The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation may consider using the nation‘s refineries as collateral to secure bank loans after the reforms enunciated by the Oil and Gas Reforms Implementation Committee takes effect.
The Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Alhalji Abubakar Yar‘ Adua hinted this while speaking at the meeting between management of the corporation, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association, the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers and the Bureau of Public Enterprises.
A statement obtained by our correspondent on Saturday in Abuja quoted Yar‘ Adua as saying that the refineries would qualify as good collateral for the corporation to secure loans from banks so as to acquire replacement parts for the refineries and run turn around maintenance periodically.
He blamed NNPC‘s pitiable performance over the years on government control as the corporation was starved of the funds it needed to operate optimally in every facet of its operations.
The GMD noted that the TAM on Kaduna Refinery was last done in 1997, against the manufacturers‘ specification that it should be done every two to three years, a situation he blamed on government‘s lack of funds.
According to him, ”There is no need to make our work programme to be equated with cash call system. The cash call is minimal. The government could only give $4.97bn, but the business needs $8.8bn. So if you do not have the chance to go to the capital market, it means that your work programme will only stop with the money you have.
”It also means that the aspiration to get 40 billion crude oil reserves by 2010 will not be achieved. It also means that the aspiration of a production level of 4 million barrels per day by 2010 will also not be achieved.”
Yar‘ Adua further stated that the announcement by BPE that it slated the Nigerian Gas Company and Petroleum Products and Marketing Company, both subsidiaries of NNPC for sale sent jitters into oil and gas industry.
He noted that the corporation joint venture partners as well its other business associates called and some visited to confirm if the OGIC Report had been jettisoned even after it had been adopted by the Federal Executive Council.