The Nation Newspaper

Tag: NNPC

  • Ugborodo crisis: Warring factions meet

    Ugborodo crisis: Warring factions meet

    The protracted crisis in Ugborodo, Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State may end soon.

    Stakeholders and leaders of the two warring factions at a meeting in Warri agreed to pursue peace and unity.

    But leader of one of the two factions, David Tonwe, was absent.

    His delegate could not represent him because proxy attendance was not allowed.

    The meeting, which was said to be a follow-up to a March 20 meeting in Abuja, was described as one that would bring a united and peaceful Ugborodo.

    The Abuja meeting had resolved, among other things, “to maintain peace in the community while anybody seen with arms will face the law.

    “That displaced persons must freely return to their communities and not disrupt work at the NNPC EPZ Gas City Project being sited in Ogidigben, one of the five Ugborodo communities.”

    It was gathered the agreements reached at the Warri meeting showed that normalcy could return before the end of March.

    A source, who was part of the meeting, said the two factions agreed to constitute the EPZ committee for peace to reign.

    “Resolving the crisis is almost a done deal. I am not disposed to speak, but I can assure you before the end of March or by first week of April, a new, united Ugborodo would be born.

    “Both parties have committed to constituting the new EPZ committee, which has been the nagging issue.”

     

  • The NLNG paradigm

    The NLNG paradigm

    • Why doesn’t NNPC adopt the NLNG model for refinery and petrochemical complexes?

    It came with so many flaws, including nearly a decade-long delay; monumental graft, notably the bribery- for- contract scam by Halliburton and finally a not-too-transparent modus operandi. But regardless of all these, the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) project is probably the biggest thing happening to Nigeria and her oil industry today. It is by far her most ambitious and most successful project.

    The NLNG platform on the Bonny Island offshore from Rivers State was in the news recently when it marked its 3000th LNG export cargo milestone. According to its elated managing director and chief executive officer, Mr. Babs Omotowa, Nigeria has earned over $50 billion from the export of liquefied natural gas in the last 15 years. This huge earning, according to Omotowa, grew from a meagre investment of about $2.5 billion at inception in 1999.

    The NLNG is a star project of the joint venture between the Federal Government as represented by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and international oil companies. Nigeria owns about 49 per cent equity while firms like Shell, Chevron and Agip own majority shares. The NLNG, which is developed in trains is now at its sixth. The seventh train is in the making and upon completion, NLNG will control 10 per cent of the world’s liquefied natural gas market.

    It is the single largest oil and gas project since oil production started in Nigeria over 50 years ago (perhaps only to be matched by Shell’s Bonga) and NNPC’s assets in the project have grown to $14 billion over 15 years. Nigeria has earned about $13 billion in dividends and another $11 billion earned in the sales of feed gas while more than $10 billion has been injected into the Nigerian economy by way of goods, services and emoluments to thousands of staff. NLNG has also been rated among the companies that have adopted best practices in social responsibility to its communities and corporate governance in managing its affairs.

    This is especially so after it rose from the ashes of a macabre scandal involving its contractors and Nigerian government officials which spanned various regimes. With the culprits convicted and punished in the United States, NLNG introduced fresh set of strict ethical conducts in all its transactions at all levels and benchmarked against the best corporate governance practices in the world.

    Though the earnings over 15 years may seem meagre considering the magnitude of the project, the bigger gains lie in providing quality jobs and affording world-class training to thousands of Nigerian youths, especially its technical staff. NLNG’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities span almost all spheres of life but most notable is providing free electricity to its immediate communities of Bonny and Finima. The NLNG Annual Award for Science and Literature for Nigerians is among the most rewarding and most prestigious in the world today. But most important of all is that the NLNG has been able to reduce gas flaring in Nigeria by some fraction. It has been able to put into lucrative use, gas that otherwise would have been flared. Nigeria is second only to Russia in gas flaring in the world and she is said to lose aboutN286.24 billion to it.

    We wager that if the NNPC had adopted the NLNG template for the development of Nigeria’s refineries and petrochemical projects, the country would not only have been a major exporter of petroleum products but it would have long overgrown her perennial fuel and energy crises that still continue to dog her. The country would have also developed ancillary industries in the oil and gas sector as well as deepened her local content, technical and technological expertise. The NLNG is a success story and we applaud it as it celebrates this milestone. It remains an oasis in an ocean of rot and despondency.

