The Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) has urged the new Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) management to activate “Petroleum Products Passport” to secure petroleum products.
Dr Billy Gillis-Harry, National President of PETROAN, made the call on Sunday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Abuja, while reacting to the new development in the sector.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Petroleum Products Passport refers to the document containing detailed and crucial information about the origin, quality and specification of a petroleum product being traded.
PETROAN urged the NNPC Ltd. to adopt activation of the petroleum products passport platform to ensure that every product lifted by petroleum tankers was utilised and accounted for.
Gillis-Harry, while listing some critical areas for the new NNPC Ltd. management, said it should focus on activation of that platform which was being used by some marketers but not nationally used.
“We are looking forward to ensuring that the petroleum products passport platform is activated for national use to ensure safety of tankers.
“The key benefits of this technology include protection of petroleum tankers and products being lifted from depot to fuel stations.
“It ensures that products are secured, safe and received at their destinations without being hijacked or smuggled,’’ he said.
He further urged the new NNPC Ltd. management to think out of the box and produce an extra one million barrel of crude oil per day for domestic refining and guarantee feed-stock to local refineries.
On the transparency and communication system of the NNPC Ltd., he described it as a public company owned by all Nigerians, emphasising on the need for Nigerians to know its proceedings to build trust and courage.
“The industry already has what is called the Petroleum Industry Stakeholders’ Forum; that forum has the role to shape the industry, and should be sustained.
“All the refineries under the NNPC Ltd. should be looked into quickly for efficient repair to boost oil production.
“There should be a consultation forum with retail outlet owners to ensure that prices are not arbitrarily fixed,’’ he said.
Gillis-Harry, while congratulating the new leadership, described the new GCEO and board Chairman as seasoned professionals and a square peg in a square hole.
NAN reports that President Bola Tinubu had on April 2, announced the appointment of Mr Bayo Ojulari as the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of NNPC Ltd. and Ahmadu Kida as non-executive Chairman.
The Tinubu administration targets raising oil production to two million barrels daily by 2027 and three million daily by 2030.
Concurrently, the government wants gas production jacked to 8 billion cubic feet daily by 2027 and 10 billion cubic feet by 2030.
Furthermore, President Tinubu expects the new board to elevate NNPC’s share of crude oil refining output to 200,000 barrels by 2027 and reach 500,000 by 2030.
