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Tag: NNPC

  • Crude oil theft going on for about 50 years now – Chief Clark

    Crude oil theft going on for about 50 years now – Chief Clark

    Elder statesman and Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark has said that crude oil theft in Nigeria has been going on for much longer, for about 50 years, contrary to the position held by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports that Chief Clark made this disclosure at a news conference on Monday in Abuja, describing crude oil theft as a criminal act and calling on the federal government to institute a judicial inquiry to investigate oil theft in the country.

    He said that the investigation to the matter must be full, open and comprehensive if there was sincerity to unravel what was going on.

    The elder statesman said: “My attention and that of the entire country have been drawn to the recent discovery of a large scale and sophisticated oil theft machinery going on at the deep swamps at Yokri, close to the Forcados terminal in Delta.

    “According to reports, high powered technological engineering expertise is applied to steal crude oil from the Forcados line.

    “This is transported through a four-kilometre pipeline to a platform in the sea, which belongs to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), and its partners.”

    Clark further cited the report saying that about 200 hundred barrels of crude oil were been stolen from there every day, and that this has been going on since 2014.

    “According to NNPCL, this is part of the 470 thousand barrels of crude oil that is being lost every month, amounting to 700 million Dollars.

    “Although, the NNPCL thinks these have been going on in the past 20 years, some of us have always insisted that this oil theft has been going on for much longer, for about 50 years.”

    He said that the illicit four kilometers pipeline through which crude oil was being siphoned indicated that oil theft was being perpetuated by some mafia-like groups, with the connivance of some people in the oil industry.

    “What is going on is a sophisticated criminal act, carried out by a syndicate,” he said.

    Clark further said that the investigation must uncover all government officials including top officials of the NNPCL and their collaborators, who had inflicted such magnitude of harm on the country, and on the Niger Delta communities.

    “It is dangerously incredible that crude oil theft, in spite all the securities around, has assumed wider dimension to the extent that the quantity of crude oil we export today is less than the quantity being stolen by a gang of thieves of various designations.”

  • Tompolo “obtains” comprehensive list of security officials behind Nigeria’s oil theft

    Tompolo “obtains” comprehensive list of security officials behind Nigeria’s oil theft

    Ex-militant leader, Government Ekpemupolo, also known as Tompolo, whose contract is to provide intelligence that could stop oil theft, has obtained a comprehensive list of security officials behind oil theft in Nigeria.

    He strongly accused the security agencies of being behind the stealing of Nigeria’s crude oil.

    The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission put the volume of crude oil theft every day at about 600,000 barrels.

    Stealing of crude oil is being carried out by the same security agencies that are supposed to catch the thieves

    Recall that the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) recently awarded N4.5 billion monthly pipeline surveillance contract to Tompolo to stop the economic bleeding.

    Tompolo, in an interview on Channels Television, pointed out that the stealing of crude oil is being carried out by the same security agencies that are supposed to catch the thieves.

    Tompolo obtains comprehensive list of security officials behind Nigeria's oil theft

    He said: “Security officials are behind this oil theft. They are deeply involved. They are trying to bring down this country. You will find security personnel all over the place. Though we have good ones, there is no way you can load a vessel without settling the security officials that are within that area.”

    He warned the thieves to desist from the action, otherwise, he would expose them.

    “I have a comprehensive list of those who are involved. A lot of key players are involved, from Abuja to Lagos. We are appealing to the top security officials to talk to their people to change,” the ex-militant leader asserted.

    Tompolo obtains comprehensive list of security officials behind Nigeria's oil theft

    Tompolo said from the intelligence at his disposal, most of the security agencies including the Army, Navy and Police have illegal bunkering locations. He said only the Department of State Security (DSS) has not been mentioned in the looting of Nigeria’s oil wealth.

    He warned that if crude oil theft is not halted, there would be no money to run the country.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that Nigeria has seen increased oil theft in recent years. The NNPC had earlier said that the country loses 470,000 barrels of crude oil monthly amounting to $700 million to oil theft.

  • Why Abuja is experiencing fuel scarcity

    Why Abuja is experiencing fuel scarcity

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited  (NNPC Limited) has disclosed that the current fuel queues situation being experienced in some parts of Abuja and its environs was a result of delays in the arrival of fuel trucks.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports that NNPC Limited made this known on Thursday while informing the public that it has sufficient stock of petroleum products and that the public should not give in to panic buying.

    The company in a statement on Thursday by Garba Muhammad, Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, NNPC Limited said this was happening as a result of heavy flooding that had submerged parts of the highway passing through Lokoja, Kogi.

    He also said that an incidence of a failed road section around Badegi-Agaie highway in Niger State also contributed.

    “Consequently, vehicles, especially fuel tankers, are finding alternative roads to get to their intended destinations. NNPC Ltd is working assiduously, in collaboration with relevant government agencies, to open up this major highway.

