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Tag: NNPC

  • NNPC: We ‘ve only spent $1.2b on Brass LNG project

    Contrary to speculation that the Brass LNG has gulped $22 billion, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has confirmed that the actual historical amount spent on the project from inception till date was about $1.2 billion against the alleged figure, a press release by NNPC Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, has said.

    Speaking on Wednesday at the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating the expenditure and implementation of the $22 billion Brass LNG project, Engr. Ahmed Dikko, General Manager, New LNG Venture of the NNPC, said that the $1.2 billion was about the total money spent so far by the various shareholders to get the project to its current stage.

    “This sum included in the cost of acquiring project land, which covers approximately 606 hectres, cost of early works contract, Front End Engineering Design (FEED), Pre-FEED Concept Evaluation Study (PFCES), Project Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), comprising both onshore and offshore studies, dredging, EIA activities and ambient noise survey, displacement and settlement action plan (FED-RAP), cultural site heritage study, staff and administration project cost from inception, sustainable development cost, among others”, he said.

    Engr. Dikko said that the project which was conceived and designed to assist in monetizing the nation’s abundant natural gas resources, reduce gas flaring, and create employment for the Niger Delta youth, was already at a critical point of Final Investment Destination before the pull out of its major partner, the Conoco Philips.

    He said as contained in the shareholders’ agreement, Conoco Philips, whose investment value was $192 million received only one dollar as entitlement.

    The General Manager, who noted that the exit of Conoco Philips was a serious setback, explained that the corporation’s decision to work with the company to deliver the project was due to its readiness to provide the needed technology to drive the process; while assuring that NNPC and the remaining shareholders had considered other simple options to bring the project alive.

    He clarified that the estimated amount to complete the project was far from what is being alleged, noting that NNPC deploys its negotiation capacity to extract value for the nation.

    “At inception, the project cost to build the plant was estimated at about $18 billion and not $22 billion, using Optimized Cascade Technology (A Conoco Philips LNG technology) of 2-train (10MTPA). However, this cost estimation was further revised downwards to about $16.5 billion CAPEX value in October, 2016 under project economics comparison that was carried out with PFCES of APCI Case Technology assumption”.

    Earlier in his remarks, the Committee Chairman, Hon. Jerome Amadi Eke, said that the essence of the meeting was to enable the Committee get the needed facts to deal with the petition and called for facility visit to confirm some of the projects as documented by the corporation.

  • DPR seals five petrol stations for selling above N145

    The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) on Tuesday shut down five filling in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, stations for selling fuel above N145 per litre.

    The Head of Operations, DPR, Ibinabo Jack, led a team of the department to investigate the activities of the stations following warning issued to them independent marketers recently to stop selling the product above the regulated price.

    Some of the stations sealed were Sobaz, Emily and two NNPC stations located in different parts of the capital city.

    Ibanabo, said the operation was part of the duties of DPR to ensure that the public were not shortchanged by petroleum retail marketers.

    He said: “Actually we are out on a surveillance over the abrupt increase in pump price prevailing in the state. We visited some stations and anyone we saw selling above pump price we sealed such station with strident penalties.

    Read Also: FEC approves N1.4b for DPR building design

    “Some that were sealed were actually meant to receive some numbers of trucks of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), but we discovered that those trucks loaded with PMS never arrived.

    “Some of them were under dispensing. An NNPC filling station was selling at NNPC price of N142 but we discovered that some of the pumps were faulty and we sealed them up.”

    Ibinabo urged the public to bear the temporary scarcity their action could cause to ensure permanent solutions to the problems.

    “People have to bear with us because we want to bring permanent solution to public suffering. The price of PMS has not changed at the depot and we won’t tolerate any increase in price”, he said.

  • The dragon lives!

    Had Nigerians not lived for so long with the pathology of denial to the point where it is now second nature, one would be sympathetic to the feigned outrage over the latest reminder by the IMF about the rumblings of the ghost we thought we had long committed to mother earth. Having enjoyed the breather all these while, it took last week’s reminder by an institution that could, in the eyes of most Nigerians,  pass  for the veritable messenger of Satan – the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to again draw attention to the under-recovery element in the fuel-pricing template. As far as Christine Lagarde, IMF Managing Director is concerned, that  element and the consequences thereof, which she says has claimed about $5.2 trillion, needs to be hived off – perhaps with automatic alacrity – so Nigeria can live!

