The Group Managing Director (GMD) cum Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited Mallam Mele Kyari has challenged the Independent Petroleum Producers Group (IPPG) to recommend new strategies to help tackle the challenges facing the Nigerian oil and gas industry.
The GMD gave the charge while hosting the new executives of IPPG in his office at the NNPC Towers, Abuja.
Kyari said although the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) had eliminated the uncertainty and lack of clarity that hampered the oil industry over the past twenty-five years, there was need for practical steps by players in the industry to redress the situation.
According to the GMD, the industry is bedeviled by problems, ranging from security issues; crude theft, which is a major issue that is connected to security, pipeline vandalism etc. “Without mincing any words, we find ourselves in this situation because everybody failed. There is no exception from NNPC to all of you (operators) to government, security agencies, communities and everybody failed and this is where we found ourselves”, he said.
“We have to bring every one of us back on the table to accept this reality and come up with an intervention that is different that is not what we have always done so that we can get this back on the table, he added.
He however stated that significant progress had been made in curbing the incidences of crude oil theft, noting that all hands must be on deck towards eliminating the menace.
On gas pricing, the NNPC boss said though the country was undersupplied, the PIA has created an enabling environment for producers to recover their cost through a flexible structure that has been put in place by the government.
Speaking earlier, Abdulrasaq Isa, Chairman of IPPG, a group of indigenous oil companies operating in the upstream sector commended the NNPC boss for his role in the passage of the PIA as well as his appointment as the CEO of NNPC Limited.
Isa said as a limited liability company under the Companies and Allied Matters Act (COMA) the IPPG can work together for the good of all members.
“We clearly applaud the passage of the PIB and we think it is going to lead to the growth and development of the industry. Particularly, the key elements of it which is to improve fiscal terms, creation of key industry regulations, commercialisaton of the NNPC, establish host communities trust. These key elements of it are critical to the future development and growth of the industry. I believe with the leadership of the NNPC, these aspirations as stated by government, we believe is realizable”, he said.