     

  • NNPC denies chartering aircraft for minister

    The management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC ) yesterday denied reports that it chartered aircraft for the Minister of Petroleum Resources Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke.

    In a statement, its Acting Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Dr. Omar Farouk Ibrahim, said this was not true.

    He said: “It has not chartered any aircraft for the exclusive use of the Minister of Petroleum Resources, or any particular official of the corporation. NNPC also noted that contrary to the information being peddled in some quarters, Mrs. Alison-Madueke has not chartered any aircraft for her personal use or the use of her family.”

    NNPC, however, noted that in consonance with the legal instrument, which establishes the corporation as a commercial entity to engage in the oil and gas sector, the NNPC in the course of discharging its statutory and commercial functions engages third parties for the provision of services outside of its core business.

    The Corporation noted that this practice is common and acceptable in the local and international business environment in which it operates.

  • Our credibility level is nose diving,NNPC boss cries out

    Our credibility level is nose diving,NNPC boss cries out

    The authorities  of the  Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)   are  greatly disturbed by the public perception  of the organization .

    Group Managing Director of the corporation,Engineer Andrew Yakubu, says public perception of the organization may affect its ability to attract  Foreign Direct Investment.

    Yakubu spoke  to reporters in Abuja  during a dinner.

    “We cannot do this business without Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) , without foreign participation. Our credibility level is going down very fast. And unfortunately, it is based on perception,” he said.

    He added: “ If we continue at this rate, I am going to tell you something that is very bad. I will ask all of you that if you continue to destroy our economy this way, then pray never to give birth to children because those children are coming to suffer the outcome of our terrible destructive attitudes.

    “Because it will be difficult for anybody to invest in this country if we continue to destroy our country’s perception. If you are talking of corruption, mention anywhere you don’t have any iota of corruption. But what they do, is that you do it but the law will catch up you one.”

    He described corruption as endemic in the country and  recalled that when he decided not to influence  his daughter’s employment in NNPC his kinsmen said it was a ploy to refuse to assist them.

    Yakubu noted that “if that is the situation, if you are there and you are not celebrated back home and you don’t do it, is it NNPC that is corrupt? Then we may need to go for a total national cleansing and deliverance.”

    He  challenged   Nigerians to  point out specific cases of corruption for the NNPC to correct.

    Asked  why the corporation is perceived as corrupt, the NNPC Group MD absolved his team of sharp  practices, stressing that oil production and revenue remittance are monitored by different agencies such as the Nigerian Navy, Nigerian Customs Service, Department of Petroleum Resources and Weight & Measure of Office, the Central Bank of Nigeria and others.

    He claimed that sadly, NNPC bears the blame in all Nigerian petroleum related matters.

    “So I would appeal that if you have any specific case, bring it out, then we will be able to correct it. But we cannot continue when we build you destroy and we will start building. I think we will not be fair.

  • Jonathan appoints new Group Executive Directors for NNPC

    Jonathan appoints new Group Executive Directors for NNPC

    President Goodluck Jonathan Wednesday appointed new Group Executive Directors for the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

    The appointments, according to a statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, is to fill critical vacancies which currently exist in the Corporation.

    The new appointees and their portfolios include: Mr. Ian Gregory Udoh – Group Executive Director, Refining and Petrochemicals, Dr. Dan Iwoene Efebo – Group Executive Director, Corporate Services, Ms. Aisha Mata Abdurrahman – Group Executive Director, Business Development.

    Others are Mr. Adebayo Ibikunle Ibirogba -Group Executive Director, Engineering and Technical, and Dr. Joseph Thlama Dawha -Acting Group Executive Director, Exploration and Production.

    Mr. Ian Gregory Udoh, the statement said, is a native of Akwa Ibom State and has been the Managing Director of Port Harcourt Refining and Petrochemicals Company Ltd. (PHRC) since November 2012.

    “He has considerable experience of managing the nation’s refineries having previously held the position of Executive Director, Operations at both the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemicals Company Ltd. (KRPC) and the Port Harcourt Refining and Petrochemicals Company Ltd. In addition, Mr. Udoh has served as a General Manager in the Refining and Petrochemicals Directorate of NNPC,” it said

    “Dr. Dan Iwoene Efebo is currently the Group General Manager, in charge of the NNPC’s Human Resources Division. He was previously General Manager, Human Resources, Brass LNG. He hails from Bayelsa state.

