NNPC QUARTERLY PUBLICATION Q1//2020 1

06 Oil & Gas Industry Review

10 Oil & Gas Facts On Marble

Discourse

12 Time for Gas 26 Benefits of Treating

Customers Right

Special Story

22 35 Years After, Anele

Looks Ahead 30 A.B.C. of Crude Oil
Remittances

2 NNPC QUARTERLY PUBLICATION Q1//2020

32
Chika’s Diary

42
Golden Nuggets From
NOGIG 2020 Change at the Speed
of Light – Covid-19 and
Digitisation

Protocol Perspective

40 A Slip Could Wipe out

Good Record of Tested
Protocol Professional
NNPC QUARTERLY PUBLICATION Q1//2020 3
4 NNPC QUARTERLY PUBLICATION Q1//2020
 From the Editor
THE
FASCINATING
GAS RACE

The Team After decades in fits and starts, the story Manager in charge of the Group Public Affairs
of natural gas production, utilization and Division of the Corporation. And by extension,
Editor in Chief optimization in Nigeria is flaring-up, albeit the Editor-In-Chief of all GPAD publications
Kennie Obateru positively, for a rewarding experience for including your favourite In-house quarterly
stakeholders and for the populace who the journal.
Editorial Advisor NNPC Group Managing Director, Mallam Mele A gifted Public and Media Relations
Gboyega Bello Kyari, would readily refer to as the ‘’over 200 professional, Obateru comes across as a
Editor
million shareholders’’ of the Corporation and thorough NNPC breed PR strategist, bringing to
Michael Mukwuzi the Nigerian Oil & Gas industry. the table over 30 years of experience in the oil
Though the discovery of gas in Nigeria is as and gas industry.
Deputy Editor old as the successful spud-in of the nation’s first What is more! He commands a great deal
Chika Umeh commercially viable crude oil well in 1956, the of respect and admiration from colleagues
substance, for so long, did not enjoy the same and stakeholders alike for his undeniable
Assistant Editors pride of place as the famed black gold. professionalism and savoir-faire.45
Rakiya Sambo
But all that seems changed now, as the 441]’
Stanley Ogadigo
country grapples with the reality of the shifting In a recent article, a columnist wrote thus
News Editor sands and unimaginable volatility in the global about him:
Abu Kabir crude oil matrix. “Obateru has paid his dues as a public
The Q1 2020 edition of the NNPC and media relations expert. He rose through
Photo Editor Magazine undertook an in-depth excursion into the ranks in the NNPC through his tenacity,
Olasunkanmi Arowosegbe the subject of Gas. brilliance, astuteness and friendliness. Reporters
The edition presents on a salver concrete who have covered and are still covering the oil
Correspondents
measures by the Corporation to expand domestic industry always commend him for his friendliness
Iyabo Ayobami-Ojo
Bukar Abba Gas footprints from the existing 1.1 BCF to 2.2 and resourcefulness. Obateru is an epitome of
Wycliffe Lumsam BCF within the next few years by activating a competence and humility’’.
Alex Okumo cocktail of strategies ranging from provision His career in the NNPC started in 1992
Aliyu Abubakar of adequate gas infrastructure networks in when he was employed as a protocol/consular
Francis Alu accordance with the growing population, to officer at the Public Affairs Department of the
Prince Etuwewe integration of gas & power infrastructure corporation.
Abdullahi Idris networks, and down to the instilling of market Rising through the ladder to the position of
Ikenna Okpani
driven gas and power prices to support supply/ General Manager/Head NNPC London Office.
Abigail Ojogbo
demand among others steps. An alumnus of the Nigerian Institute of
Distribution The Cover Story is made complete with the Journalism, Ogba, Lagos, University of Ilorin
Andrew Wobo historic chronicle of the advent of natural gas and University of Stirling, Scotland, United
Elijah Yenyor-David in Nigeria as captured in the detailed research Kingdom, Obateru holds a certificate in news
work presented years ago by the Nigeria Gas reporting, a Bachelor’s degree in Performing
All correspondence to the Flare Commercialization Programme under Arts and an M.Sc in Public Relations.
Editor, NNPC Magazine, Group the auspices of the Department of Petroleum In 2012, he was awarded a doctorate
Public Affairs Division,
Resources (DPR). in Management [Honoris Causa], by the
Room 100, 1st Floor, Block
D, NNPC Towers, Herbert Commonwealth University, Belize.
Macaulay Way, Central Unveiling, Dr. Kennie Obateru, Our Obateru is a member of the International
Business District, Abuja New Editor-In-Chief Public Relations Association, a senior member of
Tel: 09046084203, In concordance with the vision to reposition the Africa Public Relations Association as well
09046081026 the Corporation for efficiency and Improved as a member of both the Nigerian Institute of
Email: nnpcpublicaffairs@ productivity, the Federal Government in March, Public Relations and the Nigerian Institute of
nnpcgroup.com 2020, made some crucial changes in the Top Management.
Management Cadre of the NNPC.
Thus entered Dr. Kennie Obateru, who has Michael Mukwuzi
since assumed duty as the Group General
nduka.mukwuzi@nnpcgroup.com

