NNPCL Working With NEITI, Others To Reconcile NEITI’s 2021 Report

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) will continue to collaborate with the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) and all relevant stakeholders in the Reconciliation Committee set up by President Bola Tinubu to investigate, review and reconcile the financial records on alleged indebtedness to the Federation by both NNPC Limited and Federation Accounts Allocation Committee, FAAC. A statement signed by Chief Corporate Communications Officer NNPC Limited, Olufemi O. Soneye, on Monday night in Abuja, said, this comes on the heels of calls by a non-governmental organisation for a probe of several monies allegedly owed to the Federation by the national oil company. NNPC Ltd states that the claims by the NGO were baseless, considering the fact that NEITI itself had dismissed many of the allegations in the said 2021 report, following a series of engagements with NNPC Ltd. NNPC Ltd had severally explained that at the outset of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, it was made to sell Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) imported into the country at one third of its value, a development that gave rise to an average of N400bn monthly subsidy bill, which subsequently put a strain on its revenues and finances. NNPC Ltd further stated “that subsidy bill accumulated to N3.736 trillion as of May 31st 2023.” The oil company said that the non-payment of NNPCL’s share of upstream joint venture gas supplied to the government-owned plants had led to the accumulation of indebtedness of N174.07 billion by the Federation. “Similarly, the receivables due from the federation to NNPC Exploration & Production Limited (NEPL) as of 31st May 2023 amount to $712million (equivalent to N309.07 billion at N434.08/US$1) for revenues not remitted to NEPL but paid into the Federation account. “While the Federation owed NNPCL the sum of N 4.207 trillion as net indebtedness, the Company was only indebted to the Federation in the sum of N2.852 trillion, made up mainly of outstanding Good and Valuable Consideration (GVC) in respect of government upstream divestments, royalties and Petroleum Profit taxes (PPT). “We would like to also use this opportunity to clarify that over the years, our relationship with NEITI has been very cordial, as seen in August 2020 when we became an EITI supporting company in 2020, joining a group of over 65 extractives companies, state-owned enterprises (SOEs), commodity traders, financial institutions and industry partners committed to observing the EITI’s supporting company expectations. “Indeed, aside being a signatory to several EITI’s global ethics and standards, NNPC Ltd had on the sidelines of the United Nation’s General Assembly (UNGA) in Washington DC, in September this year, signed up to the United Nations Global Compact on human rights, labour, environment, and anti-corruption, thereby becoming the first state-owned oil company to join the global initiative,” it said.  The state oil company averred that it’s book remains open as it remain committed to delivering value to Nigerians with integrity and as espoused in our principles of Transparency, Accountability and Performance Excellence (TAPE), the bulwark of the Mele Kyari leadership of the company.

Nigeria needs political will to benefit from oil resources – Expert

An international oil and gas expert, Alhaji Sadiq Abubakar  Adamu, has urged the federal government to appoint technocrats familiar with the working of the oil and gas industry as minister. In a chat with journalists in Abuja, Adamu said appointing the right caliber of people into strategic positions in the sector would help formulate the right policies and ensure the sector is stirred in the right direction to achieve its full potential. According to him, Nigeria has the capacity and expertise to transform the oil and gas sector. Adamu, who played a leading role in the success recorded by Qatar in the development of its oil industry, stressed that with the right political will, Nigeria can turn the challenge of gas flaring into an advantage. Data from the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) revealed that between January and November 2022, Nigeria flared an estimated 5.6 billion standard cubic metres of gas valued at $685m. Nigeria’s natural gas is low in Hydrogen Sulphide and Carbon Dioxide impurities, gas flaring is still estimated at nearly $2m/day. According to data, Nigeria generated 22 million tonnes of LNG yearly as of 2020.  The oil and gas expert emphasized the need for the authorities to stop wasting its huge gas resources by converting it into a source of energy to address the perennial power supply challenge. He further stated that Nigeria has huge natural gas potential and is in fact often referred to in geological terms as a gas country with few oil deposits. He said, “Even with the horrors of gas flaring and the few LNG and NGL projects so far developed, Nigeria is yet to tap into two percent (2%) of its proven 192 TCF of natural gas. With global demand currently at 120 TCF and growing, Nigeria could deftly play the go-bridge in this huge demand pool with significant benefits for the nation. All that is needed is the political will and expert deployment of management skills to turn this energy of the future to Nigeria’s fattest revenue cash cow and solid foundation for industrialization.” Adamu, who is a member of the Multi-Billion Dollars RasGas and Qatar natural Gas team, who led the Committee that structured and developed the Qatar  Condensate Refinery, also said, it is time for the country to harness its huge oil and gas deposits for the benefit of the citizenry. The Taraba State born Harvard -trained oil and gas guru, whose sojourn in the industry spans over two decades, began his blossoming career with Mobil Corporation, Virginia, in the United States of America (USA), after his graduating top of his class from the prestigious Harvard University in 1992 with a Masters Degree in Law, has also worked for the multi-national oil and gas firm in several countries including the United Arab Emirate (UAE). He explained that Nigeria needs to urgently utilize her huge gas deposits by initiating policies and innovations that would monetize its enormous unassociated gas and to, as a matter of national urgency, permanently end gas flaming and convert these rich resources to benefit its generations yet to come. According to him, it is only by driving friendly initiatives and also appointing thorough-breed professionals with the requisite skills, exposure, and commitment that the populace will enjoy the natural resources that nature has endowed the country with. A skillful negotiator, Alhaji Adamu, has successfully brokered multi-billion dollar financing for Exxon Mobil projects in several countries across the globe. The legal luminary cum oil and gas technocrat has provided legal support for procurement from the International financing market of more than 15 Billion Dollars for Exxon Mobil projects in Nigeria. Adamu who is the Chairman Board of Directors of Oil Dyanmix Limited, and a Director of Sidler Dynamic Engineering Limited, an International Oil and Gas firm, among several other businesses, commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his decisive actions, saying that such policies would engender growth and development in the oil and gas sector of the economy. He canvassed support for the Administration and said all well-meaning citizens should support the government to deliver on its lofty campaign promises of; jobs creation, building of infrastructure, and social safety nets for the less privileged. The Taraba  State-born oil mogul who is also a philanthropist of repute, has experience in the hydrocarbon development industry, cut across Management, Legal support, Upstream and Midstream, Natural Gas monetization -domestic, International Planning, and Sales.