By Chibisi Ohakah, Abuja
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, has said that NNPC’s emergence from loss into profitability, coming shortly after the signing into law of the Petroleum Industry Bill, was a proud moment for him, and a good omen for the country given the recently passed Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, which had been in limbo for the past eight years. He also described the arrival of the profit regime as heralding a season of achievements for the nation’s oil and gas sector.
Speaking virtually at a press briefing called in Abuja last Thursday by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Sylva congratulated the GMD, management and staff of the Corporation on the feat of posting profit for the first time since its incorporation in 1977.
Speaking at the briefing, the group managing director, Mallam Mele Kyari, attributed the turn-around of the Corporation from a loss of N803 billion in 2018 to a profit of N287 billion in 2020 to the aggressive implementation of cost-cutting measures, improved efficiency through business automation, emphasis on commercially-focused investments and non-interference in the management of the Corporation from any quarters.
Given insight during the briefing, on the measured adopted in achieving the feat, the GMD said the Corporation saved a lot of cost through contract renegotiation by up to 30% on the heels of the Covid-19 pandemic, introduction of technology that drastically cut travel cost through reduction in in-person meetings and the general automation of processes that enhanced efficiency across the group’s businesses.
According to him, the NNPC management’s focus on the prioritization of investment and staff welfare also helped in boosting the Corporation’s overall productivity and bottom line. While congratulating the management of the NNPC, the minister, who is the alternate chairman of the NNPC board of directors, had observed that the current figures posted by the Corporation is coming for the first time since its incorporation in 1977.
Members of the NNPC Board, Chief Pius Akinyelure, Mallam Mohammed Lawal, Dr. Tajudeen Umar and Mrs. Lami Onayi Ahmed, who were also present at the event, also echoed the minister and congratulated the management and staff of the Corporation on the feat.
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