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  • NNPC operations to go paperless soon – Baru

    The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation ( NNPC ), Dr. Maikanti Baru, said the Corporation would soon go paperless in its operations.

    Baru stated this while inaugurating two committees to achieve the purpose.

    A statement issued by the NNPC Spokesman, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, on Monday in Abuja, said the committees were: The Systems Applications and Products (SAP) steering committee and the Group Process Council (GPC).

    According to him, the committees will aid the Corporation transform its operations from paperless to digital form.

    He said the committees would be responsible for a holistic implementation of SAP and emplace enterprise resource planning which would serve as enablers for the achievement of the Corporation’s success.

    Baru said SAP was the platform for driving the transformation agenda of NNPC and the 12 Business Focus Areas which include: Ensuring security of the industry assets, Developing new business models, Providing viable alternative funding to Joint Venture Cash Calls, Increasing the nation’s production and reserves base and Growing NPDC oil and gas production.

    Others are: Effecting refinery upgrade and expansion, Embarking on renewable energy drive and frontier exploration, Rehabilitating the nation’s oil and gas infrastructure, Strengthening NNPC ventures and common services, Enhancing staff professionalism and Accountability as well as their welfare.

    He said the platform had the potential to significantly influence the Corporation’s ability to compete, operate effectively and create value.

    NAN

     

  • Osinbajo: $3b lost to NNPC Strategic Alliance deals

    Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo spoke yesterday on the troubled  economy and the Buhari administration’s battle to revive it.

    In his view, corruption has been the major problem.

    He painted a gloomy picture of the mismanagement of the economy under the Dr. Jonathan administration.

    According to him, the country lost $3 billion to the Strategic Alliance contracts the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and some companies signed.

    “The promoters of the companies made away with close to $3 billion, almost a tenth of our reserves.

    “There is no way if someone made away with a tenth of your reserves that  you will not  have a major economic shock. And if we don’t deal with it, if we don’t talk about it, how will we be able to discuss our economy in a real honest way with a view to ensuring that these things do not happen again?”

    He continued: “In one single transaction a few weeks to the elections in 2015, sums of N100 billion and $295 million were just frittered away by a few,” he told a gathering of businessmen, government officials and journalists in Abuja.

    It was at the Seventh Presidential Quarterly Business Forum for Private Sector stakeholders at the Presidential Villa.

    Osinbajo noted that when oil prices went up, Nigeria did not save for the rainy day, adding that the problem was not just that of a single commodity.

    Osinbajo said: “Sometimes when we talk about our economy, we talk about the fact that we have relied on single commodity and that is one of the reasons why we are where we are. Yes, that’s quite true, but the fact is that proceeds from that single commodity were regularly hijacked consistently by a few. That is really the problem. If we had spent the proceeds from that single commodity the way we ought to,  we won’t be where we are today.

    “Most of the proceeds went to rent seekers in the industry and production,” he said

    “When you consider that in 2014, as the minister of Finance has said, that oil price was an average of $110 a barrel and only N99 billion was spent on power, works and housing and when we talk about the economy we talk as if  these are normal by every standard.

    “Nobody should talk about the economy when you have this kind of huge leakages and huge corruption. Corruption that completely takes what you are allocating to capital projects.

    “We saw from the presentation of Minister of Finance N14 billion was spent on agriculture in 2014, transportation N15 billion, so the total spent on infrastructure in those three years were N153 billion and in two weeks before the elections N150 billion was essentially shared.

    “So if your total infrastructure spending is N150 billion and you can share N153 billion, that is completely incredible. That sort of thing doesn’t happen anywhere else in the world.

    “And when we are talking about the economy, we must simply understand that this is the problem.”

    The Vice-President said with less revenue, the current administration had been able to increase capital funding by 400% in power, works and housing, in defence, transportation, agriculture.

    “If we want to do analysis in Nigeria, it is either fraudulent or ignorant if we do not bring money that belongs to corruption into the mass.

