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| Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Dr. Maikanti Baru |
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation announced on Thursday that 132 firms had submitted bids for the 2019 crude oil-for-product swap programme, called the direct sale of crude oil and direct purchase of petroleum products scheme.
Under the DSDP scheme, selected overseas refiners, trading companies and indigenous companies are allocated crude supplies in exchange for the delivery of an equal value of petrol and other refined products to the NNPC.
The corporation said it had saved $2.2bn through the scheme since its inception.
It also announced the inauguration of the Asa North/Ohaji South Gas Processing Company, a partnership between the NNPC and Seplat Petroleum Development, adding that the company would deliver 300 million standard cubic feet of gas per day to the domestic market.
In his address at the bid opening ceremony for the 2019 DSDP in Abuja, the Group Managing Director, NNPC, Dr Maikanti Baru, noted that the initiative was introduced in 2016.
Baru said, โThe third public bid opening ceremony for the DSDP tenders is fully in line and in demonstration of President Muhammadu Buhariโs transparency and anti-corruption initiatives, which the NNPC has imbibed and championed relentlessly.
โThe DSDP scheme was introduced in 2016 with efficient and cost-effective systems and processes to plug the value-eroding loopholes of the January 2015 OPA (Offshore Processing Agreement) contracts.โ
He added that from the inception of the scheme in April 2016 to March 2019, 29.5 million metric tonnes (39.6 billion litres) of petroleum products had been supplied, representing over 90 per cent of the national requirement.
โThe scheme prides itself with a competitive pricing framework lower than the PPPRA (Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency) benchmark, which over the years has ensured a significant reduction in product demurrage cost in the range of 84 per cent and cost savings of about $2.2bn,โ Baru added.
On the gas processing company, the NNPC stated that the project, which it described as an integral part of its seven critical gas development project, was designed to bridge the estimated 3.4 billion scfd shortfall that could arise.
According to the corporation, gas demand is expected to increase to about 7bcf/d by 2020.
Baru urged board members of the company to sustain the momentum and ensure timely delivery of the project not just within budget but below the budget, without compromising the industry best practices of zero incidences.
He said, โWe believe that a private sector driven project should deliver much faster, hence we came up with a structure outside the existing joint venture with the intent of getting the appropriate entities to participate in the project.โโ
The NNPC boss emphasised that the corporation was fully committed to the initiative and would do everything possible to keep the dream alive and ensure smooth delivery of the project.