    “While we do that, we urge the general public to remain calm and not to engage in panic buying of petroleum products,” he advised.

    According to him, the current situation is temporary and has nothing to do with shortage of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) as the NNPC Ltd has a thirty-day products’ sufficiency.

  • BREAKING: NNPC Limited declares profit after tax of N674 billion

    BREAKING: NNPC Limited declares profit after tax of N674 billion

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has declared a profit after tax (PAT) of N674 billion for the year ended 2021, with the company’s profit after tax shot up by 134.8% company to year 2020.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports that this is contained in the approved 2021 audited financial statements of the NNPC Limited as disclosed by its Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari on Tuesday.

    “Today I’m happy to announce that the Board of NNPC has approved 2021 audited financial statements and NNPC has progressed to a new performance level, from N287 billion profit in 2020 to N674 billion profit after tax in 2021, climbing higher by 134.8% YoY profit growth,” Kyari disclosed.

    The N674 billion profit posted by NNPC Limited in the 2021 financial period represents an increase of N387 billion or 134.8 per cent when compared to the N287 billion recorded in 2020.

    The 2021 financial year made it the fourth consecutive year that the NNPC will be making its Audited Financial Statement public.

     

    Details shortly…

  • NNPC acquires Oando stations to become Africa’s largest retailer

    NNPC acquires Oando stations to become Africa’s largest retailer

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has announced the acquisition of OVH Energy Marketing, owner and operator of the Oando branded retail service stations to become Africa’s largest petroleum products’ retailer.

    This was revealed by the Chairman Chairman of NNPC Limited, Margery Okadigbo, while speaking on the development in Abuja on Saturday.

    Okaigbo said, “In order to strengthen our downstream business portfolio to enhance profitability and guarantee national energy security, NNPC has under an Accelerated Network Expansion Initiative completed the acquisition of OVH downstream assets.

    “This includes the reception jetty (ASPM) with 240,000MT monthly capacity, eight LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) plants, three lubes blending plants, three aviation depots and 12 warehouses.

    “The acquisition will bring over 380 additional filling stations under NNPC Retail brand in Nigeria and Togo, on our journey to attaining 1,500 stations. We will be the largest petroleum product retail network in Africa.”

    On his part, the Group Chief Executive Officer, NNPC, Mele Kyari, said Oando filling stations would be merged with NNPC Retail Limited.

    He stressed that through the acquisition, NNPC Retail Limited would build on the existing success of OVH and operate model service outlets leveraging OVH’s extensive asset base and commercial capabilities.

    “Our acquisition of OVH.brings more NNPC branded fuel stations under the NNPC Retail Limited umbrella, providing wider access for our customers, an enriched supply chain and product availability across our different locations,” Kyari stated.

    Speaking, the Chief Executive Officer, OVH Marketing, Huub Stokman, said the acquisition by NNPC came at a critical time in the Nigerian energy sector given the overhaul of the petroleum laws with the recent enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021.

    Reacting to the development, an energy market analyst, Halidu Shuaibu said it is a healthy news given the nature of the market and the experience of the NNPC, noting that this would inject good resources into the market.

  • Amid rising debt, petrol subsidy bill rises to N525.71 billion last month

    Amid rising debt, petrol subsidy bill rises to N525.71 billion last month

    Amid rising debt, petrol subsidy bill has risen by 17.1 per cent to N525.71 billion last month.

    This was disclosed in the subsidy bill figures picked by the Federal Government and made available by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company(NNPC).

    According to the figures, the government has paid N2.568 trillion as subsidies between January and August.

    The NNPC official report submitted to the Federation Account Allocation Committee indicated that petrol subsidy rose from N448.782 billion in July 2022 to N525.71 billion in August 2022 (an increase of 17.1 per cent).

    The increase in subsidy was partly due to a 10 per cent increase in the supply of petrol, which rose to 71.8 million litres, according to data provided the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority.

    Oil production in August averaged 1.18 million barrels per day, well below Nigeria’s OPEC quota of 1.8 million bpd, due largely to theft that has curtailed production.

    In April, the National Assembly approved N4 trillion as a petrol subsidy for this year after the government opted to delay plan to remove the petrol subsidy.

    The huge petrol subsidy, discrepancies in supply figures and Nigeria’s dwindling revenue have generated a heated debate that put the NNPC in the spotlight.

    The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Hajia Zainab Ahmed, said that out of the N19.76 trillion Budget proposed for next year, the petrol subsidy would gulp some N6.7 trillion.

    With the huge debt services costs, Mrs. Ahmed said the cumulative effect of these costs could undermine any capital project implementation in 2023.

    Comptroller-General, Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Col Hameed Ali (rtd) raised doubts over the supply and subsidy figures by the NNPC.

