulari, energy demand is expected to double. 

    He said that by 2050 solar could emerge as the dominant power energy source but oil and gas need would continue.

  • NNPC recovers N771m forfeited assets from marketers

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation ( NNPC ) has recovered assets worth over N771million from some marketers who had underpaid for petroleum products supplied to them from Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC) Kaduna Depot.

    The Chairman of NNPC Anti-Corruption Committee, Mr. Mike Balami, said the committee, in collaboration with Federal Government’s Intelligence and Anti-Corruption agencies such as the Department of State Security Services (DSS), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, recovered the assets from the defaulting marketers.

    A release by NNPC Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, in Abuja on Tuesday, said NNPC Anti-Corruption Committee brought in forensic experts to uncover the shady deals by some of the marketers affected.

    Balami disclosed that some of the assets recovered include filling stations, water factories and six sports utility vehicles, adding that the forensic investigation would be extended to the other depots across the country to stop the bleeding of the national oil company.

    He noted that it was established that the affected marketers lifted petroleum products from the PPMC Kaduna depot without evidence of payment and when confronted with the evidence they admitted to the offence and failed to pay their liabilities.

    He said that NNPC Group Managing Director, Dr. Maikanti Baru, was passionate about stopping all the leakages in the corporation, stressing that the forfeited assets would be handed over to NNPC Corporate Asset Boarding and Disposal Committee (CABDC) for immediate disposal.

    Balami added that investigation into the lifting of petroleum products without evidence of payment was continuing, urging all relevant stakeholders to support the NNPC Anti-Corruption Committee in its onerous task of recovering all its monies outside NNPC’s system.

    He said that this was the first time that the NNPC would be taking over assets forfeited by marketers who defaulted in their terms of engagement.

  • I will sell NNPC to wealthy Nigerians if elected-Atiku

    The Presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Atiku Abubakar on Wednesday in Kaduna reiterated his resolve to privatise the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), if elected President on Saturday.

    Atiku, who reiterated this while interacting with stakeholders from the 23 local government areas of Kaduna state at the trade fair complex, said his resolve to sell national assets was informed by the fact that NNPC has since inception 1963 failed to meet its expectation of refining crude oil for the country’s consumption.

    He insisted he will sell off the NNPC to provide more development, stressing his decision is against the backdrop that only very few are benefiting from the operations of the national asset at the expense of the masses.

    Atiku challenged President Muhammadu Buhari, who doubles as the Minister of Petroleum, to relinquish the running of the NNPC to ordinary people to show his level of sincerity.

    Contrary to the widespread spread rumors that he will sell the NNPC to himself, the former Vice President said: “The NNPC will be sold to Nigerians with money to buy it.”

    He explained: “Its 63 years Nigeria found crude but up till now we are yet to refine petrol and kerosine by ourselves.

    “We have refineries in Kaduna, Warri and Port Harcourt but saboteurs stopped them from working.”

    He also said his government will not be run by any cabal such as experienced by the present government.

    He averred that the present government of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has inflicted the nation with pains and poverty because according to him, the President is not in-charge.

    Speaking on the President Muhammadu Buhari’s recent security directive on ballot snatching, Atiku said PDP will not tolerate any form of ballot snatching and indulge in any act whatsoever against the electoral law.

    He insisted the order to kill any ballot box snatcher is undemocratic.

    The National Chairman of the PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, told the state stakeholders to resist every form of provocation to warrant postponement of election in the state.

    According to him: “The governor is running from one place to another seeking federal support to shift election, all such efforts will fail.

    “I urge us all to be resolute to vote Atiku Abubakar in the coming election and all other candidates of the PDP in all the elections.

    “Resist all forms of provocation, because what the government of the day wants is to cause violence so as to shift election particularly in the strong holds of the PDP, we must not fall for their plans.”

  • NNPC records N2.06b trading surplus

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation ( NNPC ) in November 2018 recorded a trading surplus of ₦2.06billion, which represented a laudable improvement of 116% over the previous month’s deficit of ₦12.66billion.

    This increase in performance month-on-month was primarily attributable to improved efficiency of the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company’s (NPDC) operations.

    The corporation’s Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, said in a statement on Tuesday that the details were contained in the NNPC Monthly Financial and Operations Report for the month of November, 2018 that was published in Abuja.

    The statement added that a total of 735 Million Standard Cubic Feet of gas per day (mmscfd) was delivered to gas fired-power plants in November 2018 compared with October 2018 where an average of 627mmscfd was supplied.

    According to Ughamadu, out of the 212.93 Billion Cubic Feet (bcf) of gas supplied during the period, a total of 123.29bcf of gas was commercialised, consisting of 36.14bcf and 87.15bcf for the domestic and export market respectively.

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    The release said this translated to a total supply of 1,204.76 mmscfd of gas to the domestic market and 2,905.06 mmscfd of gas supplied to the export market for the month, implying that 57.91% of the average daily gas produced was commercialized while the balance of 42.09% was re-injected, used as upstream fuel gas or flared.

    The total gas supply November 2017 to November 2018 stood at 3,071.13bcf out of which 466.44bcf and 1,317.77 bcf were commercialized for the domestic and export market respectively.