    “Ms. Aisha Mata Abdurrahman is a native of Kogi State and has been the Managing Director of Nikorma, NNPC’s shipping subsidiary, since March 2011. Ms. Abdurrahman has also served as Managing Director of Hyson, an NNPC trading subsidiary, and as Executive Director (Services) of the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company (PPMC).

    “Mr. Adebayo Ibikunle Ibirogba, a Chemical Engineer, is currently the Group General Manager, Engineering in the NNPC’s Engineering and Technology Directorate, and hails from Ogun State. He has also served as General Manager (New Business), General Manager (Gas Development), and Group General Manager, Greenfield Refineries. In 2010, Mr. Ibirogba became the first African to be elected to the Board of Directors of the World LP Gas Association.

    “Dr. Joseph Thlama Dawha who replaces Mr. Abiye H. Membere as Group Executive Director, Exploration and Production, has been the Managing Director of Integrated Data Services Ltd (IDSL) since 2005. He is an indigene of Borno State and has served the Corporation diligently, over the years, in various capacities, in the upstream and downstream sectors of the industry,” it stated

    All the appointments, according to the statement, are with immediate effect.

  • English court dismisses fresh attempt to enforce $150m arbitration award against NNPC

    English court dismisses fresh attempt to enforce $150m arbitration award against NNPC

    The High Court of Justice in London has dismissed an application filed against the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) by IPCO (Nigeria) Ltd to enforce a $150million arbitration award on the ground among others that NNPC had made out a strong prima facie case that IPCO forged the documents relating to claims at the arbitration.

    The court therefore directed the parties to Federal Lagos High Court where the matter is pending, to adjudicate on the suit.

    In the suit which had been on since 2004, IPCO, a turnkey contractor, had claimed $310 million over and above the contract price in respect of a contract to build an oil terminal in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. The dispute arose following IPCO’s claim that NNPC should bear the cost of variations, finance charges and delays to the works. NNPC disputed these claims. Following arbitration proceedings in Nigeria, IPCO was awarded US $150 million in 2004, together with annual interest running at 14%.

    NNPC challenged the award in the Nigerian courts. However, since then IPCO has repeatedly sought to enforce the award in England before the proceedings in Nigeria have been concluded.

    In the course of IPCO’s previous attempt to enforce the award, NNPC discovered evidence that IPCO had forged documents relating to the claim and the related arbitration in Nigeria, and as a result the parties agreed in 2009 to adjourn the enforcement proceedings and await the outcome of the challenge in Nigeria. However, IPCO again sought to enforce the award in England in 2012.

    In his judgment, Mr Justice Field concluded that IPCO failed to establish any change of circumstances to justify enforcing the award in whole or part in England, and that it is in Nigeria that the enforceability of the award must be decided. The judgement therefore closes the door on the efforts of IPCO to enforce the judgement in England.

     

    Mr Justice Field also said that even if he had been persuaded that it was appropriate to consider enforcement afresh, he would still have refused to enforce any part of the award because NNPC have a good prima facie case that IPCO practiced a fraud on the arbitral tribunal which undermines the validity of the whole award.

    The judgment goes a long way to established that NNPC has not acted improperly in resisting IPCO’s multiple attempts to enforce this large arbitration award, and also helps to give further legal clarity regarding successive applications to enforce of muti-jurisdictional arbitration awards.

    The case also highlights important issues regarding the interpretation by the English Courts of the New York Convention 1958 and the English Arbitration Act 1996 in the context of enforcement of an arbitration award when a challenge is pending against it in the home country where the award was made, Nigeria in this particular case.

    Olawale Akoni SAN leading a team lawyers from of Babalakin & Co., acted as Nigerian Counsel to NNPC, working with Kamal Shah and his Solicitors from the English firm of Stephenson Harwood as well as English Counsel led by Jonathan Nash QC.

     

  • United against Nigerians

    United against Nigerians

    We must be worried if truly state govts are at the vanguard of clamour for fuel subsidy removal again

    Only the uninitiated would not have known what was coming when motorists began to queue for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol, at filling stations across the country about a month ago. But Nigerians who have known the tricks since the military era must have known the destination: withdrawal of fuel subsidy. That the fuel scarcity has persisted in spite of lies by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) that there is enough stock is a strong indication that someone is going to tell Nigerians to prepare to pay more for fuel. It was a matter of time. The only question is: who will bell the cat?

