Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), began the week with a commendation on the Nigerian Gas Company (NGC) for institutionalizing a process efficiency system.
Malam Kyari gave the commendation during a visit by the management of NGC to formally brief him on the company’s International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) 9001:2015 certification at the NNPC Towers, Abuja.
The GMD who expressed satisfaction with the company’s financial performance tasked the Management of NGC to sustain the current gains by striving to satisfy partners and shareholders at all times.
“I know that we are inching towards the goal of global excellence which can’t be possible without having the right processes in place.
“But we must work hard to deliver value on the basis of those standards to meet our customers’ expectations and ultimately deliver dividends to our shareholders,” he said.
The Chief Operating Officer, Gas and Power, Engr. Yusuf Usman, said the certification of the company by ISO was in line with the GMD’s Transparency, Accountability and Performance Excellence (TAPE) agenda to ensure that processes and operations of the NGC conform to global standards.
Speaking in a similar vein, the Managing Director of NGC, Engr. Seyi Omotowa, said the acquisition of the ISO Quality Management System (QMS) certification was a decision by the Management of NGC to place the company on the pedestal of quality for global competitiveness.
He said with the ISO 9001:2015 certification, NGC is in a better position to command the confidence of customers and broaden its clientele and the bottom line.
In another development, the NGC expressed its readiness to continue to build, expand and maintain the gas infrastructure footprint as part of efforts to deepen domestic gas utilisation in the country.
The Managing Director of NGC, Engr Seyi Omotowa, said that in the last one year, the Escravos to Lagos Pipeline System (ELPS 2) has been expanded. He revealed that currently NGC is the second most profitable subsidiary of the NNPC.
Omotowa said the main business of the Company is gas transportation.
The NNPC revealed earlier in the week that it was considering equity participation in a number of private refineries in the country.
The Corporation said the development was in line with a Federal Government policy directive which stipulates the mandatory participation of the Corporation in any privately-owned refinery that exceeds 50,000 barrels per day capacity in keeping with its statutory role of safeguarding national energy security.
The Corporation has in the meantime identified at least six refinery projects in which it intends to seek equity participation, five of them are at the development stage with the Dangote Refinery being the largest of them.
The National Oil Company of Nigeria primarily has a dual role of providing stewardship for the nation’s hydrocarbon resources and adding value to the resources for the benefit of all Nigerians and other stakeholders.
These roles enable it to achieve the twin objectives of providing energy security for the country and stimulating the nation’s economic development and growth.
The refining sector is one of such segments where NNPC is revisiting its strategy in order to strengthen domestic refining capacity and guarantee National Energy Security.
The new vision is to grow domestic refining capacity, improve petroleum products supply from our local refineries and become a net exporter of petroleum products.
The Corporation assures that the move to seek equity participation in the private refineries would not undercut its commitment to the rehabilitation of its own refineries and strengthen the domestic refining sector, stressing that the overall goal is to boost the nation’s refining capacity within the soonest possible time and boosting the nation’s economy.
Also in the week, the NNPC reiterated its commitment to productive engagement with relevant security organisations to secure the nation’s oil and gas assets and forestall operational failure.
The Corporation’s Chief Operating Officer, Corporate Services, Mr Mohammed Ahmed, stated this while addressing security personnel drawn from various security agencies at the 2nd Quarter Security Stakeholders’ Meeting organised by the Group Security Department on Wednesday at the NNPC Towers, Abuja.
Ahmed said that security is a unique component of the society that requires serious attention by both individuals and corporate bodies for the growth and development of the country.
“The import of having this dialogue is to synchronize our activities to ensure that the nation at large is secured; when you have peace, the economy thrives and where you have insecurity, the economy shrinks. We need to come together and see how we can attain the goal of a secured nation,” he said.
Also speaking at the event, the General Manager, Group Security Department (GSD), Mr Abba Kaka- Muhammed, said part of the objectives of the Corporation’s Security Stakeholders Initiative was intelligence sharing among participating agencies to combat insecurity.
