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Tag: NNPC

  • $2.3b NNPC cash: CBN re-admits eight banks into forex market

    $2.3b NNPC cash: CBN re-admits eight banks into forex market

    •Lenders present repayment plans

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has cleared the remaining eight commercial banks previously banned from trading in the interbank foreign exchange (forex) market. The lenders were accused of withholding $2.3 billion belonging to the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation/Nigeria LNG.

    The banks, the CBN announced yesterday, can now commence dealings in the forex market.

    The affected lenders are First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) $469 million; Diamond Bank Plc ($287 million); Sterling Bank Plc ($269 million); Skye Bank Plc ($221 million); Fidelity Bank ($209 million); Keystone Bank ($139 million); First City Monument Bank (FCMB) $125 million and Heritage Bank ($85 million). The United Bank for Africa (UBA) earlier returned $530 million to the Treasury Single Account (TSA) and was cleared by the CBN.

    Announcing the reinstatement of the banks, the CBN Director, Banking Supervision Department, Mrs. Tokunbo Martins, said the body of banks’ Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), under the auspices of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), met with the Committee of Governors of the CBN and presented a payment plan for all outstanding dollar deposits from the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation /Nigeria LNG in their possession to the Treasury Single Account (TSA).

    Speaking during the briefing, the CIBN President-in-Council,  Segun Ajibola stated that the Body of Bank CEOs in partnership with the CIBN decided to resolve the issue in the interest of the Nigerian economy.

  • N2.3b NNPC cash: CBN may fine banks

    N2.3b NNPC cash: CBN may fine banks

    The nine commercial banks barred by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from the interbank foreign-exchange market may be fined, analysts at Lagos-based CSL Stockbrokers Limited said at the weekend.

    Other financial experts also estimated that although there was no precedence of the case, the apex bank may impose a fine not less than N450 million on all the nine lenders, representing N50 million each to the affected lenders.

    Former Executive Director, Keystone Bank, Richard Obire said: “The CBN may want to demonstrate to the banks that it took their offences very seriously and make it painful to them. The regulator may want to make the fines painful to them, as a deterrent to others. I see not less than N50 million fine on each of the affected banks, and that’s N450 million in all,” he predicted.

    Obire said although the banks are already facing hard times, but letting them go without a fine, could provide a wrong precedence for the industry.

    The CBN suspended nine lenders for not transferring around $2.3 billion of deposits for two state oil and gas companies, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)  and Nigeria LNG Ltd., to a government account. The banks, whose suspension would remain in force until they remit all the funds to the TSA, are United Bank for Africa (UBA) $530million; First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) $469million; Diamond Bank Plc ($287million); Sterling Bank Plc ($269million); Skye Bank Plc ($221million); Fidelity Bank ($209m); Keystone Bank ($139million); First City Monument Bank (FCMB) $125million; and Heritage Bank ($85million). UBA has refunded its own portion of the fund and was cleared by the CBN.

    UBA has “completely remitted all NNPC and NLNG dollar deposits,” Charles Aigbe, a spokesman in Lagos, said in a statement. The banks probably won’t be able to issue letters of credit and will lose revenue from trading foreign-exchange until their suspensions are lifted, CSL said.

    “The CBN may impose various fines,” analysts at CSL said in an e-mailed note to Reuters. “Of greater concern to us is the ability of these banks to remit these funds given the illiquidity in the market. Inability to remit these funds will mean staying away from all forex transactions for an extended period.”

    Banks have suffered a shortage of hard currency for the last two years as oil prices crashed and investors fled when the country imposed capital controls to try and protect the naira. Oil accounts for around 90 percent of exports and the bulk of government revenue. The naira has weakened 42 percent against the dollar since it was devalued on June 20.

    “While most of the banks we spoke to agree that they have these NNPC funds, they do not agree that these were concealed from the CBN,” the CSL analysts said. “A few of the banks blamed their inability to comply on the tight dollar liquidity in the system brought about by the ongoing restructuring of oil and gas loans and the general scarcity of” of foreign exchange.

  • NNPC urges NAPE to explore new oil basins

    NNPC urges NAPE to explore new oil basins

    The Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Dr. Maikanti Baru has urged the National Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE) to explore the hydrocarbon potential of green frontier basins in order to increase depleting reserves in the country.

