Presidency eyes NNPC shake-up as oil output falters

Ojulari

The Presidency is planning to restructure asset ownership in the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited amid concerns over what it called its low oil production.

The Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Olu Verheijen, made this known on Monday at the ongoing Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists Conference in Lagos.

Verheijen outlined a bold agenda to revitalise Nigeria’s oil and gas sector while ensuring energy security and sustainable development. She stressed that achieving the 3-million-barrel daily oil production goal requires performance-based stewardship even as she questioned NNPC’s capacity to deliver incremental growth.According to her, the NNPC E&P Limited only produces 220,000 barrels a day, an output she said is less than 10 per cent of national oil production. Verheijen expressed doubts that the NNPC can fund and execute the drilling campaigns needed to raise the figure.

Unlike in the era of international oil companies onshore, she said the current joint venture partners can no longer carry the NNPC, asking if the state-owned firm can deliver the incremental growth needed on its sole balance sheet.

If not, the special adviser said the country must have the courage to restructure asset ownership and invite those who can deliver credible operators in the technical capacity, the financial depth, and the governance discipline, saying revitalisation requires performance-based stewardship, not sentiment.

Verheijen said, “Independence will also matter more than ever, but independent must not mean inert. Our journey to three million barrels depends on companies like Renaissance, Oando, Seplat, Aiteo, and others moving beyond workovers and infill drilling toward bold, large-scale greenfield developments. Punch