• Pipeline vandalism drops by 43%

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) sold petrol worth N2.366 trillion to Nigerians between May 2019 and May 2020, the national oil company said in its Monthly Financial and Operations Report (MFOR) released yesterday.

The corporation also recorded an encouraging 43 per cent drop in cases of willful damage of its oil pipeline infrastructure by suspected oil thieves in May 2020, as compared to the previous month when 65 points on its pipelines were breached.

However, the organisation noted that the total sale of fuel between May 2019 and May 2020 stood at 19,865.80 million litres with petrol accounting for 19,704.49million litres or 99.19 per cent of total sales.

The report stated that N92.58 billion was made from fuel sale by the Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC) in May 2020, while revenue generated from the sales of white products for the period May 2019 to May 2020 stood at N2, 393.88billion. Petrol contributed about 98.84 per cent of the total sales with a value of N2, 366.15 billion.

In a statement by its Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Dr. Kennie Obateru, the corporation explained that 37 pipeline points were vandalised in May, with Mosimi-Ibadan pipeline axis accounting for 38 per cent of the vandalised points while Atlas Cove-Mosimi axis recorded 19 per cent of the vandalism.

It added that Suleja-Kaduna logged 16 per cent of the breaks, while other locations made up for the remaining 27 per cent.

The NNPC’s May MFOR indicated that the corporation had continued to diligently monitor the daily stock of petrol, to achieve smooth distribution of the product to ensure zero fuel queues across the nation.

It stated that to this end, 950.67million litres of white products were sold and distributed by the corporation’s downstream subsidiary, the PPMC in May 2020.

This comprised 950.67million litres of petrol only with no diesel or kerosene, adding that there was no sale of special product in the month.

In the gas sector, the corporation said natural gas production in May 2020 increased by 2.38 per cent at 226.51 billion cubic feet (BCF) compared to the output in April 2020; translating to an average daily production of 7,480.36million standard cubic feet of gas per day (mmscfd).

Similarly, it noted that the daily average natural gas supply to gas power plants increased by 5.87 per cent to 834 mmscfd, equivalent to power generation of 3,128MW.

The NNPC’s May report stated that the group’s operating revenue, compared to April 2020s, increased by 15.33 per cent or N31.68 billion to stand at N238.33 billion, while expenditure for the month decreased by 0.76 per cent or N1.81 billion, to stand at N235.66 billion.

May 2020 report indicated a trading surplus of N2.68 billion compared to the N30.81billion deficit posted in April 2020 when the effect of COVID-19 was at the peak, leading to reduced demand with fluctuating prices,

it added.

The NNPC report said the 109 per cent rise in revenue in the month under review was the cumulative result of improved performances by some of the corporation’s Strategic Business Units (SBUs)

It said:

While the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) posted a surplus due to substantial growth in the market fundamentals as demand began a slight recovery; the Nigerian Gas Marketing Company (NGMC) recorded 257 per cent increased profit attributed to improved debt collection.

Similarly, PPMC’s surplus rose 250 per cent from investment dividend received and significant drop in average product landing cost. In addition, corporate headquarters deficit ebbed by 47 per cent in May, compared to last month’s.

NNPC Retail, Integrated Data Services Limited (IDSL), NNPC Shipping and Ventures also contributed positively to the month’s performance, leading to the significant NNPC group surplus position during the period under review.

Justin Nwosu

Justin Nwosu is the founder and publisher of Flavision. His core interest is in writing unbiased news about Nigeria in particular and Africa in general. He’s a strong adherent of investigative journalism, with a bent on exposing corruption, abuse of power and societal ills.