NNPC to review oil contracts

• NEITI lauds Buhari, Kachikwu on reforms

THE Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) says it is reviewing all Production Sharing Contracts, Joint Venture Agreements and all other contracts between it and its various partners.

The Group Managing Director, NNPC, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu who said the review is part of the reforms to reflect current day realities in the global oil and gas industry also clarified that his mandate is to put in place an efficient, transparent and profit-oriented processes and not mass retrenchment of the workforce.

He stated that the NNPC under his watch would put in place mechanisms that would plug all revenue leakages in the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors while crude oil proceeds due for the Federation Account would be remitted accordingly.

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has said the measures taken to restructure the NNPC are also consistent with its findings and recommendations in various independent audit reports which had been ignored in the past.

Kachikwu, in a statement signed by the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs, Ohi Alegbe, reassured that the recent repositioning is to put in place the right set of skills for performance stressing that the new arrangement provides a veritable vista for upcoming professionals in the corporation to have a speedy career path.

According to him, the reduction in the directorate from eight to four at the top management cadre is to refocus and sharpen the business aspiration of the Corporation, adding that training and retraining of members of staff to align with the new vision is the next stage of the ongoing reforms.

Director, Communications NEITI, Dr. Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, in a statement said NEITI has a legitimate interest in the on-going reforms.

“We are therefore delighted that the much needed political will required to boldly implement the NEITI recommended reforms is now provided, available and accessible under the leadership of President Muhamadu Buhari.

“In this direction, NEITI applauds the recent appointment of Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, a renowned industry expert with the needed global exposure, competence and integrity as Group Managing Director of NNPC . The careful decision made to appoint Dr. Kachikwu is already evident in the on-going dismantling of the unwieldy structure of the NNPC that made it impossible in the past for the organization to respond to increasing public demands for reforms.

“It is our considered hope that new NNPC Group Managing Director and his new team will consider it a priority to carefully study the findings and recommendations outlined in NEITI independent Reports of the sector.