NNPC Urges Upstream Stakeholders to Strengthen Corporate Governance Amid Oil Sector Challenges

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) has called on upstream stakeholders in the nation’s oil and gas industry to strengthen corporate governance, transparency, and efficiency in their operations.

The company’s  new Executive Vice President, Upstream (EVP), Mr. Udobong Ntia,  spoke during an Upstream Governance, Risk and Compliance Workshop themed: “Enhancing Governance, Risk and Compliance in Nigeria’s Upstream Sector” held in Lagos.

A statement in Abuja by the Chief Corporate Communications Officer of the company, Olufemi Soneye, said the workshop had in attendance NNPC’s Chief Compliance Officer, Mr. Nasir Usman and NNPC’s Chief Upstream Investment Officer, Mr. Bala Wunti.

It was also attended by representatives of industry regulators such as the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC); the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and over 20 upstream operators from International Oil Companies (IOCs) in Nigeria.

Corporate governance challenges in Nigeria’s oil sector are multifaceted and complex. One major issue is the lack of transparency and accountability in the operations of oil companies, particularly Multinational Corporations (MNCs).

Delivering his opening remarks at the workshop, Ntia stressed that governance, risk management, and compliance were at the heart of NNPC’s ‘core values of integrity, excellence, and sustainability.’

He commended the upstream leadership and regulators for supporting the initiative to assemble stakeholders to discuss issues that have a bearing on individual and collective success towards attaining the clear mandate of sustainably ramping up the nation’s crude oil production.

The EVP also reiterated his readiness to provide enablers within his purview that will accelerate the implementation of initiatives that will enhance governance, risk management and compliance in the upstream sub-sector.

Meanwhile, the flow of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) or petrol from Europe to Nigeria has been halved compared to the same period last year, a report by Bloomberg has stated, but noted that flows had gradually risen in the last three months.

Elevated shipments to the trans-shipment and storage hub off Lome in Togo, it said, helped push European flows to West Africa to the highest in three months, with cargoes bound for Lome being almost 10 times higher than October levels, at more than 108,000 barrels a day.

“Europe’s gasoline flows to Nigeria, which plunged with the start-up of the mega Dangote refinery, also recovered this month to about 134,000 barrels a day. However, volumes are only about half of levels observed at the same time last year,” it added.

Unusually high shipments to Saudi Arabia also boosted European exports, with about 100,000 barrels a day sailing to the Yanbu and Jeddah ports along the Red Sea.

However, the recovery in exports may well prove to be fleeting, with flows expected to fall in the coming weeks, the report added.

“As the weather has turned colder in the US in recent days, driving miles will likely decline and gasoline demand will likely fall,” said Ajay Parmar, director of oil markets and energy transition at data intelligence firm ICIS.

And the continuing ramp-up of gasoline or petrol production at the Dangote refinery “will weigh heavily on European refinery margins and likely lead to a reduction in EU gasoline exports,” Parmar said.

For this reason, Europe’s petrol market has struggled with lacklustre export demand, the report said, but added that the export was now getting a boost as outbound flows in November rebound from a multi-year low.

Shipments of petrol and blending components from the European Union (EU) and the UK to other regions are on track to climb to about 977,000 barrels a day this month, according to data from energy analytics firm Kpler.

That’s 17 per cent higher than October, when volumes plunged to the lowest since May 2020. Bigger flows to key markets in the US and West Africa buoyed November’s numbers.

European gasoline flows to the US picked up in recent weeks ahead of the demand surge expected during the Thanksgiving holidays, while inventories are at a multi-year low on a seasonal basis.

Shipments to the US are poised to climb by 33 per cent from the previous month to about 157,000 barrels a day, which would be the highest since August.

Emmanuel Addeh

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