    Soon after, the fuel marketers switched to the panic mode. The oil sector unions – theNigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) later picked up the gauntlet. In their joint response to the IMF, they blamed the body for creating panic the result of which was the hoarding of petroleum products, panic buying observed in some parts of the country last  week.

    Not only that, the two unions considered it “bewildering and baffling that the IMF is not considering the pains and agonies Nigerians went through even to achieve the acknowledged gains of 2018, with almost two-thirds of the world’s hungriest people among Nigerians”.

    “One wonders why the IMF is still callously and wickedly advising the government to inflict more pains and harm on the people”.

    The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) on its part says that the continued devaluation of the Nigerian currency is what has created the impression of the existence of subsidy. According to its president, Ayuba Wabba, as long as the value of the naira was left to market forces, the issue of subsidy would continue in the country.

    The arguments though familiar, are certainly as old as the subsidy itself.  I  understandthe current anger in the context of the existential realities that have defined the daily struggles of the ordinary citizen, particularly the stats which show how further down Nigerians have plumbed on vital socio-economic indices. Part of that reality is the finding in the report by The World Poverty Clock that Nigeria has overtaken India as the country with the most extreme poor people (some 86.9 million, representing nearly 50% of the population) in the world despite having its population seven times larger than Nigeria’s. Then of course is the latest Misery Index 2018, which ranks Nigeria as the 6th most miserable nation in the world.

    To those familiar with  the position of this columnist, the point of divergence has always been the denial of the basic economics which underlay the subsidy debate right up to the ensuing policy stasis that it bred. As it is, the only progress that the country could claim to have made is the agreement that the under-recovery element does in fact exist. If that is progress, the issue of how to address it in a way that does not further injure the economy or take more citizens down the poverty route has not only remained a tough call for successive governments, the rentier economy spawned by the subsidy and its associated culture of opacity has  made it a no-no to Nigerians.

    Let’s for once forget the IMF; does anyone know how much the subsidy currently cost the treasury? How many litres of petrol does the country consume daily? Doubtful if anyone knows for certainty. However, we know for a fact that the subsidy bill grew from roughly N300 billion during the administration of late President Umaru Yar’Adua to N1.9 trillion under President Goodluck Jonathan. Today, no-one knows how much the NNPC spends to bridge the price differential; the only thing Nigerians know is that their state oil corporation does little else than import fuel since importers, according to the government,  have long abandoned the business due to reason of under-recovery. Trust me, the busines is thriving with some estimates putting the annual spend on the subsidy alone in excess of N1 trillion – close to the 50 percent of the N2.03 trillion earmarked for capital expenditure in the 2019 budget.

    That is bad public finance and economics – if you ask me. The only thing that could be worse – or if you like more toxic – is the failure by IMF and cohorts to recognise the subsidy as something of a constantly moving target not only subject to the vagaries of oil prices but exchange rate fluctuations. For an import-dependent country like Nigeria with a relatively unstable currency, the IMF prescription is the surest route to disaster; as for the other  alternative, which requires the country to continue to shell out a trillion naira annually to subsidise petrol consumption, it is akin to swallowing poison in small doses.

    This is where the NLC and the IMF are both right and wrong.

    First,  had the NLC shunned its traditional brashness which tended to foreclose contrary opinions, the nation most probably would have long before now, made a headway in putting appropriate policies in place to address the problem. By the way,  what happened to the billions of naira loan given to NLC for its mass transit services to cushion the effects of the Jonathan-era subsidy removal?

    As for the IMF, apart from the fact the officials do not live here and so could be excused for assumptions that are at variance with the Nigerian reality;  theirs is at best advisory. What the Nigerian government makes of it is entirely its business.

    However, the issue at this time is hardly one of right or wrong but what is best for the country.