    “This is what distinguishes, in my own respectful view, this administration from the other. I can say that with what I have seen, if you have a president who is not corrupt, 50 per cent of your financial problems are over.

    “This is what I have seen, I can demonstrate it with facts and figures. If the president is corrupt, the entire financial system is compromised and that is what we have seen with the figures we have just seen. That is an absolutely important fact that we must take into account,” he said

    Osinbajo, however, noted that corruption has not been completely wiped out under the current administration.

    “Where corruption has become systematic, such as we have in our country today, you cannot deal with it in one fell swoop; it is not possible. In any event, you still have a lot of corruption fighting back. The system fights back and it’s both an internal and external fight back and you have to be steadfast and strategic to win the battle.

    “There’s no way that you have a system such as ours that has consistently thrived on corruption and proceeds of corruption and public financing, in particular, that will give up and say, ‘guys, the problem has been solved’. No.

    “It is a system that has fed on corruption and it affects all aspects of governance; so, trying to deal with it is certainly not a walk in the park.

    “But I want to say that task has already begun and that task is being done consistently and I believe that going forward in the next few years, no matter how we are criticised, if we stick to policy especially controlling excesses and corruption in public finance, this country will make the kind of progress that it deserves to make with all the resources at our disposal.

    “If we stick to the policy of ensuring that as far as public finance is concerned, there is no impunity and that we hold people to account, I’m absolutely confident that this country has what it really takes to make the kind of progress we deserve to make as a nation.” Osinbajo said.

    Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun, Trade and Investment Minister Okechukwu Enelamah and Minister of State for Budget and National Planning Zainab Ahmed highlighted the various reforms being undertaken by the present administration.

    Private sector participants at the meeting complained of various problems facing businesses, including power supply, high cost of production, high excise duty, abandoned Lagos-Ibadan expressway and non-linkage of small and medium entrepreneurs to the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan focus labs.

    Osinbajo’s conclusion is that it will be impossible to develop any economy without first tackling corruption.

    According to him, the massive corruption in the last administration is still having adverse effect on moves by the current administration to develop the economy.

    He said: “I must ask again what was wrong with the Nigerian economy and what do we need to do to correct the flaws. There are several issues many of which have already been articulated but I want to talk about what I think is the biggest problem which for some reason we hardly talk about when discussing our national economy.

    “This is grand corruption in the public finance space. Sometimes the way we talk about the Nigerian economy, it does appear as if it is the economy of say Norway or somewhere where all things are equal. Even when we refer to what has taken place in our economy, we almost sound as if this is in every sense a very normal business environment, a very normal public finance environment, but that is not the case.

    “I do not think that any consideration about our economy’s development can be properly and honestly done without fully analysing corruption, especially grand corruption in the public finance space.

    “You see that despite record high levels of oil prices, very little was invested in infrastructure and a record level of leakages were recorded in the past few years.

    “This is the fundamental issue in our economy. Corruption affects everything.  It affects even judgement as to what sort of infrastructure to put in place or whether infrastructure will ever be complete. It is so fundamental that  can’t even think of our economy without thinking of what to do about it.”

  • Kachikwu, others to speak at 2018 Sub-Sahara Oil and Gas Summit

    The 2018 Sub-Sahara Africa Upstream Oil & Gas Summit and Exhibition, is gathering momentum with the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu together with the Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Commission, (NNPC), Maikanti Baru expected to lead other speakers.

    The summit will hold in Abuja, from 11th to 13th of April under the themed, “Gearing up for Growth: Sub Sahara Oil, Gas and Power Oil Chain’’, and it is expected to attract many key industry players from across Africa and beyond.

    Speaking during a press conference in Lagos to announce the programme, the Chief Executive Officer of the Sub-Saharan African Oil and Gas Summit and Exhibition, Mr Dapo Ayoola, said the exhibition will provide a veritable opportunity for established oil and gas companies, government agencies, service providers, equipment manufacturers and new entries to interact and showcase their possibilities.

