NNPC Ltd, partners ready for production recovery
- Sustains partnership with NIPCO on CNG expansion
Sopuruchi Onwuka
Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Mr. Mele Kyari, says that he is no longer mincing words on the company’s plan with right set of partners to drive oil and gas production recovery.
He also stated that the national oil company would continue to work with leading marketing company, Nipco Plc, on propagation of compressed natural gas for transportation fuel and sundry application.
Mr Kyari stated that the plan has been sharpened with clear focus on what to do and who to engage in a determined war to increase Nigeria’s crude oil production and grow its reserves.
Group spokesman of the company, Mr Femi Soneye, describes the move as declaration of a state of emergency on production.
Mr. Kyari who delivered a keynote address at the 23rd Nigeria Oil & Gas Conference and Exhibition (NOG Energy Week) in Abuja, stated that all preparations and arrangements are in place to salvage the country’s falling production.
“We have decided to stop the debate. We have declared war on the challenges affecting our crude oil production. War means war. We have the right tools. We know what to fight. We know what we have to do at the level of assets. We have engaged our partners. And we will work together to improve the situation,” the GCEO declared.
According to him, a detailed analysis of assets revealed that Nigeria can conveniently produce two million barrels of crude oil per day without deploying new rigs, but the major impediment to achieving that remains the inability of players to act in a timely manner.
He said the “war” will help NNPC Ltd. and its partners to speedily clear all identified obstacles to effective and efficient production such as delays in procurement processes, which have become a challenge in the industry.
On medium to long-term measures aimed at boosting and sustaining production, Kyari said NNPC Ltd. would replace all the old crude oil pipelines built over four decades ago and also introduce a rig sharing programme with its partners to ensure that production rigs stay in the country for between four and five years which is the standard practice in most climes.
He called on all players in the industry to collaborate towards reducing the cost of production and boosting production to target levels.
He expressed the Company’s commitment to investing in critical midstream gas infrastructure such as the Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben (OB3) and the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano gas pipelines to boost domestic gas production and supply for power generation, industrial development and economic prosperity of the country.
On Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), Kyari observed that NNPC Ltd. has since keyed into the Presidential CNG drive, adding that in conjunction with partners such as NIPCO Gas, NNPC Ltd. has built a number of CNG stations, 12 of which will be commissioned on Thursday in Lagos and Abuja.
