TheNewsGuru

Tag: NNPCL

  • FG moves to audit NNPCL accounts

    FG moves to audit NNPCL accounts

    Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Wale Edun has disclosed plans by the federal government to audit the accounts of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Edun made the disclosure at the release of the latest World Bank Nigeria Development Update on Wednesday in Abuja.

    While insisting on the necessity for rigorous scrutiny, Edun stressed the government’s eagerness to ensure revenue inflows from the NNPCL and other revenue generating agencies.

    “There will be earnest scrutiny and I am sure NNPCL is getting ready for that.  We want revenue to come into the government coffers from NNPC and all other revenue agencies.

    “The last two ministers of Finance, namely, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun and Mrs. Zainab Ahmed publicly said that the accounts of the NNPCL would be looked into, but there has been no report of such audit made public,” the Minister said.

  • BREAKING: NNPCL makes N4.5trn transfer into federation account

    BREAKING: NNPCL makes N4.5trn transfer into federation account

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) says it has transferred a total sum of N4.5 trillion into the federation account.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, Mele Kyari said this in Abuja on Wednesday at an interactive session with the Senate Committee on Finance.

    According to Kyari, the NNPCL generated the N4.5 trillion as revenue for the federation for 2023 as at October.

    He assured better days were ahead, adding that reforms contained in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) for the oil sector had placed the company at par with its peers across the globe.

    “The NNPC Limited that is a creation of the National Assembly, requires that we conduct business transparently and provitably in line with provisions of the law.

    “And to create value for shareholders, and not to lose money, and also to continue to add value and pay dividends to shareholders.

    “I’m glad to inform you Mr Chairman and Distinguished Senators, that as at October, we are able to deliver N4.5 trillion into the federation account as a company to this country in 2023.

    “Every national oil company has a trading company. We have always had one, which never worked prior to PIA Implementation.

    “Currently, NNPC Ltd is delivering on its mandate through the PIA reforms that has brought us to be at par with our peers, across the globe, and not to lose money anymore,” Kyari said.

    He went further to say the company had been expanding in business like most National Oil Companies in Africa.

    Kyari said the sector would be more investment driven by the time the issue of wide margins in exchange rate and import and export windows were narrowed.

    “There is always a parallel market in every country. There is also an import and export window in every country, even in the developed world.

    “But there is always a narrow gap between the two and it takes time for you to have stability in this gap so that you have a low margin between the two for a sustained period of time, then businesses will thrive.

    “There is a line of sight around this. I am very confident that by the end of the first quarter of next year, those margins will narrow and stability will come and you will see others coming into the market,” he said.

    FG moves to audit NNPCL accounts

    Meanwhile, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Wale Edun has disclosed plans by the federal government to audit the accounts of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Edun made the disclosure at the release of the latest World Bank Nigeria Development Update on Wednesday in Abuja.

    While insisting on the necessity for rigorous scrutiny, Edun stressed the government’s eagerness to ensure revenue inflows from the NNPCL and other revenue generating agencies.

    “There will be earnest scrutiny and I am sure NNPCL is getting ready for that.  We want revenue to come into the government coffers from NNPC and all other revenue agencies.

    “The last two ministers of Finance, namely, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun and Mrs. Zainab Ahmed publicly said that the accounts of the NNPCL would be looked into, but there has been no report of such audit made public,” the Minister said.

  • NNPCL defends 2024 budget projections on crude oil

    NNPCL defends 2024 budget projections on crude oil

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd. (NNPCL) has assured that projections on crude oil production and price benchmark for the 2024 Budget were realistic and realisable.

    The Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Company, Mr Mele Kyari, gave the assurance during an interactive session with the Senate Committee on Finance at the National Assembly, Abuja, on Wednesday.

    A statement by Olufemi Soneye, Chief Corporate Communications Officer, NNPCL, noted that Kyari made the remarks while speaking on the dynamics of the market in relation to the projected budget benchmark price of 77.96 dollars per barrel.

    “With what we see in the market today and potentially in the year 2024 and even beyond the next two years, it is very unlikely to see 70 dollars per barrel oil in the market.

    “The oscillation we are seeing, sometimes you do see prices coming down to 75 dollars to the barrel and sometimes it goes above it, overall, benchmarks are averages.

    “We think that the proposal by Mr President around the 77.96 dollars is still realisable in 2024,” he said.

    On the crude oil production projection, he said Nigeria had 1.785 million barrels per day (bpd) as the cumulative of all oil produced in the country.

