The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, has successfully renegotiated the cost of its deep offshore rig-rate downwards by about 71.7 per cent.
The Group Managing Director of the corporation, Maikanti Baru, said Nigeria was saved the huge burden of the cost of operation in the difficult terrain from the previous charge of about $580,000 to about $164,000 per day. Mr. Baru, who was speaking in Lagos at the 14th Annual Aret Adams Memorial Lecture, said similarly, the NNPC achieved a 35 per cent downward review of rig rates per day for both swamp and land operations in its portfolios. A rig rate is a major cost component incurred by an exploration and production company in carrying out drilling operations for oil and gas in deep offshore, shallow offshore, swamp, land areas or basins.
Mr. Baru, who was represented on the occasion by the Chief Operating Officer, Gas & Power, Saidu Mohammed, said these reductions were also effected in NNPC’s unit technical cost, UTC, over the period.
The various reductions, he said, served as incentive for investors to grow reserves, increase profitability and improve return on investment, apart from boosting government revenue and improving government’s commitment to developmental projects across the country.
