The House of Representatives Committee on Finance on Wednesday commended the Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for his in-depth insider perspective on burning issues and reforms in the country’s oil sector.
Chairman of the Committee, James Faleke, gave the commendation when the GMD appeared before the committee during its ongoing interactive session on the 2022-2024 Medium Term Expenditure and Revenue Framework (MTERF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP).
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“You have made our day. The committee is better informed based on explanations provided by the GMD,” he said.
Earlier, Kyari in his presentation, provided a base oil price scenario in the medium term as follows: $57 per barrel for 2022, $61 per barrel for 2023 and $62 per barrel for 2023.
He explained that the assumptions were arrived at after a careful appraisal of the three-year historical dated Brent Oil Price average of $59.07 per barrel premised on Platts Spot Prices.
“Price growth is to be moderated by the lingering concerns over COVID-19, increased energy efficiency, switching due to increased utilization of gas and alternatives for electricity generation.
On the perennial issue of smuggling of petroleum products, Kyari said security and anti-graft agencies like the customs, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the police, Security and Civil Defence Corps and others have been asked to find workable solutions to the menace.
On the propriety of establishing NNPC Retail stations in neighbouring countries to curb the challenge of illegal haulage of petroleum products across the border, Kyari said though the NNPC once considered the option, it had to jettison the idea when it became imperative that the measure would be counterproductive.
He explained that people who are smuggling are not looking for officially priced petroleum products.
He further noted that going ahead to establish NNPC Retail stations would not yield the desired result since the people who take products across the border are not interested in selling at the official prevailing prices at approved stations but are interested in under the counter deals.
The NNPC GMD also took time to provide a detailed explanation of the Corporation’s equity shareholding interest in the Dangote refinery, noting that the package which was at the instance of NNPC is designed to guarantee national energy security.
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