    A further breakdown of the report indicated that gas – Injected, fuel gas and gas flared – stood at 1,286.92 bcf.

    NNPC also posted a total crude oil and gas sale of $668.57 in November, 2018 which is 26.13% higher than the previous month. Crude oil export sales contributed $574.95 million (86.00%) of the dollar transactions compared with $425.00million contribution in the previous month.

    Export gas sales amounted to $93.62 million in the month.

    The November 2017 to November 2018 crude oil and gas transactions indicated that crude oil & gas worth $5.97 Billion was exported.

    In the downstream sector, the NNPC has continued to assiduously monitor the daily stock of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) to achieve smooth distribution of petroleum products and zero fuel queue across the nation.

    To this end, a total of 1.62bn litres of PMS, translating to 54.0mn liters/day, were supplied for the month.

    In November, 2018 a total of 197 pipeline points were vandalized; out of which six pipeline points failed to be welded and two pipeline points were ruptured.

    The situation improved from the 219 vandalized points recorded in October 2018, with Mosimi-Ibadan, Ibadan-Ilorin and Aba-Enugu accounting for 58, 35 and 34 points respectively or approximately 29%, 18% and 17% of the vandalized points respectively.

    While Atlas Cove-Mosimi accounted for 13%, Warri-Kaduna and PHC-Aba accounted for 8% each and other locations accounted for the remaining 7% of the pipeline breaks.

  • IPMAN hails harmonious relations with NNPC

    Independent Petroleum Marketers Association (IPMAN) in Western Zone has hailed the zone rancour-free relationship with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in its operations.

    The acting zonal chairman Kunle Bamigboye said his in Ilorin, Kwara state capital shortly after his inauguration.

    Former chair of the zone Alhaji Debo Ahmed was recently elected as the deputy national president of IPMAN. Bamigboye paid glowing tribute to his predecessor and promised to consolidate on his modest achievements while in office.

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    He commended the entire IPMAN membership in Western Zone for holding dearly to the “peace torch” which has brought about oneness and reposition our relationship with NNPC at our 5 depots within the zone.

    He added that Western Zone was the only zone in the country that is not factionalised, promising to ensure that the unity is sustained.

  • NNPC to crash cooking gas price

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), says it is working to crash the price of cooking gas in the country.

    It said this would be done through the implementation of effective commercial framework that would halt the export of propane and butane from the country.

    The Group General Manager, Crude Oil Marketing Division (COMD) of the Corporation, Mallam Mele Kyari, disclosed this in a statement issued by the corporation, in Abuja, on Thursday.

    He said that Propane and butane were major components in the production of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), also known as cooking gas.

    He said that the move to stop the export of propane and butane which was anchored by the Crude Oil Marketing Division of the Corporation would enable the Corporation boost supply of LPG to the domestic market.

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    This, he said would lead to a natural downward slide in the price of the product in the country.

    “Currently some of our butane and propane entitlements are exported largely due to lack of vessels to make sure that these things come into the domestic markets and the absence of a commercial framework.

    “What we are going to do is to make sure we put the right commercial framework in place so that those exports are converted into domestic consumption,” he said.

  • Abide by rules, FG tells oil sector operators

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) on Thursday charged operators in the oil sector to play by stipulated regulations.

    According to them, an industry player’s simple mistake could finish the entire business in the value chain.

    Specifically, the corporation’s Group Managing Director, Maikanti Baru, noted non-compliance to regulations by operators in the sector was the biggest challenge confronting the industry currently in Nigeria.

    The DPR said it allowed illegal stations and gas plants three weeks of grace to regular isle their facilities or face justice.

    Baru, who was represented by a Group Executive Director of the NNPC, Henry Ikem-Obih, spoke at the DPR Annual General Stakeholders Meeting in Abuja.

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    He said: “We all remember that over the years we’ve learnt from a lot of very regrettable mistakes that led to incidents that transformed the way we do business in this industry.

    “It is important that we always remember that one mistake in the oil and gas industry is sufficient to wipe out the entire business. It is as bad as an aircraft crash.”

    Continuing, he said: “As operators, we have a responsibility to support the efforts of agencies like DPR, PPPRA (Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency), PEF (Petroleum Equalisation Fund) who daily drive compliance in the industry.”

    The NNPC boss also stated it was important for regulators to always enforce regulations, because without enforcement they will never achieve full compliance.

    Abuja Zonal Operations Controller for DPR, Abdul Abba, said the gathering was meant to bring together major players in the downstream oil and gas sector to review 2018 operational challenges and set out new plan for 2019.

    He noted: “We have seen where lack of compliance to the statutory regulations with respect to depots, filling stations and LPG outlets has led to huge losses in investment, lives and degradation of environment.”

    Abba also stated that the agency had taken measures to ensure that illegal retail outlets were regularised.

  • No TAM on refineries for 42 years — Baru

    The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr Maikanti Baru, said that the country’s refineries had not undergone Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) for an aggregate of 42 years.

    Baru disclosed this in his New Year message issued by the Corporation spokesman, Mr Ndu Ughamadu, in Abuja, on Monday.

