NNPCL posts over N2tn profit

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, on Tuesday, said it made a profit of N2.548tn in 2022, describing it as the “highest profit since the inception” of the national oil firm.

NNPCL is a state-owned oil corporation established in 1977 and the largest asset holder within the Nigerian oil and gas industry. It is currently commercially driven, a development that took effect after the passage of the Petroleum Industry Act by former President Muhammadu Buhari in August 2021.

This came as the company also revealed on Tuesday that it discovered 52 illegal refineries in the Niger Delta region in the past one week.

In a very concise one-page document, obtained from the oil firm by our correspondent in Abuja on Tuesday, titled, ‘NNPC Financial Performance,’ the company stated that it posted a loss of N803bn in 2018.

This reduced to N1.7bn loss in 2019, which was then followed by a jump to N287bn profit in 2020, while the company described this as its “turning point.”

In 2021, the oil firm’s profit grew to N674.1bn. It said this was “assurance,” adding that the profit continued to rise, hitting N2.548tn in 2022. The national oil firm said the N2.548tn was its “highest profit since inception.”

In November 2023, the Group Chief Executive Officer, NNPCL, Mele Kyari, said the company was expecting over N2tn in its corporate profit after the release of its Annual Financial Statement for 2022.

A statement issued by the Chief Corporate Communications Officer, NNPCL, Femi Soneye, at that time, stated that Kyari disclosed this when he led a delegation from the oil company on a courtesy visit to the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, at the National Assembly in Abuja.

Kyari had explained that with the passage of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021, NNPCL’s profitability margins had significantly risen, growing from a loss position of N803bn in 2018 to a profit position of N674bn in 2021.

“Kyari noted that NNPCL is targeting a profit increase of N2tn when the 2022 Audited Financial Statements are released, adding that since July this year, the company had started paying dividends to its shareholders,” the statement stated.

Illegal refineries

In a documentary posted on its official X handle on Tuesday, the company stated that in the past week, 32 illegal pipeline connections were uncovered, and 52 illegal refineries were destroyed in the Niger Delta.

“Between December 30, 2023 and January 5, 2024, 157 (oil theft) incidences were recorded from several incident sources, including Nigeria Agip Oil Company, 62 incidents; Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Limited, 29; Maton Engineering Limited, 18; Tantita Security Services, 8; Shell Petroleum Development Company, 4; NNPCL Command and Control Centre, 2; and Government Security Agencies, 24,” the company stated.

It explained that in the past week, the 52 illegal refineries were discovered in Abia, Imo, Rivers and Bayelsa states, adding that the 32 illegal connections were uncovered in several parts of the Niger Delta, including Bayelsa, Rivers and Delta states.

The company said illegal connections were also removed and repaired along the central corridor in the Niger Delta, while seven illegal storage sites were uncovered in Akwa Ibom State, where buried drums of crude oil were unearthed.

In Bayelsa and Warri, sacks of stolen crude were discovered and confiscated, according to NNPCL, adding that oil well heads were vandalised by vandals in some of these areas.

It said, “In the past week, 25 cases of pipeline vandalism were recorded across several communities. Twelve vehicles conveying stolen crude were arrested in the past week across several locations in Rivers and Delta states, while 24 wooden boats conveying stolen crude were arrested and confiscated.

“Nine of these incidents took place in the deep blue water, 45 in the eastern region, 95 in the central region, while eight took place in the western region.”

It noted that during this period, 17 suspects were arrested, stressing that the oil company would continue to fight against oil thieves until the situation is curbed.