The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) gave Nigerians especially those in the Niger Delta cheering news that it had achieved a 30 per cent reduction in gas flares across its operational areas over the last five years.
The Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, NNPC Ltd., Malam Mele Kyari said this within the week while speaking as a panelist at the 2022 International Energy week.
Kyari who spoke in a virtual session on Energy transition, acknowledged the level of energy poverty in the country particularly around cooking fuels.
He added that NNPC had begun plans to replace bio- mass fuels with cleaner sources of energy.
According to him, NNPC is working on increasing the level of gas consumption in the domestic markets by replacing diesel, fuel oils and other heavy distillates with Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).
On renewable energy, he said NNPC was exploring alternative sources such as wind and solar power which required huge financial investment, to close the energy gap, but opined that natural resources could be used to bridge the gap.
“The only framework we can get is to see if we can convert our resources on ground to value. This value can then be used to close some of the infrastructure gap while also investing in renewable sources of energy,” he said.
On reaching net zero emissions, he maintained that though NNPC’s strategy and timing might differ from its partners, the company was in alignment with them on achieving this and understood the steps required to achieve this.
Meanwhile, Duke Oil, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) cleared the air regarding its role in the importation of methanol-laden petrol into the country.
The Managing Director of Duke Oil, Mr Lawal Sade, gave the clarification at an investigative hearing by the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream).
Sade said the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) it imported met all specifications and standards required by the NNPC.
He said that the PMS imported by the company was tested both at load port and discharge port, and it was found to have met all the requisite specifications and standards.
Sade further said that discharge of the product could not have been possible if it was not certified to be of standard quality by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and the joint inspection team.
The company assured the lawmakers and indeed all Nigerians of its commitment to the nation’s energy security, stressing that it was not possible for it to deliberately import sub-standard fuel.
Duke Oil also assured the lawmakers that all hands were on deck by key players in the industry to rectify the situation, adding that remedial actions have been taken to ensure consistent, smooth and safe supply of petroleum products going forward.
The Chairman of the Committee, Rep. Abdullahi Gaya, on his part said members of the committee would study the written response submitted by Duke Oil on the matter and contact the company if there was need to do so.
Also in the week, the ongoing rehabilitation works on the Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC) was applauded by three former Managing Directors (MDs) of the Company.
The MDs who visited the refinery on an inspection of the ongoing rehabilitation advised PHRC Management to ensure that members of staff use the opportunity of the rehabilitation to acquire specific expertise on key operational areas.
The three former MDs are Dr Bafred Enjugu, who was in-charge from 2014 to 2017; Mr Shehu Malami, who was the MD from 2017 to 2018 and Engr. Abba Bukar, the immediate past MD who retired in March 2020.
They expressed delight at being able to inspect the ongoing works and advised the management to manage cost and ensure a successful completion of the rehabilitation.
In his remarks Mr Abba Bukar thanked PHRC management for the opportunity to see firsthand, the ongoing works and staff who worked with him when he was at the helm of affairs at the refinery.
To manage the overall cost of the project, Bukar advised PHRC management to evaluate all the warehoused spare parts to determine those that can be used in the ongoing rehabilitation as a way of saving cost.
On his part, Mr Shehu Malami called on the management and staff of PHRC to ensure the successful completion of the rehabilitation project within budget, as it was in the interest of all PHRC staff, whether serving or retired.
He commended PHRC for achieving ISO recertification and enjoined the management team to ensure that proper processes and procedures were adhered to especially in the course of the rehabilitation.
In his remarks, Dr Bafred Enjugu advised PHRC management to use the opportunity offered by the ongoing rehabilitation to build skills and expertise in specific areas like rotating equipment, electrical and mechanical engineering.
He noted that subject matter experts that would be developed through exposure to the rehabilitation would serve as reservoirs of knowledge that can be used for the provision of solution in other locations and as resource persons across the company.
Furthermore, he said PHRC Management should pay attention to the rehabilitation project by ensuring that products that would later be refined in the plants would be of standard in quality and to specification.
Earlier, the serving MD of PHRC, Dikko described the visiting former MDs as professionals who gave their best to NNPC and the refining sector in the country as they all worked both in Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company (KRPC) and PHRC.
He said that by coming to see the ongoing rehabilitation, the former MDs had demonstrated the spirit of camaraderie, as their visit and support for the project would boost the spirit and morale of staff.
Dikko said the visit showed that staff who retired from the system still had pivotal roles to play in the activities of the company.
He briefed the former MDs on the progress made on the refinery rehabilitation and the Corporate Social Responsibility efforts being made for host communities.
Dikko said these efforts had led to relative peace and assured that PHRC would continue to work with hosts communities through honest engagements and social investments that would create mutual benefits.
In the meantime, the Managing Director (MD) of the Port Harcourt Refining Company Limited, Mr Ahmed Dikko won the Swift reporters 2021 Man of the year Award.
Speaking at the award presentation in Abuja, the publisher of Swift Reporters Mr Adewole Kehinde said Dikko was recognised for his contributions, humility and dedication to the on-going rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt Refinery.
He noted that the aim of the awards was to recognise the extra efforts of individuals and to encourage good behavior and inculcate a competitive spirit.
Responding, Dikko thanked Swift Reporters for considering him for the award of Man of the Year.
He said all thanks should go to his boss, NNPC CEO, Mele Kyari who found him worthy of the responsibility to champion the rehabilitation of PHRC.
Dikko also thanked the CEO for the support especially with the funding of the project and the GED R&P whom he said had given him all the needed backing in the course of the rehabilitation.
He dedicated the award to management and staff of PHRC whom he praised for their dedication and commitment.
The refinery boss said the award would spur him to remain focused on the rehabilitation of PHRC, adding that the refinery would run profitably after the exercise.
He assured that the rehabilitation was moving as scheduled and that Nigerians would reap the benefit of the exercise.
In the week under review, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva assured that Nigeria was doing a lot currently to meet its OPEC production quota by the end of this year.
Sylva who gave the assurance in Abuja during a press briefing on the ongoing Nigerian International Energy Summit (NIES), expressed dissatisfaction that Nigeria was not able to benefit from the current high prices of crude oil.
The minister said that the high prices of crude also encouraged other producers and that it was not beneficial to crude oil producers.
Briefing on the NIES, Sylva said the Federal Government was hosting the summit with its partners.
They include the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources and all its parastatals including the NNPC, and the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB).
Others are the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NURPC), Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) and Petroleum Training Institute (PTI).
According to him, the objective of the summit from inception was to deliver the biggest and best African Petroleum Technology and Business Conference that would be the definitive platform, not just for Nigeria, but also for Africa to engage the global energy community.
“I believe that we have delivered on that with every edition.”
The event was formerly known as the Nigeria International Petroleum Summit (NIPS).
The first edition was held in 2018. Thus, this year’s edition will be the 5th edition.
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