    Baru spoke when he received the leadership of NAPE led by its National President, Mr. Nosa Omorodion at the NNPC Towers, Abuja, yesterday.

    He described the association as a very important party in the oil and gas industry, helping in policy promoting as well as formulation, that have led to the growth of exploration of hydrocarbon resources in the country.

    He urged NAPE to play a key role in promoting public private partnership (PPP) in the exploration of some of the green frontier basins noting that the Federal Government would be willing to make provisions for incentives for such prospective investors.

    Earlier, Mr. Omorodion said the primary objective of the association was to promote excellent ideas in the exploration of hydrocarbon which has contributed to the passage of landmark legislations such as the Local Content Act.

    He congratulated the GMD on his appointment saying that NAPE will confer on him a honourary membership award which is the highest award from the association due to his outstanding track records in the oil and gas industry later this year.

  • NNPC: we reported erring banks to Presidency

    NNPC: we reported erring banks to Presidency

    SPOKESMAN for the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Malam Garba-Deen Muhammad yesterday said the corporation was the first to report to the Presidency that nine banks were hiding its $2.33 billion.

    He was reacting to reports in some online media (The Nation not inclusive) that the NNPC was indicted for not remitting the money.

    In a chat with The Nation, Muhammed said: “Some social media are trending that NNPC has been indicted for some money not remitted. It is the same old story. The fact is that NNPC reported those nine banks to the Presidency.

    “And the Presidency now directed the CBN to go after those banks. It is not the other way round. NNPC is not indicted.”

    According to The Nation story on the fund, nine deposit money banks (DMBs) sailed into trouble waters for hiding over $2.274 billion belonging to the NNPC from the TSA.

    The newspaper reported that the CBN wielded the big stick by banning the banks from forex transactions.

    The banks suspension is to remain in force until they remit all the funds to the TSA.

    President Muhammadu Buhari has been briefed on the breach by the banks. They have been mandated to move the monies to the TSA before any consideration for their re-entry into forex trading.

    Two days ago, the banks came under fire from the apex bank, which accused them of engaging in round tripping and threatened to punish the breach.

    Initially many of them declined comments on the development, except the UBA which said: “Our attention has been drawn to report of the ban of UBA from the foreign exchange market by the CBN over the non-remittance of NNPC/NLNG dollar deposits.

    “We wish to state very categorically that UBA has completely remitted all NNPC/NLNG dollar deposits.

    “We thank all our numerous customers, business partners and other stakeholders who have reached out to us on account of this report.”

    Before their official reports yesterday, reliable sources from some of the banks had said that the issue was being resolved. They said the matter was not an infraction in the sense of the word, adding that if it were so, the apex bank would have since debited their accounts at source.

    A Fidelity Bank official who pleaded for anonymity said: “NLNG was paying dividends from the investment of the government in the company to the NNPC. These dividends had accumulated to about $5 billion.

    “The NNPC was investing this dividend payment in a dedicated account as fixed deposits with commercial banks. When the government raised the issue that the dividends should have been paid into the Federation Account, the CBN Governor invited the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of all the banks that had the funds to Abuja for a meeting on the following a reconciliation of the amount in each bank with the records of CBN/NNPC and agreed a repayment time table of the funds with the banks.

    “As at the time the TSA implementation commenced in September 2015 some of the banks had paid back over 50 per cent of the funds based on the repayment timetable.

    “This repayment by the banks was the bailout of $2.1bn (N414billion) that was shared by the FGN and state governments in July/August 2015

    “When the TSA commenced, the banks reported these funds as part of government deposits they had, but it was not remitted like other TSA funds because of the remittance timetable that had been agreed with the CBN.

    “The NNPC invited banks earlier this year to submit a revised repayment plan for the balance of the funds. From the above you can see that the CBN and NNPC had a clear picture of the status of these funds with the banks.”

    An official of the FCMB who spoke on the condition of anonymity said: “We are working with the Central Bank of Nigeria on an amicable resolution. This is really a function of the dire macroeconomic situation and liquidity in the FX markets, rather than concealment, or willful non-compliance by banks.”

    A Diamond Bank source also said that the bank never concealed any funds.

    According to the official, who pleaded not to be named, Diamond Bank had actually paid $500 million to date, adding that the bank approached the CBN to ask that the balance be paid in naira, since the value of the local currency has fallen so badly and because of acute shortage of forex.