    Speakers lined up for the Summit include: the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu; the Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Commission, (NNPC), Maikanti Baru; Mr. Bayo Ojulari, MD, Shell Nigeria Exploration & Production Company (SNEPCo); Dr. Joe Asamoah, MD, EnerWise Africa; Mr Powell Maimba, President, East Africa Petroleum Institute, Barrister Egbert Faibille Jnr., Acting C.E.O, Petroleum Commission, Ghana; Mr. Modestus Lumato, Tanzanian Petroleum Corporation; Mr. Tune Lemo, former Deputy Governor, CBN and Malam Mele Kyari, Group GM, Crude Oil Marketing Division, NNPC.

    Others are: Mr. Chimezie Emewulu, MD, Seamfix; Mrs. Oyeyemi Ladepo, Group GM, HR, NNPC; Mr. Ahmadu Sambo, Group GM, Finance, NNPC; Adewale Ladenegan, MD, Kaduna Refining & Petrochemical Company (KRPC); Mr. Paul Arinze, GM, Public & Govt. Affairs, ExxonMobile Nigeria, amongst others.

    According to him, Africa is the last true oil and gas frontier with more than 4,200 oil and gas blocks identified. Almost half of these blocks are open, subject to force majeure or in the application phase.

    “More that 80% of the 1,300 blocks in North Africa are licensed, while in Sub-Sahara Africa, it is estimated that only about 30% of 2,900 blocks are licensed. It is evident that many new opportunities still exist, especially for the exploration and production companies that are willing to take risks,” he said.

    He further stated that they also want to inspire young ladies in the Universities and Polytechnics to see the oil and gas industry as one that is encompassing for everybody.

    “So we have women in petroleum day where successful female practitioners based from HR or technical backgrounds, geoscientists, finance or petroleum engineers would come together and talk to the upcoming ones that there is an opportunity for everyone in the oil and gas. The women in petroleum section is a lovely one and we have invited top women across the continent,” he added.

    Read Also: Kachikwu: Nigeria needs $100b oil investments

  • ‘NNPC to revamp refineries to optimal capacity’

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) will not relent to get the nation’s four refineries back to their optimal capacities, the Group Managing Director, Dr. Maikanti Baru, has said.

    He spoke at the weekend after receiving this year’s Man of the Year Award from Nigerian NewsDirect, a Lagos-based daily publication.

    Baru said as part of the reforms in the NNPC, the corporation had been discussing with consortia to get the best funding options towards the refineries’ overhaul.

    He added that the corporation, under his watch, had made progress in resuscitating the critical downstream infrastructure, a development which had ensured seamless supply of products nationwide, until the recent past hiccups, which is now under control.

    A statement yesterday quoted the group managing director as saying that “since coming on board, we have made the revamp of our abandoned assets and critical downstream infrastructure a key component of our corporate vision of 12 Business Focus Areas (BUFA).”

    The statement said: “Over the last few months, several crude oil, petroleum products and natural gas pipelines have been resuscitated, while more than half of the nation’s 21 strategic depots have been

    upgraded.”

    Baru decried pipeline vandalism, crude oil theft and sabotage, noting that they had resulted in huge loss of revenue, lives and property, as well as damage to the environment.

    He enjoined security agencies and other stakeholders to collaborate with the corporation in its campaign against sabotage on the nation’s oil and gas facilities.

    Attributing the recent fuel challenges faced in parts of the country to the nefarious activities of hoarders, diverters, profiteers and smugglers, Baru stressed that the corporation was working with stakeholders to ensure that the sufficiency being experienced was sustained.

    He thanked the Editorial Board of Nigerian NewsDirect for conferring on him their Man of the Year Award, saying it would spur him to give his best to the oil and gas industry and by extension the country.

    The NNPC managing director hailed the interest shown by the media towards the critical sectors of the national economy, a development, he said, had portrayed the fourth estate of the realm as partners in progress in the Nigerian project.

    The Chairman of Editorial Board, Nigerian NewsDirect, Prince Aderemi Adekile, described Dr. Baru as a patriotic Nigerian with indelible imprints as a frontline engineer, a worthy patriot and one of the best administrators the oil and gas sector had produced.

