The Nation Newspaper

Tag: NNPC

  • Nigeria owes IOCs $5.1b, says NNPC

    NIGERIA indebtedness to International Oil Companies (IOCs) stood at $5.1 billion, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) told the Senate yesterday.

    The $5.1 billion, according to the Corporation, was accumulated from the Joint Venture Cash Call (JVC) business arrangement the country has with IOCs on oil exploration.

    But the NNPC denied allegation of mismanagement of $3.2 billion said to have been withdrawn from the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) account between 2015 till date.

    The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of NNPC, Isiaka Abdulrasaq, who appeared before the Senate Committee on Gas explained how the debt was incurred.

    Abdulrasaq told the panel that the JVC is a business arrangement between the Federal Government and the IOCs, explaining that Nigeria controls 60 per cent of the business venture and the IOCs the remaining 40 per cent.

    He NNPC official said: “The problem, however is that before this government came on board in 2015, Nigeria which holds 60 per cent of shares in the joint business, for many years did not contribute its own required capital into it.”

    Nigeria, he said, was “only collecting its equity share inform of revenues which made the country as at 2015, to have $6.8 billion unpaid capital into the venture.”

    He further explained that “the present government in 2016, succeeded in getting 35 per cent discount from the unpaid capital amounting to $1.9 billion from the unpaid capital, making the country to still owe the IOCs $5.1 billion outstanding.”

    On the alleged $3.2 billion reportedly withdrawn from the NLNG account by the NNPC within the last three years, the CFO insisted that there was no mismanagement in any of the withdrawals made.

    He noted that based on available records with NNPC, only 13 withdrawals were made from the account amounting to $1.2 billion.

    The official said that more than seven IOCs dealing with the NNPC have expressed concern about the continuity of their business operations as a result of bogus figures being bandied about withdrawals from the NLNG account.

    Chairman of the committee, Senator Albert Bassey Akpan, asked the NNPC CFO to submit approving documents for all the withdrawals by Tuesday next week.

    Akpan said: “We are not saying any money has been stolen. What we are doing is clarifying the processes of expenditures made from the account with a view to making management of the account more transparent and beneficial to Nigerians.”

  • Senate: $1.05b NLNG dividend not missing

    The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Gas, Senator Bassey Albert, on Thursday in Abuja, clarified that the ongoing investigation of the application of $1.05billion Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) dividend to support the importation of petroleum products into the country has nothing to do with any missing funds since no such money was missing in the first place.

    Senator Albert, who doubles as the Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Application of the NLNG Dividend, explained that the clarification became necessary due to sensational and misleading reports in some sections of the media.

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

    According to him, the lawmaker said the mandate of the Committee was to determine the instrument under which NNPC relied upon to affect the said withdrawal and subsequent application of the NLNG dividend to meet pressing national demand for fuel supply, noting that the Committee relies on NNPC to provide informed perspective on the issues.

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    The Senate Committee Chairman emphasized that the engagement with NNPC was to understand the rudiments of the account flow and also to discover how the Committee, working in harmony with NNPC, could make the NLNG dividend more effective and beneficial to the nation.

    Responding, Mr. Isiaka Abdulrazaq, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of NNPC, who represented the corporation’s Group Managing Director, Dr. Maikanti Baru, pledged the willingness of the corporation to support the Committee in its assignment, saying that relevant documents have been supplied to the panel to enable it determine the veracity or otherwise of NNPC’s .

  • NNPC may finalise negotiations on repair of refineries by month end

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) may conclude negotiations with private operators on the repairs of the four refineries by the end of this month, its Chief Operating Officer for Liquefied Natural Gas(LNG) Dividends, Mr Isiaka Abdulrazaq, has said.

    The refineries are Port Harcourt 1&2, Warri and Kaduna.

    He said NNPC began negotiations with the operators some months ago, adding that the corporation would finalise the deal by the end of the year.

    Speaking on the achievements  of the national oil company during a media forum in Lagos, he said the  rehabilitation of the refineries was vital to the Federal Government, as it is one of its strategies to end fuel import.

