Sylva
Following the deregulation of the downstream sector of the oil and gas industry with attendant increase in pump prices of petroleum products, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), has said alternative energy sources, especially Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) stations will be built across the country.
In March this year, the Federal Government opted for deregulation as the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, said the government is working on sustainable fuels especially through gas instead of offering palliatives that may not be sustainable.
While the Minister had warned that the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), would begin to deny licences to fuel marketers, whose stations fail to upgrade to gas outlets, NNPC pledged to support ongoing initiatives by providing alternate energy sources to Nigerians through aggressive activation of refill stations for motorists.
The Group Managing Director, NNPC, Mele Kyari, had stated in an interview that the Corporation has already keyed into the gas penetration agenda.
Being an energy company with focus on cleaner and cheaper sources of fuel, Kyari said the national oil firm would continue to work with other stakeholders in the industry to provide viable alternatives to petrol, which would ultimately lead to reduction in demand for the product and eventual reduction in price.
He reiterated NNPC’s commitment towards openness and greater transparency in its operations, noting that in the months ahead it would make public its 2019 Audited Financial Statements as a sequel to the 2018 AFS released in June.
Kyari, in a statement, was quoted that the nation’s refineries were deliberately shut down to allow for a robust diagnosis of the issues, which over overtime made it impossible for the facilities to operate up to their nameplate capacity.
He said the shutdown also became inevitable due to difficulties in feeding them with crude oil via the pipelines that have been completely compromised by vandals.
He said the Corporation was moving rapidly to execute complete rehabilitation of the refineries under an exercise that would guarantee restoration of the facilities to at least 90 percent capacity utilization.