    The GCEO said the figure was inclusive of all production activities, including crude oil and condensate.

    “I need to make this clarification because of the reports in the media that our Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) quota is 1.5 million barrels per day.

    “The OPEC quota is related only to crude oil. We also do between 250,000 to 300,000 barrels per day of condensate in our production. When you combine the two, the 1.78mbpd is realistic and realisable,” he said.

    He expressed optimism that though there were challenges such as security and force majeure, the measures being deployed by the Federal Government would be able to take care of them to guarantee the projected level of production.

    The GCEO also assured that NNPCL would maintain the level of dividends remittance to the Federation Account as stated in the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework.

    He added that the projected dividends from the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Ltd. was also realisable and would flow directly into the Federation Account as stipulated by the law.

    On the Company’s Road Tax Credit Scheme, Kyari explained that all the roads being undertaken under the scheme would be duly completed.

    He explained that the scheme was anchored by the Ministry of Works while the Federal Inland Revenue Service and NNPCL were only playing supervisory roles to ensure that value was delivered for every kobo paid.

    Earlier, Chairman, Senate Committee on Finance, Sen. Mohammed Musa, said the interactive session was to deepen conversations on the projections in the 2024 Appropriation Bill to help the lawmakers determine adjustment.

    He expressed satisfaction with the explanations offered by the NNPCL’s helmsman.

    Recall that the Federal Government, in the Appropriation Bill, gave an average crude oil production benchmark of 1.78 mb/d, and a crude oil price benchmark of 77.96 dollars.

  • Disclose how much oil Nigeria produces, exports daily, SERAP tells NNPC

    Disclose how much oil Nigeria produces, exports daily, SERAP tells NNPC

    The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, has urged Mele Kolo Kyari, the Group Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian National Petroleum Company, NNPC, Limited to disclose how much oil Nigeria produces and exports daily within seven working days.

    SERAP alleged that the NNPCL had failed to disclose the amounts of barrels of oil the country produces and exports according to information at its disposal.

    The organization also asked Kyari “to disclose how much of the revenues generated from oil have been remitted to the public treasury since the removal of subsidy on petrol.”

    This was disclosed in a letter signed by SERAP Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, noting there was a legitimate public interest in disclosing the information sought.

    “Nigerians are entitled to the right to receive information without any interference or distortion, and the enjoyment of this right should be based on the principle of maximum disclosure, and a presumption that all information is accessible subject only to a narrow system of exceptions.”

    “By Section 1 (1) of the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act 2011, SERAP is entitled as of right to request for or gain access to information, including information on the details of barrels of oil Nigeria produces and exports every day and the total amounts of revenues generated and remitted to the public treasury.”

    SERAP argued that the “Opacity in the amounts of barrels of oil the country produces and exports daily, the revenues generated and remitted to the public treasury would have negative impacts on the fundamental interests of the citizens and the public interest.”

    The organization said it would consider appropriate legal actions to compel the NNPCL to comply with the requests in the public interest, if it did not get any response within seven days.

    SERAP recalled that the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, had last week alleged that “the NNPCL is failing to remit enough foreign exchange into the treasury despite the removal of fuel subsidy.”

    According to the organization the NNPCL has a legal responsibility to promote transparency and accountability in barrels of oil the country produces and exports every day.

  • Mele Kyari bluntly tells Senate refineries not created to reduce cost of petrol

    Mele Kyari bluntly tells Senate refineries not created to reduce cost of petrol

    Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of NNPCL, Mele Kyari has bluntly told the Senate that the creation of refineries is not designed to reduce the cost of petrol.

    Kyari made the revelation while responding to questions by the Senate Committee on Appropriations on the potential drop in pump price of petroleum owing to the expected functionality of refineries, Kyari clarified his comment after he was interrogated again.

    He explained that it might be possible to have a reduction, but it is not the main objective of the refineries.

    He buttressed that maintaining the energy security target has fostered the confidence that in 2024, Nigeria will become a net exporter of petroleum products.

    The NNPCL boss affirmed that no subsidy is charged to the federation, adding that the NNPC has contributed 4.45 trillion naira as direct revenue into the federation in a combination of taxes, royalties and dividends and paid 406 billion naira as dividend to Federal Government’s account from July 2023.

    According to him, Nigeria does not have credible data for PMS consumption in the country because of the absence of the instrument to measure.