    He challenged the NNPCL to justify the N6.4 trillion annual subsidy cost that the NNPC was brandishing.

    In a statement, the company’s Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Malam Garba Deen Muhammad, revealed that for a subsidy, Nigerians would have been buying petrol at N462 per litre as the actual cost.

    He added that the federal government has been paying N279 per litre to subsidize the product supply.

    According to him, from January to August this year, the company shipped 16.46 billion litres of petrol into the country, translating to 68ml/day.

    The statement recalled that last year, NNPC imported 22.35billion litres, which was 61ml per day.

    He noted: “Between January and August 2022, the total volume of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) imported into the country was 16.46 billion litres, which translates to an average supply of 68 million litres per day.

    “Similarly, import in the year 2021 was 22.35 billion litres, which translated to an average supply of 61 million litres per day.”

    The NNPCL said the average daily evacuation (depot truck out) from January to August 2022 “stands at 67 million litres per day as reported by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), while daily evacuation (depot load outs) records of the NMDPRA do carry daily oscillation ranging from as low as four million litres to as high as 100 million litres per day.”

    The company said that rising crude oil prices and PMS supply costs above the NMDPRA cap had caused oil marketing companies’ withdrawal from petrol import since the fourth quarter of 2017, which made NNPCL to be the supplier of last resort.

    Chairman, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Mr Olumide Adeosun at the weekend reiterated that the removal of subsidies and full deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector was necessary for the sustainable development of the oil industry and Nigerian economy.

    According to him, the government should undertake full deregulation of the sector as the huge subsidy payments are simply not sustainable.

    “The government should focus on palliatives for Nigerians such as mass transit, improve power supply, agriculture, education etc. Government may subsidise the sectors that would stimulate sustainable economic growth.

    “Overwhelmingly, the right course of action is a clear trajectory towards full implementation of the PIA 2021 as it is a very well thought-out legislation that would ultimately cause the petroleum industry in Nigeria to grow,” Adeosun said.

  • Reps probe NNPC 32-year venture contracts

    Reps probe NNPC 32-year venture contracts

    The House of Representatives has begun probe into the Joint Ventures and Production Sharing Contracts entered into by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in the last 32 years.

    The House’ Ad Hoc Committee to Investigate the Structure & Accountability of the Joint Venture Businesses and Production Sharing Contracts of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation from 1990 to Date, on Tuesday, held its inaugural investigative hearing.

    Speaker of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila, while declaring the hearing open, said he was delighted to inaugurate the committee “at this critical point of our nationhood where more resources are needed to diversify our economy.”

    Gbajabiamila maintained that the investigation became necessary as there are serious allegations that operations of the Joint Venture businesses and Production Sharing Contracts, for which NNPC is a party and representing Nigerian interest, “Have over the years been conducted with highest degree of opaqueness to the extent that the Nigeria government and her citizens have been deprived of the value of their investment in the oil and gas sector.

    “Accordingly, it will amount to administrative recklessness for any sane government to sit aloof and see such a sensitive sector that determines its future existence not being given appropriate attention in the governance process.

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    “It should be noted that the Joint Venture agreements and the production sharing contracts are supposed to protect the interest of all parties. However, there are concerns that these agreements are being observed in branches and that Nigeria is being short changed.”

    Chairman of the committee, Abubakar Fulata, noted that the thrust of the probe would be to critically examine whether the operations of the JV businesses and PSCs between the oil companies involved in the arrangements with the NNPC had been conducted within the ambit of the laws and to determine whether the benefits accruable to Nigeria were fair and reasonable.

    “It should be noted that any infractions in the oil and gas business either by the operating companies or individuals within the sector has a corollary effect on the Nigerian economy.”

    Therefore, the committee in the conduct of this hearing will not leave any stone unturned as we pledge to act fairly in the best interest of the stakeholders and the Nigerian state,” he said.

    Meanwhile, the House Committee on Public Accounts, on Tuesday, invited the Acting Accountant General of the Federation, Sylva Okolieaboh, over the failure of his office to present the 2020 audit reports of ministries, department and agencies of the Federal Government to the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation.

    The Chairman, Oluwole Oke, at the continued investigative hearing of the committee, decried that the delay was affecting the work of the parliament.

    Oke said, “As the 9th Assembly is winding down, we need to redouble our efforts at looking into all the reports already laid before the House. Right now, we have completed work on those from 2017 and our reports are already in the press, after which we will lay the report before the whole House for official consideration.”

  • Buhari directs NNPC to complete section 4 of East-West Road

    Buhari directs NNPC to complete section 4 of East-West Road

    President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited and it’s subsidiaries to step in and fix section 4 of the East-West Road.

    The portion of the road is from Eleme roundabout to Onne Junction, through the tax credit scheme.

