Lifestyle

Police foil attempt to steal fuel from NNPC pipeline in Lagos

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The police command in Lagos state says its operatives foiled an attempt by hoodlums to steal oil at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) pipeline.

The command’s spokesperson, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, made this known on his verified Twitter handle on Saturday.He said that the incident happened at 2:00 a.m. in the Idimu area of the state.

Mr Hundeyin said that the hoodlums unlawfully gained access to the site and were siphoning oil from the pipeline into their tanker.

The image-maker said that the police, who got information about the theft, stormed the scene and the thieves abandoned their tools and fled.

“The oil thieves absconded, abandoning their truck and tools, upon sighting police officers who responded swiftly when notified,” he said.

Mr Hundeyin said the commissioner of police in the state, Idowu Owohunwa, had also visited the scene of the theft.

Business

NNPC lacks power to fix price Of Petroleum Products – NLC

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The NLC President, Joe Ajaero has stated that the Nigerian National Petroleum Commission (NNPC) lacks the power to fix price of petroleum products.

The federal government stated last week that there was no provision in the budget 2023 beyond May 29 for subsidy.

However according to Ajaero, the federal government lied as records showed that there was provision for subsidy till the end of June.

The labour leader argued that there was a backlog of about N2.3 trillion, according to NNPC.

Ajaero then stated that NNPC lacked the constitutional power to fix prices in a competitive market, like Nigeria.

Ajaero speaking to Arise TV on Monday, June 5 said;

“Now if he is saying that there is no appropriation for subsidy, then fine and good. We can take it from there and we have to discuss it. No appropriation for subsidy doesn’t mean that the NNPC, a private limited company, will now determine for us the price.

“If they say they have removed the subsidy and it should be subject to market forces, then it shouldn’t be for the NNPC to determine prices. They don’t have such powers and there is no provision that their board, as a limited liability company, ever met and took such a resolution. Such details are not acceptable to the labour movement.”

“By Tuesday night, I held a meeting with Mr. President and his team. There and then, the NNPC said they were going to bring out figures and prices. And on the spot, I told them, if you do that, we’ll fight back. There’s no basis for you to take that decision before discussion. And they went ahead and did that.

“We decided to boycott the meeting, but people still prevailed. We attended the meeting and asked them to return to the status quo to enable us to discuss freely. And up till now, they have not done that. So what are we going there to do?”

Ajaero challenged the government to give Nigerians details of the subsidy they had been paying and those that were paid.

“We had agreed on some alternatives before now. Why are those alternatives not working?” he asked.

When asked why labour was not persuaded by various factual arguments put forward by the federal government and the likely impact the newly constructed Dangote refinery would have on the industry, Ajaero replied that market forces will ensure monopoly in the oil sector.

He said,

“How can there be market forces if Dangote is the only person producing? Are we not repeating a private sector monopoly?

“Why is the Port Harcourt refinery not working? Why is the Warri refinery not working? Why is the Kaduna refinery not working? Unless there are other players in the sector, we can’t be talking of market forces. We can’t be talking of competition in the sector. We can’t have a single market participant in the sector and we are talking of market forces.

“It doesn’t go that way. Between now and December, if care is not taken, if it is only Dangote that is producing, a litre of oil will be selling for over N1,000. So the argument doesn’t make sense to us.”

Lifestyle

NNPC’s decision to increase pump price of petrol is illegal – Femi Falana

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Human Rights Lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana has said that the decision of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to increase the pump price of PMS is illegal.

Speaking on the sideline of an emergency meeting of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) National Executive Council in Abuja, Falana said NNPCL as a limited liability company does not have any legal power to jack up the price of petroleum.

He further urged the federal government to go back to the drawing board with a view to finding alternative solution to the problem, one of which he says includes the need to address the dollarization of Nigeria’s economy.

Business

We’re spending N400 billion monthly to subsidise petrol for Nigerians- NNPC

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Monthly payment on Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) has crossed N400 billion, says the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd. (NNPCL).

Mele Kyari, NNPCL’s Group Chief Executive Officer, disclosed this on Friday in Abuja at the ongoing Final Cutover to NNPC Ltd., from being a corporation.

