Kyari, refineries and a green ribbon, by KEN UGBECHIE

Mele Kyari, a geologist and Group CEO of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), has dug his way into the tunnel of history.

Within a space of two months, he announced the successful revamp of two refineries.

In November 2024, Port Harcourt refinery came on stream. The following month, December, Warri refinery burst back to life. Both are not performing optimally, yet. But the journey has only just begun. Kaduna refinery is projected to begin production later this year.

And if all goes well, a substantial percentage of the nation’s local petrol consumption would be sourced in-country. The implication on forex, job creation and economic reflation is enormous, positively.
So what? Some Nigerians have asked this question.

I won’t even tag them naysayers.  There is a tincture of justification in their rage. But if such Nigerians did not rage against those who in the past brought the refineries – Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna – to ruins, they should not shudder at the celebratory dance of President Bola Tinubu and his laudation of Kyari and his team for achieving both the improbable and the impossible.

After many years of redundancy, after several failed attempts to restream the moribund refineries with billions of dollars wasted in the fitful misadventures, someone has finally belled the cat.

Such a person deserves a worthy pat on the back.
Little wonder, President Tinubu was gushing at the news of Warri refinery cracking back to life. Here, I salute the wisdom of Tinubu in keeping Kyari on his job. Against a crude and virulently malicious campaign to get Kyari out of the way, Tinubu ignored the mob and renewed Kyari’s tenure. One of the missteps of the past was a high and volatile turnover of leadership at the nation’s oil and gas behemoth. Commonsense management will tell you that job insecurity, at any level, is antithetical to sustainable planning for long term goals.

Fixing a refinery, especially one that has been rendered comatose for many years (with some bolts and parts gone rusty) is not a one-hour flight. It’s a long-distance haul, requiring patience, precision and meticulous planning.

Had Kyari been shoved aside to fit the script of his ‘enemies’ and political mandarins seeking to give ‘wise’ counsel to Tinubu, these refineries would never have come on stream.

In the stereotypical Nigerian way, the new management would have reviewed the contract, reworked the papers and even re-awarded aspects of the contract to another corporate.

Herein is the wisdom of Tinubu in retaining Kyari highly commendable.

As more Nigerians push for the refineries to attain 100 percent production efficiency, it is apposite to state what Kyari did differently. How did Kyari succeed where many others in the past failed woefully?
Dateline: October 21, 2021, NAF Conference centre, Abuja: Kyari was Special Guest of Honour at the All Nigeria Editors’ Conference.

He spoke off the cuff on the subject, “Insecurity as it affects the Oil and Gas sector.”  He showed a good grasp of the malaise that has afflicted the Nigerian oil and gas industry. He, however, raised a banner of hope that under his watch, “things are now done differently.” He said issues of refineries not working, crude oil theft, among others, are all traceable to the Nigerian elite which include the editors and everyone present at the event.

Kyari said that refineries had become comatose because the leadership elite had been doing things the wrong way over the years by relying on the builders of the refineries to come to Nigeria to fix the refineries.

This model, he explained, does not happen anywhere because there are specialists whose business is to fix such refineries. They are not the builders but their job is to fix them when they break down.

He called such companies EPCs (Engineering, Procurement and Construction). He gave an analogy: “You cannot ask Toyota to come down to Nigeria to fix your Toyota car. You give it to a technician. This is the error we have been repeating over the years.”

He credited President Muhammadu Buhari for giving his management the free hand to do the right thing. “This is the first time in history that NNPC and its subsidiaries are allowed to do things the way things should be done. Now, I can confirm to you that we have taken responsibility and we will fix the refineries.

We have started the process, contractors have been mobilised to the Port Harcourt refinery, while the same process for Warri and Kaduna refineries will be concluded by the end of this year,” he told a now excited crowd of over 200 editors, representatives of several government agencies including security agencies and the private sector.

He got a standing ovation afterwards.
Fast forward. Three years later at the twilight of 2024, two of the refineries had become operational once again all because Kyari walked a different path. It’s no magic. Just focussed, honest leadership. Kyari had been sincere as the helmsman of the NNPC even to his own hurt. The first NNPC honcho to open the ledger for public scrutiny. He did not only audit NNPC accounts, he got them published. And for once in ages, Nigerians got to know the assets, liabilities, strength and weaknesses of the company they own. Kyari has shown that he is a different breed of leader, a transformational leader who has used the same personnel at NNPC, in the same country, against the same headwinds to achieve milestones, some once thought unattainable.
Retaining Kyari, a man he did not appoint, is one of the smartest decisions of President Tinubu.

Kyari bestrides two worlds in Nigeria’s oil and gas history. The pre-PIA (Petroleum Industry Act) and the post-PIA, a delicate transition that required experience, emotional intelligence, industry knowledge, and leadership savvy. If the transition was a kind of exam for him, the geologist, earth scientist of crude oil marketer of renown simply aced it. He proved one thing: Nigeria’s challenges can be surmounted by Nigerians.

He deserves all the Presidential plaudits and a green ribbon around his neck as a memorial of national honour.

AJAGBE ADEYEMI TESLIM

SPONSORED BY: H&H

Seplat Energy Plc, a leading Nigerian energy company listed on both the Nigerian Exchange Limited and the London Stock Exchange, is delighted to announce that it has completed its acquisition of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (“MPNU”) from ExxonMobil . 

The transaction is transformative for Seplat Energy, more than doubling production and positioning the Company to drive growth and profitability, whilst contributing significantly to Nigeria’s future prosperity.

