Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Group Managing Director, Dr. Maikanti Baru in a comprehensive end-of-year-message to staff of the agency, listed Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), Nigerian Gas Company (NGC), Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC), Duke Oil, NIDAS and Integrated Data Services Limited (IDSL) as the re-engineered companies of the NNPC.
In a statement signed by NNPC Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, singled out NPDC, (the corporation’s Upstream flagship company), as the major contributor to the industry’s success in 2018.
Baru said the average production from NPDC’s operated assets alone grew from an average of 108,000 of oil per day (bod) in 2017 to 165,000bod in 2018, describing the feat as the strongest production growth within the oil industry in recent times.
The GMD said NPDC’s equity production share, which stands at 172,000bod, representing about 8 per cent of national daily production, was no less impressive, adding that the desired results are outcomes of initiatives his Management team emplaced, among which, he noted, are the Asset Management Tea (AMT) structure, Strategic Financing, Units Autonomy, and security architecture framework. Of the Industry milestones in the outgone year, Baru described the 200,000bop addition which the Egina Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO), completed and sailed away to location in August, last year, added to the nation’s daily production, even as he disclosed that the project achieved First Oil at 11.20pm on 29th December 2018. Baru listed his other achievements in the outgone year to include; reduction in contracting cycle for Upstream Operations to nine months from an average of 24, even as the corporation targets a six months cycle; lowering of production cost from $27/barrel to $22/barrel; and improving on the security situation in the Niger Delta through constructive engagement and dialogue with stakeholders.
Relatedly, Nigeria’s external reserves increased by 11 percent from the $38.912 billion it was as of January 2, 2018, to $43.195 billion as of December 28, 2018. The figure represented an increase by $4.3 billion within the period. Save for a total of $5.36 billion Eurobond issued by the federal government last year, which bolstered the country’s reserves position, it would have depreciated significantly considering the combined effects of interest rate normalization in some advanced economies which have resulted to increased capital outflows as well as the slump in crude oil price.
CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, recently pointed out that due to the ongoing interest rate normalisation in the United States, which has been predicted to extend to some other advanced economies in Europe, the central bank would focus on maintaining a stable exchange rate so that businesses can plan and to avoid a problem in the banking system assets.
“The choice for Nigeria is to maintain a stable exchange rate so that businesses can plan and we don’t create a problem in the banking system assets,” he had explained. Emefiele, warned speculators in the forex market that they would lose their shirt, saying the central bank has enough war chest to sustain the stability in the forex market.