    Clearly, the easiest solution is to have the government build more refineries. I say the easiest but not necessarily the best solution as the option comes with the requirement that we trust a government that could not fix its ailing refineries to launch new ventures – a most unrealistic proposition at this time.

    The other option which is already bearing fruits, is to get more private sector players like Dangote Refineries on board to address not just the domestic supply gap but to address permanently the other macro-economic issues associated with the fuel import trade. Understandably, Nigerians claim to love the idea; the issue is whether they are prepared for the removal of any form of price ceilings by whatever name which will inevitably come with true liberalisation. With the commencement of operations of the largest single train refinery in the world slated for April 2020 – less than a year from now, only when that singular issue is firmly settled can we begin the talk of interring that Nigerian dragon. 

  • Fed Govt pays $1.5b cash call arrears

    The Group General Manager (GMD), Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru, yesterday said the corporation has paid $1.5billion out of the $5billion cash call exit to Joint Venture (JV).

    He said the Joint Venture Cash Call exit settlement was negotiated for 2016 , adding that the state-run oil firm also championed indigenous cash exit, self- funding. Baru said so far, over $1.5billion out of the $5.1billion cash call arrears to date has been paid.

    The development, according to him, has not only restored the confidence of International Oil Companies (IOCs), JV partners in the country, it has also led to reserves growth and improved oil production.

    Represented by the Chief Operating Officer at NNPC, Mr. Bello Rabiu at the 12th Annual International Conference of the Nigerian Association for Energy Economics (NAEE),  in Abuja, Baru said: “In 2018, which was the second year in the roll, we concluded the fiscal year without any cash call arrears.”

    Read also: ‘Kachikwu, Baru have transformed oil sector’

    The theme of the conference was: Energy Access and Efficiency Imperatives  for Sustainable Development in Emerging Economies.

    Baru said  the development resulted in the corporation not recording any cash call arrear last year.

    Meanwhile, NAEE President, Prof. Wumi Iledare, who had at the weekend advised Nigeria to heed the advice of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to stop oil subsidy, said it was to forewarn the country of retrogression.

    He said: “In my opinion, benefits from petrol subsidy of over 40 years compare to the cost are not comparable.  I stand to be corrected that the cost to the economy of petroleum subsidy is significantly higher to benefits. Subsidy is a gorilla to the Nigeria economy and something has to be done. Otherwise, Venezuala is knocking at the door and it is not a good experience.”

    Baru said in the last year, Nigeria’s national average daily crude oil production stood at about 2.019 million barrels.

    This volume, according to him,  translates to an increase of nine per cent above the 2017 average of 1.86 million barrels and comes as significant improvement from the unimpressive production levels recorded on my assumption of office in July, 2016.

    To underline this, Baru said the the NPDC last year posted a production growth of 52 per cent compared to 2017, from an average of 108mbod in 2017 to 165mbod in 2018.

    Commenting on petrol supply, the NNPC chief said the corporation was able to arrest the petrol scarcity that attended the rumoured plan to increase pump price by last Friday,  as the corporation flooded the retail outlets nationwide with the product.

  • Long fuel queues amid IMF’s call for subsidy removal

    Long queues have resurfaced at filling stations raising fears of fuel scarcity. The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has since allayed such fears. Although there was improvement in supply yesterday, many outlets remain shut in anticipation of shortage. Assistant Editor EMEKA UGWUANYI examines the cause of this development.

    It all started with the speculation that there was shortage of fuel imports. Eventually, three days ago, many retail outlets were shut. The few that were selling had very long queues as motorists waited patiently to fill their vehicles tanks and buy some in kegs to keep as reserves and for domestic use, in expectation, the fuel scarcity will escalate.  Many of the filling stations that claimed not to have the product, it was later discovered, were only hoarding to sell at a higher price or to those that hawk fuel in gallons by the roadside, should the scarcity worsens. However, the stakeholders in the downstream especially the fuel marketing firms under the aegis of Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) and Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) in collaboration with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) were able to bring the situation under control.