    But Nigeria has never been short of hatchet men. This time around, the clamour for the removal of the so-called fuel subsidy is coming from states’ commissioners of finance, under the umbrella of the States Finance Commissioners Forum. The forum’s chairman, Mr Timothy Odaah, said Nigerians were deceived into believing that fuel subsidy is good whereas it is poison. “We looked at the subsidy on oil as more or less a solution worse than what it intends to solve … In the first place, the NLC and the majority of the Nigerian people appeared to have been deceived into clamouring for the subsidy. This is no doubt because syndicated projects were contrived, especially in the area of transportation problem … but now; you discover that it is the average man that suffers”, he said. Odaah added that “we know of course that the Federal Government had a good intention to subsidise transportation, so it will have an absolute benefit to the poor man and every Nigerian …” Reuben Abati, the president’s spokesman, could not have done a better job the way Odaah painted the picture, and one begins to wonder what the President is waiting for in replacing Abati with Odaah, with immediate effect, to boot!

    The commissioners of finance reportedly said they were going to brief their principals (governors) on the outcome of their deliberations at the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting on Thursday. So, who is fooling whom? How many commissioners would append their signatures to a document as contentious as the subsidy removal without the prior consent of their governors? As if it is not common knowledge that in many states, commissioners are glorified errand boys who cannot disagree with the governors, irrespective of the strength of their (commissioners’) point.

    No doubt what is emerging has been well rehearsed. Hardly had the ink with which the commissioners of finance signed the papers at the meeting dried than the Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF), Mr Jonah Otunla, announced the setting up of a 12-member committee to review the existing partial subsidy on oil, with a view to completely removing it. Of course, Otunla quickly added that this was at the behest of the states as represented by their finance commissioners. “The committee (finance commissioners) members expressed their opinion on subsidy and we have set up a 12-man committee comprising six members from the commissioners’ forum and six members from the Accountants-General Forum to help us review the impact of subsidy on the Federation Account. We will make our opinion known in the nearest future” he said. Other things being equal, that nearest future is the FAAC meeting coming up next month, that is if they do not find the issue urgent enough to warrant convening an emergency meeting to ratify the death knell for Nigerians so President Jonathan could append his signature. Such outcome excites the President whose government cannot imagine life without subsidy removal.

    But, the question now is: since when did the Jonathan administration (that prides itself as slow in taking decisions so as not to make mistake) begin to act promptly on national matters? Obviously for the government, it is selective promptness. It took it ages to decide to fire the immediate past Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah, despite the weightiness of the allegations against her, whereas such painstakingness was a luxury that the government could not afford in the Justice Ayo Salami matter.

    As if to further compound the fooling of Nigerians by their governments, all the members of the 12-man committee that the Federal Government set up on the matter are government officials. What of Labour, students, market men and women; what I call the Other Critical Stakeholders’ Forum? Who would the fly support if not the person with a festering sore? Who would these officials have supported if not their paymasters? This is one of the things I hate about the Jonathan presidency; it relishes playing the ostrich. Instead of pushing the thing down our throats as it really is, it wants to give whatever the outcome of his committee report is as a product of a well-thought-out endeavour; hence the government saying it had set up a committee whereas what it calls a committee cannot pass even for a kangaroo committee.

    Many of those who will be championing the cause of fuel scarcity withdrawal are saying so not with any sound argument beyond the ones we are used to; many see it in the context of the approaching elections. Invariably, politicians need more money to prosecute the elections. One is tempted to ask whether it is only in Nigeria that elections are conducted. Why must we be apprehensive for the simple reason that we are about entering an election year? This is a thing done as a routine in many places, including African countries. But if we are not apprehensive that elections will not be free and fair, we will have to live under the perpetual fear that Nigerians must lose something just for politicians to win (read rig) elections, from which Nigerians are only further impoverished.

    Honestly, we have to be wary of all these forums of compromise and convenience – States Finance Commissioners Forum, States Accountants-General Forum, and all. But if it is true that state governments are truly the champions of this clamour for fuel subsidy removal, then it confirms the saying that there is no first born among pigs; they all play in the mud, first born, last born and all. This being the case, Nigerians must prepare for the worst on this issue. It is unfortunate that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) government that has not delivered a single democratic dividend in 14 years is about compounding our woes. It is sadder still, that state governments want to join it in dancing naked in the market.

