The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), declared Wednesday that it remitted N4.5trillion generated revenue as at October this year into Federation Account.
The company also assured that the projections on crude oil production and price benchmark for the 2024 Budget were realistic and realisable.
It also declared that prosperity beckons for the country as indices and parameters in that direction are already showing and being strategically leveraged on by NNPC Ltd and other key players in the oil sector.
The group chief executive officer (GCEO) of the company, Mele Kyari, made these known during an interactive session with the Senate Committee on Finance at the National Assembly, Abuja, on Wednesday.
Kyari assured the Committee members that better days are ahead for the company and by extension Nigeria as reform contained in the Petroleum Industry Act for the oil sector, has made NNPC Ltd to be at par with its peers, across the globe.
Speaking on the dynamics of the market in relation to the projected budget benchmark price of $77.96 per barrel, Kyari said: “With what we see in the market today and potentially in the year 2024 and even beyond the next two years, it is very unlikely to see $70 per barre oi in the market. The oscillation we are seeing, sometimes you do see prices coming down to $75 to the barrel and sometimes it goes above it, overall, benchmarks are averages. We think that the proposal by Mr.President around the $77.96is stil realisable in 2024.”
On the crude oil production projection, he stated: “The number we have is 1.785mbpd. This is cumulative of all oil produced in the country. This figure is inclusive of al production including crude oil and condensate. I need to make this clarification because of the reports in the media that our OPEC quota is 1.5million barrels per day. The OPEC quota is related only to crude oil. We also do between 250,000 to 300,000 barrels per day of condensate in our production. When you combine the two, the 1.78mbpd is realistic and
realisable.”
He said : ” The NNPC Limited that is a creation of the National Assembly, requires that we conduct business transparently and profitably in line with provisions of the law and to create value for shareholders, and not to lose money, and also to continue to add value and pay dividends to shareholders.
“I’m glad to inform you Mr Chairman and Distinguished Senators that as at October we are able to deliver N4.5 trillion Naira into the federation account as a company to this country in 2023 .
“Every national oil company has a trading company. We have always had one which . never worked prior to PIA Implementation.
“Currently NNPC Ltd is delivering on its mandate through the PIA reforms that has brought us to be at par with our peers, across the globe, and not to lose money anymore ”
He added that as NNPC Limited is expanding in business and now the most transparent National Oil Company in Africa , the sector will would be more investment driven by the time the issue of wide margins in exchange rate and import and export windows are narrowed.
“There is always a parallel market in every country. There is also an import and export window in every country, even in the developed world.
“But there is always a narrow gap between the two and it takes time for you to have stability in this gap so that you have a low margin between the two for a sustained period of time, then businesses will thrive.
“There is a line of sight around this. I am very confident that by the end of the first quarter of next year, those margins will narrow and stability will come and you will see others coming into the market”, he said.
He expressed optimism that though there were challenges such as security and force majeure, the measures being deployed by the federal government would be able to take care of them to guarantee the projected level of production.
The GCEO also assured that NNPC Ltd.will maintain the level of dividends remittance to the Federation Account as stated in the Medium Term Expenditure Framework, adding that the projected dividends from the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Ltd.was also realisable and would be flowed directly into the Federation Account as stipuated by the law.
While answering a question on the Company’s Road Tax Credit Scheme, Kyari explained that al the roads being undertaken under the scheme would be duly completed, adding that the scheme was anchored by the Ministry of Works while the Federal Inland Revenue Service and NNPC Ltd. were only playing supervisory roles to ensure that value is delivered for every kobo paid.
Speaking earlier, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Mohammed Sani Musa, said the purpose of the interactive session was to deepen conversations on the projections in the 2024 Appropriation Bill to help the lawmakers determine what and where to adjust.
He expressed satisfaction with the explanations offered by the NNPC Ltd.’s helmsman.
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