The Nation Newspaper

Tag: NNPC

  • FG to involve EFCC, DSS in prosecution of pipeline vandals

    FG to involve EFCC, DSS in prosecution of pipeline vandals

    The Managing Director, Petroleum Products and Marketing Company (PPMC), Mrs Esther Nnamdi-Ogbue, says the Federal Government will involve some security agencies in prosecuting pipeline vandals.

    Ogbue disclosed this on Sunday during a visit to Mosinmi Depot and Ajebo pipeline in Obafemi Owode local government area of Ogun.

    She listed the security agencies to be involved as the Police, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Department of State Services (DSS).

    Ogbue said that the involvement of these agencies would facilitate the prosecution of the vandals at the courts of competent jurisdiction.

    “We are looking at all ramifications on how to bring these criminals to book; they have to be treated as criminals and pipeline products thieves.

    “The pipelines are the most efficient way of moving products and then for the first time in a very long time we are pushing products all the way to Ibadan.

    “We intend to move to Ilorin, reduce bridging from Lagos area so that people can go and pick up their products in Ibadan and Ilorin,” Ogbue said.

    She expressed optimism that partnership with EFCC, DSS, Police and host communities would yield positive results and the culprits would soon face the full wrath of the law.

    Ogbue said that federal government would start deploying trackers on trucks carrying fuel from its depots to filling stations across the country to check diversion of the product.

    The PPMC boss explained that with the trackers government would be able to monitor the movement of trucks vis- a-vis their destinations.

    Ogbue lamented that fuel diversion was a serious problem with undesirable consequences on the economy.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports the federal government operates 22 depots nationwide, including Atlas Cove, which is located in Lagos.

  • •••NNPC begins massive fuel trucking to marketers, says IPMAN

    •••NNPC begins massive fuel trucking to marketers, says IPMAN

    As part of its intervention measures to stem the scarcity of premium motor spirit (PMS) above government’s approved price, especially during yuletide, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has begun massive truck-out of PMS to members of Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN).

    IPMAN’s National Operation Controller, Comrade Mike Osatuyi, told The Nation that NNPC started massive supply of petrol to their members since December 24 to address the lingering scarcity across the country. He said over 300 trucks of PMS were supplied by NNPC yesterday.

    Apart from NIPCO, Capital Oil and very few others, the NNPC previously doesn’t supply fuel to IPMAN retail outlets for lack of confidence and irregularities carried out in most of the stations, but to bring the current supply situation under control, the Corporation resumed fuel supply to them.

    Osatuyi stated that one of his filling stations, Nyce Petroleum, located in Akute, Ogun State, benefited from the intervention measure, and got two trucks of 40,000 litres and 36,000 litres, making a total of 76,000 litres.

    He said their members across the country benefitted from the intervention, adding it would go a long way to stop scarcity and selling of petrol above regulated pump price. He assured that his station and those of other members would not only sell at N87 per litre but will operate for 24 hours to ensure that motorists and commuters don’t suffer for lack of access to fuel.

    Osatuyi said: “We are here to showcase what the Federal Government is doing in terms of PMS intervention scheme. You can see that the government is bringing petrol to dealers to sell at official price of N87 per litre, and we are selling at N87. They brought two trucks which we are yet to pay for. This is unbelievable. We have never seen this before. I want NNPC/PPMC (Pipeline and Product Marketing Company) to continue and sustain it. We at IPMAN can assure the government that we will support them now that they have agreed to partner with us. We will not fail them. This is for the benefit of the masses, which the government of President Muhammadu Buhari stands for.

    “The product is sold at N87 here at NYCE filling station, but about 80 per cent of filling stations sell above N87. But with this intervention, the price of N87 per litre will be uniform across the country. The process has just started, we need to be patient and believe in government, and very soon the question of selling above the official price will not be there at all.

    “IPMAN members own and control about 84 per cent of the retail outlets in this country, so now the government is ready to work with us, we too are ready to work with them. If they give us the fuel, we sell it. NNPC can only supply 52 per cent of our national need. I understand and have confirmed that they have stepped up importation to bridge the gap. I believe they will sustain the intervention. If they sustain it, we are ready to sell to the public.”

    Osatuyi, however, noted that the ultimate thing for the government is to deregulate the downstream.  He said since former President Olusegun Obasanjo deregulated diesel about 14 years ago, nobody has heard anything about diesel scarcity. If petrol is deregulated, we will have various prices of marginal differences but fuel must be available.

  • NUPENG to protest sack in NNPC

    NUPENG to protest sack in NNPC

    The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has vowed to resist the move by the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to sack its 1,100 workers.