  • NNPC loses 560,000 barrels of crude to vandals, says GMD

    NNPC loses 560,000 barrels of crude to vandals, says GMD

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) lost 560,000 barrels of crude oil meant as feed stock to the refineries due to pipeline vandalism between January and May, Group Managing Director Dr Maikanti Baru?,said yesterday in Abuja.

    He spoke during a visit to the Commandant-General of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Abdullahi Muhammadu.

    Baru said the visit was to strengthen collaboration between the NNPC and the NSCDC to better protect its oil installations/pipelines in the country.

    “Under my watch? as GMD, NNPC is committed to collaborating with the NSCDC and other government security agencies to finding lasting solution to eliminate losses and energy security threats,” he said.

    He said the activities of vandals on NNPC’s pipelines in the Niger Delta region had become unbearable, and had led to substantial decline in the country’s crude oil production.

    “The 2016 budget plan was based on 2.2 million bpd of crude production.

    “The fiscal plan is now affected due to renewed militancy with about 700,000 bpd of oil production curtailed due to pipeline vandalism,” he said.

    Baru said that over 3,000 vandalism incidents were recorded every year from 2010 to 2015, while in 2015 alone, pipeline losses? of products were over 643 million litres amounting to N51.28 billion.

    He said the domestic natural gas supply to power had also been badly affected with an estimated drop of about 50 per cent from 1,400mmscfd to below 700mmscfd.

    The NNPC boss called on the NSCDC and other security agencies to step up security and surveillance in the affected areas in the interest of the nation.

    The NSCDC boss pledged the readiness of the Corps to step up security surveillance and protection of oil installations in the country.

    He said the NSCDC personnel had been undergoing re-training to? deal with the challenge.

  • TSA: CBN bars nine banks from forex

    TSA: CBN bars nine banks from forex

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Tuesday banned nine deposit money banks (DMBs) from the foreign exchange market, for hiding over $2 billion belonging to  the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) from the Treasury Single Account (TSA).
    The President Muhammadu Buhari has been briefed on the breach by the banks, and they have all been mandated to move the monies to the TSA before any consideration for their re-entry into forex trading.
    On Monday, the banks came under fire from the apex bank which accused them of engaging in round tripping and threatened punish them for doing so.
    In a circular addressed to authorised dealers titled: Re: Transactions in ‘Free Funds’ by Authorised Dealers’, signed by its Acting Director, Trade & Exchange, W.D. Gotring, the apex bank accused banks of buying and selling forex without following stipulated guidelines.
    “The CBN has noticed that some Authorised Dealers have continued to buy and sell foreign exchange referred to as ‘free funds’ despite the provision of the circular of March 4, 2004 on the subject,” he said and cautioned the lenders that their action was a breach of extant regulations.
    “Against the background, authorised dealers are to note that dealing in foreign exchange without appropriate documentation, which includes relevant entries, blotters, physical documents and non-disclosure to the Regulatory Authorities is a breach of extant regulations”.
    He stressed that as provided for in the laws and regulations governing dealings in foreign exchange, authorised dealers shall not sell foreign exchange without appropriate documentation and disclosure to the regulatory authorities, irrespective of the source of the funds.
    “Accordingly, authorised dealers shall deal in eligible transactions only, and not engage in any foreign exchange transactions on terms inconsistent with the extant laws and or regulations,” he said.
    The banks, further findings showed, are engaging in round-tripping, taking advantage of the huge forex gaps between the official and the parallel markets.
  • Allegation mounts over NNPC unremitted revenue

    Allegation mounts over NNPC unremitted revenue

    A sharp decline in global oil prices has affected the economy of Nigeria but investigations revealed that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) may have withheld several billions of Dollars in oil revenue from its Okono OML 119 oil field. Assistant Editor Seun Akioye reports

    SIX years ago, Dr. E.O Ayoola, a Managing Director at the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), in the company of the company’s Legal Counsel/Company Secretary, I. Owugie Esq, met with Agip Energy and Natural Resources (Nigeria) Limited (AENR) officials.

    The meeting, which held on October 12, 2000, was the signing of the service contract for the development of Okono/Okpoho fields in the Oil Processing License (OPL) 91. Going by the contractual agreement, the parties were to jointly finance and carry out operations in the oil field located in the Niger Delta, about 55 kilometre from the Nigerian coast in water depth ranging from 210 to 250 feet.

