Chineme Okafor in Abuja
The Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru, has said the current low prices of crude oil in the global market has made prospecting for crude oil in Nigeria’s inland basins quite cheap.
According to a statement from the Group General Manager, Public Affairs of the NNPC, Ndu Ughamadu yesterday in Abuja, Baru said this when he played host to the management of Media Trust Limited.
He also said the NNPC had developed plans to establish a security advisory council which would bring a lasting solution to the perennial problem of pipeline vandalism and sundry security challenges bedeviling the country’s oil and gas industry.
He explained that the NNPC was taking advantage of the low oil prices to commence exploratory activities in the Gongola Basin, to grow Nigeria’s oil and gas reserves.
Baru said there was need to evolve new measures to bring an end to pipeline vandalism which is a major threat to the nation’s economy.
According to him, the security advisory council would involve critical stakeholders which include security agencies, Niger Delta leaders, and International Oil Companies (IOCs) to address all security and host community agitations.
“We want to passionately appeal to those behind indiscriminate acts of infrastructure vandalism to put an end forthwith to these despicable acts which are a great threat to the economy, the eco-system and energy security of the country,” Baru stated in the statement.
He further explained that since coming on board, he has ensured that the NNPC was run as a FACTI-based corporation (Focused, Accountable, Competitive and a Transparent organisation conducting its business with Integrity.)
He noted that the corporation’s monthly operational and financial reports were always in the public sphere for all to see, adding that it was this new wave of openness and transparency that has earned the NNPC rave reviews and accolades among Nigerians.
“With the consistent release of our monthly financial and operational reports, the Nigerian Extractive Industries and Transparency Initiative (NEITI) recently commended us for embracing openness, subjecting our activities to greater public scrutiny and providing real-time information about the state of the nation’s oil and gas sector,” he noted.
The GMD said through the 12-Business Focus Areas he initiated, the corporation had kick-started the implementation of policies to place it on the path of growth and profitability.