He noted that existing cordial relationship between the NNPC and various security bodies has yielded significant results, adding that such dialogue was necessary to avert operational failure in the system.
The Corporation’s security Chief informed that the platform was part of the Management framework to ensure security of lives and national assets.
Security agencies represented at the event were: the Nigerian Military, Nigeria Police, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Nigeria Fire Service, and the Department of State Service.
Also in the week under review, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) commended the NNPC for rehabilitating its 18 Road Side Clinics nationwide.
The Corp Marshal, Dr Boboye Oyeyemi, said in Abuja that the gesture has gone a long way in saving the lives of so many road side accident victims
Oyeyemi noted that the rehabilitated of the clinics which are strategically located at critical points where help can easily be accessible to distressed motorists, also attend to their immediate communities’ medical needs.
Still in the week under review, the NNPC said it remained committed to the promotion of sustainable environment across it operations.
A statement by the Corporation’s Group General Manager, Public Affairs Division, Dr Kennie Obateru, disclosed that the NNPC GMD, said energy transition programme and support for carbon neutral projects were proofs of that commitment.
The NNPC GMD stated this at an event organised by the Group Health, Safety, Environment Department to mark this year’s World Environment Day.
Kyari said the oil and gas industry and particularly the NNPC were conscious of the impact of their operations on the environment and so have been at the forefront of efforts to preserve the environment wherever they operate.
“The oil and gas industry is also leading a move towards transition of energy were our activities become carbon neutral. It means that we have more respect for the environment, we carry out our activities in such a way that impact on the environment is at the barest minimum’’ Kyari said.
The GMD said NNPC and its partners across the industry have succeeded in minimising oil spills and emplaced measures to ensure that even when spills occur, they are immediately contained, adding that restoration of the environment was now a first line activity in the oil and gas industry.
He said NNPC would continue to engage stakeholders, regulatory institutions and global partners to ensure that the environment is preserved for generations to come.
Earlier in a key note address, the GMD congratulated Pakistan for hosting this year’s World Environment Day and expressed hope that Nigeria would be the first African country to host the global event.
In his address, the Chief Operating Officer, Corporate Services, Mr Mohammed Ahmed, said NNPC would strive to carry out its business in alignment with the ecosystem in line with the theme of the 2021 World Environment Day: “Ecological Restoration and Resetting Our Relation with Nature”.
Speaking in the same vein, the General Manager, Group Health, Safety, Environment and Quality, Engr. Hussaini Alli, said there was need for everyone to work towards preserving and sustaining the environment.
He stressed that the objective of the World Environment Day is to sensitise and galvanize people to take positive action for the sustenance of the environment.
The World Environment Day is observed on June 5 of every year. Pakistan was the global host of this year’s event which saw the launch of the United Nation’s Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.
On the global scene, oil rose supported by an Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC+) decision to stick to its plan to restore supply to the market gradually and by the slow pace of nuclear talks between Iran and the United States.
Brent rose 48 cents, or 0.7 per cent, to 70.73 dollars per barrel. United States West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 38 cents, or 0.6 per cent, to 68.10 dollars.
Analysts also say that the slow progress of Iran nuclear talks provides breathing room for demand to catch up before Iranian oil returns to the market.
Meanwhile, the Market Intelligence Department of NNPC’s London Office reported that the OPEC-plus reached a swift consensus to stick with its plan to gradually increase crude oil production, brushing aside concerns about the potential return of large volumes of Iranian oil to the international market.
Oil ministers from the alliance spoke in optimistic terms about the outlook for the global economy and oil demand, and that view seemed to be vindicated by oil prices, with Brent crude futures settling above 70 dollars per barrel.
All done in half an hour, the meeting was wrapped up in record speed and Prince Abdulaziz said the possibility of a surge in Iran’s exports was not even discussed.
OPEC-plus ministers decided not to make any changes to the plan they originally adopted in early April to roll back some of their production cuts and gradually increase their output in May, June and July.
The phased increase of 2.1 million barrels per day includes the reversal of an additional voluntary cut of one million barrels per day by Saudi Arabia.