    Isiaka said: “We, at (NNPC), agreed that the best way to stop  the shortage of petroleum products caused by near collapse of the government’s refineries was to allow a private sector to come in and finance the repairs of the refineries and get paid for the services. As part of the negotiation, NNPC has agreed to pay the operators from the proceeds of the refineries.

    ‘’The negotiations are on-going, probably they would be finalised before the end of this year.

    He said NNPC had brought in some companies, which specialise in the production of petroleum products and negotiated with them on how to fix the refineries.

    According to him, the negotiations did not achieve their objectives, as the refineries remain in comatose.

    He said the inability of the NNPC to achieve its desired objectives of returning the refineries to optimal capacity through negotiations with some refining companies informed the decision of the NNPC  to negotiate with private sector operators on the issue.

    Isiaka debunked the claims that NNPC is selling the refineries to private operators, stressing that the issue of sharing the proceeds of the refineries would be not based on the number of shares each stakeholder is owing.

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    “Now, the issue of fixing the refineries is not based on equity holdings.What NNPC is saying is that a competent private-driven operator should be hired to repair the refineries and get paid instantly. NNPC needs to get a private sector operator and also works with them all the time,” he added.

    On the National Assembly, Isiaka said the Senate, in line with the constitution, performs oversight functions on some matters, especially the legality of spending public funds by government agencies, and whether an agency has followed due process or not.

    NNPC, he said, is transparent in its spending.

    Successive administrations have spent huge funds on the Turnaround Maintenance(TAM), a scheme introduced by the government fix the refineries.

    The checks conducted by the NNPC on the refineries to gauge their performance, however, revealed that they were operating between 30 and 60 per cent capacity, suggesting that they were far from recording optimal performance.

  • MTN delivers solutions to NNPC

    MTN Nigeria has deployed Corporate Wide Area Network Service (CWAN) across 139 locations of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

    The telco said the deployment of the solution has resulted in improved efficiency and unhindered communication for NNPC locations across the country.

    The two organisations in Abuja had an exhibition to highlight the success of the CWAN service deployment, as well as NNPC’s incredible feats in the past 12 months.

    MTN over the years has been a reliable provider of connectivity solutions, enabling business operations and improving efficiencies for both small and large organisations. The deployment of the CWAN service to NNPC key locations is part of MTN’s continued effort to improve business efficiency and support economic growth in the country.

    Speaking on the collaboration between MTN and NNPC, General Manager, Enterprise Marketing, MTN Nigeria, Onyinye Ikenna-Emeka, said: “MTN is a brand that is committed to the growth of businesses, both large and small. With our capabilities, we feel we have what it takes to move businesses from where they are to where they want to be.

    “We are truly excited to have provided this innovative connectivity solution to NNPC and we look forward to working together in the coming months to deliver greater quality services to Nigerians.”

  • Ships conveying petrol, other commodities, expected at Lagos ports

    The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) is expecting 36 ships to bring petroleum products, food items and other goods to Apapa and Tin-Can Island Ports in Lagos, from Dec. 6 to Dec. 29.

    The NPA made this known in its daily publication `Shipping Position’ made available to newsmen in Lagos on Thursday.

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    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that six of the 36 ships will sail in with petrol.

    The other 30 ships are carrying buckwheat, general cargo, ethanol, aviation fuel, steel, diesel, sugar and containers of different goods.

    According to the NPA, 16 ships have arrived the ports waiting to berth with bulk fertiliser, general containers and petrol.

  • Nigeria contributes $710m to ECOWAS, more than 13 countries

    Nigeria has contributed more money to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) than 13 other Members states put together in the last 12 years, statistics have shown.

    Statistics on payment of the Community Levy obtained by our correspondent showed that between 2003 and 2015, Nigeria paid $710, 497,352, equivalent to 480, 355,205 West Africa Units of Account (UA).

    The West Africa UA is the official nominal monetary unit of measure or currency used to represent the real value.

    The document was presented by the ECOWAS Commission as part of the Status of the Community report during an Extra Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament.