    Cause of the current scarcity

    The NNPC has been the sole importer of premium motor spirit (PMS) or petrol in the past few years as players in the downstream couldn’t import and sell at the regulated price pump price of N145 per litre. The NNPC as a state-owned organisation pays the shortfall that arises from subsidizing the product from the Federal Government coffers under the term “under-recovery cost.” Under-recovery, according to the NNPC, is the amount of subsidy the Corporation gains on behalf of the government for the importation and supply of petroleum products at a landing cost above the official retail pump price of N145 per litre of petrol. To industry analysts, there is no difference between under-recovery and subsidy. But because the Federal Government had said it has stopped payment of fuel subsidy but refused to deregulate the price of petrol, the NNPC adopted the under-recovery approach to be able to access public fund, which the private sector oil marketers cannot. Therefore, whenever there is a slight delay in NNPC’s fuel imports, it reverberates and the impact is fuel scarcity and that is what happened in this scenario.

    Read also: Disregard rumour of fuel scarcity, NNPC tells Nigerians

    As Nigeria is almost 100 per cent dependent on imported petrol for national consumption, issues arising from delays in the arrival of ships carrying fuel to some cargoes being off-specification. In the case of the consignment being off-spec, it is either the industry regulator, turns the vessel back to the place of import or the product would be blended to specification before being pushed out to the public for consumption. These issues occur often but because they are promptly resolved, the consuming public doesn’t get to know or feel it.

    According to the Executive Secretary, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) Mr Clement Isong, who told The Nation early enough on Friday that the scarcity that existed wouldn’t last beyond the weekend, said their members had enough stock. He said there was no scarcity and advised fuel consumers not to engage in panic-buying as what led to the gap in fuel supply and distribution, which resulted in the queues at fuel stations, was a minor operational problem. The problem, according to him, has been addressed and depots are loading 24 hours and whatever supply gap will be closed within the weekend. Companies that makeup MOMAN include Total Nigeria Plc, Conoil Plc, Oando Plc, 11Plc (formerly Mobil Oil Nigeria Plc), MRS Oil Nigeria Plc and Forte Oil Plc.

    Isong said: “All MOMAN members’ tanks have the product (petrol). There is no supply shortage. What caused the queue is a minor operational hitch. Whenever there is such technical issue and it takes up to 12 hours to resolve, it upsets supply and distribution chains and that is what happened in this scenario because it created backlogs of loadings that could have been done much earlier. However, the problem has been resolved. I advise the public not to embark on panic-buying as there is enough fuel. The gap in supply created by the technical problem will be closed within the weekend as our members are loading 24 hours through the weekend.”

    An official of one of the depots owned by the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) who didn’t want his identity disclosed said the problem was a slight scarcity. According to him, during the election period, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) didn’t make enough fuel imports. As a result of that shortage in import, there wasn’t enough fuel to go round and the NNPC has ever since been rationing what it has in stock. He said for instance, “If 10 depots supposed to get supply from NNPC and only five depots were able to get at the end of the day, certainly there must be a gap and that is the reason you see queues at the filling stations. We have marketers that have paid for fuel in our depot in the past two to three weeks and they are yet to be loaded because of inadequate fuel but I believe that supply shortfall will be addressed soon. It is not something so serious, I assume it was a costly responsibility oversight on the part of the NNPC.”

    The National President of IPMAN, Chief Chinedu Okoronkwo, also confirmed the fuel scarcity was created by rumours. He said: “There was no need for panicking over fuel scarcity as virtually all the NNPC depots across the federation had fuel and were loading product to marketers. Marketers are currently loading petrol in Makurdi, Kano, Enugu, Aba, Yola, Suleja, Kaduna, Ejigbo, Mosinmi, Ibadan and other depots across the country. The shortfall in distribution was due to the slow pace of product importation and hitches at the jetty, which had been addressed. But the Federal Government is on top of the situation, there is enough petrol to go round. I have also instructed all our members to ensure adequate distribution of the product across the country.

    “I have also directed them to ensure the product is sold at the official price of N145 per litre. If there are any issues on distribution and pricing differentials, members should call the secretariat for further action. The Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency’s (PPPRA) template has not changed, so no marketer should influence hike or sell above official price.”

