Managing Director of NPDC, Mr. Yusuf Matashi

As part of concerted efforts to fast track the consumption of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), otherwise known as cooking gas, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and its Exploration and Production subsidiary, Nigerian Petroleum Development Company Limited (NPDC), are set to unveil the largest LPG and Propane Storage and Dispensing Facility in Oredo, Benin City.

The facility, which is an extension of the Integrated Gas Handling Facility (IGHF) plant, has the capacity to dispense 330tonnes of LPG and 300tonnes of Propane daily, in addition to the 100Million standard cubic feet of gas per day (MMscfg/d) and 260 barrels per day Condensate from the IGHF plant, a release by the corporation’s Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu has said.

The Managing Director of NPDC, Mr. Yusuf Matashi, said the IGHF would be a game changer for the National Oil Company, as both facilities (IGHF & LPG bay) when commissioned, would be a huge revenue stream for the Federal Government.

He stated that before the end of 2019 NPDC would be producing 40 per cent of the nation’s LPG requirements, adding that the facility was centrally positioned to supply LPG to Lagos, South-South; South-East and to the North in order to grow its consumption across the country.

Mr. Matashi noted that currently NPDC was the single largest supplier of gas to the domestic market with about 90 per cent of gas supply targeted at power generation to drive the nation’s economy positively.

“We are paying greater focus on our 100 per cent assets production. NPDC assets will deliver a lot in terms of meeting its (crude oil and gas) volume targets. We currently contribute 10 per cent to daily national production and by end of 2019, the company is looking at 15 per cent contribution to daily national production,” Mr. Matashi averred.

He posited that NPDC’s production outlook for 2019/2020 was on the bright side, stressing that the company was aggressively pursuing its drilling and field development programmes as approved by the management of NNPC.

The NPDC helmsman revealed that the company had oil reserve base of 3.6billion barrels and gas reserve of 15 trillion cubic feet from its involvement in 29 concessions – 22 Oil Mining Leases (OMLs) and 7 Oil Prospecting Licenses (OPLs).

He explained that the flagship Upstream subsidiary of NNPC would continue to be a leading exploration and production company of choice going forward.

Mr. Matashi said that NPDC maintained cordial relations with regulatory agencies, such as the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), adding that the company had maintained its remittance of royalties and Petroleum Profit Tax to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).

He stated that NPDC and its various host communities were living in peace due to the company’s commitment to sustainable community development policy, saying, over time, the company had won the confidence of the people of the Niger Delta and it would continue to build on the gains recorded.

The MD of NPDC thanked the Federal Government, Management of NNPC, Stakeholders and its host communities for all the support extended to the company, assuring that Management of the outfit would continue to work round the clock to justify the confidence reposed in it.