Nigerians have no cause for fear about enjoying a hitch-free Christmas and New year celebrations, I as the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) has assured it has a robust of petroleum products, particularly premium motor spirit (PMS), popularly called petrol, to last beyond the season.
The Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the company, Mele Kyari, said the Company has already made a robust plan to build a sufficient stock of petroleum products to last beyond the ember months and the new year festivities.
Kyari who led an NNPC Ltd. delegation on a courtesy visit to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, at the National Assembly in Abuja, on Wednesday said the company was prepared to deliver on its mandate as fuel supplier of last resort for the country, particularly during festive periods.
“By the creation of the National Assembly, NNPC Ltd. is saddled with the responsibility of guaranteeing Nigeria’s energy security, which is critical to national security. We have made a robust plan for the forthcoming end of the year festivities and beyond. We do not see any shortages in the petroleum products supply for the period,” the GCEO said.
While lauding the National Assembly for the critical role it played in the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, the legal document the reform of the petroleum industry is anchored, Kyari said the legislative endeavour had given birth to a new commercially-oriented National Oil Company (NOC) governed by the Company & Allied Matters Act (CAMA) principles.
With the passage of the PIA 2021, Kyari said the NNPC Ltd’s profitability margins have significantly increased, from a loss position of N803 billion in 2018 to a profit position of N674 billion in 2021.
Kyari said the NNPC Ltd. has its eye set on a target of raising its profit to over N2 trillion when the 2022 Audited Financial Statements (AFS) are released.
Since July this year, the NNPC Ltd’s CEO said the Company, which is involved in the entire value-chain of the oil and gas business and controls about 30% of the nation’s petroleum downstream retail market, has started paying dividends to its shareholders.
Identifying crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism as two major challenges to the Company’s business, Kyari said the recent collaboration with the nation’s security services as well as third-party security contractors have been yielding results, which has boosted the company’s operations, mostly in the area of increased crude oil production.
The GCEO said NNPC Ltd. was investing in several gas and power projects across the country aimed at supporting the Federal Government’s power generation and industrialisation aspirations.
He gave the assurance that the NNPC Ltd. was working seriously to revamp the local refining of petroleum products and collaborating with indigenous refiners to ensure that Nigeria became a net exporter of petroleum products.
In his response, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio assured the GCEO of the 10th Senate’s support, saying the Nigerian Parliament appreciates the Kyari-led management at the NNPC Ltd for its commitment to ensuring robust petroleum products supply during the yuletide period.
“Nigerians always want to hear good news. We are glad that you have made robust plans to provide sufficient petroleum products supply this coming festive period and beyond,” Akpabio said.
He lauded the NNPC Ltd for the rehabilitation of the nation’s four refineries refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna, saying their restreaming would cause a multiplier effect on the nation’s economy.