The Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Bayo Ojulari, on Thursday, August 28, said the maintenance of three refineries managed by the organisation gulped between $300 and $500 million when he took over the leadership of the NNPCL.
He also claimed there were threats to his life and those of the company’s management staff following the reforms he initiated.
“A lot of money has been spent on these refineries, but translating that into profitability has been difficult because of years of neglect. When I resumed, we found that we were losing between $300 million and $500 million monthly. We had to stop operations and look for a sustainable solution,” he said.
Ojulari said his only ‘offence’ was introducing reforms in the oil and gas sector in line with the mandate given to him by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to revive the nation’s moribund refineries.
Addressing a delegation of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN),led by its President, Festus Osifo, at the company’s headquarters in Abuja, Ojulari alleged that some powerful interests were opposed to his reforms.
He disclosed that the company was considering adopting an NLNG-style partnership model with “a professional refinery company” to ensure the sustainability and profitability of Nigeria’s refineries.
Ojulari explained that after technical and commercial reviews of the refineries, it was clear that running them without professional partnerships would continue to drain resources.
He stressed that the reforms had unsettled vested interests, triggering coordinated attacks against him and his management team, including petitions the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
“We are under attack. It is real. There are formidable plans to take me out of this seat But we are determined to stay focused and deliver on the mandate given to us by President Tinubu,”Ojulari said.
The GCEO, however, assured staff that their jobs would not be threatened by the reforms, noting that new opportunities and training would emerge as the refineries are modernised.
On the fuel supply situation, he said there had been no major shortages because of strategic partnerships, including NNPCL’s equity stake in the Dangote Refinery.
He projected that within the next two to three years, at one or two of the nation’s refineries would be fully operational to meet growing demand in sub-saharan Africa.
Earlier, PENGASSAN president, Osifo, commended Ojulari’s leadership, noting improvement in production and pipeline stability since he assumed office.
He pledged the union’s support to ensure stability in the oil and gas sector.
The ICIR reports that NNPCL has been in the spotlight overtime as a result of inefficiencies in running the sector.
Citing complications, Ojulari recently disclosed the possible sale of the refineries on the sidelines of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) International Seminar in Vienna, Austria.
Ojulari, who spoke with Bloomberg on Thursday, June 10, said the NNPCL was reassessing its refinery strategies and aiming to finalise the review by year-end.
“So, refineries, we made quite a lot of investment over the last several years and brought in a lot of technologies. We’ve been challenged,” he said.
Harrison Edeh is a journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting, always determined to drive advocacy for good governance through holding public officials and businesses accountable.
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