Chineme Okafor in Abuja
The Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), an upstream subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has gained up to 3.6 billion barrels of oil and 15 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves from the 29 oil blocks ceded to the agency, its Managing Director, Mr. Yusuf Matashi, has disclosed.
Matashi, in a statement from the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of the NNPC, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, explained, the amount included in the 29 assets were the 22 Oil Mining Leases (OMLs) and seven Oil Prospecting Licences (OPLs).
He added that from these assets, NPDC currently contribute up to 10 per cent of Nigeria’s daily oil production, and would by the end of 2019, raise that up to about 15 per cent.
“We are paying greater focus on our 100 per cent assets production. NPDC assets will deliver a lot in terms of meeting its (crude oil and gas) volume targets.
We currently contribute 10 per cent to daily national production and by end of 2019, the company is looking at 15 per cent contribution to daily national production,” Matashi explained.
He also noted that the NPDC’s production outlook for 2019 and 2020 was bright, adding that the company was aggressively pursuing its drilling and field development programmes as approved by its parent company – the NNPC.
Similarly, the statement explained that the NPDC would in no distant time unveil a large liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and propane storage and dispensing facility in Oredo part of Benin in Edo State, to fast-track the consumption of LPG in Nigeria.
It said the facility was an extension of the Integrated Gas Handling Facility (IGHF) plant of the NPDC and has the capacity to dispense 330 tonnes of LPG and 300 tonnes of propane daily, in addition to the 100 million standard cubic feet of gas per day (mmscfd) and 260 barrels per day condensate from the IGHF plant.
Matashi noted that the IGHF would be a game changer for the NNPC, indicating they would become huge revenue earners for it.
He said the NPDC would by the end of 2019, be producing 40 per cent of Nigeria’s LPG requirements, with the facility centrally positioned to supply LPG to Lagos; states in the south-south, south-east and northern parts of the country to grow LPG consumption across the country.
According to him, the NPDC currently hold the record as the single largest supplier of gas in Nigeria’s domestic market with about 90 per cent of supply targeted at power generation to support economic activities.
With regards to regulatory compliance, Matashi said the NPDC maintains cordial relationship with regulatory agencies, such as the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), while remitting statutory royalties and Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT) to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
He stated that the NPDC and its various host communities are in peace due to the company’s commitment to sustainable community development policy, adding that over time, the company had won the confidence of the people of the Niger Delta and would continue to build on the gains recorded.