    The field was discovered by the NPDC between 1978 and 1983 but real production was stalled until the signing of the service contract with AENR. When the contract kicked off the following year, OPL 91 had been approved as Oil Mining License (OML) 119. The contract signed by Ayoola and Owugie in all intent and purpose considered the interest of Nigeria

     

    Signed, sealed, undelivered 

     

    The contract to develop Okono OML 119 by the AENR did not come cheaply. In the service contract form which was obtained by The Nation, a pre-development fee of $40 million was paid by AENR to the NPDC. The fee was paid 60 days after the contract was signed.

    According to the contract details, the pre-development cost “shall not be recoverable as cost in oil.”

    The contract was also expected to end when the cumulative production of Okono and Okpoho oil fields have reached 119 barrels of crude oil.

    Under Article 4 of the contract, AENR shall be required to provide “all funds required for the full development of Okono and Okpoho fields and all incidental costs related hereto.” AENR was also expected to transfer technology to the NPDC, following the expiration of the contract.

    AENR, according to the contract, was also expected to provide facilities for the training of NPDC-NNPC staff and $350,000 for a period of five years. The money was to be paid in January of each year into a dedicated account nominated by the NPDC and the cost shall be recoverable in oil.

    In turn, the contractor (AENR) also had the rights to lift and freely export and retain overseas the receipts from the sale of available oil.

    It was also agreed that petroleum operations shall be carried out by joint conduct between the parties while the NPDC was expected to take over fully the operations after the recovery of all development costs within three years and not later than five years.

    According to Article 8.2, the contract set modalities for the funding of the operation. It stated that the production operation shall be funded by direct allocation from available crude oil.

    The cost of oil production which would be borne by AENR had already insulated the NPDC from any cost towards the production of oil in Okono and Okpoho OML 119 leaving a sharing formula of profit up to the full recovery of development cost as NPDC: 30 per cent and AENR 70 per cent. Thereafter, according to the contract, the profit shall be shared with NPDC taking 60 per cent and AENR getting 40 per cent.

    The contract also granted the NPDC ownership of all natural gas, land and immovable equipment on the site.

    The Okono OML 119 was a good and lucrative deal for the parties involved.

    According to the NNPC Annual Statistical Bulleting (ASB), the total national oil and condensates production in 2005 was 918,972, 465 barrels with NPDC contributing 21,926, 519 barrels.

    The NNPC own document made available to The Nation suggested that Okono OML 119 was so profitable that it accounted for an increase in the corporation’s revenue.

    “NPDC revenue increase in 2005 is mainly attributable to the sustained production from Okono/Okpoho fields and the unprecedented and favourable global oil prices”, the bulleting said.

    Also in 2005 Okono stream 19,900,957 barrels with an average daily production of 54,523 barrels contributing 2.17 per cent to national average. The NPDC exported 20,140 barrels with the difference of 83,920,920 barrels reserved for the Petroleum Product Marketing Company (PPMC), another subsidiary of the NNPC.

     

    NPDC and its

    unremitted revenue

     

    The Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) Ltd, a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), is involved in oil & gas exploration and production activities in the hydrocarbon-rich coastal region, both onshore and offshore; and of lately, around Equatorial Guinea.

    Established in 1988, it has its operations concentrated mainly in 257 communities in five Niger Delta states of Edo, Delta, Imo, Bayelsa and Rivers) and. Since inception, it has had 38 concessions – 31 OML and 7 OPL. It has 100 per cent ownership of seven oil blocks including OMLs 13, 16,64,65,66,111 and 119.

    It is the fifth largest producer in the country with a production capacity of about 205,007 barrels per day (bpd). Of this number, Okono OML 119 accounts for about 70,000bpd.

    However, there have been several allegations against NPDC and its parent company the NNPC over unremitted revenue from its oil blocks.

    The Nigeria Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI), a Federal Government body charged with ensuring transparency and accountability in the oil and gas and extractive industry, has been consistent in accusing the NNPC and its many subsidiaries of not remitting billions of dollars to the Federation Account.