    The Chairman of the Senate Appropriation Committee, Senator Adeola Olamilekan, had on Wednesday, directed Kyari to appear before the committee in 24 hours.

    Olamilekan, who asked Kyari to appear in company of the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), warned that failure to appear undermines the legislature and sabotages the process.

    They are required to present the list of all individual companies operating with OML licenses in Nigeria as well as total production output approved on a daily basis.

    The lawmaker expressed concerns that some of the revenues required to drive the 2024 budget was attributed to the NNPCL, which according to him, was owned by the Federal Government and responsible to it, and by extension the three arms of government.

  • Legal matters are not sentimental, PTD replies NUPENG, says Lucky Osezua is confirmed chairman

    Legal matters are not sentimental, PTD replies NUPENG, says Lucky Osezua is confirmed chairman

    The National Executives of Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) Branch of NUPENG under the control of Comrade Lucky Osesua has taken a swipe at the parent body for engaging in forum shopping, blackmail, contempt of Court and using sentiments to foist their illegal leadership on the Federal Government and other stakeholders in the oil and gas industry as a fait accompli.

    The Osesua leadership, which emerged at the election in Abuja, which is the venue prescribed by the Union’s bye law, said the illegal leadership that emerged from a Kangaroo election in Ibadan was desperate to force stakeholders into accepting it.

    It said that the illegal leadership could not avail itself legitimacy by serially violating the sanctity of the Branch’s bye-law and other legal methods of conducting Delegates Conference.

    According to PTD in a press statement jointly signed by its National Chairman, Comrade Lucky Osesua and its National Secretary, Comrade Humble Obinna Power, on behalf of the entire Branch on Sunday, the election which purportedly produced Augustine Egbon as the Chairman lacked legitimacy ab-initio.

    PTD however appealed to the Federal Government especially President Bola Tinubu (GCFR), the Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong and other key players in the industry not to seek legitimacy for National executives of PTD elsewhere except the one by Comrade Lucky Osesua and Comrade Dayyabu Yusuf Garga.

    The statement reads in full:

    The National executive of the Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) Branch of NUPENG has condemned the pitiful posture of our parent union which has been solely hijacked by the General Secretary, Afolabi Olawale, by engaging in forum shopping, blackmail, contempt of Court and using sentiments to foist on Federal Government and other stakeholders in the oil and gas industry the purported legitimacy of the leadership.

    The union now totters and wobbles as it screeches towards a dangerous and avoidable canyon of dry bones, as its staff members and branch members can no longer recognise their union which has been battered by men and women from the dark womb of time; unfortunately it is not clear if there could be any glimmer of hope to reclaim it from its impending slide to anarchy and total collapse under the current leadership of Williams Akporeha (President), Afolabi Olawale and the Otunba Salimon Akanni Oladiti (National Trustee).

    This ugly episode started when the power-drunk General Secretary of NUPENG, Mr Afolabi Olawale tried to manipulate and circumvent the bye-law of the Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) Branch of NUPENG by holding Delegates Conference in Ibadan, Oyo State, contrary to the provisions of the bye-law which clearly gives Abuja as a legally recognized venue for the election.

    Yet, in flagrant defiance to Court order, they went ahead and held an illegal Conference despite the Court injunction, which barred them from doing so.

    Consequently, many protests were staged across the Zones of the union including the National Secretariat in Jibowu Lagos, but NUPENG brazenly turned deaf ears; this is totally unacceptable and truly showed the leadership does not mean well for the union and its members especially the PTD Branch.

    However, some of us who are law abiding and truly mean well for one-time Trade Union which was built and nurtured by Chief (Comrade) Frank Ovie Kokori with the objective to protect the interest and foster better working conditions for the blue collar employees in the Nigeria’s oil and gas sector converged on Abuja on Tuesday, 31st day October, 2023 had our own election which brought Comrade Lucky Osesua on board as the National Chairman and Comrade Dayyabu Yusuf Garga emerging as Deputy National Chairman respectively.

    Please for the purpose of clarity, Augustine Egbon is not and can never be the National Chairman of PTD and that is what the law says. Afolabi, Williams and Oladiti know this fact but they only want to circumvent the law and as well take pleasure in stirring up a hornets’ nest and to destroy the union, but the truth is that they cannot be bigger than the Court of the land neither do they have the powers to bring down the union to satisfy their thirst for avarice, contempt and unholy plot best known to them.

