The Nation Newspaper

Tag: NNPC

  • NNPC orders upward review of its quiz prizes

    NNPC orders upward review of its quiz prizes

    •Imo wins competition

    The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr Andrew Yakubu, has said since there has been an increase in the cost of education, the corporation would begin an upward review of the prizes for the winners of its annual national quiz competition.

    Students from Imo State won the first position with 155 points in English language, Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics.

    The event was held at the NNPC Towers in Abuja.

    Ogun State won the second position; Akwa Ibom State, third; the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), fourth; Taraba State, fifth and Kaduna, sixth.

    Yakubu said the corporation was giving automatic undergraduate scholarship to the winners.

    He said: “As usual, those who have distinguished themselves in this year’s competition will be offered undergraduate scholarship; others (will get) consolation prizes. My attention has been drawn to the amount involved in the scholarship package.

    “I have, therefore, identified the fact that the package is not adequate. I have directed, accordingly, for an upward review of the package. This will start from this year.”

    The NNPC chief urged the students to work hard and make excellence their watchword.

    Yakubu said the first star winner of the 2001 edition, Sunday John Aliyu, had become a Project Engineer at the Engina Project in Lagos.

    According to him, the Engina Project is a $15 billion project.

    He said the competition had spurred the interest of many students in the sciences.

    The Group General Manager in the Group Public Affairs Division, Dr. Ohi Alegbe, explained that this year’s quiz was the 13th.

    He said the competition had been generating keen interest among participating states.

    Alegbe explained that as a responsible corporate citizen, the competition is among several ways the NNPC was touching the lives of Nigerians in line with its popular slogan: “We touch your lives in many positive ways.”

    The spokesman also said the corporation had strived hard to positively affect the lives of many, especially the host communities spread across the country.

    On the essence of the competition, Alegbe said it is aimed at supporting the massive Federal Government’s campaigns to raise the standard of education.

    The competition, he said, is also aimed at stimulating the interest of the youth in the sciences and spurring schools to improve their teaching and learning processes.

     

  • JTF arrests 11 for stealing 134 drums of oil

    JTF arrests 11 for stealing 134 drums of oil

    The Joint Task Force (JTF), Operation Pulo Shield, in Delta State has arrested 11 suspects for stealing 134 drums of petroleum products and siphoning oil from a pipeline belonging to the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

    Acting on a tip-off, JTF troops deployed in Omadine, Warri South Local Government Area were said to have intercepted a trailer carrying the products.

    The trailer was conveying 50 drums of illegally refined Automated Gas Oil (AGO), 49 drums of crude oil and 35 drums of sludge.

    The soldiers reportedly arrested three suspects and impounded the vehicle.

    The Media Coordinator, Lt. Col. Mustapha Anka, said the troops also apprehended two suspects at Aziza Junction in Okpe Local Government Area.

    He said the suspects were conveying a 400-litre container in a Mitsubishi Gallant car.

    Col. Anka said substances suspected to be illegally refined AGO were found in the container.

    “Both the vehicle and the products were set ablaze; the suspects are in custody before being handed over to a prosecuting agency,” he said.

    The spokesman confirmed that six of the suspects were arrested while illegally siphoning products from an NNPC pipeline at Okwagbude Community in Okpe Local Government Area.

    He said separate troops deployed in Igbematoro, Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, discovered and destroyed 23 illegal oil refineries.

    Other items destroyed are 18 illegal oil dumps, 34 drums filled with stolen crude, six Cotonou boats and three pumping machines.

    Anka noted that troops impounded a barge used for illegal oil bunkering activities in the Niger Delta.

    “The barge containing unascertained quantity of crude oil was impounded at Mangbiye creek in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State,”he said.

