The restructuring or total overhauling of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation is still being deliberated and has not been effected, the Federal Government has said.
According to the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources, it will be dangerous to reach a conclusion on the matter when it was still being discussed.
In a statement issued on Monday by its spokesperson, Mr. Idang Alibi, the ministry said, “Quoting from the provisions of the draft National Oil Policy and the draft National Gas Policy widely in circulation now, the media reached a dangerous conclusion on a matter that is still being deliberated and debated upon before a final decision is taken on it by the appropriate organ of the Federal Government.
“The Ministry of Petroleum wishes to state that no final decision has yet been taken on the idea of scrapping the NNPC and other parastatals and agencies of the petroleum sector.”
It stated that the ideas contained in the two key policy documents were still tentative, adding that they would become policy plans of the government only after they might have undergone the necessary processes.
It added that the draft documents were still subject to further amendments, reviews or even rejection.
The ministry said, “We wish to let Nigerians and concerned foreigners know that between Wednesday and Thursday, 16th and 17th of November, a stakeholders’ consultation meeting is taking place at the PTDF corporate headquarters in Abuja on the draft National Oil Policy and Gas Policy to robustly debate the ideas contained in them.
“Even when they have been thoroughly debated, nothing definitive can be said yet for the outcome of this two-day meeting, as it will be presented to the highest decision-making body in the country, the Federal Executive Council, for consideration. It is only the pronouncement of the FEC that will make the draft become a policy and working documents for the Ministry of Petroleum Resources to reform the petroleum sector.”
Meanwhile, the latest financial and operations report of the NNPC released on Monday revealed that between August and September this year, the corporation recorded a group financial loss of N5.966bn.
The corporation’s operational loss of N17.182bn was up from a total of N11.216bn recorded in August.
Last week, media reported that the NNPC recorded a total loss of N127.73bn between January and August this year. The report for August, however, indicated that the national oil firm reduced its losses to N11.22bn in that month when compared to the N24.18bn recorded in July.
But the report for September showed that the reduction in the firm’s loss could not be sustained, as it further revealed that the total deficit of the corporation for the nine-month period from January 2016 was N144.912bn.
In the latest report, the national oil firm said, “The NNPC has been operating in a challenging environment, which limits its aspiration to profitability. This 14th publication of the NNPC Monthly Financial and Operations Report indicates a trading deficit of ₦17.18bn as against the reported August 2016 trading deficit of ₦11.22bn.
“The higher deficit in the month of September 2016 was due to the decrease in revenue, which is attributed to net decline in the PPMC petroleum products sales by 20.69 per cent or ₦27.36bn, and force majeure declared by the SPDC as a result of the vandalised 48-inch Forcados export line.”
It stated that pipeline vandalism continued to take a heavy toll on its operations during the month as more than 179 vandalised points were recorded.
It, however, stated that the rate of pipeline vandalism in the country had continue to reduce due to the Federal Government and the NNPC’s sustained engagements with the militants.