    The stake in PTD, particularly access to administrative, operational and economic incentives and other opportunities cannot be left in the hands of stooges who want to steal blindly the common patrimony of PTD under the whimps and caprice of Afolabi who has personally pocketed the entire union.

    Above all, PTD is already awake and cannot continue to allow its employees to remain its tormentors and exploiters. The trio of Comrades Akporeha, Afolabi and Oladiti should be called to order before they set the union on the verge of Precipice.

    We therefore appeal to our listening and labour-friendly President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, and the Labour Minister, to, in the interest of peace and industrial harmony intervene in this very disturbing and ridiculous situation by recognizing the legitimacy of PTD National Executives under the leadership of Comrade Lucky Osesua and his Deputy Comrade Dayyabu Yusuf Garga.

    Government and other industry stakeholders should relate with us as the only legitimate, constitutionally recognised executives of the PTD Branch of NUPENG.

    Once again PTD must be allowed to breathe such that its members could peacefully and conveniently be proud and better for what they are doing as they continue to traverse the length and breadth of Nigeria through distribution and transportation of Petroleum products and supply of gas to Nigerians in their homes, offices and factories.

    SIGNED:

    Comrade Lucky Osesua
    (National Chairman)

    Comrade Humble Obinna Power (National Secretary)

  • Araraume queries President Tinubu on appointment of new board, management of NNPC Ltd

    Araraume queries President Tinubu on appointment of new board, management of NNPC Ltd

    …warns public against having any dealings with new board

    …urges president to reverse his decision and allow the flow of the rule of law

    Senator Ifeanyi Godwin Araraume has queried the appointment of new board and management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, which purported to upend his court-validated chairmanship of the board of the national oil company, describing the fresh appointment made by President Bola Tinubu on the 27th November, 2023, as “illegal, wrongful, null and void and of no legal consequence.”

    Araraume’s reaction was contained in a release dated November 30, 2023, entitled: “PUBLIC NOTICE: CAVEAT EMPTOR- PURPORTED APPOINTMENT OF NEW CHAIRMAN OF NNPC LIMITED”, and signed on his behalf by Dr Ogwu J. Onoja (SAN).

    See release below:

    “Our attention has been drawn to the news of the appointment of new members of NNPC Limited Board including a new Non-Executive Chairman by the President on the 27th November, 2023, in utter violation of the judgment and order of the Federal High Court, Abuja dated 18th April, 2023 in Suit No: FHC/ABJ/CS/1621/2022 – Between Senator Ifeanyi Godwin Araraume v. The President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, NNPC Ltd and Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) wherein the court restrained the President from removing the name of Senator Ifeanyi Godwin Araraume from the Corporate Affairs Commission as a Non-Executive Director of NNPC Ltd and that he be allowed to continue to function as the Chairman of the Board of NNPC Ltd.

    “This judgment remains valid and subsisting until this moment without being set aside.

    “We state that the purported appointment amounts to a flagrant disobedience of court order and brazen disregard of the judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction. We are appalled and shocked that the President could brazenly disobey the court judgment by purporting to appoint a New Board and Management Team for NNPC Ltd instead of giving implementation to the said judgment of the Federal High Court delivered by Justice Inyang Ekwo on the 18th of April, 2023.

    “It is shocking that rather than obey the valid and extant judgment of the court, the President has taken the laws into his hands to overrule the courts and usurp the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeal before who, the President has filed an appeal which is pending, by taking steps to undermine the judgment by such illegal appointments. This singular act of Mr. President unfortunately denotes a wanton disregard for rule of law and a direct affront on the Judiciary.

    “With the said judgment still valid and subsisting, it is clear as crystal even to the common man that the appointment of the new Board and Management of the NNPC Ltd by the President on the 27th November, 2023, is illegal, wrongful, null and void and of no legal consequence.

    “By this Notice, the general public is therefore warned to beware of those illegal appointments in their own interest. The public is urged to avoid having any dealings whatsoever with the new Board and Management of the NNPC Ltd as anyone who goes ahead to do any business or transactions with them will be doing so at his or her own peril.

    “We hereby call on Mr President, who is a huge beneficiary of judicial pronouncements and rule of law, to reverse his decision and allow the flow of the rule of law.

    “Mr President should have known that respect for rule of law is equally a strong factor in the attraction of Foreign Direct Investment (FOI), which he has been traveling all over the world to promote.”