    Its President, Comrade Igwe Achese, who spoke  in Lagos, said it was embarrassing that the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources Dr. Ibe Kachikwu would sack workers at the corporation without consulting NUPENG and PENGASSAN – the two unions in the oil and gas sector.

    He said: “The unbundling of the firm into four companies and intended restructuring should not have anything to do with sack of workers. We call on the management of the NNPC to tread with caution and jettison its plans on the impending sack of 1,100 workers of the corporation.”

    He said the union cannot fold its arms and watch its members who had served for years to be thrown into the employment market because of the inconsistent policies of the government.

    He advised the Federal Government to convene a major stakeholders’meeting to x-ray the challenges facing the sector and proffer solutions, rather than chasing the shadows.

    Achese said the policy of the NNPC to engage casual workers is illegal and that it should be condemned.

    The impending retrenchment would be counter productive, he said, adding that its members would protest the action if the two oil unions were not consulted.

  • Kachikwu drafts NNPC workers to fuel stations

    Kachikwu drafts NNPC workers to fuel stations

    • Dispatches 567 petrol trucks nationwide

    TO ensure total eradication of queues from fuel stations across the country, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, has ordered the deployment of workers of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to filling stations across the country to effectively monitore  the fuel distribution system.

    Speaking at an emergency meeting with senior members of staff of the corporation at the NNPC Towers, Abuja, Kachikwu said though there were a number of challenges in the supply and distribution chains that hampered efficient distribution of products nationwide, it was time for the Corporation to rise above the challenges by ensuring that the special intervention supplies are not diverted, or hoarded.

    He said in continuation of the special intervention fuel supply for the Yuletide season, another 567 trucks were dispatched nationwide yesterday.

    In a statement signed by the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Ohi Alegbe, the Minister said the situation calls for effective monitoring of the supply system, “especially at the end points, to ascertain that what is trucked out from the depots is delivered at the designated fuel stations and dispensed to the public in the most efficient manner. We need you to be out there to help achieve this; we can’t be at ease while Nigerians are going through so much pain to get fuel.”

    He challenged the workers to volunteer for the monitoring exercise, adding that standing up to provide creative solutions to challenges is what the new NNPC is all about.

    Kachikwu urged the workers to work towards achieving zero-queues at their respective stations as soon as possible, adding that they should be ready to sacrifice their Christmas break, if need be.

    Also speaking at the emergency meeting, the Group Executive Director, Commercial & Investment, Dr. Victor Adeniran, urged workers on monitoring duties to work closely with the Rapid Response Team, by reporting any situation that needs urgent intervention such as low stock, delayed arrival of trucks or any underhand dealing.

    He said the Rapid Response Team is made up of Pipeline, Product Marketing Company (PPMC) workers and representatives of law enforcement agencies that can adequately handle any challenge, adding that so far, about 200 trucks of the special intervention stock have arrived Abuja.

    He urged the workers  to be vigilant and ensure that all the fuel trucks designated for their respective stations are delivered and dispensed to members of the public in a most efficient manner.

  • NNPC orders special supply of petrol for hitch-free Yuletide

    NNPC orders special supply of petrol for hitch-free Yuletide

    The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, has directed relevant agencies to embark on special supply of petroleum products to ensure country-wide availability at Yuletide.

    This is contained in a statement signed by Ohi Alegbe, Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, in Abuja on Sunday.

    The agencies are Pipelines and Products Marketing Company and Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency.

    It said the special supply intervention mechanism would entail the ramping up of additional supply via massive truck-out to guarantee product penetration to the nooks and crannies of the country teed-off over the weekend.

    It added that daily fuel truck out to Abuja, Kaduna, Kano, Enugu, Ibadan and Jos had been increased significantly to enhance free flow of products across the country.

    “NNPC is consolidating its strategic alliance with some major depot owners and oil marketers with strong regional logistics outlay in those areas to ensure maximum infiltration of products.

    “The collaboration would be especially in the hinterland ahead of the Christmas and New Year festivities.’’

    It called on the public to refrain from hoarding, diversion and panic buying of product.

    It added that the intervention measure would help circumvent the challenges posed by the unavailability of pipelines for the transportation of petroleum products.

    It noted that product diversion was an economic crime and warned that it would not hesitate to report offenders to the security agencies for prosecution.

  • Petrol may sell for less than N87 per litre, says NNPC

    Petrol may sell for less than N87 per litre, says NNPC

    .FG to release new template in first quarter

    …as Kaduna refinery begins production today

    Following the new template that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is working out with the the Petroleum Product Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), premium motor spirit (PMS), popularly called petrol, may sell for less thant N87 per litre next year.

    Addressing journalists on the new framework in Abuja yesterday, the corporation’s Group General Manager, Corporate Planning and Strategy, Bello Rabiu, said that as at Thursday, the cost of bringing one litre of petrol to the country was N65. The logistics for bringing it to the depot and to the filling stations, he said, is about N10.55. The distribution cost is N15.49 while the open market as at today is N91.52/litre.