    Besides NEITI’s allegation, different parliamentary probes and audits have indicted the NNPC for failing to remit revenues due to the Federation Account.  The NEITI had alleged that the NNPC which manages 49 per cent of Federal Government’s share in Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Ltd (NLNG), failed to remit the yearly dividends from this share of about $1.5 billion. According to reports, the sharp practice is said to have stretched back to decade with about $10 billion unaccounted for.

    The NPDC was reported to have produced 80,243 barrels of oil per day in 2013 but there was no record that the NNPC remitted any of the revenues from the oil blocks being operated by NPDC.

    The PricewaterhouseCooper (PwC), an audit firm hired by the Federal Government to look into the books of oil corporation and other revenue-generating agencies, also estimated the total earnings from NPDC oil sales between 2012 and 2013 to be $6.82 billion.

    It is difficult to reconcile how much the NPDC actually earned even from crude oil lifting and sales figures from the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), the Crude Oil Marketing Department (COMD) of the NNPC and the company itself.

     

    Where is NPDC oil revenue?

     

    In August last year, the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) released a report titled: Inside NNPC oil sales: A case for reform in Nigeria. After its extensive investigation into the NPDC oil revenue, NRGI claimed that the corporation has not refunded any revenue to the Federation Account from its oil wells. “When NNPC sells oil from blocks owned by NPDC, it does not forward any proceeds to the treasury,” the NRGI said.

    The Nation investigations showed that the NPDC oil sales come from two main sources: Okono OML 119 and Forcados equity lifting from former Shell blocks. The NGRI alleged that the NNPC “appears to retain all the oil sale revenues from both sources.”

    The NGRI also said the NNPC has sold the oil from Okono OML 119 for NPDC to a few private oil traders including Taleveras who had in turn sold it to foreign buyers.

    NRGI said in its report: “Our research found no evidence that the NNPC forwarded to the treasury any earnings from the more than 110 million barrels of Okono crude it reported selling between 2005 and 2014.

    “Using average annual sales prices, we provisionally estimate that this oil was worth up to $12.38 billion. It is not clear why NNPC, or NPDC, would need to withhold from the treasury such large earnings resulting from the sale of OML 119’s output.”

    The NGRI also said there was no evidence from the NNPC reporting to other government agencies on the proceeds from the sale of Okono oil. A review of NNPC crude oil lifting and sales profiles in NNPC monthly presentation to the Federal Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) Technical sub-Committee from 2005 to 2015 did not reveal any remittance from Okono OML 119.

    In 2012, NEITI audit report put the total crude oil production at 861,713,312 barrels out of which the NNPC lifted 380.6 million barrels.

    The report said: “However, further revelations by the Audit show that the actual NNPC lifting in 2012 on behalf of the federation was about 403 million barrels (Four hundred and three million barrels) resulting in the difference of about 22 million barrels (Twenty two million barrels).

    These differences the report said was as a result of non-disclosure of the lifting from two oil terminals (Okono and Pan Ocean) in the NNPC COMD (Crude Oil Marketing Division) document.”

    The Nation investigation was unable establish who controls the revenue from Okono  oil sales as this newspaper  could not find any listing for the controllers or where the funds are lodged.  According to the PwC report, NPDC has no settled practice of paying dividends into the treasury.

    It said: “The Corporation (NNPC) operates an unsustainable model. Forty six percent (46 per cent) of proceeds of domestic crude oil revenues for the review period was spent on operations and subsidies. The Corporation is unable to sustain monthly remittances to the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), and also meet its operational costs entirely from the proceeds of domestic crude oil revenues, and have had to incur third party liabilities to bridge the funding gap.”

    Apart from non-disclosure of the millions of barrels of oil from Okono OML 119 running into millions of unremitted dollars, the PwC audit report also showed that the NNPC was lodging proceeds from Okono oil sales into a “NPDC/NNPC Special Account” which the NNPC controls. The report reveals that $3.975 billion went into the “Special Account” for 2012 oil sales.

    Further investigations showed that one of the local companies which has benefited from Okono oil sold by the NNPC is Taleveras, which was established in 2004.

    Its founder and chairman, Igho Charles Sanomi II, is alleged to be an ally of former Petroleum Resources Minister, Mrs. Allison Deziani. When The Nation visited the Televeras office in Abuja, it has been sealed by the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) over a N667 million tax liability.