Mr Kyari explained that NNPCL was spending about N202 as subsidy on every litre of petrol consumed across the country.

He added that about 65 million litres of PMS was pumped daily into the market by the NNPCL to keep the country wet.

Mr Kyari said the oil company would continue to meet its obligations by providing PMS for Nigeria, adding that the over N400 billion monthly subsidy had been a severe strain on NNPCL’s cash flow.

According to him, NNPCL is the sole importer of petrol into Nigeria and has continued to play this role for several years running, bearing the huge cost of fuel subsidy.

He said other private oil marketers stopped importing petrol into Nigeria due to the difficulty encountered in accessing the United States dollars, required for the imports of PMS.

“Today, by law and the provisions of the Appropriation Act, there is subsidy on the supply of petroleum products, particularly PMS into our country. In current data terms, three days ago the landing cost was around N315/litre.

“Our customers are here, we are transferring to each of them at N113 per litre.

“That means there is a difference of close to N202 for every litre of PMS we import into this country. In computation, N202 multiplied by 66.5 million litres, multiplied by 30 will give you over N400 billion of subsidy every month,” he said.

Mr Kyari said that the continuous funding of petrol subsidy by NNPCL had been ongoing without refunds from the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, despite the fact that subsidy had been budgeted for in the Appropriation Act.

“There is a budget provision for it. Our country has decided to do this. So, we are happy to deliver this, but it is also a drain on our cash flow, and I must emphasis this.

“For as we continue to support this, you will agree with me that it will be extremely challenging for us to continue to fund this from the cash flow of the company when you do not get refunds from the Ministry of Finance,” he said.

He expressed assurance that it would continue to support the country and deliver energy security.

Business, Lifestyle

NNPC debunks claim of exporting 17.87m barrels of oil without documentation

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The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has denied claim of exporting 17.877 million barrels of crude oil without proper documentation from 2016 to 2020.

The former auditor-general of the federation (AuGF) had been quoted in an earlier report, claiming that some barrels of crude oil were exported without completing the required Nigeria export proceeds (NXP) forms.

The AuGF also accused the NNPC Limited of appointing inspection agents in 2017, in flagrant disregard of a preceding directive by President Muhammadu Buhari.

However Garba Deen Muhammad, NNPC’s spokesperson, in a statement released on Thursday, January 5, described the claims were ‘malicious’, adding that the AuGF’s report only mentioned 32 oil marketing companies involved in the non-completion of NXP forms.

Deen also disclosed that the issue did not affect repatriation of sales proceeds to the national oil company and subsequently, the federal accounts, for the period in question.

The statement read;

“Our attention has been drawn to an online publication, alleging that NNPC Limited exported 17.877 million barrels of crude oil without proper documentation in four years (2016 to 2020).

“The auditor-general’s report in reference did mention 32 oil marketing companies involved in the non-completion of the NXP forms but that does not in any way mean that the proceeds from the sale of the said crude were not repatriated into the coffers of NNPC Limited and consequently into the federation accounts for federation related barrels.

“It should also be noted that NNPC Limited does not appoint inspection agents as alleged, but rather, it is the sole responsibility of the federal ministry of finance.

“Therefore, the general public is advised to disregard the said malicious publication, and instead, visit the relevant auditor-general’s website to see the full content of the audit report, and be guided accordingly.”

Business

Reps query NNPC’s $49m refineries integrity test contract

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In 2019, Tecnimont company was awarded contract by the NNPC to carry out a complete integrity check and equipment inspections of the Port Harcourt refinery complex.

The House of Representatives has queried the $49 million contract for integrity test on Nigerian refineries awarded to Tecnimont company by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in 2019.

Ganiyu Johnson, the chairman of the House ad hoc committee investigating the state of the refineries, issued the query during a meeting with the company and NNPC officials on Thursday in Abuja.

Mr Johnson said the company had failed to execute the contract properly as the state of the refineries were not verified.

He also blamed the NNPC for failing to undertake regular turn around maintenance on the refineries leading to their current poor state.

He asked the company and the NNPC to submit the contract documents, especially the approval by the Federal Executive Council and payment proofs including the level of work done to the committee for scrutiny

Nigeria has four refineries, owned by the government, but imports basically its refined petroleum products.

