Baru unveils 12-point agenda for NNPC

Maikanti Baru, the newly appointed group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), has unveiled a 12-point agenda for his tenure at the corporation.

In his agenda, Baru pledged to continue with the ongoing comprehensive restructuring exercise of the NNPC, which he said had become inevitable.

“Engagement of staff in major restructuring exercise is a key success factor that I will pay attention to while continuing with the restructuring effort,” he said.

In a statement by Garba Deen Muhammad, spokesperson of the NNPC, Baru unveiled his 12-point agenda as:

• Creating an all-inclusive internal advisory council on security comprising representatives from NNPC, the IOCs, the Unions and security operatives to brainstorm and address host community agitations to complement efforts of the government security team.
• Implementing the new business models and grant the needed autonomy to the strategic business units and autonomous business units.
• Providing relevant directions and control that would ensure their growth and profitability.
• Exploring ways of relieving government from the burden of cash calls obligation.
• Address and defray the agreed cash call arrears of the IOCs, as well as restore oil and gas production and grow the reserve portfolio.
• Increasing crude oil production by the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, NPDC, while reviewing all weak contractual agreements and terminate bad ones as appropriate.
• Leveraging on equity positions to cause the development of key gas assets for both domestic and export.
• Pursuing the expansion of gas network across the country, as well as repairing and restoring oil and gas pipeline infrastructure.
• Providing robust security system for both detection and deterrent in conjunction with the existing security arrangement.
• Improve refining efficiency of the four existing refineries to pave the way for future expansion.
• Pursue diversification of businesses by refocusing on the implementation of renewable energy programmes and frontier exploration services.
• Continue with the drive to make the venture businesses profitable and ensure service delivery, entrench the culture of professionalism by doing the right things at all times through transparency, accountability, and respect for all, ensure adequate staff welfare and motivation, training and capacity building.

KACHIKWU’S LISTS ‘ACHIEVEMENTS’

Ibe Kachikwu, the outgoing GMD, listed his achievements at the corporation, stating that his administration brought NNPC from loss to profit.

“Eleven months ago when Mr. President asked me to take over the mantle of leadership of GMD, there was indeed an urgency of now, morale was low, there was a lot of issues of transparency on the table, profit index was very poor,” he said.

“Looking back now, one must be very grateful to the president not just for the opportunity but for the foresight.”

He stated his achievements as follows:

• Sanitization of the fuel supply and distribution matrix due to the introduction of the downstream liberalization regime.
• Reduced upstream contracting period to nine months from initial upwards of two years.
• Redirection of the NNPC on the path of profitability as witnessed in the May 2016 NNPC Monthly financial report which posted a profit of N274 million.
• Prompt remittance of oil proceeds to the federation accounts.
• Monthly publication of NNPC Financial reports.
• Review of old models contracts like crude SWAP which saved the Corporation a whopping $1Billion annually.
• Recently secured $80 billion MoU with Chinese investors.