    Buhari made the remarks at the opening ceremony of a meeting of the 5th National Council on Niger Delta in Uyo on Thursday.

    “The East-West Road project which is now being handled by the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, is the largest infrastructure project in Nigeria.

    “It is a very strategic road, connecting the country’s busiest and foremost commercial cities in the region.

    “This would be expeditiously addressed, considering the importance of the road to our national economy,” Buhari said.

    Buhari, who was represented by Mr. Mohammed Abdullahi, the Minister of Environment, reassured that the completion of the East-West Road was a top priority for this administration.

    The President noted that one of the cardinal mandates of his administration was to tackle corruption.

    He explained that the Forensic Audit of NNDC had been submitted, noting that the implementation of it’s recommendations had begun in phases.

    “I hereby assure you that this process will eventually bring about the constitution of a new Board for the Commission, which is the desire of most stakeholders in the region,” he said.

    Mr Umana Umana, the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, said the objective of the conference was to canvass for more and sustained collaboration with development partners and other stakeholders in the formulation and implementation of policies and programmes designed for the improvement of life in the Niger Delta Region.

    Umana said the meeting was important item for the ministry and other stakeholders for the opportunity to take stock of collective engagement with the mandate of reinventing the Niger Delta Region.

    He said that the theme of the council meeting was: “Harnessing 21st Century Development Initiatives and Strategies for Greater Development impacts in the Niger Delta Region.”

    He said the theme further addressed the urgent need to constantly develop new strategies that could help Federal Government to reposition the Niger Delta for a better economic standing on infrastructure, healthcare, manpower development and security.

    Umana said that the ministry was partnering relevant agencies, development partners, International Oil Company (IOCs) and other stakeholders on infrastructure development, investment in social services and institutional capacity building for Niger Delta Region to achieve it’s mandate.

    Umana who is also the  Chairman of Council, promised to publish a compendium of projects undertaken by the ministry in all the Niger Delta Region.

  • Boko Haram Terrorists Are ‘419 People’ –Buhari

    Boko Haram Terrorists Are ‘419 People’ –Buhari

     

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday described terrorists of the Boko Haram sect as “fraudulent people” who have been adequately dealt with by his administration since 2015.

    TheNewsGuru com, (TNG) reports Buhari revealed this in Owerri, the Imo State capital when he was hosted by Governor Hope Uzodimma after he commissioned some projects by the latter’s government.

    The President blamed the elite for not thinking hard about Nigeria, adding that though his government has done “extremely well” those who are supposed to commend his administration for their achievements have refused to speak.

    He also said despite earning so much from crude oil, his predecessors failed to develop the country’s infrastructure.

    “To be frank with you, I blame the Nigerian elite for not thinking hard about our country,” the President commented.

    “Between 1999 and 2015 when we came in, I will like people to check the Central Bank and the NNPC, the average production was 2.1million bpd. Nigeria was earning at this time 2.1million times but look at the state of infrastructure, look at the road…look at the railway, it was virtually killed. Power, we are still struggling.

    “But when we came, unfortunately, the militants were unleashed, production went down to half a million bpd. Again, unfortunately, the cost of petroleum went down from $28 to $37.”

    He further said before he came into office in May 2015, Boko Haram terrorists controlled local governments in Borno State but that has become a thing of the past.

    “Look at the problem in the North-East, check with anybody from Borno or Adamawa, how many local governments were in the hands of the government and how many were in the hands of Boko Haram? Fraudulent people, whoever they are, are fraudulent! But now, go and ask the hardworking governor of Borno State, a very hardworking governor. Federal Government is in charge now.

    “In terms of time and resources, this administration has done extremely well. I have to say it because those who are supposed to say are not saying it. I don’t know why,” the President said.

    Nigeria’s insurgency war has raged on for about 13 years. Hundreds of schoolchildren and other vulnerable persons have been abducted by the insurgents. Lives have also been lost in bomb blasts orchestrated by the Boko Haram terror group, whose faction, the Islamic State in West Africa Province, has launched ferocious attacks in recent times.

  • Petrol Subsidy Costs N18.39bn Daily – Finance Minister

    Petrol Subsidy Costs N18.39bn Daily – Finance Minister

    The Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, has put the projected daily payment for fuel subsidy at N18.39 billion.

    She stated this during an investigative hearing of the House ad hoc committee which is investigating the petroleum subsidy regime between 2017 to 2021.

    “The total amount of subsidy per day is 18.397 billion per day.

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    “So if you are projecting for the full year, it would be N6.715 trillion. If you are projecting for half year, it would be 50 percent of that,” She said.

    According to the Minister, this was calculated using the information provided by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) and the regulator.

    She said the information showed that 64.96 million litres of fuel is the projected average daily truck out.

    She also said N1.774 trillion was paid to independent oil marketers as subsidy in four years.