The refineries are located in Port Harcourt, Warrington and Kaduna.

In 2019, Tecnimont was awarded contract by the NNPC to carry out a complete integrity check and equipment inspections of the Port Harcourt refinery complex.

The Phase 1 Rehabilitation contract is worth approximately $50 million and entails a six-month assessment at sitete with relevant engineering and planning activities for the complex.

The complex is composed of two refineries totaling an overall capacity of approximately 210,000 bpd (barrel per day).

Politics

Kano Assembly member returns to APC two days after defecting to NNPP

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A member of the Kano State House of Assembly, Ali Ibrahim Isah Shanono, has returned to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) two days after he defected to the New Nigeria People Party (NNPP).

Shanono who represents the Bagwai/Shanono Constituency in the Assembly, was among the 14 lawmakers in the state who dumped the APC and moved to the NNPP along with former state governor Ibrahim Shekarau on Wednesday.

But he made a hasty retreat on Friday when he returned to the troubled APC after he reportedly had a secret meeting with Governor Abdullahi Ganduje and top party leaders in the state on Thursday night.

In a letter Shanono sent to the state APC faction led by Ganduje, he said he had to deactivate his membership of the NNPP and move back to the APC and promised to “work round the clock for the success of the party at the forthcoming polls” while promising to remain loyal to Ganduje and the party.

However, a source in the state insists Shanono went back to the APC after party officials from his zone loyal to the governor threatened that he would lose his reelection bid if he failed to return to the APC.

Politics

Buhari to unveil NNPC Ltd July 18

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President Muhammadu Buhari will unveil the new Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited on July 18.

The company’s Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari, disclosed this on Tuesday while receiving the CEO of the Year 2021 Award of the Leadership Newspapers Group in Abuja.

Kyari, who addressed the gathering from Kampala, Uganda, where he is attending the African Petroleum Conference (CAPDE VIII), thanked the newspaper for the award.

The Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) signed by the President in 2021 restructured the NNPC as a new entity.

Politics

NNPC to get a new name in six months —Kyari

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The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Mele Kyari has disclosed that plans are already on the way to transit to a new company in the next six months.

The move according to Kyari is in line with the newly enacted Petroleum Industry Act.

Speaking on ‘Arise News Night’ edition on Monday, the GMD noted that the provision of the new Act states clearly that the NNPC be transformed to a company that will operate under the Companies and Allied Matters Act.

“The meaning of this is that the company will be another privately owned company in a sense, it will pay taxes, pay royalties and pay dividend to its shareholders.

This is not the situation today, because the Corporation has no such obligation, this means that it has stall its growth, its development and prosperity, but with the bill, it means that within six months, a new company will be incorporated,” he said.

He further explained that all liabilities, personnel and assets of the NNPC, within the six months period will be transferred to the new company.

“Within 6 months you must incorporate the NNPC Nigeria limited by law, that means once you incorporate, there will automatically be process of transfer of assets, transfer of personnel and many others, the furthest that we can go while doing this is six months,” he added.

According to the GMD, the transition would promote a more efficient oil company, adding that the transition does not only affect NNPC but all institutions under the PIB.

The government has established a structure and implementation committee to ensure a smooth transition from where we are today, not just NNPC but every institution under the Petroleum Industry Act, and there will be a system and framework that will take care of the transition,” he said.

He further disclosed that with the tremendous growth recorded in the Corporation in the last two years, the financial position of the corporation has moved from a negative position to a positive position, assuring that the company will not declare any loss this year.

“I am very happy and fulfilled that this company is doing very great today, it’s financial position has moved from a negative position of N800bn in 2018 to less than N2bn in 2019, I can tell you that this company will not declare any loss this year.

The law has provided that the company will have to transit to a new company, when this company transit, I will consult my family to see if I will have to apply for a job.

“Once the NNPC limited is incorporated, it is the choice of the owners of the company to decide who runs it and it will be my choice to decide if I will apply for a new job,” he said.

Business

NNPC spent N473bn operating dead refineries —Report

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The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has reported a N473.3 billion operating loss on three idle refineries in Warri, Port Harcourt, and Kaduna in the last six years.