    Now, are the state commissioners aware that Nigeria is a major producer of crude oil? Are they and their principals aware that Cote D’Ivoire, one of the countries from where we import petrol is only a modest oil producer, yet an important regional refiner? Are they aware that the Jonathan administration promised us three Greenfield refineries, where are they? Are they not ashamed that our deregulation of petroleum products is based on the wrong template – importation? Are they aware that for over 14 years the PDP has not been able to make a single dent on petrol refining because it has always had its mind fixated to fuel subsidy removal? Are they aware of the billions of dollars that have been reported missing from federal purse? What have they done about this? Above all, what gives the commissioners the confidence that, because they cannot have their way with the Federal Government with regards to funds, despite staging walkouts and aborting FAAC meeting, they can have it by shifting the burden of corruption, ineptitude, etc. to ordinary Nigerians? The famed Nigerian docility?

    Until now, many Nigerians believed the Jonathan presidency has been overstretching its luck; but, it is now clear that it is not only the Federal Government that is doing that, the states are now equally complicit in the plot to stretch the people beyond limits. A government under which the worst corruption has been perpetrated in recent times is now cash-strapped and Nigerians should be the beasts of burden? Mba, babu rara, no.

  • Govt approves forensic audit of NNPC account

    Govt approves forensic audit of NNPC account

    A forensic audit of the account of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has been approved by President Goodluck Jonathan.

    This is to enable it to establish the amount of money the oil giant has failed to remit to the Federation Account.

    The indication of the audit was given by Minister of Finance Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala when she appeared at the National Assembly while defending the allocation of missing $20billion – raised by the suspended Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.

    Yesterday, while requesting Sanusi to defend the allegation against him by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), Presidential spokesman Reuben Abati said: “Furthermore, in keeping with its avowed commitment to full transparency, openness and accountability in governmental affairs, the Federal Government has authorized the engagement of reputable international firms for the recommended forensic audit of NNPC accounts.

    The Presidency challenged Sanusi to defend himself against the allegations raised against him.

    It insisted that Sanusi’s suspension had nothing to do with his allegation of unmerited money to the Federation Account by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

    Abati said Sanusi is spreading false allegations because he has an axe to grind with the government.

    He said: “We have noted with disappointment, the unrelenting attempt by the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, to falsely portray his recent suspension from office as an attempt by the Presidency to bury his allegation that huge sums of money due to the Federation Account are unaccounted for by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

    “The Presidency wishes to reaffirm that Mallam Sanusi’s suspension has absolutely nothing to do with his unproven and inconsistent claim that $49.8 Billion, $12 Billion or $20 Billion is missing from the national treasury.

    “As was clearly stated in the letter suspending him from office and confirmed by President Goodluck Jonathan in his last Presidential Media Chat, Mallam Sanusi’s suspension was wholly based on the need for him to step aside while the weighty charges of financial recklessness, gross misconduct and persistent disregard for laid down rules and regulations in the management of the Central Bank made against him by the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria and others are properly investigated.

    “It is most unfortunate that instead of trying to provide some reasonable response to the clear and unambiguous query of his official conduct as Governor of the Central Bank, Mallam Sanusi has cynically chosen to whip up public sympathy for himself and anger against the Federal Government by deliberately misleading unwary Nigerians and the international community into believing the falsehood that he is being punished for exposing corruption.

    “In recent days, the suspended CBN governor has, following in the footsteps of others who have an axe to grind with the government, taken to spreading his false claims and allegations through gullible foreign media correspondents, telling them among other thing that his threat to force commercial banks to open up their books to unravel the whereabouts of the “missing” funds whether $49.8 Billion, $12 Billion or $20 Billion, ultimately led to his suspension.

    “He also continues to make the mischievous claim that the government is somehow involved in a scam to divert huge sums of money from the Federation Account through the misappropriation of kerosene subsidy funds.”

    According to Abati, relevant committees of the National Assembly are still investigating the claims and that the suspended CBN governor is free to give evidence before them to back up his allegations.

    “The Presidency condemns Mallam Sanusi’s resort to playing politics with serious national issues. His suggestion that the phantom missing funds may have been diverted to fund campaigns for next year’s general elections is mischievous, irresponsible and designed to incite other political parties and members of the public against the Federal Government.”

  • The other side of fuel scarcity

    The other side of fuel scarcity

    In the last two weeks, the public has virtually been going through hell getting fuel, despite the claim of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) that there is enough stock in circulation. Is it a case of hoarding by retail outlets? Is it sabotage of the government’s efforts or operational hiccups? Assistant Editor EMEKA UGWUANYI reports.