    Okoronkwo restated IPMAN’s commitment to supporting the Federal Government’s efforts on effective and efficient distribution of petroleum products across the country, adding that the Association had reached an agreement with other marketers for better synergy in making the product available in the country. “IPMAN which controls 80 per cent outlets has more advantage in distributing and dispensing in both urban and hinterlands in the country. In line with the Federal Government’s efforts at ensuring efficient petroleum products distributed across the country, IPMAN members have opted for seamless distribution of petroleum products,” he said.

    The Executive Secretary, Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN,) said that NNPC distribution pricing had been a major issue for depot owners, adding that for now, no members had product in his facilities. Adewole said the price at which NNPC gives their members product and other charges make it extremely difficult for them to sell at regulated depot price. “It’s not profitable because we are getting it between N139 and N140 per litre with other additional charges, therefore, at what price do we sell it?

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  • NNPC, Seplat shop for N253b to develop gas project

    Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc are shopping for $700 million (about N253 billion) to develop their joint venture gas project in Imo State, it was gathered at the weekend.

    NNPC and Seplat had in August, last year, signed five agreements for the construction of the gas processing plant with an initial capacity of 300 million standard cubic feet per day of gas (mmscf/d). The agreements were meant to expedite the development of the project, which is expected to deliver about 3 billion standard cubic feet of gas per day in the future.

    The project known as Assa North-Ohaji South (ANOH) gas development scheme, is one of the 7 Critical Gas Development Projects (7CGDP) identified to boost gas production and infrastructure development in the country.

    A special purpose vehicle (SPV) known as ANOH Gas Processing Company (AGPC) is being promoted by the two firms to develop, build, operate and maintain the gas processing plant,

    The Managing Director of Seplat, Austin Avuru, said Seplat and Nigerian Gas Company (NGC) will provide 60 per cent of the funds as equity, while ANOH will source the balance as debt.

    “Both parties already have each contributed $100 million in equity. There will be another equity injection and at the back end of it will be debt,” Avuru said.

    The plant, which will process wet gas from the unitised upstream fields at oil mining leases (OMLs) 53 and 21, has an initial capacity of 300 mmscf/d.

    It’s scheduled to begin production by the last quarter of 2020 and the first supply is targeted in 2021, Avuru said.

    Federal Government is encouraging investments in gas infrastructure to improve supplies to power companies and diversify the economy away from oil, which currently accounts for the bulk of its revenue.

    ANOH will target local customers and has the capacity to double production “depending on domestic demand and the availability of feeds including third-party gas,” Avuru said.

    Seplat will more than double capital spending to $200 million this year from 2018 as it seeks to take advantage of ‘relative stability’ in the Niger Delta region, he said, adding that if Niger Delta is stable, the rest is easy for us to handle.

    Seplat, which is listed on the London and Nigerian Exchanges, will spend about 70 per cent of its capital budget on drilling after a three-year lull, Avuru said. The rest will be for “facilities and gas development,” he added.

    Seplat is targeting output of 49,000 to 52,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day (boe/d) this year and will probably start seeing a gradual increase in production from next year on sustained expenditure and stability in the Niger Delta, he said.

    He urged the AGPC to work hard and deliver the project on schedule, within budget, and to specification, stressing that it was designed as world-class gas processing plant with a capacity to deliver between 3.0 billion and 3.4 billion standard cubic feet of gas daily.

    The Nigerian Gas Processing and Transportation Company (NGPTC) an arm of Nigerian Gas Company, signed the execution of Heads of Terms (HoT) on behalf of NNPC with Seplat and AGPC on December 19, 2017.

    As a result of the HoT, the steering committee for the AGPC project, provided the leadership and broad guidance for the development and finalisation of the various commercial agreements required to underpin the project.

    Avuru said the ANOH gas project is a landmark project, which captures the essence of the gas infrastructure development initiative of the Federal Government as encapsulated in the 7 Big Wins and 12 Business Focus Areas programmes.