     

     

  • FG loses N376.6b to vandalism in 6 years

    The Federal Government said it lost over N376.6 billion in six years (2008 – 2013) to vandalism of oil and gas pipelines by crude and products thieves.
    The Managing Director, Products and Pipeline Marketing Company (PPMC), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Prince Haruna Momoh disclosed this during a capacity building workshop for media practitioners in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.
    Momoh who was represented by the company’s Executive Director, Commercial, Mr. Frank Amego, said that incidents on the company’s pipelines caused by vandals, rose from over 400 in 1999 to 3571 by end of 2013 adding that activities of vandals seem more difficult to stem.
    In his analysis of the implication of the revenue losses, the Group Coordinator, Corporate Planning and Strategy, NNPC, Dr. Timothy Okon, described the act as economic sabotage adding that the amount would have been enough for annual budget allocations for Akwa Ibom and Borno States.
    “it is equivalent to a year’s allocation for Akwa Ibom and Borno State,” he said.
    The cost of securing and maintaining the pipelines, he noted, has no budgetary allocation but unknown to so many Nigerians, NNPC incurs the expenses. “We are required to provide services but there are no provisions or mechanism for the cost we incur to be addressed,” he said.
    He urged the saboteurs do desist from their act because it affects the citizenry adding that it is politically time for Nigerians to resolve that such theft and losses are not conducive for a nation that aspires to be among the 20 largest economies of the world by 2020.
    He said: “If you vandalise gas pipeline, it is not as if you can just put a jerry can and take it, so vandalisation of gas pipeline, is pure sabotage.”
    The Group Executive Director, Gas and Power, NNPC, Dr David Ige who was represented by the Manager, Trans Nigeria Gas Pipeline, Engr. Alfred Amadi, in his presentation, disagreed with the claim of the Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo that low price is responsible for the shortage of gas to power.

  • NNPC increases refinery utilization capacity to 60%

    NNPC increases refinery utilization capacity to 60%

    •Attains 2.5m bpd production

    The Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr. Andrew Yakubu, yesterday disclosed that the four refineries now have 60 per cent refining capacity utilization.

    Yakubu who spoke at the capacity building workshop for media practitioners themed: “The role of NNPC in the Nigerian economy,” held in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, explained that refineries have capacity to refine more crude but there is currently limited supply due to pipeline vandalism.

    The NNPC chief also took advantage of the workshop to give account of his stewardship in the office in the past two years. He said that the process of rehabilitation of the three refineries is underway, adding that there has been a procurement of long lead items. He noted that the rehabilitation of Port Harcourt refinery has begun while awaiting the commencement of the entire rehabilitation programme.

    He explained that major works have been carried out to ensure continued operations of the refineries. He said: “The capacity utilization of the refineries as we speak today is 60 per cent of their nameplate. The 60 per cent nameplate capacity is not because the plants cannot take more but because we have this challenge with crude oil supply.”

    He noted that the corporation has had recourse to the original builders of the refineries for benefits of their experience and expertise in terms of rehabilitation and equipment provision for the entities to derive maximum value from the money to be spent.

    Yakubu also said that oil production has increased from 2.3 million barrels per day (mbpd) to 2.5 mbpd. He said the production feat was attained despite challenges of illegal oil bunkering and theft in the sector. “In line with Federal Government’s aspiration to transform the industry and especially NNPC into a competitive oil and gas company, on assumption of office, we met and set up strategies to improve oil and gas production. On the average today, we are able to maintain 2.5 million barrels per day production.

    “Although we have serious challenges with crude oil theft and bunkering from our major trunk lines, we have been able to maintain 2.5 million barrels per day production.” And these strong lines are mainly in the west, east and the centre of the country.”

    He also noted that gas flaring has been reduced to 10 per cent from 30 per cent a few years ago. He noted that the period within which he has served as group managing director, has witnessed improvement in the performance of the company.

    He said: “As at today, NPDC is proudly the fifth largest producer of crude oil as well the leading gas supplier in the country. Its production increased from 70,000 barrel per day when we came in and as at today we have about 170,000 barrel per day production and aspire to increase to 250,000 bpd by 2020. It has reserves of 2.1million barrel also.”

    He also said that the company has increased its gas contribution to the domestic market to over 570 million standard cubic feet per day.