    OR the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), it was a testy two weeks. Fuel scarcity virtually paralysed parts of the country despite its claim that there is enough stock to go ground. As the country seems to be getting over the crisis, it is not clear how long the respite will last because many outlets are still not selling

    Investigation by The Nation revealed that while Lagos residents suffered the scarcity, many filling stations, including those belonging to major and independent oil marketers, had stocks, but refused to sell to create artificial scarcity to enable them sell above the N97 per litre pump price. They opened at night when they were sure that the regulatory agencies were not on duty and sold at between N110 and N120 per litre and above. For those with jerry cans, some stations collected extra N500 to fill 25-litre cans.

    The question is:Why should these retail station owners engage in such malpractice when the product was bought at the normal price, and will attract subsidy reimbursement from the government?

    The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), experts said, also needs to wake up to its responsibility and ensure that in such situations, even if they entail working beyond the normal working hours, appropriate punishment should be meted to those marketers that tend to disrupt economic activities by creating artificial scarcity, such as hoarding.

    Operating licences of such marketers can as well be revoked or retail stations found flouting the guidelines closed for a reasonable period, they added.

    They also added that the regulators should allow the government concentrate on how to tackle and eliminate crude and product theft and pipeline vandalism. Recently, the NNPC said it was deploying horizontal directional drilling (HDD) technology to solve the continual pipeline vandalism at Arepo in Ogun State and Ije-Ododo in Lagos.

     

    How the fuel scarcity battle was fought

    The Executive Director, Commercials, Product and Pipeline Marketing Company (PPMC), Mr. Gbenga Komolafe, told The Nation that the scarcity, which he described as artificially-induced, was an embarrassment to the government and because of that, the Minister of Petroleum Resources Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, directed him to relocate to Lagos with a mandate to dismantle the queues and eliminate the scarcity within 48 hours.

    He said: “The government is concerned and worried about the supply shortage situation in Lagos and to that extent, the Minister of Petroleum Resources directed that as the Executive Director, Commercial, that I should temporarily relocate to Lagos despite my busy schedule to ensure that the queue situation is dismantled. Arising from that directive, I arrived in Lagos on Monday. The first thing I did on getting to Lagos was to contact all the stakeholders in the supply-chain.

    Ordinarily, most people think that the job of supply of petroleum is limited to the NNPC and the major marketers, but the truth of the matter is that the supply chain (making petroleum products available to the populace) involves the NNPC, major marketers and other marketers, including depot owners.

    Under the supply arrangement, the NNPC is expected to supply about 50 per cent of the national requirement as approved by the PPPRA through its marketing operational arm – the PPMC, while the other marketers, supply the balance.

    “That has been the arrangement and suddenly, the nation noticed disruption in supply that was characterised by the queues in some cities, including Lagos and Abuja. The Abuja supply shortage started around the commencement of the centenary celebration and on the directive of the minister, NNPC and other stakeholders rose to the situation and were able to contain the situation before we witnessed the shortage in Lagos and the ministerial directive was that I should come and coordinate the resolution of the problem.”

     

    NNPC’s strategy

    He continued: “On arrival in Lagos, I quickly contacted all the relevant parties, including the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) led by its Executive Secretary, Mr. Obafemi Olawore, representatives of independent marketers, officials of the PPMC, mainly depot managers, vessel receipt programming managers and officials of NNPC Retail.

    “From the Monday night, we put in strategic measures aimed at quickly resolving the problem and we gave ourselves a deadline of 48 hours to clear the queues starting from Tuesday. We started by embarking on intensive monitoring of the various outlets in Lagos and continued with it till Thursday while monitoring discharge of vessels at various terminals and the distribution of products.”

    He said the strategy team set up comprised representatives of PPMC, MOMAN, Independent Petroleum Marketing Association Nigeria (IPMAN) and NNPC Retail because fuel supply is the responsibility of all stakeholders in the downstream, adding that at the end of each day, they held a meeting to assess the impact of what we have done.

    “Part of the reason for monitoring was to establish reason for the sudden queues and try to address such issue with the ultimate aim of dismantling the queue. One of the things we established is that the queues witnessed in Lagos, had with attitudinal problems of some Nigerians, in the sense that we experienced an abusive process that, ordinarily, should not arise in the process of petroleum products retailing and dispensing.

    “People were apprehensive based on the level of information they have that probably there was not enough supply and people tend to buy more than they need stockpile them. We witnessed that and can substantiate that with a number of cases.

    “On the supply side, all the jetties are wet as the BOB, Capital Oil and New Atlas Cove Jetty, among others. They have vessels discharging there. There is no reason for panic-buying by the public.