     

  • IPMAN, NUPENG assures of products availability

    The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), and National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), have urged Nigerians to stop panicking over fuel scarcity as there is sufficient product.

    The duo said this in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Lagos against the backdrop of the ongoing fuel scarcity in the country.

    The association confirmed that about six vessels of imported petrol ordered by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) were currently discharging the product, assuring that the corporation has sufficient products.

    Mr Chinedu Okoronkwo, the National President of IPMAN, told NAN that there was no need for panicking over fuel scarcity, as virtually all the NNPC depots across the states had commence loading of petroleum product by marketers.

    ‘’Marketers are currently loading petrol in Makurdi, Kano, Enugu, Aba,Yola, Suleja, Kaduna, Ejigbo, Mosinmi, Ibadan and other depots across the country.

    ‘’The shortfall in distribution was due to slow pace of product importation and hitches at the jetty which had been addressed.

    ‘’But the Federal Government is on top of the situation, there is enough of petrol to go round. I have also instructed all our members to ensure adequate distribution of the product across the country.

    “I have also directed them to ensure product is sold at official price of N145 per litre. If there is any issues on distribution and pricing differentials, members should call the secretariat for further action.

    ‘’The Petroleum Product Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) template has not changed, so, no marketer should influence hike or sell above official price,’’ he said.

    Okoronkwo reaffirmed the commitment of the association toward supporting the Federal Government’s efforts on effective and efficient distribution of petroleum products across the country.

    He stressed further that IPMAN had so far reached an agreement with other marketers for better synergy in making the product available in the country.

    “IPMAN which controls 80 per cent outlets, has more advantage in distributing and dispensing in both urban and hinterlands in the country.

    “In line with the Federal Government’s efforts at ensuring efficient petroleum products distribution across the country, IPMAN members have opted for a seamless distribution of petroleum products,’’ he said.

    He noted that such synergy amongst members with the Federal Government, would present a common front that would advance the interest of the group and ensure smooth distribution of the products across the country.

    Mr Tayo Aboyeji, Chairman, Lagos Zone of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), also colloborated the IPMAN’s president, saying “there is enough fuel, Nigerians should avoid panic buying’’.

    Aboyeji said that “there is fuel and it is available, as I am talking to you now, some of the depots have received the products and are already loading.

    “What is happening was panic buying, people think there might be price increase from government or removal of subsidy.

    “But nothing of such, government has assured us that no increase in petrol pricing for now, so, Nigerians and marketers should avoid being panic over fuel scarcity.

    READ ALSO: NUPENG urges Nigerians to stop panic buying of fuel

    “I urge Nigerians and motorists to avoid storing of petrol at home because it’s dangerous for us, fuel is available, I have visited some depots and I can confirmed to you that loading is going on.

    ‘’As at Friday, we have instructed our tanker drivers to engage in 24-hours loading activities and lift products from depots to filling stations across the country.

    “We will ensure 24-hours service delivery of product distribution in the country, we also urge government to checkmate activities of the task force in Lagos and along Ibadan expressway.

    “Our members are being extorted and harassed by members of the task force. Some drivers who were scheduled to load in Lagos were denied asses to Lagos, which also affects effective distribution of products,’’ he said.

    Alhaji Debo Ahmed, the Chairman, Western Zone of IPMAN, however attributed the ongoing queues at some stations was due to shortfall in NNPC distribution network to depots.

    Ahmed said that all depots within the South-West zone were loading at a low pace due to insufficient products.

    “We have lots of pending tickets from marketers awaiting loading at depots but were still stranded.

    Also, Alhaji Ayo Alanamu, the Chairman, IPMAN Ejigbo Satellite depot, attributed the challenges to shortfall of the product from NNPC.

    Alanamu said that marketers, IPMAN and NNPC retails battled with 40-trucks on daily basis which was not sufficient.

    He urged government to expedite action toward importing more products to avoid another round of scarcity that had ended.

    He noted that depot owners were also contributing to the scarcity due to the hike in pricing.

    NAN recalls that on April 12, NNPC said trending social media report of an impending fuel scarcity due to purported refusal by some oil marketers to lift products from depots was false.