    In the same period, 13 other countries contributed a cumulative amount of 697. 947 million dollars.

    The countries are Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Gambia, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Senegal Sierra Leone and Togo.

    Out of the 13 countries mentioned, Guinea Bissau contributed the least amount of 3. 107 million dollars followed by The Gambia with 11. 171 million dollars and Cabo Verde with 12.879 million dollars.

    Within the period, Sierra Leone contributed 19. 632 million; Liberia 29. 988 million dollars,; Guinea 31. 101 million; Niger 37. 788 million ,; Togo $48. 961 and Cote d’Ivoire $54. 173 million.

    Benin Republic contributed a total of $76. 147 million; Mali paid $93. 538 million; Burkina Faso with $105. 278 million; while Senegal paid $174. 177 million.

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    The highest paying country after Nigeria is Ghana which paid $327. 976 million within the same period.

    According to the statistics, a total of $1. 736 billion was contributed within the period by all 15 member states, with Nigeria paying 40.9 per cent of the amount.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the budget for each financial year is met by the member states through their contributions to the Community Levy, a 0.5 per cent tax imposed on goods from non-ECOWAS countries.

    The national customs administrations of member states are responsible for “assessment and collection” of the levy and daily record “accounts of amounts received”.

    However, the contributions by Nigeria is not equivalent to the weight it pulls in the sub-regional body, especially in the Parliament.

    For instance, out of the 35 seats allocated to Nigeria in the Parliament, many of the representatives are usually absent during plenary.

    At the plenary in May 2018, only four members out of 35 were present on the day Nigeria presented its Country Report.

    Also, during its recent ongoing Second Ordinary Session, less than 10 were present for the aforementioned presentation.

    The absenteeism by Nigerians also got the attention the Bureau of Parliament and other members who expressed displeasure at the attitude of the Nigerians.

    Some representatives from Nigeria also admitted that the attitude had become worrisome and needed to be addressed.

    Hon. Shehu Garba who briefed newsmen after the presentation by Nigeria at the on-going session, said that it was time the leadership of the delegation intervened and deployed people who had time for parliament’s activities.

  • NNPC seeks investors on 10b barrels assets

    A MULTI-BILLION dollar investment opportunity in the nation’s deep-offshore frontiers was yesterday unveiled at the 10th World Energy Capital Assembly in London, United Kingdom.

    It was part of the drive by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to raise Nigeria’s crude oil reserve.

    Delivering an address at the panel session titled: “Spotlight on Africa”, NNPC Group Managing Director Dr. Maikanti Baru said: “Globally, Nigeria has the highest untapped deep water resource of about 10 billion barrels of oil equivalent, in addition to other vast opportunities in the oil and gas value chain.”

    Represented at the event by the Corporation’s Group General Manager, Corporate Planning & Strategy, Bala Wunti, the GMD explained that Nigeria has the largest and one of the most vibrant economies in Africa with lots of potentials, especially in the gas, refining and infrastructure space.

    In a statement yesterday, NNPC spokesman Ndu Ughamadu, quoted him as saying:  “I invite you all to a country that has massive opportunities, very good business climate and good returns on investment.

    “Our resilience has been tested, we have been through the booms and bursts and we came out stronger. With our experience, geographical location and capacity, Nigeria is the country of now and the future.”

    He further explained that the corporation has a clear strategy for harnessing these potentials through collaboration and building robust partnerships as entrenched in its 12 business focus areas.

    The World Energy Capital Assembly is a leading gathering of energy executives, finance and investment professionals to discuss emerging and re-emerging energy investment opportunities, review deals done and chart an outlook of energy related activities across the globe.

  • NNPC to deliver gas projects by 2020

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) will deliver its seven critical gas development projects(7CGDP) by 2020. This would ease gas supply to the power plants across the country.

    It said the projects were designed  to leverage the immense gas potential in the country, and further help in meeting the target of generating at least 15,000 megawatts (Mw) of electricit, by 2020

    Its Principal Manager, Public Affairs, Ndu Ughamadu, said the corporation is relying on the projects to generate 50,000Mw by 2020, in order to improve the supply of electricity in Nigeria.

