NNPC working to sustain petroleum sector growth – Yakubu

The Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, Andrew Yakubu, has pledged the Federal Government’s commitment to sustain the reform presently ongoing in the petroleum sector.
Top on the reform agenda of the government, according to Yakubu, is the determined efforts of the Federal Government to ensure that the country’s three refineries – the Warri Refinery and Petrochemical Company, the Port Harcourt Refinery and Petrochemical Company and the Kaduna Refinery and Petrochemical Company – become fully operational.
Yakubu, in a document obtained from the NNPC headquarters, in Abuja, noted that the upstream sub-sector of the industry, which deals with crude oil production, has been sustained at 2.48 million barrels per day, adding that only recently, production capacity reached an all time high of 2.7 million barrels per day due to the sustained amnesty programme of the President Goodluck Jonathan government.
The NNPC boss noted that various efforts have been made by the government to increase Nigeria’s crude oil reserves in the Inland Sedimentary Basins, especially in the Chad Basin, as well as reactivate the erstwhile abandoned SPDC JV assets and ramped up production on the divested SPDC JV assets.
He said: “This has positively impacted on NPDC’s growth aspiration with current crude oil production now averaging 130,000 barrels per day.”
Emphasising the progress so far made by the Corporation since took over 15 months ago, Yakubu said the NNPC is working to ensure that not only is the UNEP report on the environmental devastation of Ogoniland implemented, the development cost of both JV and PSC projects is drastically reduced so as to shore up government’s revenue.
Explaining the Federal Government’s achievements in the midstream sub-sector, gas supply for power generation and industrial use, he said effort has been sustained, especially with the gas supply intervention programme, that has led to increased gas supply to the western gas corridor.
Implementation of critical pipeline infrastructure for gas supply is being vigorously pursued, he stated, adding: “After a prolonged delay the ELPS phase 1 expansion project has been commissioned, which allowed the evacuation of additional 135mscfd of gas production from Chevron Escravos gas plant.
“Gas supply to Olorunsongo has also been commissioned, while the OB3 and Oredo-Ogherefegas supply projects are in progress.”
Yakubu stated further that with the support of the government, the NNPC has succeeded in securing the support of JBIC of Japan in part-financing of NNPC equity interest and the Japanese strategic investor’s participation in the Brass LNG project.
He described this as “a commendable milestone in NNPC’s quest at ensuring attainment of FID by first quarter 2013”.
He added: “Substantial progress has been made in the implementation of the critical gas utilization projects (Petrochemicals & fertilizer plants and CPF facilities) as outlined in the Gas Revolution: feasibility studies of the CPF project has been completed with pre-FEED in progress, while pre-selection of bidders for EPC on the Fertilizer project has been carried out. Pre-feasibility studies on the Petrochemical plants have also commenced.”
In the Downstream sub sector the NNPC GMD noted that the Corporation, on the path of growth and development, has sustained production nationwide despite the occasional hiccups due to labour action and vandalism of crude oil/product pipelines.
He disclosed that after over a decade, the Port Harcourt-Aba product pipeline was re-streamed, with Aba Depot re-commissioned in June 2012.
The integrity of other key product pipeline infrastructure, such as Warri-Benin and Aba-Enugu are being re-established, he stated, stressing that the effort will make more products available in inland depots, which will enable faster intervention when necessary.
On tackling the problem of the availability of Kerosene in the country, Yakubu said the current management of NNPC is collaborating with other stakeholders to progress the programme of kerosene to LPG switch, with a view to addressing the long term phase out of kerosene for domestic use.