The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited does not currently have the necessary funding to rehabilitate aging pipelines, according to a declaration made by the Federal Government.
At the recently concluded Energy and Labour Summit 2024, which was hosted in Abuja by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, this was said by Heineken Lokpobiri, the minister of state for petroleum resources (oil).
Speaking about the need to increase production and the divestment of foreign oil companies, Lokpobiri emphasized that Nigeria also needed to fix its aging, corroded, and expired pipelines.
He pointed out that the issue is how to transport the crude oil to the terminal, even if the nation is capable of producing over 1.7 million barrels.
To fix the outdated pipelines, he consequently advocated for public-private partnerships.
He noted that in order for the private sector to enter a country and make investments, it must have faith in that nation. He emphasized that this confidence was lacking during the previous 12 years, during which time there was no foreign investment in the country’s oil firm.
He voiced concern over the supply of crude to Dangote and other domestic refineries, saying that unless production is increased, this could face difficulties.
He said the Federal Government would ensure there is healthy competition by being fair to both the small and the big refiners.
TimesNow.com.ng reported that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited’s executive and non-executive directors were paid N2.59 billion in fees and expenses for the 2023 fiscal year.
The amount shown here is a 214% increase over the N824 million paid to the directors in 2022.
The most recent financial statements for 2023 released by the corporation included this additional information.
Proofread by Kola Muhammed, journalist and copyeditor at TimesNow.com.ng
Source: TimesNow.com.ng