NNPC QUARTERLY PUBLICATION Q1//2020 5

Oil and Gas Industry Review
How Nigeria Lost $750m to Oil Theft in 2019
T
he Nigerian National
Petroleum Corporation
(NNPC) has disclosed that
the nation lost about $750
million to oil theft in 2019.
In a presentation to members of the
Executive Intelligence Management
Course 13 of the National Institute
for Security Studies (NISS) who
visited the NNPC Towers, Abuja, on
a study tour, the Group Managing
Director of NNPC, Mallam Mele
Kyari, decried the growing
activities of oil thieves and pirates
which he described as a threat to
the operations of the corporation.
The GMD who spoke on the topic:
“Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea; Issues,
Challenges for International Trade,
National Security and Sustainable
Development of Member States”,
stated that any threat to the
corporation’s operations was a
direct threat to the very survival of
Nigeria as a nation because of the
strategic role of the corporation as
an enabler of the economy.
He listed other security challenges
Vandalized Oil Pipeline
6 NNPC QUARTERLY PUBLICATION Q1//2020
facing the corporation to
include vandalism of oil and gas
infrastructure and kidnapping
of personnel, adding that there
was a deep connection between
the various shades of security
challenges as they are all linked
to what was happening in the Gulf
of Guinea and the entire maritime
environment.
He called for a concerted effort
and synergy to secure oil and gas
operations for the economic survival
of the country.
Responding to questions on the
challenge posed by the proposed
energy migration by most western
countries to renewables, the GMD
said that fossil fuels would still be
relevant and that the demand for
crude oil would not reduce in the
nearest future.
“Even by 2050, fossil fuel would
account for 80 per cent of the
energy mix, and there would still
be consumption of at least, 100
million barrels of oil per day. We
are determined to remain relevant
in the long term”, he assured.
In his presentation, NNPC Chief
Operating Officer, Downstream,
Engr. Yemi Adetunji, said that
in 2016, the Gulf of Guinea
accounted for more than half of
the global kidnappings for ransom,
with 34 seafarers kidnapped out
of 62 cases worldwide.
He said the corporation was working
closely with security agencies to
tackle the security challenges, and
cited the “Operation Kurombe”
that was recently conducted by the
Nigerian Navy at the Atlas Cove as
an example of such collaborative
efforts.
On his part, the Executive Director,
National Institute of security
Studies, Dr. Ayodele Adeleke,
called for synergy among the
security agencies to tackle the
security challenges not only in the
Gulf of Guinea, but in the Nigerian
Petroleum Industry generally.
The visiting team was drawn from
18 agencies within and outside
Nigeria.
$1.16Million US Trade Agency Grant for
Abuja Power Plant
A
s part of efforts to
guarantee energy
security for the country,
the Nigerian National
Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has
secured a grant from the United
States Trade and Development
Agency (USTDA) to facilitate the
establishment of a 1,350Megawatts
(MW) Independent Power Plant in
Abuja.
Speaking at the signing ceremony
of the grant which held on the
sidelines of the recent Nigeria
International Petroleum Summit
(N.I.P.S) in Abuja, Group Managing
Director of the NNPC, Mallam
Mele Kyari, said the $1.16million
USTDA grant would be deployed
for the provision of technical,
economic and financial analyses
necessary for the development of
the combined cycle, natural gas-
fired power plant to be sited in
Gwagwalada, a satellite town of
Abuja.
Mallam Kyari stated that the power
plant, when completed, would
deliver power to the national
grid for onward transmission to
Nigerians to facilitate industrial
growth and reduce poverty in the
country.
“We all know that there must be a
framework. We all know that there
are so many delayed projects in
this industry that have to do with
delivering gas to the domestic
market for so many reasons. One
of the challenges that led to this
is inability to secure financing and
other fiscal issues that we are all
familiar with and they have to be
resolved. What we have to do is
to create infrastructure that will
deliver gas to the domestic market
and we are already doing that,”
the GMD assured.
He informed that NNPC under his
watch was committed to providing
the necessary infrastructure that
would reduce the power deficit and
also reduce to the barest minimum
gas flaring which impacts the
environment negatively.
The NNPC helmsman stated that the
corporation had already delivered
the Oben-Obrikun and Obiafu
(OB3) gas pipelines, expanded the
Escravos-Lagos Pipeline System 2
(ELPS 2) with her partners and is
about constructing the Ajaokuta-
Kaduna-Kano (AKK) pipeline which
would deliver gas from the OB3
line to Kano.
He added that along that corridor,
the plan is for the NNPC to build
three independent power plants in
Abuja, Kaduna and Kano, stressing
that the strategy would enable the
debottlenecking of power into the
grid to ensure stable power supply.
Mallam Kyari said the construction
of the AKK pipeline would lead
to the establishment of industries
along the route of the pipeline all
the way to Kano, noting that the
spin-off effect would be prosperity
for the people.
“We know that gas is the cleanest
form of energy. We also know that
we are flaring some of the gas
A Gas Processing facility
NNPC QUARTERLY PUBLICATION Q1//2020
which we are putting up strategies
to stop. By stopping gas flaring, we
create wealth, we create prosperity
and we have to deliver power to
the country. We also know that the
focus of the Federal Government is
to deliver power to the people as
quickly as possible and also deliver
gas to our domestic market,”
Mallam Kyari submitted.
Earlier, the United States
Ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Beth
Leonard, said the grant was part
of America’s intervention to reduce
the power deficit, create jobs and
support the expansion of gas
infrastructure in Nigeria.
On his part, the Director of USTDA,
Tom Hardy, stated that the grant of
$1.16million to the NNPC was an
American power solution geared
towards boosting the nation’s
economy.
Managing Director of General
Electric (GE) Gas Power System
in Nigeria, Mohammed Mijindadi,
expressed the readiness of GE to
deliver on her mandate.
Highpoint of the event was the
signing of the grant documents
by the Managing Director of
NNPC Gas and Power Investment
Company (GPIC), Engr. Husaini El-
Yakubu, for NNPC and Tom Hardy
for USTDA.
7
Handshake from Russia
T
he Russian Federation has
expressed its readiness to
partner with the Nigerian
National Petroleum
Corporation (NNPC) in the
development of Nigeria’s upstream,
gas and power sectors.
This was made known by the
Russian Federation Ambassador
to Nigeria, Alexey Shebarshin,
during a working visit to the Group
Managing Director of the NNPC,
Mallam Mele Kyari.
....Shebarshin, who stated that the
visit was to consolidate on the gains
made from the Russia-Africa Summit
held in Sochi last year, added that
the Russian Embassy in Nigeria was
keen on enhancing and developing
the bilateral co-operation between
Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mallam Mele Kyari with H.E Alexey Shebarshin, Russian Federation
Ambassador to Nigeria.
8 NNPC QUARTERLY PUBLICATION Q1//2020
the two countries across the oil and
gas value-chain.
“We are particularly interested in
participating in Nigeria’s power
infrastructure projects. We would
also keep close track of the ongoing
negotiations between NNPC and
Gazprom on the restoration of the
bilateral cooperation which aims
to revive and solidify the venture
between our two companies for
gas infrastructure development in
Nigeria,” Ambassador Shebarshin
stated.
While highlighting the Memorandum
of Understanding (MoU) signed
between the NNPC and Russian-
based Company, Lukoil, which
focused on refinery rehabilitation,
the diplomat stressed that he
was ready to provide any kind
of assistance to move the project
forward.
Responding, Mallam Kyari thanked
the Ambassador for the visit, even
as he assured him of NNPC’s
commitment to partner with the
Russian Embassy in Nigeria to
ensure that the two countries benefit
from the bilateral cooperation
reached in Sochi, Russia.
“As a National Oil Company,
we are committed to growing
Nigeria’s economy. We will set
up communication channels with
the Russian companies, Lukoil and
Gazprom in particular, to promote
this collaboration for the benefit of
our two countries,” Kyari noted.
New Price for Petrol
O
NNPC Retail Station
n Wednesday,
18th March, 2020,
Nigerians were
greeted with the
cheering news of a reduction in the
pump price of petrol from N145 to
N125 per litre.
The Minister of State for Petroleum
Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva set
the ball rolling on the day with the
announcement that the prevailing
drop in crude oil prices has lowered
the expected open market price of
imported petrol below the official
pump price of N145 per litre.
He said consequently, Mr. President
has approved that Nigerians
should benefit from the reduction in
the price of PMS which is a direct
effect of the crash in global crude
oil prices.
According to him, ‘’In view of
this situation, based on the price
modulation template approved in
2015, the Federal Government is
directing the Nigerian National
Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)
to reduce the Ex-Coastal and Ex-
Depot prices of PMS to reflect
current market realities’’.
He also said that the Petroleum
Products Pricing Regulatory
Agency (PPPRA) shall subsequently
issue a monthly guide to NNPC
and Marketers on the appropriate
pricing regime.
Sylva noted that the Agency was
further directed to modulate pricing
in accordance with prevailing
market dynamics and respond
appropriately to any further oil
market development.
‘’It is believed that this measure
will have a salutary effect on
the economy, provide relief to
Nigerians and will provide a
framework for sustainable supply of
PMS to our country. The Ministry of
Petroleum Resources will continue to
encourage the use of Compressed
Natural Gas to complement PMS
utilization as transport fuel,’’ he
NNPC QUARTERLY PUBLICATION Q1//2020
stated.
Moving swiftly in compliance with
the directives of the Hon. Minister ,
the NNPC reviewed its Ex-coastal,
Ex-depot and NNPC Retail pump
prices accordingly.
Thus effective 19th March 2020,
NNPC Ex-Coastal price for PMS
was reviewed downwards from
#117.6/litre to #99.44/litre
while Ex-Depot price is reduced
from #133.28/litre to #113.28/
litre. These reductions translated to
#125/litre retail pump price.
Mallam Mele Kyari, Group
Managing Director of the NNPC
explained that despite the obvious
cost implication of this immediate
adjustment to the Corporation,
NNPC was delighted to effect this
massive reduction of N20/litre for
the benefit of all Nigerians.
Accordingly, all NNPC Retail
stations nationwide changed the
retail pump price to N125/litre.
9
OIL & GAS FACTS ON MARBLE

DID YOU
KNOW ?
Country with Largest Crude Oil Reserves
Venezuela with proven oil reserves of over 303.2 billion barrels
ranks as the country with the largest oil reserves in the world.
According to the US Energy Information Administration (US EIA)
estimates for 2017, Venezuela holds 17.9 per cent of total global
crude oil reserves.

Meaning of Petroleum
The word “petroleum” literally translates as “rock oil”, which stems
from the Greek word “petra,” meaning rock, and the Latin word
“oleum,” meaning oil.

Largest Onshore Oil Field

The Ghawar Oil Field in Al-Ahsa Governorate, Eastern Province of
Saudi Arabia is ranked as the largest onshore oil field in the world. It
covers an area of 280x 30km and holds about 50 billion barrels of
oil with daily production of about 3.8 million barrels.

10 NNPC QUARTERLY PUBLICATION Q1//2020

 Largest Offshore Oil Field
Conversely, the Safaniya field, located in the Persian Gulf is ranked
the world’s largest offshore oil field with over 60 billion barrels of oil
in its kitty.

Largest Refinery in the US

The Port Arthur Refinery in Texas with capacity to process 600, 000
barrels of crude oil per day ranks as the biggest refinery in the
United States. The facility is 100 per cent owned by Saudi Aramco,
Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company.