    “Today, we are recognising him for his transparency, unrelenting effort at ensuring stability of products supply, revamping downstream infrastructure, opening up of inland basins, growing crude oil reserves, increasing oil production as well as maintaining strategic communications among stakeholders in the oil and gas industry,” he added.

     

     

  • The era of fuel scarcity is gone for good, says NNPC GMD

    The Group Managing Director (GMD), Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr Maikanti Baru, on Saturday assured Nigerians that the era of fuel scarcity is gone for good.

    Receiving the Man of the Year Award from Nigeria NewsDirect newspaper, the NNPC GMD said that the corporation had learnt a great lesson during the recent fuel scarcity in the country.

    “We have actualized the lessons learnt, part of which is to ensure that at any point in time, there should be sufficient products available for distribution across the country.

    “Most of our PPMC depots in Ejigbo, Mosinmi, Ibadan and other parts of the nation have sufficient product for distribution now.

    ‘NNPC is discussing with security operatives to stop smuggling of petrol products across our borders.

    “We are working along side with them to ensure safety of our pipelines because we still have some areas in which vandals still disrupt our pipelines,” he said.

    Baru said he dedicated the Man of the Year award to all staff of the corporation.

    Also speaking, Dr Diran Fawibe, Chairman, International Energy Services, urged NNPC to ensure that the nation’s refineries worked to its full capacity.

    According to Fawibe, the oil and gas sector is a major sustainer of the nation’s economy.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that other Nigerians that received awards include the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Raji Fashola and CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele. (NAN)

  • NNPC to reduce daily losses in fuel supply to N516m

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is to reduce daily losses from N774 million to N516 million, Group General Manager, Public Affairs Division, Ndu Ughamadu, has said.

    He said the corporation would achieve this by cutting the level of fuel consumed from 60 million to 40 million litres.

    He noted that product diversion and activities of some unscrupulous marketers contributed to the high consumption and once the corporation plugged the holes,  consumption level would drop.

    In a telephone chat, Ughamadu said a large portion of the fuel supplied to the market was diverted to neighbouring countries, such as Benin Republic, and Togo.

    He said NNPC has partnered the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) to check the smuggling of petroleum products.

    Ughamadu said: “Our (NNPC’s) under-recovery was N774 million as at the time the level of fuel consumed in the country rose to 60 million litres per day. We, at NNPC, discovered that the higher the level of fuel that is being consumed in the country, the higher the losses recorded by the country, as a sizeable portion of the fuel is being smuggled out of the country.

    “To reduce fuel consumption, which in most cases, is smuggled out of the country, the corporation decided to partner the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS). Through this means, the Customs would help to check smuggling of petroleum products by mounting surveillance at the borders.”

    He said NNPC discovered 200 filling stations in one of the borders in the country, stressing that the partnership between it and the Customs would help in addressing problems, such as hoarding and smuggling of petroleum products, which he said, contributed to the fuel scarcity last December.

    “With the joint efforts of NNPC and the Customs, all the illegal petrol stations at the borders would disappear soon and the fuel consumption would reduce drastically.”

    He said the level of fuel consumption was 39million litres per day, adding that it grew to 80million litres per day during the fuel scarcity and later 60million litres.

    According to him, Nigerians are erroneously blaming NNPC for fuel scarcity that occurred recently, without considering other factors that caused it.

    On fuel scarcity, he said there was no scarcity in the country, as NNPC has supplied enough fuel to marketers for distribution to their retail outlets.

    He said there is fuel in states like Imo, Enugu, and Anambra, stressing that the rumour that those states do not have fuel was not true.

    He said there is a difference between selling fuel above the official pump price of N145 per litre by some marketers in the East and its unavailability.

    Ugbh    amadu said all hands were on deck to rid the fuel market of saboteurs who were frustrating the efforts of the government to supply fuel at approved pump price.