    He said that in spite of the challenge, major rehabilitation works were carried out in all the three refineries.

    He noted that the Warri Refinery and Petrochemical Company, WRPC, had its Distribution Control System (DCS) successfully upgraded while the Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC) had major interventions in Fluid Catalytic Cracking Unit, (FCCU) and Power Plant Unit (PPU) fixed.

    He added that  Kaduna Refinery and Petrochemical Company (KRPC) was undergoing major repairs of its FCCU, Catalytic Reforming Unit (CRU) and Crude Distillation Unit 2 (CDU2).

    According to him, efforts are afoot to get the original builders of the refineries to carry out TAM on them after securing favourable private funding for the exercise.

    On the downstream sector, he said that although 2018 was riddled with some supply shortages, he was delighted that the corporation rose to the occasion with the support of President Muhammadu Buhari and the resilience and hard work of NNPC staff members.

    “As at today, there is fuel availability in the nooks and crannies of the country,’’ he said.

    He further disclosed that the NNPC imported a total of 15.874, million metric tonnes of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise called petrol through the DSDP and the NFSF arrangement in 2018.

    This, he said represented 62 per cent increase over the 2017 supplies of 9.807 metric tonnes.

     

    “As at today, the NNPC has 2.98 billion litres, equivalent to over 59 days sufficiency at 50 million litres daily evacuation,” he said

    He added that the corporation’s depots had been resuscitated and put to use through decanting of over 140 million litres of PMS nationwide, explaining that systems 2B and 2E pipelines supplying petroleum products to South West, South-South and South East Regions had been resuscitated.

    On the Industry milestones in the outgone year, Baru disclosed that the Egina project had achieved First Oil at 11.20pm on Dec. 29, 2018 while he noted that the Egina Floating Production Storage and Offloading, FPSO, vessels was currently adding 200,000 barrels of oil per day to the country’s crude oil output.

    He further stated that Nigeria’s crude oil daily production recorded an upward swing of about 2.09 million barrels in 2018, translating to a nine per cent increment, compared with the 2017 average daily production of 1.86 million barrels.

    Compared against the low-level daily crude oil production in 2016 and what obtains now, Baru, said the nation had maintained a line of consistent year-on-year improvement.

    He explained that the average production from NPDC’s operated assets alone grew from an average of 108,000 of oil per day (bod) in 2017 to 165,000bod in 2018.

    He described the feat as the strongest production growth within the oil Industry in recent times, even as he added that it was worth being celebrated.

    The GMD said NPDC’s equity production share which stands at 172,000bod, representing about eight per cent of national daily production, was no less impressive.

    He added that the desired results were the outcomes of initiatives his Management team intended, among which, he noted, were the Asset Management Team (AMT) structure, Strategic Financing, Units Autonomy and security architecture framework.

    Baru promised that NNPC would stick to the Repayment Agreement with the JV Partners while transiting to self-funding IJV modes with the corporations’ partners.

    “Tiding up the Cash Call issues has led to increased commitment and enthusiasm to invest in Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry even as it has also boosted NNPC’s credit profile internationally,” he added

    Baru highlighted the achievements of NNPC in the Upstream sector by listing other milestones achieved by his team to include: reduction in contracting cycle for Upstream Operations to nine months from an average of 24, even as the corporation targeted a six-month cycle.

    Others include lowering of production cost from 27 dollar per barrel to 22 dollars per barrel; and improving on the security situation in the Niger Delta through constructive engagement and dialogue with relevant stakeholders.

    Baru revealed that in the frontier basins, NNPC had intensified explorations activities in the Benue Trough, with the expected spudding of Kolmani River Well 2 on Jan. 19, 2019.

    He explained that activities would resume in the Chad Basin as soon as there was a green light on the security situation in the enclave.

    In the Midstream, the NNPC GMD stated that in 2018, Nigeria achieved an average national daily gas production of 7.90bscf, translating to three per cent above the 2017 average daily gas production of 7.67bscf.

    He said out of the 7.90bscf produced in 2018, an average of 3.32bscfd (42%) was supplied to the Export market, 2.5bscfd (32%) for Reinjection/Fuel Gas, 1.3bscfd (16%) was supplied to the domestic market and about 783mmscfd (10%) was flared.

    The GMD stated that out of the 1.3bscfd supplied to the domestic market, an average of 71mmscfd went to the Power Sector, while 470mmscfd was supplied to the Industries and the balance of 69mmscf delivered to the West African Market through the West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP).

    Baru said NNPC would bridge the medium-term domestic gas supply deficit by 2020 through the corporation’s Seven Critical Gas Development Projects (&CGDPS).

    According to him, a reputable Project Management consulting firm is collaborating with an NNPC team to achieve accelerated implementation of the projects.

    He assured that full implementation of the project would boost domestic gas supply from about 1.5bscf/d to 5bscf/d by 2020, with a corresponding 500 per cent increase in power generation and stimulation of gas-based industrialization.

    Baru said all existing power plants in the country now had a permanent gas supply pipeline infrastructure, even as he stressed that the corporation would continue to expand and integrate its gas pipeline network system to meet increasing domestic gas demands.(NAN)