admin The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) is not indebted to any organisation any longer. Breaking this good news is the Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari who said the company has cleared all outstanding 4.68 billion US dollars cash call debt to the five international oil companies operating in Nigeria.
Mr Kyari gave this confirmation in Lagos while speaking at the 42nd National Association of Petroleum Explorationists International Conference and Exhibition held at Eko Hotels.
He attributed this feat to President Bola Tinubu’s bold decision to end subsidy payments which he described as an important move to revamp the economy which was in bad shape .In his words “This decision although initially challenging with impacts on inflation and the cost of commodities was necessary to halt the harmful practice of petrol subsidies. President Tinubu has effectively stopped Nigeria from “smoking cigarettes” and thereby restore the nation’s economic health.
Explaining further, The NNPCL Chief Executive Officer said “When SUV drivers realise that they are spending 100,000n per tank, they will reconsider their habits and public transportation will likely see a resurgence. Now the public transportation system will return and people will now transfer those transactions into useful ventures.
Mr. Kyari noted that with the debt burden hook off the neck of NNPCL, the company can now focus on the downstream sector, noting that the subsidy burden before often forced it to cash call defaults with joint venture partners.
Cash calls in Nigeria’s oil sector are funding requests by NNPCL and its joint venture partners — including companies like Mobil,Chevron, Shell, Total Energies and Agip to cover Capital and operational expenses for oil projects.
By Tunde Olaore