  • Supreme Court seeks AGF’s, others’ opinions in oil spill case against NNPC

    •Hearing for April 30

    The Supreme Court has invited the Attorney General of the Federation(AGF), Abubakar Malami (SAN) and some others senior lawyers to offer expert opinions in relation to an oil spill case brought against the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

    Also invited as amici curiae (friends of the court) are President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Abubakar Mahmud, one of his processors, Wole Olanipekun (SAN), Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN) and  Z.A Nwosu (SAN).

    The case in which the Supreme Court seeks the lawyers’ opinions is an appeal filed by a group, Centre for Oil Pollution Watch (COPW) in relation to an oil spill  recorded in Abia State in 2006, which allegedly caused damage to the environment and aquatic life.

    COPW started the case before the Federal High Court in Lagos, with the NNPC as defendant.

    It was the plaintiff’s case at the trial court  that the spillage was from some NNPC’s oil pipelines and that it destroyed the Ineh and Aku streams in Isuikwuato Local Government of Abia State.

    The group claimed that  the Ineh and Aku streams were the only sources of water supply to Acha community.

    The plaintiff also claimed that the spillage destroyed the aquatic lives in the streams and the community’s source of potable water.

    It stated that the NNPC only stopped the leakage but failed to do a  clean-up of the environment, leaving the  inhabitants of the affected community to continue to use the polluted  water because there was no alternative water supply.

    The prayed the Federal High Court to compel the NNPC to clean the contaminated environment in Acha community of Isuikwuato Local Government of Abia State.

    The NNPC objected to the plaintiff’s case, challenged its locus standi (its right to initiate the suit) and urged the court to dismiss the siut.

    In its judgment, the Federal High Court  upheld NNPC’s objection and dismissed the suit on the grounds that the plaintiff was without locus standi, a decision the group appealed at the Court of Appeal, Lagos.

    In its judgment on January 28, 2013, the Court of Appeal upheld the decision of the Federal High Court and dismissed the appeal, prompting COPW to approach the Supreme Court.

    When the case came up on Monday, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen, who is leading a new panel of seven Justices said although the appeal was earlier heard by a five-man panel of the court, the need to re-hear the case arose during a routine conference held on it by the Justices of the court.

    He said the Justices also agreed at the conference to invite amici curiae.

    Beside the AGF, who was represented by the Solicitor-General of the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Justice, Dayo Apata, others attended yesterday’s proceedings. Apata said Malami was outside the country.

    Justice Onnoghen, however announced the postponement of the hearing scheduled for Monday.

    He said “certain developments” which occurred “over the weekend” (without any explanation) accounts for the postponement.

    The CJN said the appeal would now be heard de novo (afresh) on April 30.

    Mahmud was however, not comfortable with the CJN’s sudden change of schedule.

    The NBA President said he had to cancel an important engagement to make it to the court on Monday.

    He urged the court’s Registry to always endeavour to notify parties before hand  about such sudden change of schedule.

     

  • Three NNPC staff arrested over N16m Robbery incident in kano

    Police in Kano on Tuesday arrested three staff of Nigerian National Petroleum Cooperation ( NNPC ) mega station Hotoro in Kano over alleged involvement in robbery incident which led to the snatching of N16 million belonging the NNPC mega station.

    According to the Kano Police Command’s spokesman, SP Magaji Musa Majiya said the three NNPC staff, including a cashier, and two supervisors have since been apprehended in connection with the robbery incident.

    According to him, investigation have since commenced in order to arrest their accomplice.

    “The incident happened around 8 am when the staff were conveying the money to one of the commercial banks in the area when the suspected armed robbers were said to have attacked the vehicle conveying the money and snatched one of the sacks containing about N16 million,” said an eyewitness.

    The eyewitness added that there was N26 million in the two sacks when the incident happened and the robbers took away one of the sacks containing the money.

    The hoodlums were said to have shot sporadically in the air to scare people away before fleeing the area.

  • PENGASSAN seeks NNPC’s reimbursement for oil subsidy payment

    PENGASSAN seeks NNPC’s reimbursement for oil subsidy payment

    The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has called on the Federal Government to reimburse the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for the expenses it incurred on payment of subsidy to marketers.