    Continuing, Rabiu said: “Now, if you take away N87, which is regulated price, it means that subsidy is basically N4.85. If we are consuming 41 million litres, it means we are subsidizing N200 million a day.”

    He dropped the hint that the cost is now reducing naturally because the present importation cost of N65 was N71 about three years ago and with the review, a new template would indicate that there is no need for subsidy in Nigeria.

    In his analysis of how the Federal Government would reduce the cost of fuel importation, he said: “If we can look at this one that is N91.52 and we pray we can get about N15 off there, that will bring it down to a little more or less than N80. If we take off N10.50, we come down to N81. If we take it down to N7.52, we come down to N85.

    “So you can see that the price we have today, if we look at the template can come down, and many Nigerians will believe that there is no subsidy.”

    He added: “Looking at this cost of N91.52 per litre, you can see it is what has been in place since 2000 to 2002, which looks to have been over-inflated.”

    He said that government is now planning to optimize the cost of fuel for the benefit of the citizenry.

    The Group General Manager said: “So, looking at the template itself, another thing we are doing is how we can optimise that one.

    “As nature will have it, the market itself is reducing the cost because three years ago, this N65 cost of bringing to Lagos was actually about N71. Now it has come down to N65 and it will go down again.

    “So, if we actually optimise that template and reduce the template, that will reduce the total cost of import and there will be no subsidy in the country.”

    The Nation however learnt from one of those developing the new frame work for the management of the PMS subsidy that there are strong indications that the pump price may go for about N82 per litre.

    According to him, “the government has already seen the possibility of reducing the cost by an average of N10.”

    But Rabiu disclosed that the new Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) would release its new price template before the end of first quarter next year.

    According to him, there is zero budget for fuel subsidy in the 2016 budget plan because the new adjustment that will lower the cost of product importation will make subsidy unnecessary.

    He noted that there is no hope that the price of crude will rise in the next few years as Iran which had been on suspension will soon resume production.

    He said that since the country has not been consuming up to the acclaimed consumption level it means that the Federal Government has been paying much more than what it should pay for subsidy.

    “We are trying to ensure that we pay for only what the country consumes,” Rabiu submitted.

    The Managing Director, Petroleum Pipelines & Products Marketing Company (PPPMC) Limited, Mrs Esther Nnamdi-Ogbue, dropped the hint that the “new price will be to the benefit of every Nigerian and there is no cause for alarm.”

    Saying that Kaduna Refinery and Petrochemical Company will begin production today, she noted that the Atlas Cove and Mosimi pipelines are now functional while the PPMC is making efforts at operationalizing the line from Ibadan up to Ilorin.

    At the moment, she said, the Federal Government produces seven million litres of PMS from local refineries.

    The company’s boss said “the good news is that for the first time in the past 100 days, we have crude being pushed from Warri to Kaduna.

    “We also have Atlas Cove Mosimi line working. Kaduna is ready to start up. I am sure by tomorrow (Saturday), we will start production from our refinery in Kaduna.”

    She attributed the feat to the engagement of a private security guard company to carry out surveillance on the pipeline, adding that the partnership with the Department of State Security (DSS) has yielded positive results.

    Her words: “It now reduces the burden of trucking all the way from coastal town to the hinterland. We also have efforts being made not only to Mosimi but to Ibadan and Ilorin, and that will also reduce a lot of tension.

    “Why have we done that? We have brought in private security companies to guard our pipeline. Then, we had joint task-forces but we still had our lines being compromised.

    “The security outfit that manages the pipelines has recorded success and quite a number of the vandals have been handed over to the security agencies.

    “We also have collaboration with the DSS and this has also yielded great results.”

    She said that between now and the end of the month, there are 12 vessels of products coming in with at least 30,000 metric tonnes each, stressing that there will be a ‘queueless’ Yuletide in the country.

  • ‘Two NNPC refineries may be streamed this month’

    ‘Two NNPC refineries may be streamed this month’

    • Pipelines vandalised  27, 967 times

    The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, has said two of the state-run refineries may be re-streamed before the end of this month.

    A statement endorsed by  Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC),  Mr. Ohi Alegbe yesterday explained that the minister said based on available reports, the refineries may come alive again.

    “On the current state of the refineries, Dr. Kachikwu stated that from the available reports before him, two of the refineries may be re-streamed before the end of December, 2015,” the statement read.

    It added  that efforts are on to engage private investors to build new refineries within the old ones to enable the refineries share power, pipelines and other resources.

    The statement explained that Kachikwu spoke  during an interactive session with members of the National Assembly in Abuja.