The completion of this acquisition has created Nigeria’s leading independent energy company, with the enlarged company having equity in 11 blocks (onshore and shallow water Nigeria); 48 producing oil and gas fields; 5 gas processing facilities; and 3 export terminals.

The acquisition of the entire issued share capital of MPNU adds the following assets to the Seplat Group: 40% operated interest in OML 67, 68, 70 and 104; 40% operated interest in the Qua Iboe export terminal and the Yoho FSO; 51% operated interest in the Bonny River Terminal (‘BRT’) NGL recovery plant; 9.6% participating interest in the Aneman-Kpono field; and approximately 1,000 staff and 500 contractors will transition to the Seplat Group.

Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, Chairman of Seplat Energy, said:

“Seplat Energy sincerely thanks His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, for supporting this transaction, and appreciates the support and diligence of the various Ministries and regulators for all the work to reach a successful conclusion.

“We are delighted to welcome the MPNU employees to Seplat Energy. We are excited to begin our journey in a new region of the country, and we look forward to replicating the positive impacts we have achieved within our communities in our current areas of operations.

“Seplat’s mission is to deliver value to all our stakeholders, and we treasure the good relationships we have developed with the Government, regulators, communities and our staff.”

Roger Brown, Chief Executive Officer of Seplat Energy, said:

“Today we have achieved a major milestone in the history of Seplat Energy and I extend my thanks to the entire Seplat team for their hard work and perseverance to complete this transaction.

“MPNU’s employees and contractors have a strong reputation for safety and operational excellence, and I welcome them to the Seplat Energy Group.

“We have acquired a company with one of the best portfolios of assets and related infrastructure in a world class basin, providing enormous potential for the Seplat Group. Our commitment is to invest to increase oil and gas production while reducing costs and emissions, maximising value for all our stakeholders.”

“MPNU is a perfect fit with our strategy to build a sustainable business that can deliver affordable, accessible and reliable energy for Nigeria alongside attractive returns to our shareholders.

Strategic Priorities & Near-term Outlook

MPNU adds substantial reserves and production to Seplat Energy; 409 MMboe 2P reserves and 670 MMboe 2P + 2C reserves and resources as at 30 June 2024 and 6M 2024 average daily production of 71.4 kboepd.

As operator, Seplat’s immediate tasks are to ensure smooth transition of MPNU staff into Seplat, and on the operations, to swiftly target numerous opportunities that exist to organically grow production and further enhance the value of the assets for all stakeholders.

Detailed guidance for the enlarged group in 2025 will be provided with Seplat’s full year 2024 results, expected in February 2025.

Further announcements will be made as and when appropriate, in line with regulatory requirements.

AJAGBE ADEYEMI TESLIM

SPONSORED BY: H&H

As part of the strategies to increase Nigeria’s crude oil production and enhance revenue accruing to the national treasury, the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has advocated for a week in each year to be dedicated to signing final investment decisions (FIDs) on new oil and gas projects.

The Executive Secretary, NCDMB, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe made the proposal on Tuesday in his presentation at the 2024 African Energy Week (AEW), holding at Cape Town, South Africa.

A final investment decision is the final point in an energy project, in which the company or partners owning and operating a project give the final approval for the development, releasing the funding for the commencement. Ogbe stated that the FID Week, if adopted, could be incorporated into the existing annual international oil and gas conferences and would feature international and indigenous operating companies.

He posited that dedicating a week every year for FID signing could compel companies and relevant regulators to fast-track their processes to meet the deadline.

He also indicated that the proposal for the annual FID Week has already been broached to Special Adviser on Energy to President, Mrs. Olu Verheijen and the leadership of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and international operating companies and was being considered.Represented at the African Energy Week (AEW) by the Director, Projects Certification and Authorization Division (PCAD) Engr. Abayomi Bamidele, the NCDMB boss said the proposal for an annual FID Week was geared to address the insufficient FIDs signed by the operating companies and the limited number of new projects being developed in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.

These worrisome developments contributed to Nigeria’s dwindling crude oil production and the negative impact on revenue, he said.

He suggested that the Nigerian oil and gas industry needed to have at least one or two final investment decisions on major projects to be signed every year, to catalyze activity in the local service sector and the national economy and ultimately increase crude oil and gas production and revenue for the country.

He made reference to the three Presidential Directives (PDs) rolled out by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in March 2024, for the oil and gas industry, stating that NCDMB had complied fully with the directives as it relates to fast-tracking the contracting cycle and eliminating middlemen with no demonstrable capacity from participating in the oil and gas value chain.

The PDs included Presidential Directive on Local Content Compliance, Presidential Directive on Reduction of Petroleum Sector Contracting Cost and Timelines and Presidential Directive on Oil and Gas Companies (Tax Incentives, Exemption, Remission, etc)Ogbe announced that NCDMB had applied the Presidential Directives in approving five oil and gas projects which are currently in the funnel.

He hinted that the expected production values of those projects are 1 billion standard cubic feet of gas per day and 350,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

Commenting on strategies that would ensure sustainable local content development in African nations, the Executive Secretary stated that local content has to be promoted as a national agenda and supported by all institutions, businesses, decision makers, investors and citizens.

Some other personnel of the NCDMB made presentations at the 2024 edition of the African Energy Week (AEW) on core operations and initiatives of the agency. The officials included Director of Finance and Personnel Management, Mr. Ifeanyi Ukoha, the Manager, Institutional Strengthening, Engr. Obongo Dokubo and the Supervisor Upstream, Engr. Bashir Ahmed. Corporate Communications.