  • Be creative for optimal performance, Speaker Abbas tasks NNPCL

    Be creative for optimal performance, Speaker Abbas tasks NNPCL

    The Speaker of the House of Representatives Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, has said that for Nigeria to avoid more wasteful years of non-performing puplic assets in the oil sector, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) must come up with creative ways for optimal performance.

    The Speaker stated this when he received the management of the NNPCL, who paid him a courtesy visit in his office in Abuja on Thursday.

    Speaker Abbas, while commending the NNPCL for taking full advantage of the Petroleum Industry Act to maximise its commercial potentials, decried the state of Nigeria’s refineries such as the one in Kaduna, which he said had been moribund for over 20 years, even though the staff were maintained, paid and promoted.

    He described the situation as inefficiency and waste of human resources that needed to be addressed.

    “I am from Kaduna, and the Kaduna refinery has been moribund for more than 20 years. I know of people working there who have been idle all these years receiving salaries and promotions.

    This is inefficiency of a worrisome proportion. The company needs to seek creative ways to repurpose staff strength in such facilities to areas where they can remain productive even in the absence of crude oil at the refineries,” the Speaker said.

    Speaker Abbas called for measures to turn around the losses suffered by the economy, owing to the non-productive state of the refineries, by privatising them for better management and productivity.

    The Speaker congratulated the company for redirecting gains of subsidy removal to other productive areas of enhancement that are now adding value to the system as shown by the quantum leap being reported in its revenue profile as presented by the Chief Executive.

    He said the 10th House, and by extension the National Assembly, would fully be behind the company in its fight against oil theft, disclosing that the House has taken the lead in creating a Special Committee on Oil Theft and Pipeline Vandalism, which was inaugurated on Wednesday.

    Speaker Abbas, who received the NNPC management in company of the Minority Whip of the House, Hon. Ali Isa, and the chairmen of relevant committees in the oil and gas sector, assured the company of the willingness of the House to always partner with it in repositioning the nation’s economy.

    Earlier, the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the NNPC Limited, Mr. Mele Kyari, highlighted the areas of improvement in the company using the instrument of the Petroleum Industry Act.

    The company’s chief, who reiterated that the entity has fully gone commercial with the new law, added that it was hitherto operating at a loss, recording a negative of N803 billion in 2018.

    Mr Kyari, however, informed the Speaker and the House that the changes that happened in the company after the PIA have led to the realisation of N674 billion profit after tax in 2021, and over N2trillion income in 2022.

    Mr Kyari added that the company had a projected revenue to the tune of N4.5 trillion as expected income in 2023, adding that having gone fully commercial, the company controls over 30% of the market share in the downstream sector.

    “This company is operating just like any other private company providing dividends to its shareholders. We have over 30% of the market share in the downstream sector, which is why no single player can hold this country to random in terms of making products available to Nigerians.

    “So when you see queue, it’s really not as a result of scarcity but internal events arising from the actions of marketers, and people can always go to our stations and be served. They are guaranteed quality and accurate quantity of dispensed products.”

    Signed:

    Musa Abdullahi Krishi, Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the Speaker, House of Representatives, Federal Republic of Nigeria.

  • Nigeria will start exporting petroleum products from 2024 – NNPC

    Nigeria will start exporting petroleum products from 2024 – NNPC

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) has disclosed the country will start exporting petroleum products from 2024.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Group Managing Director of NNPCL, Alhaji Mele Kyari made the disclosure when he paid a courtesy visit to the leadership of the Senate.

    While linking the challenges in the sector to oil theft and pipeline vandalisation, Kyari said that the country had recovered up to N1.7 million barrels of crude oil following increased monitoring by the independent pipeline security companies, and the military.

    “In the last 5-6 months government security agencies and private security companies have done things differently, and it has yielded results.”

    He said that NNPCL was resolute at meeting its targeted contribution to the budget.

    He assured that the NNPCL would restart the Port Harcourt refinery in December, to be followed by the Warri refinery in the first quarter of 2024.

    This, he said would be complimented by small scale refineries.

    Keyari said that the corporation had recorded a N274 million profit in 2021, a growth from 2018.

    He said that the NNPCL may post profit in excess of N2 trillion in 2023; adding that in 2024 Nigeria would be a net exporter of petroleum products.

    While stressing that the passage of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) had ensured that energy supply was stable and creating cheaper energy for Nigerians, Kyari assured that the country will not experience fuel queues during the 2023 yuletide.

    ”And I guarantee you your excellency that we will not see any shortages in our country. You may see a number of scattered reports at filling stations that people will call queues. They are not,” he said.