    The minister said the menace of pipeline vandalism has led to huge losses of oil and petroleum products, lamenting that the pipelines were vandalised 27, 967 timwes over the last few years.

    He said unutilised pipelines and poor pipeline integrity also led to high cost of trucking and its attendant destructive impact on the roads.

    Dr. Ibe Kachikwu expressed his readiness to work closely with the National Assembly to ensure the speedy growth and development of the oil and gas sector for the benefit of the entire country.

    In a presentation titled: ‘The Roadmap for Nigeria’s Oil and Gas Sector,’ Dr. Kachikwu said the average national oil production as at July this year stood at 2.1 million barrels per day (bpd) and the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) equity production is 99,000 bpd.

    He said the declining Joint Venture reserves were due to inadequate and low investment in oil assets, stressing that the issue of funding constraints must be addressed going forward with the collaboration of private and international investors.

    The minister said the average gas to power generation is about 3,000 megawatts (Mw) and domestic gas supply of one billion standard cubic feet (scf) with the contribution of 600 million scf from the NPDC.

    He said the new agenda for the oil and oas industry is centered around having the right people doing the right things at the right time for the right purpose to yield the right results.

  • IPMAN: Our N1b kerosene cash trapped in NNPC

    IPMAN: Our N1b kerosene cash trapped in NNPC

    Members of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPAN) yesterday said their over N1billion meant to lift kerosene has been trapped in the vaults of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

    Its Western Zone Chair,  Alhaji Debo Ahmed told reporters in Ilorin, Kwara State capital shortly after the association’s zonal meeting that “the ticket we paid is in the Warri depot since about 19 months. We want NNPC to look into that. That is the crux of our meeting. We have appealed to the government; we are ready; we want to assist the government we want to assist NNPC.

    “The tickets were submitted to Warri.  Warri is supposed to have loaded us. Since Warri broke down, nothing has happened. But you can see we have minor kerosene in Lagos. If NNPC can probably transfer our tickets to Lagos, we can load these tickets. It has taken too long. A lot of us took the money from banks. The money is now tied down and nobody is helping us in that respect.”

  • NNPC pays N872.90b to Fed Govt

    NNPC pays N872.90b to Fed Govt

    • Refineries record zero products

    Between January and October this year, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) remitted N872.90billion for Domestic Crude Oil & Gas and other receipts to the Federation Account.

    In its October 2015, Financial and Operations Report,  posted on its website yesterday, it noted that: “ the  sum of N872.90billion for Domestic Crude Oil & Gas and other receipts have been paid to the Federation Account from January to October 2015.”

    On refinery operations, NNPC said: “Total crude processed by the three refineries, in the month of October 2015 was zero. However, 92,332 MT(metric tonnes)  of unfinished product was processed which translates to a combined yield efficiency of 78.93 per cent.

    “From January to October 2015, the three refineries produced 682,901 MT (5,007,030.13 bbls) of finished petroleum products out of 955,537 MT (7,005,997.28 bbls) of crude processed at an average capacity utilisation of 5.18 per cent and yield efficiency of 78.93 per cent.”

    According to the report, crude oil export revenue increased by 14.42 per cent between September and October this year.

    In the month under review, the NNPC said its total export proceeds was $445.79million with proceeds from crude oil export sale amounting to $325.28 million or 72.97 per cent of the dollar payment compared with 58.55 per cent contribution in previous month of September.

    It added that “while export gas sales and NLNG feedstock accounted for $84.57million, that is,  18.97 per cent contribution compared with 31.21 per cent contribution in the prior month of September 2015.”

    The remaining $35.93milion was attributable to other dollar denominated receipts by the Corporation. A total of $607.8 million has been paid so far to  the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) in the year 2015 from sales of export oil and gas.”

    In the 10 months under review, the total export crude oil and gas receipt is $4.14 billion.

    Of the total receipts, according to NNPC,  the sum of $0.61billion was remitted to the Federation Account while the balance of $3.53 billion was used to fund the JV cash call for the period.

    “The dwindling oil price has negatively affected the NNPC dollar contribution to the Federation Account. The continued decline in oil price led to insufficient cash availability to meet JV cash calls obligations of about $615.8million monthly as appropriated by the National Assembly.

    “To mitigate this effect, NNPC was compelled to sweep all the export receipt to JV cash call funding implying a zero remittance to Federation Account since the month of April 2015.”

    On dollar payments to JV cash call and Federation Account, NNPC said  the total  export proceeds of $445.79million was recorded in October, with proceeds from crude oil sales, LPG & NLNG feedstock, and miscellaneous receipt amounting to $325.28 million (72.97 per cent), $84.57million, that is, 18.97 per cent and $35.93million (8.06 per cent) respectively.