This was revealed in a new report published by SBM Intelligence, a Lagos-based research firm.

According to the report titled operating moribund refineries, the losses occurred between January 1, 2015 to February 2021.

“In that time, only 6.73 per cent of their capacity has been utilised on average. In fact, none of the three refineries has produced a drop of refined petrol since July 2019, racking up over N185bn in losses,” the report stated

Breakdown of the operating losses incurred according to the firm showed that a N56.9 billion operating loss was recorded in 2015 and N5.5 billion in 2016.

The operating loss increased in 2017 to N32.8 billion and again to N126.2 billion in 2018.

In 2019, despite the refineries reporting no fuel, N148.9 billion operating cost was reported.

In 2020 also no fuel but a loss of 101.6 billion was recorded.

So far in the first two months of 2021, the refineries have recorded a cumulative operating loss of N12.2 billion.

“And yet, there’s no sign of the expenditure slowing down. In March, the Federal Executive Council approved the sum of $1.5bn for the rehabilitation of the Port-Harcourt refinery,” the report continues.

“Nigeria must count the cost, not only of spending scarce resources on refineries that had not reached more than 30 per cent capacity in over six years but also of the income foregone from not privatising them,” SBM advised.

Politics

NNPC redeploys staff, gets new spokesman

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The Management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has approved the appointments and redeployment of some staff to fill key vacant positions in the corporation.

The management also approved the appointment of Garba Mohammed as the new Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division in the NNPC.

He replaced Dr. Kennie Obateru, who will retire from service in September as the corporation’s new spokesman.

Obateru, who disclosed this in a statement on Monday in Abuja, said the appointments and redeployments would strengthen and reposition the NNPC for future operations in the country’s oil and gas industry.

Also, Mr. Billy Okoye was appointed the new Group Executive Director (GED), Ventures and Business Development while Mrs. Aisha Ahmadu-Katagum was promoted to the position of the Group Executive Director, Corporate Services.

Until their new appointments, Okoye and Ahmadu-Katagum were Group General Managers, Crude Oil Marketing Division (COMD) and Supply Chain Management Division respectively at NNPC.

Adeyemi Adetunji, formerly the Chief Operating Officer, Business and Ventures Development, becomes the Group Executive Director, Downstream.

Mr. Mohammed Abdulkabir Ahmed, who was the Chief Operating Officer, Corporate Services, has been appointed the Group Executive Director, Gas, and Power.

Politics

Reps issue ultimatum to NNPC, subsidiaries over usage of unauthorised accounts

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The House of Representatives, on Sunday, March 14, issued an ultimatum to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and its subsidiaries for an appearance before the House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee on Friday, or have a warrant of arrest issued against them.

Ripples Nigeria gathered that the NNPC and its subsidiaries were issued this ultimatum, following a query by the Auditor General of the Federation (AuGF) over dwindling revenue to the Federal Government.

Committee Chairman Oluwole Oke, who gave the directive, said the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the Federal Government were operating on the Treasury Single Account (TSA), while NNPC was using its subsidiaries to operate commercial banks without the knowledge of the Accountant General of the Federation.

NNPC’s Chief Financial Officer, Umar Isa Ajiya, some weeks ago, had appeared before the committee and submitted that they were going to speak on behalf of their subsidiaries, a position the committee rejected.

The committee had said the subsidiaries were legal entities and must speak on their own.

Last week, NNPC’s Group Managing Director Mele Kyari told the lawmakers that the corporation and its subsidiaries were authorised by law to make deductions at source to fund their operations.

He had said his delay to appear before the committee was due to some exigencies.

Last Friday, Oke was enraged that the NNPC subsidiaries had not appeared before the committee and render their financial accounts, as they were expected to do, as of last week.

Consequently, he ordered the corporation and its subsidiaries to appear before the committee or a warrant of arrest be issued against them.

The lawmaker gave them seven days to appear before the committee.

Business

NNPC records N13.43bn trading surplus

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The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) recorded a trading surplus of N13.43billion in November last year.

The figure was a 54 percent increase from N8.71billion surplus recorded in October.

The Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of NNPC, Dr. Kennie Obateru, who disclosed this in the corporation’s Monthly Financial and Operations Reports for November 2020, added that NNPC generated $108.84 million from the export of crude oil and gas during the period.

He said NNPC surplus was bolstered by additional engineering services rendered by the Nigerian Engineering and Technical Company (NETCO) and increased revenue from import activities posted by Duke Oil Incorporated.

Obateru said: “These healthy performances dominated the positions of all other NNPC subsidiaries to record the Group surplus.

“Operating revenue decreased slightly by 0.02 percent or N0.09billion to stand at N423.08 billion while expenditure for the month also decreased by 1.16 percent or N4.81billion to stand at N409.65billion. This led to the N13.43billion trading surplus.”

The NNPC spokesman added that crude oil export contributed $73.09 million (67.15 percent) of the dollar transactions for November compared with $12.38 million contributions recorded in the previous month.

Gas export sales amounted to $35.75 million in the month.

The total crude oil and gas export for November 2019 to November 2020 stood at $2.89billion.

The spokesman added: “In the Gas Sector, a total of 222.34 Billion Cubic Feet (BCF) of natural gas was produced in the month under review, translating to an average daily production of 7,411.52 Million Standard Cubic Feet per Day (mmscfd).

“Furthermore, for the period November 2019 to November 2020, a total of 3,004.06BCF of gas was produced, representing an average daily production of 7,642.69mmscfd during the period.

Out of this volume, production from Joint Ventures (JVs) accounted for 67.29 percent, Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs) accounted for 19.97 percent, while the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) contributed 12.74 percent.

“Breakdown showed that a total of 137.41 BCF of gas was commercialized. This consists of 39.99BCF and 97.42BCF for the domestic and export market respectively. This translates to a total supply of 1,332.82 mmscfd of gas to the domestic market and 3,247.44 mmscfd of gas supplied to the export market for the month.”

Politics

Reps quiz DPR, NNPC, CBN over missing crude oil worth $20bn

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For seven years, crude oil lifted from Nigeria between 2005 to 2012 worth over $20 billion was unaccounted for according to the House of Representatives.

Chairman, Ad-hoc Committee on Crude Oil Theft, Hon. Peter Akpatason disclosed this on Wednesday, during the resumed hearing with top officials from the Department of Petroleum Resources in Abuja.

Akpatason also noted that the same trend of infractions were observed between 2016 and 2019.

“Forensic analysis of the data revealed a very wide margin between what was reported produced and what was lifted. We need an explanation from stakeholders involved.

“DPR is the agency of government saddled with the responsibility of monitoring crude oil production and lifting. The Committee requested and obtained schedules of crude oil produced and lifting between 2005 to 2019.

“Forensic analysis of the data revealed a very wide margin between what was reported produced and what was lifted. Between 2005 and 2012, DPR reported production of 1,746,621,167 barrels from four sampled oil terminals of Egeravos, Bonny, Forcados and Bonga.

Out of these production volumes, only 1,417,200,848 barrels were accounted for, as having been lifted officially. A whopping volume of 329,420,319 barrels, valued at over $20 billion, could not be accounted for. The same trend of infractions was observed in the years 2016-2019″, he revealed.

In defense, DPR Director/CEO, Sarki Auwalu, blamed the crude theft on third party interference, especially at the land terminals.

“I will like to use this opportunity to give a brief on how we will account for hydrocarbon in this nation. I think that will provide a better view of this committee as well as Nigerians. The process starts with well, because every crude oil comes from well, and you cannot drill a well without knowing the capacity of that well to produce.

“Most of the thefts, they are coming from land terminals because the land producers, they have to use pipelines to transport the crude into the terminals for export. In the process, you have a lot of third party interference in which those points of theft were there; small volumes that account for the larger volume are being taken and they are being stolen”.

Auwalu explained further that most of the discrepancies in production and export, you can easily calculate the theft volume. And the theft volume, if not all, come from the land terminals. But the offshore terminals, it is actually practically impossible to steal crude from offshore terminals, since it is from the bottom of the sea.

Department of Petroleum Resources appearance on Wednesday before the committee will be followed by Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation and the Central Bank of Nigeria on Thursday and Friday respectively

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