    Arising from its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Warri, Delta State,  PENGASSAN said  the NNPC had continued to shoulder the responsibility of providing products to close gaps  created by the withdrawal of other marketers owing to the non-payment of subsidy claims from 2015 to 2017.

    In a communique by PENGASSAN President Comrade Francis Olabode Johnson and General Secretary Comrade Lumumba Okugbawa, the union said the extra burden absorbed by the NNPC was depleting its finances and hampering the effective discharge of its statutory obligations.

    The senior staff trade union, therefore, called on the government to reimburse the huge payments made within the period under review.

    It expressed worries over the delayed payment of subsidy and debts  owed oil marketers, urging the Federal Government to come to the table to resolve the differences as this would help to avert loss of jobs in the oil and gas industry.

    On the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), PENGASSAN praised the 8th National Assembly for breaking the jinx of passing into law the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB), but called on the lawmakers to expedite action on the Petroleum Industry Administration Bill, the Petroleum Industry Fiscal Bill and the Petroleum Host Community Bill to enable the PIB deliver full benefits of the intended Oil and Gas reforms.

    The Association demanded that the legal framework in the bill should allocate a percentage of the production by International Oil Companies (IOC)’s operating in Nigeria for refining in the country through a policy that would compel them to build Refineries in Nigeria.

    “This is in support of the proposal of the Federal Government as announced by the Honourable Minister of Petroleum (State), Dr Ibe Kachickwu at the last Nigerian International Petroleum Summit (NIPS) in Abuja,” it stated.

  • NNPC eyes $15 per barrel crude production

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is  expecting the cost of producing crude oil to drop from $20 to $15 per barrel soon.

    It said it would ensure that  the pipes for the construction of the 683-kilometre Ajaokuta-Abuja-Kaduna-Kano gas pipeline, approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC), were sourced from pipe mills in adherence to the Nigerian Content Law.

    NNPC’s Group Managing Director Dr Maikanti Baru said this became necessary to bring down the cost of producing fuel and make the product available.

    He spoke during the technology and innovation expo organised by the Ministry of Science and Technology in Abuja.

    Represented by NNPC Chief Operating Officer Mr. Seidu Mohammed, Baru said the corporation had been innovative, hence the drop in the production cost per barrel of oil.

    Baru said: “What NNPC will like Nigerians to know is the drive we are making to bring down costs. The more we bring down the production cost of oil and gas, the more money that comes eventually to the federal government and the pockets of the states and local governments. That is the kind of thing we are trying to do.

    ‘’NNPC has been innovative in its efforts to bring down the cost. Many Nigerians don’t even know that we have started the local content drive. We have brought down the cost of producing a barrel of oil to the neighbourhood of $20 and our target is to make sure we are at $15 and we continue to match forward.”

    The NNPC last August said it reduced the cost of oil production from $78 to $23 per barrel, representing a 70.5 per cent drop in production cost.

    Baru also explained at the expo that the corporation would continue to work with agencies, such as the Nigerian Content Development Management Board, (NCDMB), to ensure that the cost of production in the oil and gas sector is competitive.

    He said: “Engineering and technology are the bedrock of oil and gas, without that we may not have been where we are today. But then, what have we been doing at the NNPC? We have been trying to make sure that all the activities are domiciled in Nigeria.

    “There was a time even tender documents had to go to London for evaluation, but today, we have fully domesticated the engineering aspect of it.

    “We have, in collaboration with the Nigerian Content Development Management Board gone ahead to get Nigerians who are innovative and willing to invest in fabrication.

    “In other words, what we want to do is to also domesticate the big chunk of where we spend the money, that is procurement, and we have gone far.

    “There are fabrications in areas of line pipes and valves. What we are doing in NNPC is to support all forms of innovations in the upstream, midstream and downstream.”

    On the AKK pipeline and how NNPC plans to use locally-sourced pipes to build it, Baru stated: “I said engineering is part of it, so when you come to the procurement of the project, The main input in that project is the line pipes.”