Buhari orders review of NNPC’s JV, PSCs with IOCs

President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered the review of Joint Venture Agreements (JVs), Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs) and other partnerships between the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and foreign and local partners. International Oil Companies (IOCs) led by Shell, Chevron and ExxonMobil hold the biggest partnerships with NNPC. NNPC Group Managing Director, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, said yesterday that the review of “Production Sharing Contracts, Joint Venture Agreements and all other contracts between the NNPC and its various partners” was a part of mandate given to him by the president.

NNPC, in a statement, quoted him as saying this would be done “to reflect current day realities in the global oil and gas industry.” Kachikwu also clarified that his mandate in the corporation is to put in place an efficient, transparent and profitoriented processes and not to embark on a mass retrenchment of the workforce. According to him, the mandate given to him by Buhari is to turn around the entire commercial processes and procedures in order to impact on the growth trajectory and operations of the oil corporation.

He said the reduction in the directorate from eight to four at the top management cadre of the NNPC was to refocus and sharpen the business aspiration of the corporation, adding that training and retraining of members of staff to align with the new vision is the next stage of the on-going reforms.

The NNPC helmsman added that all PSCs, JVs and all other contracts between the NNPC and its various partners would be reviewed to reflect current day realities in the global oil and gas industry. He reassured the workforce that the recent repositioning is to put in place the right set of skills for performance, stressing that the new arrangement provides a veritable vista for upcoming professionals in the corporation to have a speedy career path.

He stated that the NNPC, under his watch, would put in place mechanism that would plug all revenue leakages in the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors. Besides, he will ensure that all crude oil proceeds due for remittance to the Federation Account would be sent accordingly. The NNPC has been under scrutiny since the inception of the Buhari administration, leading to the compulsory retirement of about 60 management staff in the last two weeks.