Olufemi Soneye, the Chief Corporate Communications Officer, CCCO, of Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) discusses the successes recorded by the Mele Kyari-led organization in increasing crude production output, improved earnings and the positive impact of the Executive Orders of President Bola Tinubu in the energy space and concludes that things can only get better, soon. He spoke with The Nation’s Funsho Kareem. Excerpts:
There’s this buzz about NNPC’s repositioning by its Group CEO, Mele Kyari. What’s this about?
The truth is that the buzz about Mele Kyari’s transformation of NNPC Ltd is well-deserved. Since taking charge in July 2019, he has driven significant organizational renewal and greatly improved NNPC’s performance and long-term viability. Kyari has been the driving force behind ambitious business growth and has instilled a new commercial mindset throughout the company’s entire value chain.
Under his leadership, the NNPC Ltd workforce has been revitalized. Today, the company continues to attract the interest of business partners, customers, suppliers, and shareholders. Since its transition to a commercial entity under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, and in line with the Company & Allied Matters Act (CAMA) provisions, NNPC Ltd has consistently delivered value despite its unique operational challenges.
Kyari has successfully positioned NNPC Ltd for success in the global energy industry by strengthening competencies and capabilities through broad-based leadership exposure and deepening a culture of performance across the organization. Governance within NNPC Ltd has also been enhanced, with a focus on agility and consequence management.
Through his vision of Transparency, Accountability, and Performance Excellence (TAPE), Kyari has instilled a clear culture of commerciality, profitability, efficiency, and growth. The results speak for themselves. For the first time in 43 years, NNPC declared a profit. From a loss of N803 billion in 2018, the company reduced this to just N1.7 billion in 2019. Remarkably, in 2020, NNPC posted its first-ever profit of N287 billion, which grew to N674.1 billion in 2021, and by the end of 2022, it had soared to N2.548 trillion—a historic achievement in the company’s financial performance in over 46 years.
Kyari’s impact is also evident in the successes of the nation’s gas infrastructure projects. Since his tenure began, several gas projects have been completed, with many more underway. These include the expansion of AHL Gas Processing Plant in Imo State, the ANOH Gas Processing Plant, the 23.3 km ANOH to OB3 Gas Pipeline in Kwale, the IGHF in Oredo, and the Methanol Plant in Bayelsa. Upcoming critical gas projects include the OB3, Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline, and the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline Project (NMGP). These projects aim to enhance domestic gas utilization, improve power generation, create jobs, and increase national revenue.
NNPC Ltd, under Kyari, is also leading the charge in deepening CNG/Autogas utilization through its NRL Filling Stations and partnerships with downstream players like NIPCO. Thousands of Nigerians are now adopting this cheaper, cleaner energy alternative, aligning with global trends.
The excitement surrounding Kyari’s leadership is genuine and well-earned due to the positive changes he has brought to the company. He remains committed to these monumental achievements. As the GCEO often says, “Stop the debate, get it done,” and he leads by example. That’s why we focus on the enormous task of ensuring energy security for the nation, rather than responding to every criticism.
But you will agree that there are some Nigerians who would disagree with your assessment…
That’s true because people naturally have different opinions and perspectives on these issues. However, it’s clear that the majority would likely agree with this assessment. When we say Kyari has put NNPC Ltd on a path of growth and profitability, it’s not just talk. Under Kyari’s leadership, NNPC Ltd is actively working to grow Nigeria’s oil and gas reserves by intensifying exploration across the country.
The results of Kyari’s efforts speak for themselves. He has been investing in new projects and assets aimed at proving at least one billion barrels of crude oil reserves. Just consider the achievements like the Kolmani Spud-in and oil discovery in Gombe/Bauchi, the Ebenyi-A Well Spud-in in Nasarawa, and the Wadi-A Well Re-entry in Borno.
Soon, our refineries will be back online, thanks to Kyari’s crucial role in enhancing in-country refining and ensuring national energy security. The simultaneous rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries is well underway. Additionally, NNPC Ltd is in strategic partnerships with some private refineries and has been supporting modular refineries. For instance, we backed the Dangote refinery with a $1 billion investment to take a stake in the project.
Kyari’s contributions are not just visible; they are driving tangible progress across the board.
How will NNPCL ensure that the decades long non-release of financial statements that it has broken would be sustained?
This is a new NNPC with a fresh business focus and a commercial mindset. Most importantly, we are now a limited liability company. With our new status, it’s mandatory for us, like all companies under the Company & Allied Matters Act (CAMA), to regularly open our books. Plus, don’t forget we’re working towards a groundbreaking Initial Public Offering (IPO).
I’m confident that this progress will be sustained. Under Mele Kyari’s leadership, we’ve broken numerous positive records at NNPC and have continued to build on them. He took the company from a loss of N803 billion in 2018 to a profitable business, declaring profits for three years in a row.
How has NNPCL given teeth to some aspects of President Tinubu’s Executive Orders in the energy space?
The Presidential Executive Orders on oil and gas have been absolutely crucial for NNPC Ltd in fulfilling its mandate. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has shown strong support and has truly set the sector on the path to success.
Under Kyari’s leadership, NNPC Ltd is fully aligned with the Federal Government’s ambition to accelerate economic growth and diversify the economy for the benefit of all Nigerians. This is being achieved through timely, credible, clear, and consistent policies.
The results are visible to everyone, and we must commend Mr. President for the Executive Orders and for empowering the nation’s security agencies with the resources they need to protect national assets.
For instance, First E&P has often shared how NNPC helped save the company from financial difficulties by supporting them in delivering the 60,000 bpd Madu-Anyala fields. There are many other businesses in the industry today that speak about how NNPC Ltd’s partnership has been instrumental in their success
What is being done to revive oil wells that have been capped?
We’re doing quite a bit in that area. For example, NNPC Limited recently launched an Upstream Hydrocarbon Production War Room to review and support all activities aimed at increasing hydrocarbon production. This includes safely reopening temporarily suspended wells for maintenance and well intervention activities. We’ve already identified candidate wells for reactivation across various assets, and NNPC Limited is providing operators with the necessary support to fast-track these operations and get the wells back online.
To give you a better understanding, it’s important to know why oil wells are suspended (or plugged) in the first place. Generally, in the oil and gas industry, there are three main reasons for deciding to plug and abandon a well: safety concerns and environmental protection, resource depletion, and the end of a lease agreement. In cases of resource depletion or the end of a lease, wells are typically permanently plugged and abandoned because there’s no reason to reopen them unless further exploration uncovers significant opportunities.
In Nigeria, insecurity is another factor that can lead to the plugging of a producing oil well. In some instances, companies have had to abruptly abandon producing facilities due to safety concerns, waiting for conditions to improve before resuming operations. However, with the improving security situation, thanks to the success of the Industry-Wide Security Collaboration for protecting hydrocarbon infrastructure, we’re seeing fewer cases of facilities being abandoned due to insecurity. Operators are now able to re-enter those previously abandoned wells.
But don’t you think these efforts may not enjoy good dividends because of oil theft?
Thinking that way would undermine the efforts of our security agencies and other stakeholders in the fight against crude oil theft. As I mentioned earlier, we’ve made significant progress, as shown by our current crude oil output of 1.65 million barrels per day. We’re grateful to the Chief of Defense Staff, the team, and all other stakeholders involved.