NNPC QUARTERLY PUBLICATION Q1//2020 11

 TIME FOR
GAS
With over 202 trillion cubic feet of proven gas reserves and
additional 600 TCF of unproven reserves, Nigeria is moving rapidly
to optimize its gas resources
By Michael Mukwuzi

12 NNPC QUARTERLY PUBLICATION Q1//2020

 Inside the NPDC operated Odidi Gas Processing Facility in Delta State

T
he history of gas production
in Nigeria is as old as the
story of the first discovery
of commercial crude oil in
the country in Oloibiri, present day
Ogbia Local Government Area,
Bayelsa State in what is known
today as South-South Nigeria.
According to available records, with
the discovery of oil in commercial
quantities in Oloibiri by Shell Darcy,
exploration activities was stepped
up and on Wednesday, 3rd August
1955, the discovery well Oloibiri-1
was spudded and drilled vertically
to a total depth of 1200 feet
(3660m). The well was tested and
it flowed at the rate of about 5,
000 barrels of oil per day. Some
volume of gas was also discovered
with the oil.
Alas! The gas produced with the oil
was reportedly flared as a result
of lack of gas processing and
utilization in the country.
This unprofitable practice was
sustained through the next
decade of oil and gas operations
in Nigeria leading up to 1963
when gas utilization in Nigeria
literally teed-off with the historic
gas sales by the Shell Petroleum
Development Company of Nigeria

NNPC QUARTERLY PUBLICATION Q1//2020 13


A segment of the Odidi Gas Processing Plant
(SPDC) to industrial users in Aba in
a bold attempt to create value for
associated gas which was leisurely
flared by operators.
Today, however, Nigeria’s gas
credentials looms large and
14 NNPC QUARTERLY PUBLICATION Q1//2020
intimidating; experts contend that
the nation’s natural gas reserves
automatically catapults the country
into the big league with over
200 Trillion Cubic Feet of proven
reserves with a ranking of 9th in
the world.
United States Geological Survey
estimates that gas reserves
potentials in Nigeria could be as
high as 600 Trillion Cubic Feet
(TCF) if properly explored.
In terms of projection, base case
domestic gas demand is projected
to reach 7.4 Billion Standard Cubic
Feet (bscfd) by 2027 driven by the
power sector to improve electricity
access and to substitute the small-
scale generators and reduce
emissions (pollution).
It is also forecast that Nigeria’s
LNG export capacity would reach
30 Million Tonnes per Annum
(MTPA) by 2024 bolstered by
the successful taking of the much
awaited Final Investment Decision
projected to yield additional 8
MTPA N-LNG Train 7.
At the moment, routine figures of
Gas Utilization give hope that
the country is on a steady ascent
towards optimization of its gas
resources. Take for instance the
report of Nigeria’s Natural Gas
Commercialization and Utilization
as captured in the January, 2020
edition of the NNPC Monthly
Financial and Operations Report.
Under the period, gas production
increased by 5.77 per cent at
253.09 Billion Cubic Feet (BCF)
compared to output in December
2019; translating to an average
daily production of 8,164.23
Million Standard Cubic Feet per
day (mmscfd). Similarly, the daily
average natural gas supply to gas
power plants increased by 7.28 per
cent to 639.40mscfd, equivalent to
power generation of 2,683MW.
Out of the 253.09 BCF of gas
supplied within the period, a
total of 151.16 BCF of gas was
commercialized consisting of
36.20 BCF and 114.96 BCF for
the domestic and export market
respectively.
This translates to a total supply
of 1,167.80 mmscfd of gas to the
domestic market and 3,708.23
mmscfd of gas supplied to the
export market for the month.
This implies that 59.89 per cent of
the average daily gas produced
was commercialized while the
balance of 40.11 per cent was re-
injected, used as upstream fuel gas
or flared. Gas flare rate was 7.90
per cent for the month under review
i.e. 643.59 mmscfd compared with
average gas flare rate of 8.46 per
cent i.e. 671.40 mmscfd for the
period January 2019 to January
2020.
Out of the 1,167.80 mmscfd of gas
supplied to the domestic market
in January 2020, about 639.70
mmscfd of gas representing 54.78
per cent was supplied to gas-fired
power plants while the balance of
528.10 mmscfd or 45.22 per cent
was supplied to other industries.
Similarly, for the period of January
2019 to January 2020 an average
of 1,203.93 mmscfd of gas was
supplied to the domestic market
comprising an average of 693.73
NNPC QUARTERLY PUBLICATION Q1//2020
mmscfd or (57.62 per cent) as gas
supply to the power plants and
510.20 mmscfd or (42.38 per cent)
as gas supply to industries.
Beyond numbers, NNPC through
the years has set in place measures
to achieve maximization of the
nation’s gas resources chief among
which is the plan to aggressively
expand its domestic gas footprint
with the delivery of the Escravos-
Lagos Pipeline System (ELPS) II to
double capacity from 1.1billion
standard cubic feet of gas (BSCF)
to 2.2BSCF and the OB3 gas
pipeline to connect the East and the
West.
Checks by the Magazine also
indicate that the Corporation’s
Gas & Power Autonomous Business
Unit is championing the initiative to
support domestic gas expansion
through the activation of the
Seven Critical Gas Development
Project which essentially seeks to
harness gas resources and provide
infrastructure to add 3.5 Bscf/d of
gas to the domestic gas markets.
15

The Gas & Power ABU is also
pursuing the rigorous attainment
of domestic/regional gas pipeline
and facilities projects like the
landmark Ajaokuta Kaduna-Kano
(AKK) gas pipeline project which
would support 3.6 GW power
projects, Nigeria-Morocco Gas
Pipeline (NMGP) project etc.;
Expansion of N-LNG capacity from
22 MTPA to 30 MTPA by 2024 to
capture international gas market
opportunities. Development of gas-
based industry parks/hubs such as
petrochemicals, fertilizers, etc. to
add value to the natural gas
Engr. Yusuf Usman, Chief Operating
Officer Gas & Power Division at
a recent presentation reeled out
what could be described as a
robust aspiration for the gas sector.
He explained that recent efforts
by Nigeria and the NNPC in
positioning natural gas for
sustainable development have led
to the formulation of an assortment
of regulations and policies
towards positioning natural gas for
sustainable development.
He listed the measures cum
policies to include; the 7 Big Wins
Initiatives of the Federal Ministry of
Petroleum Resources, the National
Economic Recovery and Growth
16 NNPC QUARTERLY PUBLICATION Q1//2020
Plan (ERGP 2017-2020) of the
Federal Government as well as the
National Gas Policy (2017).
He also listed the policy and actions
of the Nigerian Government in
the natural gas sector such as the
medium to long - term resource
exploitation growth and utilization
Flare Gas Regulations (2018)
Other actions listed in tow include
the ongoing drive to reduce
environmental and social impact
due to gas flaring, protection
of the environment- prevention
of wastage of natural resources
through creation of social and
economic benefits from gas flare.
The COO also dwelt on the plan
to deliver Nigeria’s Petroleum
Industry Bill (PIB) which would
ultimately: expand economic
growth via improved revenue flows
from the oil/gas sector and make
the industry efficient.
To achieve all these, the NNPC is
moving quickly to stimulate gas
demand through a work plan
strategy which would among
other measures, evolve around the
following focus areas.
Achieve boost in natural gas
production by providing adequate
gas infrastructure networks
in accordance with growing
population and economy.
The NNPC is also pursuing effective
integration of gas & power
infrastructure networks while
instilling transparent & market
driven gas and power prices to
support supply/demand.
Nigeria’s national oil company
is also moving aggressively
to increase oil & gas resource
exploitation through mature fields
rejuvenation, marginal fields’
development and activation of
more exploration efforts especially
in frontier locations.
The package is also buoyed by
the integration of the domestic/
regional power grids to improve
access, switching to natural gas in
all sectors giving its credentials and
the use of natural gas to increase
the uptake of renewables due to
their intermittency.
The Magazine gathered that the
plan is to ultimately leverage on
technology and industry experience
to produce more with less costs and
efforts while fostering regional
and international cooperation
with relevant organizations in the
energy sector.
The package is made complete
with the renewed drive to develop
appropriate gas policies and
investment packages to support
gas demand and secure affordable
financing which ultimately would
promote transparency and
accountability and performance
excellence in consonance with the
TAPE blueprint.
Engr. Usman in the presentation
enthused that natural gas has
prospects for growth but there is
need to develop all-encompassing
approaches and pathways to
stimulate its growth.
He remarked that the ultimate
strategy of the corporation in
this regard is to develop the
necessary approaches/pathways
in a collaborative manner with key
stakeholders.
Noting that Africa at large has
enough gas resources to meet its
current and future domestic and
export gas demand, but there is
the need for adequate financing to
provide infrastructure and for the
resource exploitation.
He said this can only happen if the
continent leverages on the growing
global efforts for sustainable future
energy sources and technological
evolution to enhance gas uptake
in existing and emerging niche gas
markets.

