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‘FG needs to police product pipelines’
Emmanuel Odusina,
Minister of State for Energy (Gas)
The Acting Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Alhaji Abubakar Yar’Ardua, recently spoke with newsmen after the pipeline fire incident that claimed over 40 lives in Ikate, Lagos during Christmas. Martin Ayankola was there. Excerpts.
What is your view of pipeline fire incidence?
It is very unfortunate and we feel very sad about it.
I was at the site with the area Manager and he told
me that another 20 bodies were recovered. The lessons are very clear. Last year, we had similar incident, 1000 people also lost their lives. It is most unfortunate; however, the Nation will still use the pipelines to supply petroleum products. We understand that it is not a normal situation for somebody to just break the pipeline and start siphoning fuel. And this has happened again and again. You will recall Jesse near Warri, where over 1,000 people also died years ago.
We condole the family and we feel it is very unfortunate that this thing has happened. But we still have to appeal to Nigerians to please avoid going to such dangerous places because petroleum products all over the world are highly inflammable, you never know, when you are siphoning, a colleague can ignite a small fire, and the more you run, the fire follows you, it is very ferocious. We apologise and share the grief of the family, we appeal to Nigerians, please desist from doing so.
The new thinking of NNPC is that the communities, where the pipelines are laid, we plan to give them contract to provide security so that we feel they are part of us.We are appealing very seriously that they should give us this opportunity, so that we can work together to protect these lines so that this kind of event won’t happen again.
What are you doing to enhance cooperation between communities and Warri Refinery?
We have started. You heard about the Chanomi Creek which supplies crude to Warri Refinery. I am happy to announce that that line is hundred percent repaired. Any minute from now, we will start pumping crude to Warri Refinery and Warri Refinery will take off which I promised. I have read a lot of things in the media that the GMD has not fulfilled his promise, I have fulfilled my promise, the crude will go to the Refinery, and insallahu within the first and second week of January, the Refinery will take off. For that line[Atlas Cove/Mosimi], we are already talking with the community, the MD PPMC is around, and I have given him t go ahead to talk with the community and arrange so that the security of the pipeline lies with the communities. And we do it to industrial standard,oil the major oil companies pay the communities where their lines pass adequately so that the line is well taken care of. We want these communities to be part of the oil Industry.
When would Warri and Kaduna
Refineries come on stream?
As I told you earlier on, I said by the second week of January, by next week the crude will come to Warri Refinery.The job is hundred percent complete, they are doing the test run; they have just introduced water so that if there is any leakage they will know. They promised by the end of this week, or maybe early next week, the crude is hitting the Warri Refinery and once Warri has a stock of seven days, then they can start circulating and the refinery is on. Kaduna of course, we will pump to Kaduna from Warri, three weeks after that, we build the stock and the Refinery will be on.
What are you doing to solve problems of pipeline vandalism?
Tell Nigerians not to go near the pipelines. We have buried the pipeline, we have concreted it, and somebody goes and digs it in the night, three o’ clock. Those who are doing it are clever, they hide in the bush, when the joint task force passes , they go and do their job.
That is what you call directional drilling. Directional drilling means drilling ten metres down and concreting it. That is what we are going to do with Atlas cove/mosimi line.
Some of the lines are already buried, some on the surface, but as much as possible, where we have opportunities, we do the directional drilling. The new thing, which the international community is doing, is policing the pipeline.From Canada to America, the West Coast Pipeline, it is more than 3,000 kilometres, it is guided with military airplanes, and these are national assets, the same thing if you go to Europe.
When NNPC was building this pipeline we paid compensation but Nigerians being Nigerians, they still build. We go to the state government, we appeal to them that this is very dangerous for these communities, but neither the state governments nor the communities will budge. We are appealing to people to get out of our Right of Way for their own safety.
The situation is that Vandals are caught and taken to court and within few days they are back home. They say there is no appropriate legislative act on it. We are doing something about it.
On Turn Around Maintenance for the Refineries.
Thank God, Kaduna Refinery will start maybe in three months time. We have the funds ourselves, NNPC, normally what happens before is NNPC goes begging, and the government says, I have this, I have that, I don’t have any money but now NNPC, we have developed a strategy, we will fund our TAMs ourselves. Kaduna, definitely after three months will take off, Port Harcourt is the next one which I am planning for first quarter of 2009, then followed by Warri,either the last quarter 2009 or first quarter 2010.
The materials we have got for Kaduna is around $23 million, they are on site now, the contract itself may be around $20 million. Then there is provisional sum of around $5 million.
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Oando: Taking downstream to the next level
Komolafe Rasheed, Lagos
Wale Tinubu, Chief Executive Officer,
Oando Group Plc
If there is any indigenous company that has
consistently raised the operational bar in Nigeria
oil and gas industry to international standard it is none other than Oando Group. The company originally known as Ocean and Oil became a core investor in the then troubled Unipetrol, after the Nigerian Government partially deregulated the downstream sector of the nations oil and gas company. The journey to stardom for Oando Plc started in 2003 with the acquisition of the downstream Agip Plc in which the company acquired a 60 per cent equity stake.