    However, sources in other oil companies which also bought Okono oil from the NNPC told The Nation that payments were made to the NNPC for every barrel of oil purchased.

    “I can tell you that we paid. We have documents and receipts to show how and when we paid for every barrel of oil we bought. If the NNPC did not remit the money, then it is their cross to carry”, a source said.

    The allegations against the NNPC on Okono are weighty. According to the NRGI, the estimated crude oil revenues being unaccounted for by NNPC from Okono oil is $12,384 billion which is the total amount the NNPC is estimated to have withheld between 2005 and 2013.

    On how it arrived at the figure, the NRGI said: “For 2005-2013, we used Platts reference prices for Forcados  grade crude minus a discount of between $1 and $2 per barrel (with rounding to the nearest dollar) to reflect the generally lower monthly OSPs that NNPC COMD sets for Okono vis-à-vis forcados.”

    Despite the deluge of allegations against the Corporation, the NNPC has turned down every invitation for an interview. Its Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division Mallam Garba-Deen Mohammed, evaded several requests for interview and clarifications.

    Even the questions sent to him were unanswered and his promises to respond went unfulfilled.

    The Nigerian Agip Oil Company also refused to comment on any question on Okono oil lifting, Tajudeen Adigun, its Deputy Division Manager, did not respond to the many requests for an interview.  But media reports had suggested that AENR has since been replaced by Petrofac and Taleveras in a Strategic Alliance Partnership with the NPDC.

    But sources in Petrofac London Head Office, who cannot be named as they have not been authorised to speak on the subject, confirmed to The Nation that the two corporations indeed entered into a strategic alliance agreement with the NPDC for a potential further development of OML 119, AENR continues to operate OML 119 and Petrofac has not received any production revenue from it.

    The NNPC has also refused to speak on these revelations.

    “We are always angry with the government, we are never happy,” the hosts communities protest.

    The steel bridge connecting Nembe community, in Nembe Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, is about one kilometer from the Ogbia-Nembe Expressway. One could see the corroded railings.  It wide enough to contain a motorcycle; cars are hardly seen in the community.

    There is no cheering news about Nembe, either in its turbulent past or recent history. The community is plagued by violence and militancy, majorly directed against the multinational oil companies and oil installations in the area.

    Chief Augustine Ekigha Eweka is angry and he not hidden his anger, which is directed at the oil companies including Shell Petroleum Development Company, (SPDC) and AGIP who have oil facilities in the area. He is also angry with the NNPC whose subsidiary also owns the Okono OML 119.

    Eweka is the Head Chief, Eweka group of Houses and the Vice Chairman, Nembe Council of Chiefs, the highest traditional decision making body in the community. For many years, he has seen oil companies promised and failed.

    “What we get here from the government and the oil companies is not equivalent to what they take away from us.  In fact, it is zero per cent to what they take every day. We produce the best oil in Bonny Light and we are suffering”, Eweka lamented.

    The suffering is visible in Nembe in the corrugated roofs and the poverty that seems etched permanently on the faces of the about 28,000 inhabitants of the community.

  • Comply with products’pump price, NNPC urges IPMAN

    Comply with products’pump price, NNPC urges IPMAN

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)  has urged the leadership of Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN)  to prevail on its members to comply with the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency’s (PPPRA’s) retail price band for all petroleum products across all its retail outlets in the country.

    NNPC Group Managing Director, Dr. Maikanti Baru who spoke while receiving the enlarged National Executive Committee of IPMAN at the NNPC Towers in Abuja, urged the oil marketers to take advantage of the liberalisation of the downstream oil sector to import  products so as to keep the country wet with petroleum products.

    A statement endorsed by NNPC Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Garba Deen-Muhammad explained that the GMD solicited the support of the oil marketers  to ensure  efficient distribution of petroleum products nationwide before, during and after the festive periods, especially the ember  months.

    Baru urged IPMAN to use its vast network of distribution outlets across the country to deliver petroleum products to the people without engaging in diversion of products.

    Earlier, IPMAN President, Chief Obasi Lawson said peace has returned to the leadership of the association noting that it is prepared to use its various filling stations to ensure effective supply and distribution of petroleum products for the benefit of Nigerians.