NNPC QUARTERLY PUBLICATION Q1//2020 17

 History of Gas in Nigeria
A
noticeable increase
in gas production
commenced in the early
1970s, ultimately rising
above 2.7 bscf/d by 1979. By
this time, a domestic market had
been created for the consumption
of produced gas in the eastern
part of the country, close to the gas
source. Since 1990 gas production
has steadily increased with daily
production rising above 8.2 bscf/d
in 2015.
The steady increase in production in
recent times is strongly linked to the
discovery of more non-associated
gas (NAG) reserves in deeper
reservoirs, the development of
deep offshore oil fields with huge
associated gas (AG) reserves,
participation in the gas export
business through the Nigerian
Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG)
18 NNPC QUARTERLY PUBLICATION Q1//2020
Company, and increasing demand
for local gas supply for power
generation. In 2015 there were
39 companies directly involved in
oil and gas production in Nigeria,
producing natural gas from 189
fields with daily AG production of
4.74 bscf/d and NAG production
of nearly 3.46 bscf/d.
Forecasts indicate that Nigerian
domestic gas demand, coupled with
regional demand from the greater
West Africa region, may push
annual gas production in Nigeria
beyond the 10 bscf/d mark by
2020. The global population is
expected to rise to nearly 10
billion people by 2050, spurring
global energy demand to levels
nearly 60% higher than today by
2060.
Gas Utilization
Gas utilisation in Nigeria
commenced in 1963 with gas sales
by the Shell Petroleum Development
Company of Nigeria (SPDC) to
industrial users in Aba.
In its bid to create value for AG,
which was routinely being flared
by operators, the Government
initiated several projects to increase
gas utilisation in the country from
the mid-1960s to the late 1990s.
These projects included gas supply to
thermal power plants in Delta state,
the Port Harcourt refinery in Rivers
state, Power Holding Company
of Nigeria (PHCN) Sapele, Delta
Steel Aladja, National Fertilizer
Company of Nigeria (NAFCON),
the Ajaokuta Steel complex, the
Egbin Thermal Power Station and
the Aluminium Smelting Company
of Nigeria (ALSCON) in Ikot Abasi).
The development of the Nigerian
LNG project was pivotal to
increased gas utilization in Nigeria
and to creating a position in the
international market. Other major
sources of gas demand today
include the West African Gas
Pipeline Company (WAGPCo),
the Escravos Gas to Liquid Plant
(EGTL), the SPDC Afam Power Plant
and numerous gas plants operated
by producing companies to process
gas and recover natural gas liquids
for export to international markets.
Oil and gas producers were also
encouraged to utilise the produced
AG for gas-lift, fuel for production
operations and re-injection into
the reservoir for conservation and
reservoir pressure maintenance.
Accordingly, of the 4.74 bscf/d of
AG produced in 2015 about 4.26
bscf/d representing nearly 90%
was utilised either by consumption
or re-injection back into the
reservoir.
Gas Flaring
All AG was routinely flared and
disposed-off into the atmosphere
during the early days of oil
production in Nigeria. This practice
of flaring 100% of AG lasted until
the commencement of gas supplies
to industrial users in Aba in 1963.
In spite of this early source of
utilization and other government
schemes, over 95 per cent of AG
was routinely flared over the next
15 years. Despite the intervention
of the government, gas flaring
increased sharply in the 1970s due
to increased oil production that was
triggered by higher international
crude oil prices. Conversely the
slowdown of crude oil production
in the 1980s brought about a
reduction in AG production and gas
flaring. At the dip of production in
NNPC QUARTERLY PUBLICATION Q1//2020
1987, flaring of AG had dropped
from over 95% to 70%.
It was the commencement of
production at the Nigeria LNG
plant, however, that brought about
a major leap in gas flare reductions
in Nigeria. Since 1999, a variety
of gas utilization schemes and
regulatory interventions forced gas
flaring down to the current position
of less than 10.4% on average. The
ultimate goal for the government is
to eliminate routine gas flaring by
2020, with unavoidable gas flaring
limited to 2 per cent of total gas
production.
Source: Nigerian Gas Flare
Commercoalization Program
(NGFCP)- Department of Petroleum
Resources
19
20 NNPC QUARTERLY PUBLICATION Q1//2020
NNPC QUARTERLY PUBLICATION Q1//2020 21
 SPECIAL
STORY

Barrister Luke Anele, outgone MD NPSC

35 Years After, Anele

Looks Ahead
It is mission accomplished for Luke Anele, outgone Managing Director, Nigerian
Pipeline and Storage Company, NPSC, a downstream subsidiary of the NNPC

Michael Mukwuzi

22 NNPC QUARTERLY PUBLICATION Q1//2020

T
hirty-five years after he
joined the Corporation,
precisely in 1985 as a
chemical engineering
supervisor in the Warri Refining
and Petrochemicals Company
(WRPC), Barr. Luke Anele whose
last assignment with the corporation
was as Managing Director of The
Nigerian Pipeline and Storage
Company (NPSC), is leaving on a
high having proved his mettle at
the various units within the NNPC
Group in which he served.
His last assignment was clearly
one of, if not the most challenging
of his career. It is the story of the
dramatic turnaround of the NPSC,
one of the corporation’s newest
subsidiaries created in 2016 when
the old Pipelines and Products
Marketing Company (PPMC) was
split into three entities – the NPSC,
the Petroleum Products Marketing
Company (PPMC) and Marine
Logistics .
With the creation of the companies,
the NPSC continued with the
pipelines and depots management
function of the old PPMC. With
the ravaging scourge of pipeline
vandalism, no one needed a
soothsayer to understand the
enormity of the challenges the
young company would face.
Anele recounts what it was like at
the beginning when the company
started operations:
“We had a lot of challenges, but
what helped us in our journey was
the commitment of staff to the cause
of the company. We were able to
create that level of commitment by
instilling confidence in the staff. The
first step we took was to tell the
staff and make them believe that
they are capable of doing many
things which hitherto were being
done by contractors.
When I assumed office, Atlas Cove,
which still remains the epicenter
of NPSC’s activities was totally
down; nothing was working there
at all. Most of the staff had been
sent out on compulsory leave and
were jokingly referred to as IDMs
(Internally Displaced Managers).
The whole structure had crumbled
and the morale of the remaining
staff was generally low. So, we
constituted a team to handle one
of the major critical equipment at
Atlas Cove that had broken down,
the EMD generator,” Anele said.
To get the EDM generator working
again, Anele recalled some of the
engineers who had been told to
remain at home, to handle the project.
The team was headed by Engr.
Cosmos Nwanwene. Nwanwene
and his team of engineers, which
included some young staff, were
NNPC QUARTERLY PUBLICATION Q1//2020
able to rehabilitate the generator.
This success fired their enthusiasm
to move on to the next project.
“That was how we were able to
build the can-do spirit in them. That
confidence, that can-do spirit is
what has lifted us from the level of
dilapidated facilities to the point
of profit-making facilities today.
And we are still maintaining that
tempo.
Indeed, the transformation is
remarkable. Four years down the
road, the company has managed
its challenges relatively well as it
has not just remained afloat but
has also raked in a sizeable income
going by the report of its maiden
Annual General Meeting, where
it reported an income of N44.4
billion.
Achieving this feat though wasn’t
easy for Anene and his team as they
faced mounting odds, not the least
of which was the dilapidation of
key equipment at the organization.
“Virtually nothing was working in
the NPSC as it was then constituted.
Starting from the Atlas Cove, as I
said, to the Systems 2B, 2E, up to
the far North, nothing was working,
our facilities were totally down.
In fact, the thinking by the then
management was to package the
facilities and lease them out. But
when we came and started work at
the Atlas Cove, as I told you earlier,
it gave us the courage to start fixing
the facilities one after the other.
“From a situation where there was
no electricity for operations, we
were able to fix the EMD generators
to commence operations; we
embarked on the rehabilitation
of the tanks at Atlas Cove. There
was no water, so we had to drill
a borehole to provide water. I am
only using the Atlas Cove as an
example to show you where we
were at inception and how far we
have come,’’ he said.
23