    In a telephone interview,   he said NNPC is working to nurture the projects to fruition by 2020.

    He said when this happens, the country would be able to transport gas to power plants seamlessly and boost power supply.

    NNPC, he said, is working in line with the mandate given to it by the Federal Government to deliver the projects by 2020 and further boost power supply in the country.

    According to him, the government has directed NNPC to complete the gas projects, adding that when this happens, thermal plants would not have difficulties accessing gas optimally for growth.

    He said gas remained the only feedstock used in generating  70 per cent of electricity consumed in the country and that NNPC is not leaving any stone unturned to maximise its potentials.

    To make the projects come to fruition by 2020, the state oil firm is constantly holding meetings on the issue, in order to ascertain the level of developments on the project.

    He said NNPC has fixed next week for a meeting with the stakeholders.   It has also directed the Project Management Office (PMO) to discuss with the operators of the project on their problems, needs among other things, that would help in bringing the project to fruition.

    PMO is a department charged with the responsibility of accesing the status of the seven critical gas development projects, among other initiatives spearheaded by the corporation.

    Ughamadu said:” Two issues are vital to the success of the projects, and NNPC has taken care of them.  First is the issue of engagement with the operators of the project, and NNPC has directed the Project Management Office to carry out such roles.

    “Frankly speaking, the level of engagement between NNPC and other key stakeholders on the issue is very high. The aim is to know  the status of the projects, challenges facing the projects and the institutions/facilities that would help in improving the operation of the projects. These can be referred to as enablers  that are critical to the growth of the project.

    Ughamadu said the oil firm has fixed December 10, this year for a Steering Committee Meeting on the projects.

    He said the 2020 deadline set aside for the implementation of the seven critical gas development projects is sancrosant, adding that NNPC has concluded plans to meet the deadline.

    NNPC  had put in place measures to ensure effective utilisation and commercialisation of gas in the country.This made the corporation to invest in the seven critical gas development projects in the country.

    NNPC’s  Group Managing Director, Dr Maikanti Baru said the corporation is keen on using some of the new projects such as the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano gas pipeline project to open up not only the gas corridor, but to also ensure that power plants that are built can inject stability into the national grid.

  • NNPC loses over $800m revenue to contract breaches

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation  (NNPC) yesterday said it lost over $800million revenue to all the stakeholders owing to breaches of contracts of its old regime.

    The state-run oil firm said this year, it lost over 60 days of production due to incessant breaches on the Trans Forcados Pipeline (TFP) despite having a security contract in place. In terms of production numbers, this translates to over 11 million barrels of crude oil which on face value equates to over $800million in lost revenue to all the stakeholders in the matrix which include  NNPC, its Joint Venture partners and the Nigerian Federation.

    The oil firm has explained the reported award of oil infrastructure surveillance contract to an indigenous firm, Ocean Marine Solutions for the protection of the strategic 87-kilometre TFP.

    It said the decision to assign the TFP surveillance package to Ocean Marine Solutions was reached after consideration of huge losses on TFP and rigorous appraisal of the company’s impressive record of performance on the Bonny-Port Harcourt and Warri-Escravos crude evacuation lines.

    In a statement, NNPC said the new contract which requires the contractor to pay for any damage to any inch of pipeline under its watch, offers immeasurable benefits to the NNPC, its Joint Venture partners, the host communities and the entire federation.

    According to the NNPC, faced with massive losses in projected revenue, stakeholders in the TFP which today account for daily production throughput of over 250, 000 barrels of crude oil were unanimous in the decision to seek better ways of ensuring reliability and availability of the line.

    The NNPC stated that no responsible business entity or government would allow this level of hemorrhage to go on without acting swiftly to protect the enterprise from further bleeding.

    It said based on this scenario, Ocean Marine Solution was assigned to handle the TFP under the proof of concept arrangement which is yielding great results in the Bonny-Port Harcourt and Escravos-Warri crude evacuation lines.

