Pipeline Contracts Not Handed To ‘Northern Oil Cabal’, Says NNPCL

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has denied reports that contracts for the rehabilitation of pipelines across the country were awarded to a “northern oil cabal”.

NNPC, in a statement said the selection was not conducted solely by the firm, as the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) and the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) were involved.

“To re-emphasise our commitment to transparency, NNPC subjected the selection process to a competitive tender guided by Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) standards, Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission expertise, and the active involvement of a Transaction Advisor,” a statement signed by the NNPCL management said.

“We also had representations from NEITI and the Ministry of Justice in the project development team and the evaluation exercise,” he added.

NNPC said the report was fallacious and designed to bring the name of the firm into disrepute as the national oil firm said the process was transparent.

“NNPC Limited is deeply committed to adhering to the highest standards of transparency and global best practices in all our activities, and this includes our contracting process. These contracts, which were advertised, were awarded based on rigorous evaluation criteria and in line with industry norms,” the statement reads.

According to the NNPC, 17 oil firms were awarded the pipeline rehabilitation contracts.

The company said the list of the awardees that form a consortium shows that lot one was awarded to Oilserve Ltd, Chu Kong Steel Pipe Group Company Ltd, and Saudi Crown Oilserve.

Lot two, NNPC said, went to MacReady Oil and Gas Services, COBRA Instalicios S.A, Control Y Montajes Industriales & International De Pipelines, Iron Products Industries Ltd, Batelitwin Global Services Ltd, Bauen Empresa Constructora SAU, Sanderton Energy Ltd, and The Spanish National Association of Manufacturers.

Also, lot three was allocated to AA Rano, Zakhem Construction Nigeria, Bablinks Resources Ltd, VAE Controls S.R.O, while lot four was awarded to MRS Oil and Gas, CPPE Nigeria Ltd, according to the statement.

While the contract agreement was based on building, operating and transferring, NNPCL said the agreement does not entail the transfer of control of the assets to the companies.

“Our objective is to enhance the integrity and functionality of the pipelines to facilitate the efficient transportation of crude oil to refineries and the distribution of its products across the country,” the oil firm said.

NNPC added that it retains ownership of the pipelines, however, the selected partners will finance the rehabilitation.