Trading surplus in the operations of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) jumped by over 314.24 percent in February from the previous figure recorded in January 2021, the national oil company has reported.
The figures were contained in the February 2021 edition of the NNPC Monthly Financial and Operations Report (MFOR) published on Thursday in Abuja.
Details of the report showed that the company’s recorded a ₦39.85billion trading surplus for the month from about ₦9.62billion surplus recorded in January 2021.
Trading surplus or deficit is arrived at when the company’s total expenditure figure is deducted from its total revenue for the period under review.
Compared with the performance in January, the latest report revealed that the company’s total expenditure for February as a proportion of revenue was lower by 0.05percent, to 0.93 percent as against 0.98 percent in the previous month.
Providing further details on the report, the NNPC spokesperson, Kennie Obateru said the NNPC Group operating revenue for February 2021, compared to January 2021, increased by 35.64 percent, or N152.07billion to about N578.79billion.
Similarly, expenditure for the Group for the month increased by 29.21 percent, or N121.83billion to about N538.94billion.
Obateru attributed the significant increase in the company’s trading surplus to its ability of the Corporation’s downstream subsidiary, the Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC), to reconcile its petroleum products importation and distribution accounts using the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) pricing template.
He said other factors that boosted the trading surplus figure for the Group included the performance of International trading affiliate, Duke Oil; the gas subsidiary, the Nigerian Gas Company (NGC), and the Nigerian Gas Marketing Company (NGMC), which recorded robust gains as a result of increased debt collection and cost optimization measures.
The Mele Kyari-led management of the company has continued to pursue its agenda of cost reduction and optimization in the company’s operations.
Conversely, during the period under review, the report showed that pipeline vandalism remained a major challenge in the company’s operations.
The report said at least 54 pipeline points were vandalized during the month, representing 50 percent, an increase from the 27 points recorded in January 2021.
The Warri Area accounted for 50 percent of the total incidents reported, while Mosimi Area accounted for 39 percent of the vandalized points, and Kaduna and Port Harcourt Areas accounted for 7 and 4 percent respectively.
To curb the growing menace of pipeline vandalism, Obateru said the company’s management was determined to continue working in collaboration with the local communities and other stakeholders to find solutions.
In terms of petroleum products supply during the period under review, the NNPC spokesperson said the company supplied a total of 1.41billion litres of Premium Motor Spirit (popularly called petrol), translating to an average 50.52million litres per day.
In terms of natural gas offtake, commercialization and utilization, he said out of about 206.05Billion Cubic Feet (BCF) produced in February 2021, a total of 133.06BCF was commercialized, consisting of 40.15BCF for the domestic market and 92.91BCF for export.
A breakdown of the figures, he said, translates to a total supply of 1,433.75Million Standard Cubic Feet Per Day (mmscfd) of gas to the domestic market and 3,318.25mmscfd of gas supplied to the export market for the month.
“This implies that 64.48% of the average daily gas produced was commercialized, while the balance of 35.52% was re-injected, used as upstream fuel gas or flared,” Obateru said.
The gas flare rate for the month stood at about 7.67 percent (about 565.52mmscf/d), compared with average gas flare rate of 7.12 percent (about 529.20mmscf/d) for the period of February 2020 to February 2021.
The February 2021 NNPC Monthly Financial and Operations Report published in keeping with the Corporation’s commitment to transparency and accountability, is the 67th edition in the series.