Anele “By the grace of God, I am a very happy man with great contentment”
Continuing, he said, the staff there
ran a back-to-back shift system
and had no place to sleep.
“The first time I visited the place
I saw a stack of foams packed in
the corners of their offices where
they sleep. That was how bad the
place was. But today if you get to
Atlas Cove, you won’t recognize the
place again. We have electricity
there now; it has been connected
to the national grid, besides the
heavy-duty diesel generators which
we have restored for pumping
operations,” he stated..
Anele said this was a major
accomplishment considering the
state of Atlas Cove when NPSC
was established and he assumed
duty as Managing Director.
“When I assumed duty as MD, the
fire protection facilities were totally
out but today we have a fire-fighting
truck; we also have in place a fire
protection facility installed by the
24 NNPC QUARTERLY PUBLICATION Q1//2020
original equipment manufacturer,
Angus. We also solved the problem
of staff sleeping in the office by
building a beautiful guest house
there,’’ he said.
To achieve this, Anele revoked the
earlier contract for the construction
of the guest house and re-awarded
it to a more serious and competent
contractor.
After successfully transforming the
Atlas Cove, Anele and his team
redirected their gaze to Satellite
and Mosimi depots on the System
2B Pipeline. The facilities were all
down and so they embarked on
their rehabilitation. On his first visit
to Satellite upon assumption of
office as MD of NPSC, he was told
by a member of staff there that he
was the first MD since the old PPMC
was created to ever visit the place.
The visit to the facility ensured
that all the depots along that
segment were restored. Presently
an optimization project is being
carried on Atlas Cove, which will
add up to 150,000,000 litres
storage capacity. With that, all
issues around demurrage would
have been knocked down.
He said the NPSC is discussing with
the Engineering and Technology
Division of the corporation on how
to also optimize the Satellite Depot
to add another 150,000,000 litres
storage capacity to the facility,
noting that if Satellite and Atlas
Cove have such enhanced storage
capacity the corporation would
cease to have any challenge with
product storage.
In addition to this, the NPSC is
collaborating with the ETD to get
new pumps and four 1.25KVA
Caterpillar generators. He said
work on this has reached an
advanced stage and looks likely to
be completed in a few months.
“We will soon overcome that. We
have also changed the original
design so that it can also run on
gas because of the high cost of
running the diesel generators.
Gas is cheaper. We have also
connected the depot to the national
grid. These are some of the things
we have here at NPSC to boost
our operations and reduce costs.
These are some of the things that
are impacting us positively and
boosting our bottom line,” Anene
said.
Despite the successes achieved so
far, a major worry for the NPSC
is the issue of theft of oil through
willful hacking of pipelines.
This challenge has put a lot
of pressures on the company’s
operations. That notwithstanding,
Anele and his team have adopted
the strategy of Horizontal
Directional Drilling (HDD) to bury
the pipelines deeper beyond the
reach of vandals. This method has
been applied at Arepo and Ije-
Ododo.
They have also identified about 11
hot-spots and have approached
NNPC Management for approval
to do HDD on them. Anele says that
when the HDD is completed at these
hotspots, the area of exposure
would have been reduced.
“The final thing that will put an end
to the issues of pipeline vandalism
and oil theft is to change the lines
completely with new ones installed
by HDD with modern surveillance
technology on them. That is what
will permanently solve the problem.
We plan to do that so that we can
be at peace with ourselves,” he
stated.
As he calls time on his career,
Anele, who has worked in key units
of the corporation with varied
competences in laboratory services,
production, commercial, legal,
human resources, administration,
procurement/materials
management, policy review among
other areas, is waxing deep in
nostalgia.
He said the work environment at
the corporation at the time of his
employment in 1985, is markedly
different from what obtains today.
Then, he said, there was greater
camaraderie than is the case today.
“I can tell you that in those days
as young and growing officers,
we saw our colleagues as brothers
and sisters. There was this great
trust and bond between us. You
can call someone to go and do
something for you and he would go
and carry it out without you having
to look over your shoulder to see
if he was doing it well. We saw
ourselves as friends and brothers,
we enjoyed that relationship.
Things are no longer like that
now. Maybe because the world is
changing, maybe because we have
entered the internet era, things
have changed. Those elements that
shaped our relationships may not succeed. By enterprise, I mean
be there now. I’m sure that’s what putting the organization first and
has changed,” he said. being ready to do anything that
He said for everyone at the time benefits the enterprise. You must let
the passion to excel was uppermost the interest of the enterprise stand
in the mind. For him, he noted, twofirst, not your personal interest.
key factors underpinned his successThen, the principle of the extra mile
makes you willing and eager to go
out of the line to achieve results.
You don’t tell stories when you are
told to go and achieve. My bosses
had confidence in me because
they believed that I could handle
any task. I tell you, when you have
such reputation and people have
confidence in you that when you
are put under pressure you would
not betray that trust, you will go
far. These are the driving principles
that have taken me this far,” he
said.
In all, he said, he is leaving the
Corporation a fulfilled man and
will devote the remainder of the
time on earth to recreation.
“I have worked for 35 solid years
by the time I am breasting the tape.
If I have worked for 35 years,
why do I need to start working
again? We need to have a break
to put in some pleasure which we
have missed all these years while
working. To that extent, I started
playing golf in October 2018 and
I can tell you that I have found joy
in it. I will invest a greater part of
my retirement life in playing golf.
Every other thing can come as
an aside, not things that will put
pressure on me but things that will
support the pleasure.
“By the grace of God, I am a very
happy man with great contentment.
I am a highly satisfied man. As the
MD, NPSC, there are very few
things that move me. I have come
a long way, and I have found joy in
at the NNPC Group. contentment. I am going from NNPC
“Enterprise and the principle of a very happy man, and I thank God
extra mile- these are the two for the opportunity which he gave
critical factors that helped me to to me to work in NNPC,” he stated.
NNPC QUARTERLY PUBLICATION Q1//2020 25

Prince Etuwewe
T
he inspiration to write this
article came to my mind
when I walked into one
of our canteens in block A
and saw that a new restaurateur
had taken over one of the stands
with a very beautiful Bain-Marie,
clean show glasses, well dressed
and happy staff, clean tables with
lovely tablecloths to match, and a
variety of scintillating and inviting
dishes on display.
I saw a long queue of customers
waiting to find out what this new
restaurant had to offer and joined.
After ordering a breakfast of
African fried eggs with sauce and
unripe plantain, I was offered
a complimentary cup of tea to
wash the food down and some
sweets to freshen up my breath as
dessert. I stood in awe wondering
if I was in a canteen in the towers
or in some dreamland like Alice in
Wonderland.
Permit me to digress a little about
the former restaurateurs who
had to pack up because they did
not treat their customers right.
Actually, they started very well
but as soon as they established
themselves they started doing so
many wrong things which included:
overbilling customers, serving stale
and tasteless food, exhibiting lack
of care and empathy, coupled with
non-availability of prime dishes at
the required time. Imagine walking
into a canteen by 1:30 pm on a
very busy afternoon and you are
told Eba was not ready!
26 NNPC QUARTERLY PUBLICATION Q1//2020
Discourse
Benefits of Treating
Customers Right
This negative trend continued until
a new competitor showed up and
business started slowing down
until the “invisible hand” which
drives the forces of demand and
supply as propounded by Scottish
philosopher and Economist Adam
Smith forced them to close shop.
One of the major reasons why this
once budding business packed up
was because they treated their
customers badly. Before going on
to highlight how well to treat or
not to treat a customer we need
to identify who is a customer and
who is not. Identifying a customer
is a key step towards treating them
right.
Who Is A Customer?
As a business, not everyone that
interacts with you is your customer.
Most businesses don’t even know
who their customers are. It is difficult
to believe that the people you sell
to, collect revenue from and talk to
every day of the week might not
be your customers.
Every business has both a primary
and secondary customer. Firms
must make a conscious decision on
who their primary and secondary
customers are.
As simple as this question sounds
it is one of the most difficult and
misleading for a business owner to
answer. When asked the question,
‘who is your customer’, the usual
answer is that we serve a lot
of customers and these include:
users, influencers, administrators,
distributors, etc. The problem here is
that calling all this group of people
customers is very misleading. You
must determine who your primary
customer is and marketing efforts
must be geared towards delivering
distinctive value to them.
This distinction between primary
and secondary customers is very
important and critical and must be
taken well ahead of time because
if there is any conflict or a decision
on resources you must decide which
of your customers takes priority.
Companies that have gotten
this decision wrong have paid
dearly for it. While on the other
hand businesses who have gotten
this decision right enjoy greater
patronage, customer loyalty and
increased profit, all things being
equal.
How to determine your
Primary Customer
As stated earlier, it is erroneous
to just assume that the buyer,
distributor, supplier, influencer etc
are the primary customers of your
business. In order to ensure that a
product or service gets to the final
consumer some functional jobs need
to be performed. The production
department must produce, the
distributors must distribute, the
installers must install etc. These
functional roles are not the raison
d’etre of the business.
Whenever you want to decide who
your primary customer is, the most
important criterion to consider is,
‘who the end-users of your products
and services are or put differently,
the consumers of your products and
services. They are the reason for
whom value is being created and
the reason why the market and
product exist.
It is important to note that focusing
on the wrong primary customer can
lead to failure especially when you
mistakenly think that middlemen are
your primary customers. IBM focused
on its middlemen (Computerland)
and directed all their marketing
efforts towards satisfying the false
primary customer until Apple and
Dell computers came and redefined
the marketing space by cutting off
middlemen and selling directly to the
end-users. Sadly, but as expected
IBM, which couldn’t survive the
hemorrhaging, ultimately exited new products. Everybody likes to
the Personal Computer (PC) market. be listened to.
In the same vein, as an oil and
gas company it is very dangerous Identify and Anticipate Needs –
to assume that oil marketers are Customers don’t just buy products
your primary customers. They are and services. Products are vehicles
at best, secondary customers as that deliver the intrinsic value that
they perform a functional role the customer is interested in. For
to get your products to your final example, when you go into a shop
users or consumers. We all use and buy a Revlon hair relaxer
Instagram, the photo and video what you are buying is beauty and
social sharing service. As a user of not the physical attributes of the
Instagram, we all think we are their product. Knowing your customers
customers but in reality we are all helps you to anticipate their needs.
products and their customers are Communication is the key here.
those individuals and companies
that place advertisements on their Make Your Customer Feel Like
platform. A VIP – Everybody likes to be
Having identified who your primary respected and treated right. Have
customer is, the next step will be you not noticed how most foreign
how to treat them right. airline crew members pass positive
compliments on their customers? The
Treating Your Customers truth of the matter is that they may
Right not necessarily like or love you but
It has been established beyond they have been trained to make
reasonable doubt that your you feel like a VIP and it helps in
customers are very important to customer loyalty and retention. Be
your business survival. They are sincere and generate good feelings
the basic reason why businesses around your business. People like
engage in the production of goods to be around a place of good
and services they are the basic feelings.
justification for any business. In
other words, you cannot survive Listen to Feedback - Feedback is
as a business without a customer, a very powerful mechanism that
at least you must have one before any serious business must not avoid.
going into any productive effort. It enables you to know what you
Below are some of the ways of are doing right and wrong. This
treating your customers right. information can make it possible
for you to design and redesign your
Listen Attentively – You must spend products and services to suit the
considerable time listening to your taste of your customers. You must
customers so as to understand create a system that encourages
what they really need. Emphasis constructive criticism, comments and
is to be placed on both verbal suggestions. This can be through
and nonverbal communication. oral, written, audio, social media
A danger to avoid is making platforms, etc.
assumptions about a customer’s
needs. By listening you can get toLearn to Apologize – In business
as in life in general, things are
know the likes and dislikes of your
bound to go wrong and when they
customers. This can help in product
modification and the production ofdo, apologize and make amends.
The power of “we are sorry” can
NNPC QUARTERLY PUBLICATION Q1//2020 27
unlock tremendous future business
opportunities and patronage. Even
in situations where you can’t do
anything about the issue, please
show some empathy; it goes a
long way to show that you care.
Customers’ complaints are good
feedback for business improvement.
Please use it.
Treat Your Employees And
Stakeholders Right – The way you
treat your employees and suppliers
is a mirror of how you will treat your
customers. Employees are internal
stakeholders and must be treated
right. We are not just talking
about monetary gratifications
here. Other forms of appreciation
like a pat on the back, praise in
front of other colleagues, special
holiday packages, employee of
28 NNPC QUARTERLY PUBLICATION Q1//2020
the month award, etc. can go a
long way towards boosting the
morale of your employees. Treat
your employees with respect and
they will treat your customers with
respect and vice versa. If you are
lucky to have employees, treat
them like family members and
value them like diamonds.
My Final Thought
The business environment is very
competitive and there is a constant
struggle between profits and
customer satisfaction. Some firms
don’t even believe in the cliché
that the customer is always right.
Some can even be unethical and
cut corners to maximize profit at
all costs. However, in the long-run
businesses that place customer
satisfaction above profit always
thrive in our ruthless business
environment. This secret is what
firms like Apple, Amazon; Berkshire
Hathaway, etc. realized early
and it has contributed significantly
to their growth, which has made
them the corporate behemoths that
they have become today. It is also
important to point out that should
these companies stop caring about
their customers then ultimately the
market forces will lead to their
stagnation and decline.
In conclusion, I will like to state
that it is in the business’ interest
to deliver distinctive value to the
primary customer so as to enable
the entity to transform from being
good to being great. It is an open
choice.
NNPC QUARTERLY PUBLICATION Q1//2020 29
30 NNPC QUARTERLY PUBLICATION Q1//2020
NNPC QUARTERLY PUBLICATION Q1//2020 31
 GOLDEN NUGGETS
FROM NOGIG 2020
Aliyu Abubakar shares the spellbinding story of the victorious outing
of particularly, the NNPC soccer team, and by extension, the entire
NNPC sporting contingent at the 18th edition of the Nigerian Oil &
Gas Industry Games in Lagos, including the spine-tingling details of
how he broke his leg three days to the final game.

