The Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, has said by July 19, President Muhammadu Buhari will unveil the corporate NNPCL, which will make decision making, financing easier as well as procurement of the best assets for the corporatised oil and gas firm.

 Speaking at the Nigeria Oil and Gas (NOG) conference in Abuja yesterday, Kyari said: “It’s just going to be another Shell or another Waltersmith and that means decision making will be easy and coming back to the theme of this conference, financing will also be easy.”

 On the prospects of the new NNPCL, Kyari said: “NNPC is here to be the partner of choice; we will be the biggest capitalised company in Africa and we will be the biggest indigenous oil and gas company in Nigeria and therefore there will be no distinction between NNPC and the partners. We are also acquiring assets and we will acquire the best of assets,” Kyari enthused.

The Minister of State Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, said President Buhari was strengthening gas utilisation to transform the economy.

“This initiative will create over two million jobs per annum, promote skills acquisition, enhance technology transfer in addition to growing the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP),” said Sylva.

The minister cited previous studies indicating that Nigeria is an energy-poor country with 62% of Nigerians lacking access to electricity and 90% lacking access to modern cooking fuels.

“Our government is working on many initiatives to tackle these challenges, one of which is the gas to power Initiative aimed at minimising gas flaring and harnessing our gas resources to electricity to meet Nigeria’s electricity demands,” he noted.

The honorary chairman of the conference and Secretary General of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Mohammed Barkindo, lauded Nigeria for the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.

While backing Nigeria on oil and gas investment needs, Barkindo, who is completing his second term in office this month, said OPEC projects that total primary energy demand will expand by a robust 28% by 2045.

“Oil is expected to retain the largest share of the energy mix, accounting for 28% share, followed by gas at 24%. In other words, oil and gas together will continue to supply more than half of the world’s energy needs for many decades,” he noted.

Chairman, Board of NNPCL, Sen. Margery Chuba-Okadigbo, said NNPC in the new dispensation is expanding access to gas as transition fuel while working to reduce greenhouse emissions.

She said NNPCL has moved to revive abandoned and underperforming oil assets to improve oil production in Nigeria while taking decisive action against gas flaring and gas shortage.