    “This is aside other marketers that are doing something to bring their cargoes and these will neutralise any queue that may remain,” Komolafe said.

    He said between Tuesday and Sunday, some vessels, including Alizea (22,000 metric tonnes) received about 30 million litres. Others were Ocean Centuria, NIPCO (22 million litres); United Enterprises (22 million litres), Conoil 22 million litres, bringing the total volumes distributed to 96 million litres.

    He said this week, NNPC would bring in three cargoes totalling 90MT while Conoil will bring in another 22 million litres, Mobil 18 million litres and NIPCO another 22 million litres aside what the independents and depot owners will bring in.

    Mrs. Alison-Madueke said the Federal Government is committed to ensuring that the country is wet with petroleum products, adding that the ministry had sustained this feat in the past three years and that nobody or group would distract it from this important national assignment.

    She said she would ensure that the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) maintain strict internal control and processes on import allocation and subsidy payments.

    Mrs Alison-Madueke on Saturday and Sunday inspected filling stations in Lagos to find out how the scarcity problem was tackled, know the level of supply and establish the cause of the problem. She alleged that diversion of products by petroleum truck drivers as what contributed to the scarcity. She said products don’t reach their designated destination, assuring that she would address the issue. She was satisfied that the matter had been solved.

    She also restated her commitment to collaborating with the military personnel to fight other acts of sabotage, such as crude and products theft, which have grave economic impacts on the economy.

    Part of the collaboration led to the arrest of some oil thieves. For instance, the spokesman of the military Joint Task Force (JTF) charged with stemming the oil theft scourge in the Niger Delta region, Lt.-Col. Onyema Nwachukwu, last year said the taskforce arrested 29 alleged oil thieves and destroyed 127 illegal refineries in the region.

    He explained that in Bayelsa State, troops of the 343 Regiment of the JTF in southern Ijaw Local Government Area clamped down on 98 illegal crude oil distillation sites, which were operating with 119 illegal distillation tanks and 37 large open wooden boats (Cotonou boats) laden with stolen crude oil and illegally-distilled automated gas oil (AGO).

    Nwachukwu added that men of the 29 Battalion and the Gun Boat Patrol Company also arrested a barge with three crew members and a vessel christened MT Tora Eagle with 11 crew members in Bodo waterways and Akassa creek in Rivers and Bayelsa states.

    He said: “The barge was intercepted while conveying some quantity of illegally sourced crude oil, while the vessel was laden with 3,600 drums of stolen petroleum product. The troops also destroyed five illegal crude oil distillation sites and 10 Cotonou boats filled with stolen crude oil along Lewe, Bodo, Elem Sagangama, Oluwasiri and Bodo West in Rivers State.”

    He said the JTF’s Operation Pulo Shield, 19 and 3 Battalions’troops covering Edo and Delta states scuttled 24 illegal oil distillation camps and 73 Cotonou boats. Thirty-one of such boats were arrested at an illegal crude oil loading point close to an abandoned oil well in Warri North, while 27 of the arrested boats were intercepted in Egara Creek along the NNPC pipeline in Warri South Local Government Area.

    “The operation also swept through Ajide, Lagos; Makara, Egwu Aghara watersides in Warri-North, Warri North-West, Warri South West and Ethiope West Local Government areas of Delta, where oil stealing was also found to be thriving.

    “The outfit intercepted 61 pieces of 75 HP speed boats and a truck laden with 33,000 litres of AGO while they were still lifting the stolen products. Five hundred and two drums, 22 steel tanks, four plastic surface tanks, 77 metal drums laden with stolen crude oil and illegally distilled AGO and four pumping machines used by the oil thieves were also seized during the operations,” Nwachukwu added.

  • Panic over leaking petrol in Lagos community

    Panic over leaking petrol in Lagos community

    There was pandemonium yesterday at Isheri, a Lagos suburb following a petroleum pipeline leakage that caused a pool of fuel.

    Residents around Iyana-Odo Bus stop, on LASU-Iyana-Iba Road raised the alarm after they discovered that their ground was soaked with Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) leaking out of a Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) pipelines.

    According to an eyewitness, some of the residents for fear of being consumed by fire, scampered for safety. Others made efforts to contact the appropriate agencies.

    Members of the community wondered where the PMS emanated from.

    The eyewitness said: “We suddenly realised that the ground was soaked with PMS such that the fuel formed a pool but we did not know the source.