  • Unremitted $49.8b: We are all guilty – Mark

    Unremitted $49.8b: We are all guilty – Mark

    Senate President, David Mark, on Thursday said the National Assembly was guilty of not carrying out its oversight functions diligently before the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mallam Muhammadu Sanusi, raised the alarm.

    Sanusi had accused the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) of failing to remit $49.8billion oil revenue to the Federation account.

    Mark spoke following the consideration of the report of the Senate Committee on Finance that investigated the allegation in Abuja.

    The report which has generated much controversy was submitted by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Ahmed Makarfi on May 28.

    Mark commended the committee for presenting a courageous report based on the facts that were presented to it.

    He said the committee was forthright by paying attention to details in the course of their investigation.

    He lamented that the NNPC did not follow due process by disbursing unappropriated funds for subsidy payments.

    He vowed that no matter before the 7th Senate would be swept under the carpet.

    Mark said: “At the inception of the 7th Senate, I did say emphatically that there is no issue in this country that we cannot discuss as respected and distinguished Senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    “If we have the courage to set up a committee nothing will stop us from taking the report of that committee and nothing will be swept under the carpet in this red chamber.

    “I think what is glaringly from this report is that we are all guilty.  If the committees expected to carry out oversight functions on the NNPC were doing their job very well, we wouldn’t have needed the Governor of Central Bank to ring an alarm bell before reacting.”

  • N10b chartered jets: we won’t appear before Reps, say NNPC, PPMC

    N10b chartered jets: we won’t appear before Reps, say NNPC, PPMC

    THE resumed investigation by the House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts into the N10 billion spent by the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke, on chartered jets may have run into another hitch.

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC) have said they would not appear before the Solomon Olamilekan Adeola-headed committee.

    The committee was mandated to probe how the minister allegedly spent N10 billion on chartered private jets.

    The NNPC and PPMC have reportedly written to the committee that they would not honour its summons because of the pending court cases.

    Adeola, who is in possession of correspondence from the two organisations, told reporters yesterday that whether or not the two organisations appear, the investigation would go on and the report would be written.

    He said: “As we speak, we are set to begin the probe. There is no court injunction barring our committee from doing our job. So, whether they appear or not, it is not our problem. The law is very clear on this: we will do our job, write our report and submit our report to the House.”

    The chairman said the House had given the committee an assignment, adding that it would be done without fear or favour.

    The NNPC and PPMC reportedly said they would not appear before the committee because it would be prejudice, since all the information being requested from them were already subjects of litigation.

    Mrs. Alison-Madueke had refused to appear before the committee, pending the resolution of the various court cases instituted to stop the probe.

    It was learnt that there was pressure on the House leadership and the committee to stop the probe, which is scheduled to begin on June 26.

    Earlier efforts to stall the investigation did not succeed, as Justice Ahmed Ramat Mohammed of the Federal High Court, sitting in Abuja, refused to grant the request to stop the probe.

    The minister and the NNPC have also approached two other courts on the matter.

     

     

     

  • NUPENG warns against unbundling NNPC before PIB’s passage

    NUPENG warns against unbundling NNPC before PIB’s passage

    •Fed Govt ‘must rehabilitate refineries before privatisation’

    The Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas  (NUPENG) workers has  warned against unbund-ling state-run oil firm,  the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) before the passage into law of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).

    Its President Comrade Igwe Achise, who was reacting to reports that government is planning to unbundle the firm before the passage into law of PIB,  advised “the Federal Government not to, in any form bulkanise  the NNPC.”

    He however urged the government to expedite action on the passage of the bill at the National Assembly.

    The NUPENG boss, who spoke at a press briefing after the union’s National Executive Committee (NEC) at Abuja, added that when the PIB  becomes law, “we will sit down to discuss the next line of action, the balkanisation  and business model for the NNPC, that is the position of NUPENG.”

    Achise also recalled that oil workers reached an agreement with the Federal Government on the conditions to meet before the privatisation of the four refineries, the government is yet to meet the conditions.