The company rebranded in the same year into what is today known as Oando Plc. The company today has over 500 retail outlets spread across West African sub- region with operations in Togo, Liberia and the Republic of Benin. The company has over petrol storage depots, three aviation fuel depots, two bitumen plants and two lubricants blending plants. After securing the West African market within a short period, the company in November 2005 made history when it became the first Nigerian company to be listed in the far away Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) in South Africa.
The listing was part of the strategy to bring the company to the attention of the world fund managers and investors. The company has consistently grew its revenue profile at a compounded average of over 304 percent per annum and this has been the trend since the year 2000.
The company met its revenue projection in excess of $2 billion and despite the small margins from the sale of its traditional products (gasoline and other distillates). The company has grown its net profit at a compounded annual average of 11 per cent which has been its tradition in the last five years. In order to leverage on international business best practices the company in 2006 took top managers of the company on investment tour of Europe for her upstream division.
The result is the working alliance the company secured with the oil field giant Halliburton, which now provide drilling and completion funds and security DBS drill bits in the Nigerian market, which may transform Oando into a world class energy service provider . As part of effort to truly transform into an international oil company, the company on November 2, 2006 received the 1SO NIS 9001: 2000 award from the Director General of the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Dr. John Akanya, who said the company having met compliance criteria for recognition became the only petroleum marketing company in Nigeria to have its processes,, products and services in Nigeria comprehensively audited by ISO as meeting international standards.
The company, recognizing the role gas is set to play in the present and future West African Sub- region, in 1999 established a wholly indigenous gas company GasLink Nigeria Limited to promote gas distribution and utilisation with a 20 year gas sale and purchase agreement (GSPA) with the Nigeria Gas Company. The company pioneered pipeline distribution of natural gas to industrial residential and commercial consumers, piped from NGC city gate to Ikeja and greater Lagos. Oando Explor-ation and Production Company is an oil exploration and production company which own oil fields in Nigeria.
The company has a 45 per cent non- operating interest in Obod-odeti/Obodugua oil field which will come on stream very soon. The company is the proud owner of OPL 278 (60 per cent) interest operator , OPL 282 ( four per cent) interest local content vehicle.
The company through its Oando Marketing launched a customer on–site inventory management service popularly known as Oando-in-Support. The program was designed to guarantee customer continuous availability of fuel (Diesel and fuel oils) and lubricants at the customers premises. Several manufacturing companies like Cadbury Plc, British American Tobacco company, Guinness Plc, West African Poland Cement Plc, WAPCO among the companies that are taking advantage of this service. To further consolidate its position as a world–class integrated energy company, the company last in 2007 recorded a new beginning in its corporate existence as it deployed Oracle ERP across all the department and entity within the organisation.
The HR service module was designed to assist all staff members access, make requests and update personal information on the staff desktop and Via the internet wherever they may be . With this development according to the company , staff can make loan requests , check loan balances , change dependants or next of kin status, lodge grievances, apply for leave and leave allowances as well as track the progress of these requests. Other benefits of the oracles service according to the company is that it empowers all staffs to be their own human resources analyst by being able to review and analyze information for accuracy. The oracle HR ensures all staff the accessibility to the same it benefits consistent with company policies.
Another benefit of the oracle according to the company is that it ensures that the training and development of all staff are in their hands. Oracle is a world class system that empower all employees to make more informed business decisions and by so doing become responsive to its customer both internal and external . And as part of its effort to give back to the society by way of showing appreciation to its value customers, the company on the 28th of July through 30 October, 2007 launched what it called “ Awoof Promo”).
The Oando instant Awoof Promo was a consumer Loyalty reward scheme organised to gratify customers of the Oleum range of Lubricants with instant gifts and the star prizes of two KIA Picanto cars. Prior to the Mega draw which was held in Ikeja, Lagos, on Friday Novmber 30, 2007, customers had won instant gifts of motorcycles, generators, t-shits, face caps , key-rings and biros between 28 of July and 30th October, while the promotion lasted.
A civil servant , Mr Michael Adeniji , resident of Abuja and Mr Ogbonna , a business man from Aba, Abia State, emerged winners of the star prize at a mega draw that took place in Lagos . Who then is behind the resounding successes Oando Group has achieved in so short a period . The man behind the wheel is none other than Jubril Adewale Tinubu, whose popular acronym in Nigeria energy circle is JAT. Jubril Adewale Tinubu is today the Group Chief Executive Officer, Oando Group , He was made the GCEO after the consolidation of all Oando’s affiliates and subsidiary into an integrated energy. JAT became the managing Director Oando PLC in 2001 after serving as Executive Director, Finance and administration . JAT is the Chairman, GasLink Nigeria Ltd, Oando Power, Oando Energy services, Oando Exploration and Production, Ocean and Oil Holdings Ltd., Trojan Estates Ltd , Oando Togo, Oando Benin, Oando Ghana, Oando Sierra Leone, and Tilea Nigeria Ltd. Jubril Adewale Tinubu, who bestrides the Nigerian Energy landscape like a colossus in the last eight years has Bachelor Degree of law (LLB) from the University of Liverpool, England and a Master of Law Degree (LLM) from the London School of Economics, where he specialised In international Finance and Shipping and in recognition of his contribution to the Nigeria’s oil and gas industry , he was given a Young Global Leader (Business) Award for 2007 by the World Economic Forum.
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