By Aliyu Abubakar

32 NNPC QUARTERLY PUBLICATION Q1//2020

 The Captain did Aliyu Abubakar the honour of presenting the much
coveted soccer trophy to the GMD, Mallam Mele Kyari

B
First Things First
efore we take a plunge,
let us first put some things
into perspective. According
to available records, the
Nigerian Oil & Gas Industry Games
(NOGIG) was first staged in 1986,
as a Squash tournament in Eket,
Akwa Ibom State. The participants
then were just a handful sportsmen
and women from only NNPC
and Mobil Producing Nigeria
Limited. With a dozen companies
participating in the 18th edition in
the last week of February 2020

NNPC QUARTERLY PUBLICATION Q1//2020 33

 matters most is the participation.
True. But in the case of NOGIG,
the tournament is so competitive
that teams give their all to ensure
they bring glory to their respective
companies.
Shelving Shell to Second
In NOGIG’s 34-year history, Shell
has always been the team to beat
in the tournament, at least for Team
NNPC. Over the years, the Anglo-
Dutch company has always topped
the medals table, winning more gold
medals than any other participating
team in the tournament. Shell’s
dominance of the overall medals
standings has been so obvious that
in the last six editions held within
The final Medal Table, showing NNPC as the overall Champions of this past decade (2010-2020), it
NOGIG 2020 has topped the medals table three
times: 2014, 2016 and 2018,
in Lagos, NOGIG could today be championship, but a formidable leaving the other three to NNPC
better referred to as the Olympics platform for the promotion of and others.
of the Oil & Gas Industry. friendship and camaraderie In 2020 however, NNPC stylishly
Since the maiden tournament 34 amongst the various employees of shelved Shell to second position on
years ago, the biennial event has Nigeria’s most important industry. the medal’s table. But the feat was
grown to become not only a sporting People say in the Olympics, what not without some intense battle.

The NNPC Soccer Team reclaimed their golden trophy by thrashing a youthful DPR Team 2-0.

34 NNPC QUARTERLY PUBLICATION Q1//2020

Until the last two hours of the closing
ceremony of the 2020 tournament,
Shell was already coasting towards
glory with 13 gold, 8 silver and 10
bronze medals, while NNPC was
closely behind with 12 gold, 16
silver and 19 bronze. However,
NNPC rallied from behind to clinch
the soccer gold, matching Shell’s
13 gold medals, and eventually
winning on superior silver (16) and
bronze (19) medals. A near photo
finish, you might say.
Wounded Warriors
I have been part of the NNPC
Football Team since 2008,
missing out only on the 2014 and
2016 editions. With all sense of
modesty, we have won all except
the 2014 and 2018 editions. Out
of these two, the most painful one
remained the 2018 edition when,
for the first time in the history of our
participation in NOGIG, we could
not even scrap past the preliminary
stage. It still remains a shocker
for us all that even after beating
NAOC 2-1, thumping NCDMB 7-1
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva and GMD NNPC, Mallam Mele Kyari were super
impressed with proceedings at the NOGIG final
and losing 2-0 to Chevron, we
could not make it to the Semi Finals
in 2018. Reason? Permutations of
goal difference!
So, when we returned in 2020,
it was with the fury of wounded
warriors. Each member of the
team had his own share of awful
memories due to what happened
two years ago. So, we came back
literally baying for blood! it was
therefore not surprising that in the
group stage matches of NOGIG
2020, we shoved aside NCDMB
3-1 and walloped Chevron 5-0
(yeah, I was among the goal
scorers in that sweet revenge of our
2-0 defeat of 2018 by Chevron).
Still in another sweet revenge,
we eliminated ExxonMobil, the
defending champion, 2-0 in
the semi-final match. Mission
accomplished? No, just wait, there’s
still one more hurdle to cross.
Dealing with Dangerous DPR
The final match pitched us
against our regulator-friends, the
Department of Petroleum Resources
NNPC QUARTERLY PUBLICATION Q1//2020
(DPR), who defeated another
oil major, Total, 1-0 in the semi-
final. The DPR Team was one huge
revelation of the whole tournament.
Though participating for the first
time, they were dispatching their
opponents with professional ease.
Their major asset was a youthful
side that was full of energy,
stamina and who seemed able to
run like the wind (they recruited
fresh graduates just two years
ago). I must admit we were worried
about how dangerous they could
be against us, but we always knew
we will have an edge.
So, on the final day, our able
technical crew- Polycarp Nwaofili,
Suleiman Yahaya and Joseph
Aghelegin- drew up a game-plan
which was simple: just ambush the
opponents from the first blast of
the whistle and never allow them
have the ball. We were successful
in the first plan but on the second,
we failed woefully! Fortunately,
we triumphed 2-0 at the end. Our
ambush plan was so successful that
we scored in the third minute of the
35
 The NNPC Contingent, here seen on a march past, dethroned Shell to emerge the overall champions at NOGIG 2020
in Lagos.