    “Obviously, it may have leaked from underground pipe and would have been leaked for so long to soak everywhere like that.

    “We could not reach the NNPC nor emergency agencies till about 3:30pm and they came and closed the valve.

    “Also fire service officials were onground to neutralise the petrol to avoid inferno,” the source said.

    The Southwest zonal spokesman of the National Emergency management Agency (NEMA), Ibrahim Farinloye said the NNPC has confirmed there was a leakage between Idimu and Diamond Estate in Lagos.

    “This is to allay fears of alleged explosion making the round. The supply sources and valves have been shut by NNPC staffers from satellite town this evening,” he said.

    Confirming the incident, Director, State Fire Service, Rasaq Fadipe said they got an alert around 3:45pm.

    Although the cause of the leakage could not be readily ascertained, Fadipe said it could have emanated from defective valves.

    “The leakage was underground and it soaked the whole place with fuel and resulted in a pool of fuel. NNPC officials were on ground to contain the situation. They locked up the valves.

    “We were able to go round the community to sensitise the people to avoid cooking or lighting matches.

    “Also, we temporarily closed all mechanic workshops in the area to avoid fire outbreak.

    “Then, we used foam chemicals to neutralise the PMS and condoned off the area,” Fadipe said.

    He added that the fire service also averted another inferno on Ajuwon-Akute Road, after a tanker laden with 33,000 litres of PMS rammed into a stationed car.

    He said the trailer marked XY154SMK was descending a hill and suddenly lost control before ramming into a stationary Toyota Camry with registration number LSD583AZ.

    “We immediately got to the place as PMS was spilling into a nearby carnal. Then, another vehicle was brought to transload the product while we neutralised the fuel to avoid disaster,” he said.

    Advising articulated vehicle owners to ensure they purchase 9kg dry chemical powder fire extinguisher for their vehicles as first aid measures in case of an emergency, Fadipe urged them to employ literate drivers who can read and understand road signals.

    here was pandemonium yesterday at Isheri, a Lagos suburb following a petroleum pipeline leakage that caused a pool of fuel.

    Residents around Iyana-Odo Bus stop, on LASU-Iyana-Iba Road raised the alarm after they discovered that their ground was soaked with Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) leaking out of a Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) pipelines.

    According to an eyewitness, some of the residents for fear of being consumed by fire, scampered for safety. Others made efforts to contact the appropriate agencies.

    Members of the community wondered where the PMS emanated from.

    The eyewitness said: “We suddenly realised that the ground was soaked with PMS such that the fuel formed a pool but we did not know the source.

    “Obviously, it may have leaked from underground pipe and would have been leaked for so long to soak everywhere like that.

    “We could not reach the NNPC nor emergency agencies till about 3:30pm and they came and closed the valve.

    “Also fire service officials were onground to neutralise the petrol to avoid inferno,” the source said.

    The Southwest zonal spokesman of the National Emergency management Agency (NEMA), Ibrahim Farinloye said the NNPC has confirmed there was a leakage between Idimu and Diamond Estate in Lagos.

    “This is to allay fears of alleged explosion making the round. The supply sources and valves have been shut by NNPC staffers from satellite town this evening,” he said.

    Confirming the incident, Director, State Fire Service, Rasaq Fadipe said they got an alert around 3:45pm.

    Although the cause of the leakage could not be readily ascertained, Fadipe said it could have emanated from defective valves.

    “The leakage was underground and it soaked the whole place with fuel and resulted in a pool of fuel. NNPC officials were on ground to contain the situation. They locked up the valves.

    “We were able to go round the community to sensitise the people to avoid cooking or lighting matches.

    “Also, we temporarily closed all mechanic workshops in the area to avoid fire outbreak.

    “Then, we used foam chemicals to neutralise the PMS and condoned off the area,” Fadipe said.

    He added that the fire service also averted another inferno on Ajuwon-Akute Road, after a tanker laden with 33,000 litres of PMS rammed into a stationed car.

    He said the trailer marked XY154SMK was descending a hill and suddenly lost control before ramming into a stationary Toyota Camry with registration number LSD583AZ.

    “We immediately got to the place as PMS was spilling into a nearby carnal. Then, another vehicle was brought to transload the product while we neutralised the fuel to avoid disaster,” he said.

    Advising articulated vehicle owners to ensure they purchase 9kg dry chemical powder fire extinguisher for their vehicles as first aid measures in case of an emergency, Fadipe urged them to employ literate drivers who can read and understand road signals.