    Among the conditions, according to him, are that the refineries’ Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) must be carried out,  the pipelines must be secured, the existing depots of NNPC should be made to work effectively.

    He said: “The government must also make sure that new refineries are built in this country. If you don’t meet these demands in making sure that these refineries are being rehabilitated, also working optimally as expected,  we will not allow government to sell our refineries for peanuts.”

    On the strike ultimatum given by the union, he said the workers have  suspended the strike pending the outcome of the findings  of the team State Security Services (SSS), Federal Ministry of Justice and the National Judicial Council (NJC) , which is investigating the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) crisis.

    The team, according to him, would present its report on June 26, while the union takes its decision on the matter at its June 30th meeting.

    He said: “So  far, in the course of our meeting, an  agreement was reached and a team was constituted -the Ministry of Labour, the Ministry of Justice, the NJC, are being mandated to meet with the Directorate of the State Security Service, to investigate these allegations of NUPENG, in the cause of the lingering crisis and to proffer a solution to them.”

    He explained that NUPENG did not issue the ultimatum to inflict pains on Nigerians but to pursue the issue of the union’s collective agreement that was signed with IPMAN in 2009.

  • Orji urges stakeholders on vandalism

    Orji urges stakeholders on vandalism

    Abia State Governor Theodore Orji has urged stakeholders in the oil industry to form a synergy that would stop pipeline vandalism.

    He said the crime should not be left alone in the hands of the government to tackle, as it needed the efforts of others, such as the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Pipeline, Products Marketing Company (PPMC) and pipeline host communities.

     

  • Missing $20 billion: ‘Diezani must step aside for forensic audit’

    Missing $20 billion: ‘Diezani must step aside for forensic audit’

    A group, Gatekeeper Foundation, yesterday, insisted that the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, must step aside ahead of the proposed forensic audit of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

    The audit was approved by President Goodluck Jonathan towards investigating the alleged non-remittance of $20 billion by NNPC to the Federation Account.

    Briefing journalists in Abuja yesterday, the Executive Director of Gatekeepers Foundation, Blessing Agbomhere, said it will not be right for a government claiming to be fighting corruption to allow Diezani to preside over her own case.

    According to him, Diezani is not bigger than Nigeria and should stop running away from the National Assembly if she has nothing to hide.

    He claimed the group protested at the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) meeting in Vienna to stop Diezani from heading the organisation.

    Agbomhere said: “She must bring our money and I am ready to go to court over this issue. What is good for Sanusi is good for Diezani. She must step aside for the forensic audit to be carried out.”

     

    The President should sack Diezani now to allow the forensic audit to take place. She is not bigger than Nigeria; she is not bigger than the National Assembly.”

     

    Replying critics who believed the protest in Vienna was not good for Nigeria, he said: “I went to Vienna to protect the image of Nigeria and not to soil it.”

     

    On his interest in this matter, he said: “I am a Nigerian and a taxpayer in this country. There is no way the action or inaction of the government won’t affect me and my generation unborn. We have a right to ask her about our money and she must bring the money.”

     

  • We’ve reduce gas flaring to 10% – NNPC

    The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Engr. Andrew Yakubu, said in Kaduna Thursday that the company is poised to eradicate gas flaring in the country.

    In a message to the 2014 World Environment Day at the Kaduna Refining and Petro-Chemical Company, Yakubu said that NNPC and its subsidiary company had reduced gas flaring from 30 percent to 10 percent in the last three years.

    Represented by the Executive Director, Services of the Kaduna Refinery and Petro-chemical Company, Mallam Idi Mukthar, the NNPC chief said that as a responsible corporate citizen, the organization has deployed strategies to ensure that its operations are environmentally friendly.

    Such strategies, according to him, include the continuous upgrade and improvement of its production facilities to state of the art technology with smart health, safety and environment component and the discontinuation of harmful and unsafe chemicals in its operations and disposal of same.

    Such measures, Yakubu added further include renewable energy development in line with Kyoto protocol as well as pollution control and swift remediation of impacted site whenever they occur.