Oil & Energy
Controversy Trails Purge In NNPC
The recent mass sack as
part of the purge going on in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is not going down well within some quarters and stakeholders in the oil and gas sector as groups are urging President Buhari to halt the process.
The Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) have opposed the approach, saying it would not help the oil and gas sector.
In a joint statement signed byNUPENG Presdient, Mr Igwe Achese, his PENGASSAN counterpart, Mr. Francis Johnson, as well as scribes of both unions, the groups said though they fully support the fight against corruption, but the fight should not be turned against the workers who the government swore to protect.
NUPENG and PENGASSAN accused the new Managing Director of NNPC, Dr. Emmanuel Kachikwu, of not carrying the unions along in the process.
They said the mass sacking of workers was diversionary and urged the MD to focus on how to recover the stolen billions in the sector.
“The ongoing exercise portends a great danger in the oil and gas sector, if workers are meant to bear the brunt of government’s current action where the fight against corruption is now used as an act of vindictiveness against workers,” they said.
The group doubted if the ongoing sack was the idea of President Muhammadu Buhari, describing the MD’s action as acts of cover-up through sack of innocent workers.
“We are, therefore, calling on Persident Buhari to call the GMD to stop the ongoing sack-action in the corporation and set up a team to review his action for justice, equity and equity”, it said.
It noted that efforts to reach the President were being blocked by his protocols.
According to the union, its defence of members, the workers, was a direct challenge to job security and also a contradiction to the promise by Buhari on job creation.
In its reactions, a group, Niger Delta People’s Solidarity Forum has also written to President Buhari opposing the process of the purge.
According to the letter, “those who are public officers with high integrity and have contributed immensely in promoting good governance in public office were crucified with those who have cases to answer”.
It said, the group is pained that patriot and dedicated Niger Delta citizens that are some of the best brains in the world in their chosen fields were some of the victims of this bias and unjustifiable mass sack.”
The letter which was signed by the group’s National President, Comrade George Utomhinm, Secretary General, Moses Efeakpokrire, PRO Miss Lynda Magada, and Co-ordinator for South-West, Chief Andrew Elijah, the forum urged Buhari to reverse some of the sack in the interest of the nation.
Another group, the Isoko Vanguard for Change, a political pressure group from Delta State said the mass sack would not yield the needed result as it would cover up the frauds that stink in the system.
The group urged the new MD to retrace his steps saying the sack had, to a large extent, displaced people of the zone from the corporation.
The group particularly called on President Buhari to prevail on the new MD so as to save the sector from the exit of the best brains being sent packing.
However, NNPC Friday decried attempts by a section of the media to politicize the current appointments and retirements in the corporation by imputing ethnic coloration to it.
NNPC’s Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Mr. Ohi Alegbe, in a statement said all action’s so far taken by the corporation, were in line with the extant rules on federal character and also done with the approval of President Muhammadu Buhari.
It explained that the recent promotions, appointments and retirements are all part of restructuring exercise aimed at repositioning the corporation into a lean, efficient, profit-driven organisation and called on Nigerians to discountenance any report aimed at denigrating the ongoing re-organisation in the corporation.
Chris Oluoh
The Federal Government has offered explanation with regard to recent changes to fuel sulphur content standards for diesel.
The Government said the change was part of a regional harmonisation effort, not a relaxation of regulations for local refineries.
The Chief Executive, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Farouk Ahmed, told newsmen that the move was only adhering to a 2020 decision by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) which mandated a gradual shift to cleaner fuels across the region.
Ahmed said the new limits comply with the decision by ECOWAS that mandated stricter fuel specifications, with enforcement starting in January 2021 for non-ECOWAS imports and January 2025 for ECOWAS refineries.
“We are merely implementing the ECOWAS decision adopted in 2020. So, a local refinery with a 650 ppm sulphur in its product is permissible and safe under the ECOWAS rule until January next year where a uniform standard would apply to both the locally refined and imported products outside West Africa”, Ahmed said.
He said importers were notified of the progressive reduction in allowable sulphur content, reaching 200 ppm this month from 300 ppm in February, well before the giant Dangote refinery began supplying diesel.
Recall that an S&P Global report, last week, noted a significant shift in the West African fuel market after Nigeria altered its maximum diesel sulphur content from 200 parts per million (ppm) to around 650 ppm, sparking concerns it might be lowering its standards to accommodate domestically produced diesel which exceeds the 200 ppm cap.
High sulphur content in fuels can damage engines and contribute to air pollution. Nevertheless, the ECOWAS rule currently allows locally produced fuel to have a higher sulphur content until January 2025.
At that point, a uniform standard of below 5 ppm will apply to both domestic refining and imports from outside West Africa.
Importers were previously permitted to bring in diesel with a sulphur content between 1,500 ppm and 3,000 ppm.
It would be noted that the shift to cleaner fuels aligns with global environmental efforts and ensures a level playing field for regional refiners.
The Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution (PHED) plc says it has commenced implementation of the April 2024 Supplementary Order to the MYTO in its franchise area while assuring customers of improved service delivery.
The Supplementary order, which took effect on April 3, 2024, emphasizes provisions of the MYTO applicable to customers on the Band A segment taking into consideration other favorable obligations by the service provider to Band A customers.
The Head, Corporate Communications of the company, Olubukola Ilvebare, revealed that under the new tariff regime, customers on Band A Feeders who typically receive a minimum supply of power for 20hours per day, would now be obliged to pay N225/kwh.
“According to the Order, this new tariff is modeled to cushion the effects of recent shifts in key economic indices such as inflation rates, foreign exchange rates, gas prices, as well as enable improved delivery of other responsibilities across the value chain which impact operational efficiencies and ability to reliably supply power to esteemed customers.
“PHED assures Band A customers of full compliance with the objectives of the new tariff order”, he stated.
Ilvebare also said the management team was committed to delivering of optimal and quality services in this cost reflective dispensation.
The PHED further informed its esteemed customers on the other service Bands of B, C D & E, that their tariff remains unchanged, adding that the recently implemented supplementary order was only APPLICABLE to customers on Band A Feeders.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd (NNPCL) has announced the signing of an agreement with African Refinery for a share subscription agreement with Port-Harcourt Refinery.
The agreement would see the co-location of a 100,000bpd refinery within the Port-Harcourt Refinery complex.
This was disclosed in a press statement on the company’s official X handle detailing the nitty-gritty of the deal.
According to the NNPCL, the new refinery, when operational, would produce PMS, AGO, ATK, LPG for both the local and international markets.
It stated, “NNPC Limited’s moves to boost local refining capacity witnessed a boost today with the signing of share subscription agreement between NNPC Limited and African Refinery Port Harcourt Limited for the co-location of a 100,000bpd capacity refinery within the PHRC complex.
“The signing of the agreement is a significant step towards setting in motion the process of building a new refinery which, when fully operational, will supply PMS, AGO, ATK, LPG, and other petroleum products to the local and international markets and provide employment opportunities for Nigerians.
By: Lady Godknows Ogbulu
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