game via a long throw from our
Captain Oloton Uyi Charles, which
was smartly converted by a header
from our prolific striker, Abdullahi
Sa’idu.
The second goal, scored by our
mercurial midfielder Abdullahi
Aliyu shortly after the second
half, was similar. It also came
following yet another rocket throw-
in launched by our Captain and
leader, Uyi Charles, which led to
a goal-mouth scramble. We could
have scored a third goal via a
penalty kick, but Abdullahi Aliyu
ballooned the ball deep into the
stands. In between that, we saw
‘hell’ from the DPR young guns
who ran so many rings around us,
had a lot of ball possession, but
were extremely wasteful with their
chances. After the final whistle, it
was obvious that our experience
saved us from the DPR’s dangerous
and youthful side.
Taking One for the Team
I initially didn’t want to highlight
this incident, at the risk of sounding
too selfish. But for reasons of
inspiring our younger players who
will soon be joining the team, I must

36 NNPC QUARTERLY PUBLICATION Q1//2020

share this story. Out of passion and
love for the NNPC badge, I had,
since our painful exit in the group
stages in 2018, longed for the
opportunity to once again play in
the final match and take revenge
for that shocking loss. But then, fate
always decides otherwise. Three
days to our final match in Lagos,
I BROKE my leg during a training
match at the NNPC Staff School
pitch in Mosimi, Ogun State!
It was such a devastating
experience for me personally, and
for the team in general. After all the
medical checks, a radiologist and
an orthopedic surgeon confirmed
that I sustained an oblique fracture
of the distal fibula on my left leg
and will need a period of 6-8
weeks to be able to walk again.
Technically, I was out of the final.
NNPC QUARTERLY PUBLICATION Q1//2020
But our team is blessed with
players who can always do the job,
anytime. On the eve of the final
match, our colleagues at the NNPC
Medical in Mosimi reunited me with
my colleagues in Lagos and after
our team meeting that Friday night,
the players all promised to win the
trophy for me. As I have highlighted
earlier, they kept their promise.
37
My Emotional Moment
Winning the trophy got me so
emotional I had to shed tears of
joy. I had been jumping on one
leg as the goals went in during the
match, forgetting my very fragile
condition. But nothing beats the
gesture from our Captain who, after
the final whistle, informed me that
after receiving the trophy from the
Honourable Minister of State for
Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre
Sylva, he will hand it back to me
to present to my boss, the GMD,
Mallam Mele Kyari. It was such a
beautiful gesture from the Captain
and indeed the entire team.
I must confess that seeing me
on crutches almost unsettled the
GMD. He had wished to see
me somewhere on the pitch,
mesmerizing opponents. But after
my assurances, he was convinced
I will soon be back on my feet
walking -and running – again. “It
was a minor setback and by God’s
grace, I will soon be back,” I told
the GMD. I must also commend the
38 NNPC QUARTERLY PUBLICATION Q1//2020
duo for their patience for waiting,
very long, for me to painstakingly
climb up the staircases enroute the
VIP stand to receive the trophy
from the Captain and present it to
the GMD. I will cherish that moment
forever.
A Touch of TAPE
There were a bucket-load of
lessons from NNPC’s victory as a
soccer team which reclaimed its
gold medal and also, as a sporting
contingent which dethroned Shell
to emerge the overall champions
of NOGIG 2020. The first was the
support of the NNPC Management,
represented by a goal-oriented
team of coordinators, led by
Mr. Abdulmuminu Aminu-Zaria,
Manager Employee Relations. From
day one, they made everyone
of us realize that for NNPC
Management, the only medal that
will fly was gold.
Special credit also goes to the
Group General Manager of
NAPIMS, MD,PPMC, Mr. Bala
Wunti, who personally supported
the entire football team with some
beautifully branded “Operation
White” kits, arguably one of the
best sports gear worn by the NNPC
over the years. Aside Management
motivation, the 2020 NNPC
sporting contingent exhibited
exemplary qualities such as
discipline, determination, passion,
commitment, team work, hardwork,
perseverance, sportsmanship, unity
of purpose and personal sacrifice.
All the team members gave their
all to the cause in their respective
events, while many kept pushing
to the very end even when it was
obvious they were the walking
wounded. At the end of it all, it
all came down to fulfill the many
expectations of Management for
the games as enshrined in its vision
of delivering on targets based on
Transparency, Accountability &
Performance Excellence (TAPE).
Congratulations Team NNPC, the
worthy Champions.
NNPC QUARTERLY PUBLICATION Q1//2020 39

A Slip Could Wipe out
Good Record of Tested
By Chinedu Achusi
Protocol Professional
chinedu.achusi@nnpcgroup.com
I
have written severally on
protocol but I want to take it from
another angle, which is universal
behaviors perspective.
International protocol, from this
behavioral perspective is essential
and critical to the survival of any
protocol professional. In fact, it will
help a great deal to keep him out
of danger or ‘the banana peel’ of
protocol quagmire.
In practical terms, one slip or a
silly mistake could wipe or rubbish
the good records of a protocol
professional built over the years.
According to the Dalai Lama, “We
humans are social beings. We
come into the word as the result of
others’ actions. We survive here in
dependence on others. Whether
we like it or not, there is hardly a
moment of our lives when we do not
benefit from others’ activities. For
this reason, it is hardly surprising
that most of our happiness arises in
the context of our relationships with
others”.
In context, the mistakes of a protocol
professional is always very visible
because he is in the frontline. Every
viable protocol professional must
ensure that fundamental errors are
avoided in the discharge of his
duties.
According to the Protocol School of
Washington, ten universal behaviors
can shape the conduct of a protocol
professional to discharge his duties
creditably well.
40 NNPC QUARTERLY PUBLICATION Q1//2020
Protocol Perspective
Respect personal space: This In respecting personal space,
is one of the key etiquettes. It is apart from cultural consideration,
a physical distance between two these factors should be considered
people either in social gathering, too – male to male, female
family or work environment. to, female; male to, female;
personal relationship and country.
In observing personal space, a
protocol professional must be
conscious of company’s policies
regarding relationships with co-
workers; must not assume much
familiarity with one’s seniors or
superiors; avoid hugging and other
familiar gestures.
Use your full hand to gesture:
Most times, in an attempt to explain
ourselves, we unwittingly make
gestures that depict authority,
arrogance or warning to superiors.
There are about twenty-five hand
gestures during conversation.
Hand gestures assist us during
conversation to drive home our
points but we must watch it. For
instance, the use of open hands with
palms at 45-degree angle could be
used as a gesture to communicate
that you know what you are talking
about while also sending a signal
that you have nothing to hide. This
is one of the notably 25 hand
gestures.
Pay close attention to
introductory exchanges: First
Sometimes, because of familiarity impression, they say, matters a lot. A
or closeness to their bosses, some protocol professional must have this
people forget to draw the line. etiquette - Protocol of introducing
people. That is very important proper address of persons is key could be very offensive especially
especially where culture and to the success of this job. A Protocol where we have culture sensitivity.
religion are involved. In addition, Professional should address people
when meeting people for the first Avoid jokes and slangs: It is
time, we should not be overbearing, always advisable to avoid jokes
over expressive, over gesturing or and slangs in official functions. Do
flaunting our position. If a protocol not be carried away by either
professional is called to make an familiarity or over confidence. A
introduction, he should note and put Protocol Professional must always
into practice these rules: introduce be positive in his approach, be
a younger person to an older formal in language and orientation.
person, introduce an employee to Be pleasantly punctual: Time
a customer/guest, introduce a host consciousness is the key. A Protocol
to a guest, introduce a local host to Professional cannot afford to be at
a guest from out-of-town. an event after his boss has arrived.
He must not be caught off-guard. It
Show respect for age: is laughable to hear flimsy excuses
Sometimes, Protocol Professionals such as “flat tyre,” “faulty car”,
are carried away by familiarity “traffic”. There must be allowable
that they see their bosses as mere time for adjustment at any given
colleagues. This is dangerous time. For example, for local trips,
especially when you have bosses a Protocol Professional must be
who conceal their feelings. This at the airport one and half hours
could be forgivable in other climes before departure and three hours
but Africans and indeed Nigerians for international flight.
are respectful people, especially
when it comes to age. We should Develop dinning courtesies:
not allow our position, influence or I have exhaustively dealt with
experience to neglect or undermine dinning etiquette in my previous
age. It could be a costly mistake. articles, some of them could suffice
here. Some basic “don’ts” include –
Dress conservatively and overloading of plates, wrong use
respectfully: One of the rules of cutleries, chewing with mouth
of power is “do not outshine your open, smacking of lips, touching
boss”. This is very important. the head at the table, blowing
Some people dress to impress by on food, picking of teeth at the
wearing expensive designers’ items table, gesturing with cutleries,
and flaunting them as well. This is and smoking during meal amongst
a suicide mission. Imagine a female others.
Protocol Professional showing off
so much jewelries and vulture-like Use conversational finesse
nails including revealing clothes (avoid these topics: crime,
during official functions! Dressing religion, politics, personal). A
moderately sends a message of Protocol Personnel should deal with
purity and honour. a situation or a person in a skillful
and often in a subdued way – play
Prioritize the use of last down intellect. We should not be
names: This behavioral act is properly. For example – “Hello tempted to impress people as all
very important and be adhered to Mrs. Achusi, I am pleased to meet knowing thereby offending their
religiously. What it means is that you” instead of the first name. It sensibilities.

