The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) started its activities for the week with a call for support of stakeholders in the oil and gas sector to tackle crude oil theft in the Niger Delta region.
The stakeholders were the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), among others.
The Group Managing Director and Chief Executive officer of the NNPC, Malam Mele Kyari, made the call at the 5th quadrennial delegates’ conference of the NUPENG held in Asaba, Delta State.
The theme of the conference was, “Just Energy Transition: For oil and gas workers’ social welfare and security”.
Kyari said the theft of crude oil impacted negatively the revenue due to the Federal Government and had denied the country the much-needed fund to boost economic development.
“It is also a big threat to the NNPC Limited’s quest for energy security for the country,” he said.
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The NNPC GMD also told participants at the conference that the impact of pipeline vandalism had reduced the capacity of the country to meet its oil production quota.
Kyari said as major stakeholders in the oil and gas business, the time had come for NUPENG and NARTO to collaborate with the NNPC in bringing the issue of crude oil theft to an end.
He said everybody must be involved in the fight in order to save the industry from collapse.
n a related development, the House of Representatives within the week under review pledged its support to the fight by the NNPC against crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism in the Niger Delta.
The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream), Musa Sarkin-Adar, gave the assurance at an investigative hearing on the state of crude oil production and the price in the country.
Sarkin-Adar said the legislature would support NNPC by passing adequate legislations to help tackle the challenges facing the oil and gas industry.
He lauded the company for the initiatives it had taken so far to address the twin menace of oil theft and pipeline vandalism.
Earlier in a presentation to the Committee, the GMD/CEO of NNPC, Malam Mele Kyari, identified oil theft, pipeline vandalism and illegal refineries as the major factors responsible for the low oil production in the country.
He disclosed that the Federal Government had introduced strategic and coordinated measures to arrest the trend to ensure a boost in crude oil production.
Kyari said that national crude oil production would rise to between 2.2 and 2.4 million barrels per day by the time all the measures instituted to tackle the challenges began to yield results.
NNPC GMD also called for the establishment of an independent judicial system (a special court) to promote speedy prosecution of oil theft and pipeline vandalism cases.
He said time had come for all stakeholders to join the advocacy for the full wrath of the law to be visited on all those found to be involved in the crimes of crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism.
On rise in the price of petroleum products, NNPC explained that though prices were determined by a mix of international and local factors, the Company’s intervention had led to relative price stability in the country.
In allaying the fears and doubts of the lawmakers’ about the positive influence of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) on the nation’s oil and gas industry, NNPC assured that the fiscal and regulatory frameworks of the PIA would definitely bring about higher value in the industry in due course as the full implementation of the law gets underway.
Also in the week, the NNPC Ltd. applauded Nigerian Security Agencies for their respective roles in ensuring the smooth business operations of the company, especially during the recent fuel supply crisis.
NNPC gave the commendation at the 2022 1st Quarterly Security Stakeholders’ Meeting organised by the Group Security Department (GSD) of the Company at the NNPC Towers, Abuja.
In her opening remarks, the Group Executive Director (GED), Corporate Services, Mrs Aisha Ahmadu-Katagum, expressed appreciation to the various security agencies for all the efforts made to secure NNPC’s businesses, personnel and facilities.
Ahmadu-Katagum, who was represented by the Group General Manager Information and Technology Division (ITD), Danladi Inuwa, stated that NNPC acknowledges the agencies’ support in ensuring the maintenance of law and order during the recent fuel supply glitch.
She added that the company would continue to collaborate with them to ensure smooth distribution of the company’s products across the country.
Also speaking at the meeting, the General Manager, Group Security Division (GSD), Mr Abba Mohammed, called for deeper collaborations noting that the current security situation in the country required the cooperation of all the stakeholders in the security sector.
In attendance at the meeting were representatives of the Nigerian Police Force, the Nigerian Army, Department of State Services, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and Federal Fire Service.
In the meantime, the Association of Professional Women Engineers (APWEN) in collaboration with the NNPC Ltd. constructed, commissioned and donated a multimillion Naira well-equipped science and technology laboratory with a motorised borehole to the Sarki Ahmadu Primary School, Misau, Bauchi State.
Speaking at the inauguration of the project which took place in Misau, Bauchi State, GMD/CEO of NNPC Ltd., Malam Mele Kyari, said that the programme was targeted at promoting the study of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) among primary school girls between 8 years and 10 years.
Kyari, represented by the company’s Chief Innovation Officer, Mrs Betty Ugona, described the project as one of the largest and most ambitious attempts to encourage more girls across the country to pursue careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.
In her welcome address, President of APWEN, Dr Elizabeth Eterigho, said that scholarships were awarded to 21 best pupils from 10 primary schools in Misau after conducting series of hand-on experiments with everyday materials.
She added that the scholarships sponsored by the NNPC Ltd., would cover the awardees’ tuition fees from primary school to tertiary level. (NAN)