    Under this deal, the surveillance company is obligated to protect the lines and bear the cost of repairs if and when there is any breach to the pipeline.

    This arrangement is totally different from the old order where the contractor gets paid for surveillance duties and totally exempted from repair cost or any form of responsibility in the event of any line break or breach to the pipeline he is paid to watch.

    On the alleged cost of the new contract, it said the cost of the new deal pales into insignificance when placed side by side and value-for-money with the old arrangement.

    “In 2018, after we lost over 60 days of production, under the old contract, the NNPC and its stakeholders spent over $32million on repairs, protection of the TFP and clean-up. This is a verifiable fact which makes the new deal not only better but far more rewarding to all stakeholders,’’ it said.

    The NNPC also dismissed insinuations that the entry of OMS into the TFP would spelled doom for host community youths on the pipeline right-of-way currently rendering sundry services to the old service provider.

    It argued that the issue of TFP security is purely a matter of criminality which the host communities along the pipeline corridor are totally against. It noted that long before now, NNPC had evolved a host community participation model which naturally incorporated youths within the vicinity of its assets and areas of operations as veritable stakeholders cum participants in the running of such facility.

    “We want to state for the umpteenth time that based on our community engagement model for asset protection, OMS is obligated to engage youths in the TFP right-of-way in executing its mandate thus reports of imminent loss of jobs by host community youths are totally incorrect and mischievous,” the oil firm said.

    It also noted that community participation model is already in practice on Escravos-Warri and Bonny-Port Harcourt lines and these host communities have absolutely no issues with the Corporation or the pipeline surveillance service provider.

    NNPC argued that the employment opportunities for youths in the area would be bolstered by the assured all-year availability of the TFP under the new proof of concept agreement.

    On the allegation of non-adherence to due process in the offer of the surveillance deal, NNPC explained that all Federal Government-approved procurement processes and procedures in the award of highly sensitive national security contract were followed to the letter.

    NNPC said it was the same steps and procedures that were followed in the award of all pipeline security contracts including the award of the TFP surveillance contract to the old contractor.

    It assured that as an entity entrusted by the government and people of the country to oversee the nation’s vast hydrocarbon resources for the good of all stakeholders, it cannot in good conscience allow extraneous considerations to sway its judgment on a straight forward commercial undertaking like the TFP surveillance project.

    “The NNPC and its stakeholders will continue to do everything legally possible to recover our pipelines, cut our losses, reduce downtime, improve crude production and by extension increase inflow of revenue to all the tiers of the Federation in line with our mandate,” it said.

     

     

  • NNPC engages DMO, ministry to avert depots shutdown

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), yesterday began engagement with the Federal Ministry of Finance, Debt Management Office (DMO), Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association (DAPPMA and Independent Petroleum Products Importers (IPPI) to avert the shutdown of petrol depots across the country.

    It was learnt from the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of the corporation, Ndu Ughamadu that there is assurance the issues will b e resolved amicably soon

    The NNPC spokesman, in a text message, said there was no cause for alarm, saying the corporation has sufficient stock level.

    The message reads in part: “NNPC is engaging marketers bodies, Federal Ministry of Finance and DMO on the issue. Going by the positive outcomes, so far, we are optimistic of a prompt resolution of the contending matter.

    “No cause for worries. We have a robust fuel stock and high fuel sufficiency. Consumers should not panic.”

    The marketers had on Sunday in Lagos given the government a seven-day ultimatum to pay them the outstanding N800billion debt of fuel subsidy claim.

    They warned the government that its failure to settle the debt would result in the withdrawal of their staff and closure of their depots.

    It would be recalled that the marketers had this same time last year created an artificial fuel scarcity that resulted in arbitrary high in pump prices of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) all over the country.

    The scarcity lingered till about December 23 before the marketers opened up that the Federal Government was owing them N800billion for supplying petrol under the fuel petrol subsidy regime.

    Initially the government denied owing them and later settled the matter after several meetings.