Mele Kyari and the Unfolding Successes of NNPCL, By Kabir Kabo Usman, PhD
POLITICS DIGEST – This is not the maiden attempt. I have written a couple of essays on the man – Mele Kolo Kyari, OFR., – and his quintessential leadership at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL.
Many commentators and public affairs analysts have equally contributed revelatory, intellectual and edifying pieces on the incumbent NNPCL boss – Mele Kolo Kyari – and the NNPCL itself as a key revenue-generating business for the government.
As such, it is crystal clear. The title of this write-up says it all. Yours truly want to sound as a broken record by highlighting again, something about the NNPCL under the charismatic and dynamic leadership of Kyari.
How ? In an ’emergency’ broadcast on the #EndBadGovernance nationwide protests across the country, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, attested – though not directly – to the efforts of the NNPCL in boosting national revenue through its activities in the oil and gas sector.
Mr. President, during the televised address on Sunday, noted that Nigeria’s once-declining oil and gas industry is experiencing a resurgence on the back of the reforms he announced in May this year – to address the gaps in the Petroleum Industry Act.
“Last month, we increased our oil production to 1.61 million barrels per day, and our gas assets are receiving the attention they deserve. Investors are coming back, and we have already seen two Foreign Direct Investments signed of over half a billion dollars since,” he said.
While Nigeria, as a country is blessed with both oil and gas resources, President Tinubu explained that his government met a country that had been dependent solely on oil-based petrol, neglecting its gas resources to power the economy.
In his words: “We were also using our hard-earned foreign exchange to pay for, and subsidise its use. To address this, we immediately launched our Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (CNG) to power our transportation economy and bring costs down.
“This will save over two trillion Naira a month, being used to import PMS and AGO and free up our resources for more investment in healthcare and education”.
“To this end, we will be distributing a million kits of extremely low or no cost to commercial vehicles that transport people and goods and who currently consume 80% of the imported PMS and AGO’.
“We have started the distribution of conversion kits and setting up of conversion centres across the country in conjunction with the private sector.’
“We believe that this CNG initiative will reduce transportation costs by approximately 60 per cent and help to curb inflation”.
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Now, it is unarguable. The increment in the country’s oil production capacity, the new faces of Nigeria’s vast gas assets, and the CNG initiative, as Tinubu highlighted in his address, somewhat is the handiwork of the Mele Kyari-led NNPCL.
What do I mean? I am saying that some laudable reforms and policy actions of Mele Kyari – as the helmsman of NNPCL – are performing wonders, and exceptionally resetting Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
First, there is the TAPE (Transparency, Accountability, Performance and Excellence) program, launched to strengthen Nigeria’s energy security, while also improving the profitability and efficiency of the oil and gas sector.
For the records, the initiative is already helping to eradicate corruption in the country’s oil and gas arena. Courtesy of Kyari’s TAPE, the NNPCL is already becoming what its founding fathers envisioned for her – a reputable oil giant.
I will mention this, too. In November 2019, under Mele Kyari’s leadership, the NNPCL reached the Final Investment Decision (FID) on Train 7 of the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited. This project is expected to generate over $20 billion in revenue and create over 50,000 jobs.
Kyari also oversaw the commencement of the Ajaokuta-Abuja-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline project, Furthermore, he led the digitization of NNPCL’s operations, reducing human-related operational risks with software that allows marketers to view inventories across 22 depots in real-time, enhancing decision-making and efficiency.
To combat crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism, the NNPCL of Mele Kyari adopted advanced surveillance methods similar to those used by the Saudi ARAMCO. The Central Coordination, Data Integration, and Activation Control Room of the NNPCL now enable real-time monitoring of the Niger Delta’s pipeline networks, enhancing security and increasing crude oil production.
Lest I forget, it was Mele Kyari who led the discovery of hydrocarbon deposits in the Kolmani River II in Bauchi, resulting in commercial oil quantities on the Upper Benue Trough, Gongola Basin. Again, in May 2021, he did something visionary and truly progressive. What was that ?
He led NNPCL to sign agreements with Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCO) and other Production Sharing Companies (PSC) partners, resolving disputes around deep offshore block OML 118 and paving the way for a new $10 billion investment in the Bonga South-East Field to boost the nation’s oil reserves and production.
In closing this piece, let me affirm that President Tinubu’s latest address highlights the NNPCL’s exceptional performance under Engineer Mele Kolo Kyari, OFR.
The increase in oil production, revitalization of gas assets, and CNG initiative all underscore Mele Kyari’s impactful leadership and how NNPCL is driving Nigeria’s economic resurgence.
*Kabir Kabo Usman,*
*BSc, MSc, PhD, Cert Ed, PGCE, FAB, FNIP, FNIMN, FCIPM, FCIA, Leadership at Harvard USA, Victoria University Melbourne Australia and Manchester University Business School UK,* *Former DG/CEO of Nigeria’s Centre for Management Development (CMD),*a Petrochemical and Hydrocarbon Chemistry Expert, wrote from Abuja.*
