November 8 2017

The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr Maikanti Baru has pledged to deepen support to indigenous companies in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.

A statement issued on Wednesday in Abuja by Mr Ndu Ughamadu, NNPC Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, said Baru made the pledge while commissioning the Lagos Midstream Jetty (LMJ) at the Apapa Harbour in Lagos.

“NNPC will continue to support all players in the downstream sector of the oil and gas industry toward efficient product supply and distribution across the country,’’ he said.

Baru reiterated NNPC’s commitment to continuous collaboration with the private sector and urged private companies to develop innovative and profitable solutions that would not only aid development, but ease the way of doing business.

He noted that the development of the much-needed critical infrastructure should not be seen as the sole responsibility of government.

“Good infrastructure plays a critical role in ending extreme poverty and increasing shared prosperity among the citizenry.

“The reality is that we all have a role to play in developing and moving the economy forward, an economy that will benefit us all today and generations yet unborn,’’ Baru said.

He commended Oando Plc for initiating the idea of the LMJ, saying the jetty was an encouraging example of Public Private Partnership (PPP).

The statement also quoted the Chairman OVH Energy, Mr Wale Tinubu as saying “the N54.4 billion worth LMJ was conceived as an innovative industry solution to the perennial challenges marketers faced in the importation of petroleum products’’.

“Today, we have delivered a first-class engineering piece that meets global standards.

“It is the first of its kind in the sub-Saharan Africa and will be of invaluable benefit to the industry and nation at large,” he said.

Tinubu also thanked the GMD for encouraging indigenous participation in the nation’s oil and gas industry.

Conceived by ASPM Ltd, a subsidiary of OVH Energy Ltd (an Oando Plc Licence), the LMJ is West Africa’s first privately owned mid-stream jetty located at the Lagos Apapa Harbour.

The LMJ will allow up to 45,000 Dead Weight (DWT) vessels to berth and discharge products while easing out congestion around the Apapa corridor.

The Jetty which is also available for the use of players in all sectors, including peers and competitors, is expected to boost the delivery of petroleum products to Terminals around the Apapa axis and the nation at large.