  • Disregard rumour of fuel scarcity, NNPC tells Nigerians

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation ( NNPC ) says trending social media report of an impending fuel scarcity due to purported refusal by some oil marketers to lift products from depots was false.

    The NNPC in a statement, in Abuja, on Friday by its Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Ndu Ughamadu appealed to Nigerians to disregard the rumour.

    He explained that the tale was fabricated by mischief makers with intent to create undue panic in the prevailing sanity in the fuel supply and distribution matrix across the country.

    He said that the NNPC has over one billion litres of petrol in stock while Imports of 48 vessels of 50million litres each have been committed for the month of April 2019 alone.

    Read Also: PENGASSAN: Strikes not feasible with NNPC’s rehabilitation plans

    He noted that there was no need for panic buying or hoarding of petroleum products in anticipation of a phantom scarcity.

    Ughamadu reiterated that the pump price of petrol remained N145 per litre.

    A check by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja revealed that few queues were building up in some filling stations at the Central Business district but most station around the city still run normal services to motorists.

  • We’ve enough petroleum stocks, NNPC assures

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has advised motorists and other petroleum products consumers not to engage in panic buying, saying there is enough petroleum products stock in 55 depots across the country.

    Listing the depots that have adequate petroleum products stock, NNPC Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, in a release on Friday in Abuja, stated that 23 depots in Lagos, seven in Port Harcourt, 11 in Warri, six in Calabar and eight in Kaduna were fully stocked with white products.

    He explained that two vessels of 50million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise called petrol, would arrive the shores of Nigeria every day from tomorrow.

    Read Also: NNPC pushes for zero gas flare

    The release assured Nigerians of an eventful Easter period just as the just ended Yuletide, even as it cautioned depot owners or terminal operators not to sell petrol above the official ex-depot price of N133.28k per litre.

    The corporation also advised petroleum products marketers not to sell the product above N145 per litre.

    The release said the subsisting ex-depot petrol price of N133.28k per litre was consistent with the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency’s (PPPRA) template and should be adhered to.

    He advised Nigerians to remain vigilant and volunteer information to the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), the Industry regulator or to any law enforcement agency around them, on any station which sells petrol beyond N145 per litre.

  • Exploration continues after 10,000 feet deep operation in north, says NNPC

    Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroluem Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru has stated exploration in Northern Nigeria will continue despite having gone 10,075 ft deep in the oil exploration on the Kolmani River II Well.

    The NNPC boss disclosed this in Kaduna on Thursday at the 40th edition of the Kaduna International Trade Fair.

    He said the corporation is working on the Kolmani River II with optimism and high expectation.

    He said the exploration will enable the NNPC do a massive appraisal of the discovery of gas reserves made in 1999 in the region.

    Baru said President Muhammadu Buhari has personally urged the corporation to go back to exploration on the Kolmani River II Well.

    Drilling, he said, has been going on smoothly, stating as at Thursday’s morning, the corporation has dug 10,075 ft deep with a target to reach 14,270 ft exploration.

    “The main purpose of this well is to start some massive appraisal of the discovery that was made way back in 1999 of some gas reserves in Kolmani River 1 and so far the drilling has been going on smoothly to enable exploration.

    READ ALSO: NNPC pushes for zero gas flare

    “We will do the needful, if we need to probe any particular section we will take our time to do it, our target date is to see that by the end of May, we complete exploration on that particular well and move to Kolmani River iii which site is almost ready for the rigs to move there and from there we move to other locations,” he said.

    He urged stakeholders at the fair to provide an opportunity for stakeholders and long term exhibitors like NNPC to take stock of their participation through the years with a view to consolidating on areas of strength, while working on avenues for improvements.

     Baru said the loss of agriculture to crude oil exploitation has retarded local industries that feed on agricultural produce as feedstock, prominent among which he said are the textiles industry as well as tanneries in the North.

    On product availability, the NNPC GMD said as supplier of last resort, the corporation would continue to ensure that the nation is wet with “white products” that enable local business movements of goods and services are guaranteed.