  • No going back on reform, says NNPC chief

    No going back on reform, says NNPC chief

    The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National PetroleumCorporation (NNPC) Dr. Maikanti Baru, has said his management will stick to the ongoing reform in the corporation to ensure transparency and accountability in its operation.

    Baru spoke at the conference of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) in Lagos.

    He said his predecessor, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachiku, began  reforms in the NNPC, adding that the corporation’s businesses were opened to the public.

    Baru, represented by Mr Siky Aliyu, Managing Director, National Engineering and Technical Company (NETCO) Limited, an arm of the NNPC, said openness and accountability were essential in the oil and gas industry because they foster growth and stability.

    The oil and gas industry, he said, has numerous stakeholders – the community who provide the resource for the oil companies; the government, investors, non-government organisations, financiers’, and security agencies, among others.

    “Therefore, when all stakeholders are open with one another and are accountable for every decision taken, issues such as infrastructure vandalism, environmental degradation, public mistrust, among others will not arise,” he said.

    Baru, on assumption of office, said he set out a 12-point agenda to push the on-going NNPC reform aimed at introducing transparency in its businesses.

    “My first concern was on security because without a secure environment, we stand the risk of losing our existing and intending investors. Hence, during my visit to the Chief of Defence Staff, l informed him of my intention of setting up an all-inclusive advisory council on security, mainly to address all security and host community agitations. The advisory council would be made up of all stakeholders within the oil and gas industry,” he said.

    According to him, NNPC’s  reform is predicated upon granting of autonomy to its Strategic Business Units (SBUs) while the autonomous business units (ABUs) formally referred to as directorates; provide relevant directions to the SBUs.

    Baru said: “This will remain as part of my agenda for incubating and growing the new business models. We are working round the clock to ensure that all outstanding cash call arrears are settled. As part of our resolve to settle this pertinent issue, we are also working towards creating a sustainable and long term funding plan to sustain our portion of the Joint Venture funding.

    “The national aspirations for oil production and reserve growth to a target of four million barrels of oil production per day respectively, which have been elusive over the years due to a combination of factors ranging from funding constraints, infrastructure vandalisation, security concerns, among others, are being worked on.

    “We are committed to ensuring restoration of oil and gas production to peak levels, and growing the production mix and portfolio of oil and gas reserves through very transparent processes.

    “Our exploration and production (E&P) arm, Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) will form the nucleus of growth for the corporation. We have developed strategies for re-kitting NPDC and empowering it to compete favourablly with other E&P companies. All contractual arrangements with NPDC will be reviewed. As mandated, where contracts are discovered to be against the interest of the government, they will be terminated.’’

    Gas Development, he said, is imperative for economic development. “We are seeing a situation whereby by 2018, domestic gas demand will outstrip gas supply to our export projects. This calls for an aggressive development of gas resources along with the gas infrastructure to deliver the gas to end-users. We intend to leverage on NNPC equity and dominance in the industry to fast track gas development to meet both our domestic demand and export commitments, assist the Federal Government towards delivering it’s commitment of 10,000Mw by 2019 and ensure an alternative source of revenue for NNPC.

    According to him, the NNPC has the mandate to open up new frontiers  to enable production and reserve addition.

    He added: “NNPC is set to resume exploration activities in both the Chad and Benue Troughs. There is a high level of optimism, based on recent seismic processed data from the Chad Basin, that our sojourn this time around will yield successes.”

  • NNPC, FIRS, CBN to collaborate on revenue generation

    NNPC, FIRS, CBN to collaborate on revenue generation

    The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Kacalla Baru has  expressed the readiness of the corporation to continue to collaborate with the Federal Inland Revenue (FIRS), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)  and other government agencies to generate revenue for Federal Government.

    Baru suggested the setting up of a committee between the NNPC and FIRS to update the Corporation’s tax obligation up to 2015 assuring that all its joint venture partners would align themselves in order to ensure that the right taxes are paid. NNPC Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, GarbaDeen Muhammad made this known in a statement yesterday.

    The FIRS Chairman,  Mr. Tunde Fowler,   praised the NNPC for subjecting itself to tax audit as a good responsible corporate citizen.

    He gave this commendation when he received the GMD and his management team at the FIRS Revenue House in Abuja.

    Fowler thanked the NNPC for the cooperation it has extended to FIRS on tax matters over the years stressing that the two organizations are children of the same father committed to generating revenue for the Federal Government.