NNPC QUARTERLY PUBLICATION Q1//2020 41


By Chika Umeh
H
istorically, change has
always been a slow
process. Aversion
change or change apathy
has been the reality of every
change process and the bane of
change managers from the dawn
of time.
But what happens when the choice
is taken from us? When an external
factor forces change on a system
and its people?
Well, some have said that such a time
is upon us today. Researchers have
said that the coronavirus pandemic
will change the way we do business
forever. As employees have been
forced to work from home, and
consumers are increasingly wary of
face to face services, the business
world has experienced a drastic
and lasting transformation.
Furthermore, giving the global
nature of the pandemic, the need for
a rapid, nay, almost instantaneous
adoption of IT tools, as the
only means of ensuring business
continuity is felt equally by all,
regardless of each society’s level
of penetration and acceptance of
digitization pre COVID-19.
In Nigeria for instance, especially
in the public sector, if managers
were asked in January 2020 to
implement a policy which would
see 90% of meetings being held
virtually, the response would have
been some very well-articulated
42 NNPC QUARTERLY PUBLICATION Q1//2020
Chika's Diary
Change at the Speed
of Light – COVID-19 and
Digitisation
chika.umeh@nnpcgroup.com
memos showing why such a policy
would be premature and doomed
to to fail. While in the western world,
companies had for some time,
recognized the benefits of having of not having spent as much time in
a part of the work force work from those ways as an older generation,
home at least for a percentage the very nature of the change being
of the work week, realizing that
there was no need for physical
presence in order for collaboration
to take place, and recognizing the
opportunities for a reduction in
overhead provided by a HR policy
that encouraged remote working,
it had always been assumed
that Nigeria was decades, if not
centuries, away from such an
arrangement.
However, Covid-19 happened and
suddenly, the understanding of
what is possible had to undergo a
drastic transformation.
In truth, the workplace disruption
caused by the coronavirus
pandemic cannot be ignored and
any CEO that wishes to ensure
survival of their industry with and
post COVID-19 has already begun
to articulate and implement policies
that would see a sustained move
towards a digital workplace.
However, certain organizations
would experience a tougher time
of it than others. And one of most
significant factors to consider when
projecting ease of adoption of a
digital working environment is the
demography of the workforce.
Apart from the natural tendency
for younger people to adapt to
change more readily, being less set
in their ways for the simple reason

called for -digitisation- makes it
easier for a younger workforce to
adopt.
Marc Prensky, an internationally
acclaimed thought leader, came
up with the terms “digital native”
and “digital immigrant” to explain
the reason for the challenge faced
by educators in trying to teach the
new generation of learners using
the methods they themselves were
thought with while in school. In his
article “Digital Natives, Digital
Immigrants” published in 2001, Mr.
Prensky described the generation
who “have spent their entire lives
surrounded by and using computers,
videogames, digital music players,
video cams, cell phones, and all the
other toys and tools of the digital
age” as digital natives i.e. native
speakers of the digital language,
while digital immigrants will
encompass anyone born before this
time, who has needed to learn and
adopt these tools , with varying
levels of success, later in life. In
most societies, digital natives will
be anyone born after the 1980’s
and digital immigrants will be those
born before.
For some experts, however, the term
“digital immigrant” does not do
enough to describe another group
of people-those who seem to have
a phobia for digital technology.
They don’t know the “language”,
they don’t want to learn the
“language”, and so they spend a
lot of effort actively avoiding new
technology and canvassing support
for their “the old way was better
and safer” mindset. And so a new
term was coined – digital foreigner.
While these ideas were introduced
to explain challenges in the
educational environment, they
also explain those experienced in
the workplace. In most companies,
except maybe in a few very new
businesses, the demography of the
workforce is mixed, with varying
distributions of digital natives,
digital immigrants and some digital
foreigners. In the Nigerian public
sector, for instance, the workforce
is heavily skewed towards an older
demographic i.e. digital immigrants
and digital foreigners. It therefore
stands to reason that the public
NNPC QUARTERLY PUBLICATION Q1//2020
sector might likely experience the
greatest challenge when it comes
to adopting digitisation.
To explain, let us consider an
imaginary Yoruba family that
emigrates to China. We will call
them the Obasanjos. Ma and Pa
Obasanjo will seek every avenue to
speak Yoruba and will likely resist
efforts by their children to speak
Chinese in the home. For them, the
new language should be spoken
only when unavoidable i.e. when
interacting with people who do not
understand Yoruba. Two factors
are responsible for this. First off,
Ma and Pa Obasanjo cannot speak
Mandarin with any degree of
fluency and can most comfortably
communicate in Yoruba; secondly,
they feel a sense of nostalgia for
the past and would yearn to hang
on to “the good old days” and their
sense of home for as long as they
can. On the other hand, Kehinde
and Tolu who were born in Lagos
before the move, quickly learn
Mandarin by interacting with their
friends and schoolmates and are
soon fluent in both languages and
comfortable speaking either. They
experience little resistance to the
change. However, for little Omolola
who was born in China, Mandarin
is her first language i.e. she is a
native speaker. For her, Yoruba is
the foreign language.
Digital foreigners are like the
parents in this illustration. They
have a mental understanding and
appreciation of the necessity for
digitisation just as the immigrant
parents know that they need to
learn Chinese. However, in their
hearts, they retain an aversion to
digital technology and will find
every way to circumvent them,
insisting that they cannot be trusted
and are unsafe. The challenge is
that due to year of birth being a
factor, these people are more likely
to be found in the management
43
cadre, as they are the older and
most experienced people in most
organisations.
Digital immigrants on the other
hand, wholeheartedly adopt the
digitization. Though they may
be of the same age as digital
foreigners, in behaviour, they are
like the children born in Lagos
who subsequently emigrated to
China and, despite having Yoruba
as their mother tongue, are quick
to embrace the new language.
Nevertheless, digital immigrants
will retain roots in their “native” non
digital language, an “accent” as it
were. For instance, this group may
be active on social media and utilize
tools such as electronic banking.
However, they will still rather print
out a document that needs review
than use the review feature of MS
Word- they will always be more
at ease with hard copy than soft
copy even though they are able to
use either efficiently. This group of
people will mostly be in top and
middle management positions in
many organisations.
On the other hand, the
demography most at home with a
digital workplace are the younger
workforce. Given that digital
natives were born late in or after
44 NNPC QUARTERLY PUBLICATION Q1//2020
the 1980’s, these are likely to still be
senior officers in most organisations
in the public sector giving the slow
and structured rise to management
cadre in this sector. They are
therefore, the group least likely
to be in a position to formulate or
drive adoption of policy. However,
they are the ones for whom a
digital environment is their default
setting. They have never seen
the need for hardcopy and may
have never set foot in a physical
library. For them, google is the
go-to source of information. They
stare in frustration at filing cabinets
wondering how to find anything
without a search function. In their
hypertext existence, information
should always be retrievable in
seconds, nanoseconds if possible.
For this group, the workplace is no
longer a place; with the mobility
offered by cloud storage and
the ability to sync devices, digital
natives work anywhere, any time,
and on any device. When asked
to Work From Home, because
of COVID-19, digital natives
experienced the least disruptions, in
fact they had never believed in the
necessity to be physically present
in the workplace, and accepted it
only as another symptom of the
different worlds inhabited by them
and their bosses.
For the necessary digitization of
the workplace to happen, these
two worlds need to meet. As in any
multi-cultural situation, each group
must recognize the strengths of the
other. The digital foreigner must
quickly become an “immigrant”
because really, there is no choice.
The digital immigrant on the other
hand needs to accept that the
native is not lazy, he has simply
been raised in a different world,
a world that has fundamentally
changed the way his brain functions.
And finally, the digital native needs
to realize that neither the digital
foreigner nor the immigrant is less
intelligent than a native, they are
just from different cultures. The
technologies that are an integral
part of the native’s life were made
possible by the immigrant, they
built the foundation on which the
digital era was formed. By working
together, natives and immigrants
in the digital world can forge a
brighter and more profitable future
for all. And this is the time for such
a collaboration.
NNPC QUARTERLY PUBLICATION Q1//2020 45
 “It’s no longer about
business now, but a reputational issue.
For the original builders of the refinery,
Tecnimont, Eni/NAOC and NNPC,
let us be conscious of the fact that our
reputation is at stake as far as this project
is concerned. The NNPC leadership has
promised this country that our refineries
will work, therefore, we must work not
to disappoint over 200million Nigerian
stakeholders”.
-Mallam Mele Kyari,
Group Managing Director,
NNPC

Africaoilandpower.com

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