    President of Senate , Godswill Akpabio, tasked the management of the NNPCL to seek ways of deepening the consumption of locally produced petroleum products.

    He also called for the establishment of modular refineries, as well as the renovation of existing ones to create a multiplier effect which would include creation of jobs for youths, and more security for the country.

    He said the senate was supporting the efforts to end oil theft and pipeline vandalisation which, according to him, was resulting in revenue losses to the nation.

    The Senate President said that the Senate would partner with the NNPCL in creating legislations that would smoothen ease of business for stakeholders in the oil and gas sector.

    He commended the corporation for ensuring an end to the fuel subsidy regime and called for capacity building for legislatures to ensure proper legislative input in the sector.

    “Nigerians want to hear good news and you came with a very good news. And this is good news,” Akpabio said.

  • How Russia-Ukraine war affected Nigeria’s crude oil inflows – NNPCL

    How Russia-Ukraine war affected Nigeria’s crude oil inflows – NNPCL

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) has provided insight into how the lingering Russia – Ukraine war impacted Nigerian crude oil inflows in the international oil market.

    The NNPC Ltd said this led to a dip in demand from the once-dependable Asian market at the onset of hostilities in the Eastern bloc.

    Maryamu Idris, Executive Director, Crude and Condensate, NNPC Trading Limited made this known in a panel presentation at the Argus European Crude Conference in London.

    Idris, in a statement on Thursday by Mr Femi Soneye, Chief Corporate Communications Officer, NNPC Ltd, said Nigeria’s crude export to India dwindled.

    According to Idris, in addition to the substantial price shocks impacting commodity and energy prices globally, the conflict triggered a situation where India, a primary destination for Nigerian grades, increased its appetite for discounted Russian barrels.

    This, she said was to the detriment of some Nigerian volumes.

    “To illustrate the extent of this shift, Nigeria’s crude exports to India dwindled from approximately 250,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the six months preceding the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine to 194,000 in the subsequent six months afterwards.

    “And so far, this year, only around 120,000 bpd of Nigerian crude volumes have made their way to India,” she said.

    On the other hand, she said Nigerian crude flow to Europe had increased in a bid to fill supply gaps left by the ban on Russian crude.

    She explained that six months before the war, 678,000 bpd of Nigerian crude grades went to Europe, compared to 710,000 bpd six months later and 730,000 bpd so far this year.

    “This trend makes it evident that Nigerian grades are increasingly becoming a significant component in the post-war palette of European refiners.

    “Several Nigerian distillate-rich grades have become a steady preference for many European refiners, given the absence of Russian Urals and diesel.

    “Forcados Blend, Escravos Light, Bonga, and Egina appear to be the most popular, and our latest addition — Nembe Crude – fits well into this basket.

    “This was a strong factor behind our choice of London and the Argus European Crude Conference as the most ideal launch hub for the grade,” Idris said.

    Idris said Nigeria faced production challenges aggravated by COVID-19 pandemic, including reduced investment, supply chain disruptions, ageing oil fields and oil theft, contributing to production declines in the second half of 2022 and early 2023.

    She, however, said that the challenges were fast becoming a thing of the past with the implementation of a new framework for the domestic petroleum industry (PIA 2021), rejuvenating business landscape and repositioning NNPCL for a more commercial approach.

    According to her, NNPC Limited has secured vital partnerships with notable financial institutions to promote upstream investments to restore and sustainably grow production capacity in the coming years.

    “NNPC Limited is championing concerted efforts in partnership with host communities and private stakeholders to address the security and environmental challenges in the Niger Delta to further fortify production growth.

    “We have already begun seeing significant progress on the rebound. In September 2023, Nigeria recorded its highest crude oil and condensate output in nearly two years, reaching 1.72 million barrels per day.

    This, we believe, is just the beginning of our production rebound.

    She affirmed that NNPC Limited was also increasing its participation in the downstream sector in line with a ‘wells-to-wheels’ approach, taking the country’s unique hydrocarbon molecules as close as possible to end-users.

    The vehicle for this, she said, is the restructured NNPC Trading Company, focused on growing NNPC’s presence in the global market for crude, condensate, gas, and petroleum products.

    The Argus Crude European Crude Conference Panel Session was held with the theme: ‘The Invisible Hand: How Are Shareholders and Asset Managers Meeting the Crude Industry? What Does This Mean for the Future of Crude in Europe?’’.