NNPCL Not In Breach Of Enabling Laws Guiding Its Dealings With Partners’

NNPCL Not In Breach Of Enabling Laws Guiding Its Dealings With Partners’

By prince Benson Davies

Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mr. Mele Kyari, has declared that the company has not breached any of the enabling laws guiding its dealings with partners and as such, it should not be associated with any claims of alleged economic sabotage.
Kyari stated this while addressing the Senate Ad-Hoc Committee investigating alleged economic sabotage in the Nigeria Petroleum Industry at the National Assembly on Wednesday, August 7, 2024, maintaining that oil refining business remains a straightforward business which any investor should know before venturing into the market.
“Crude oil refining business is a straightforward business. You must secure your feedstock and you must find a market. This is basic and this determines what happens in any refinery anywhere in the world. That is the business of refining. We have done nothing to sabotage any domestic refinery,” Kyari said.
Ostensibly referring to alleged sabotage of the Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical Company in certain quarters, he stressed that the law remains very clear on domestic crude oil supply obligation and also on providing for local refineries, adding that the same law also stated that there must be a willing buyer and a willing seller.
On the alleged importation of sub-standard products into the country, Kyari said the NNPCL has nothing to do with importation of bad products, insisting that the relevant regulatory agencies will, by law, not allow any sub-standard product into the country.
He also supported the request for the Ad-hoc Committee to broadcast the interactive sessions live on national television to avoid misinforming Nigerians, noting that there was enough infrastructure to produce two million barrels of crude per day, but the challenges of crude oil theft, pipeline vandalism and absence of investment in the upstream are the major factors hindering the sector.
“As a company owned by over 200 million Nigerians, the NNPCL has grown from a loss-making position to a profit-making entity and we pledge full cooperation with the committee in its efforts to unravel the allegations being investigated, The NNPCL board, management and staff remain loyal and faithful.

“We are committed to Nigeria and will continue to act in line with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), the Company and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), and other enabling laws and regulations governing the nation’s energy industry.
“We are also faithful, loyal and committed to the progress and development of this country. We have to protect the overall interest of this great nation. We are not in breach of any rules,” he stated.

PHOTO CAPTION FOR NNPCL STORY

Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mr. Mele Kyari, flanked by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (right), Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri and Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Agency (NUPRC), Engr. Gbenga Komolafe, during an interactive session of the Senate Ad-hoc Committee investigating alleged economic sabotage in the Nigerian Petroleum Industry at the National Assembly on Wednesday