Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mallam Mele Kyari, has been appreciated by the House of Representatives Committee on Finance, for providing satisfactory details on certain current trends in the energy sector.
Kyari appeared before the panel on Wednesday during one of the sessions of the ongoing interactive session on the 2022-2024 Medium Term Expenditure and Revenue Framework (MTERF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP), during which Chairman of the House Committee, Hon. James Faleke, commended the GMD.
“You have made our day. The committee is better informed based on explanations provided by the GMD,” he stated.
Kyari, in his presentation earlier gave a base oil price scenario in the medium term as follows: $57 per barrel for 2022, $61 per barrel for 2023 and $62 per barrel for 2023.
Kyari explained that the assumptions were arrived at after a careful appraisal of the three-year historical dated Brent Oil Price average of $59.07 per barrel premised on Platts Spot Prices.
He said “Price growth is to be moderated by the lingering concerns over COVID-19, increased energy efficiency, switching due to increased utilization of gas and alternatives for electricity generation. These are reflected in the Medium Term Revenue Framework’’.
On the perennial issue of smuggling of petroleum products, Kyari implored the National Assembly to come to the aid of the Corporation in battling the menace, noting that the Corporation, based on the directive of Mr. President, had mobilized some Federal Agencies like the Customs, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Police, Civil Defence Corps and others, to find workable solutions to the menace.
Meanwhile, the committee walked out the officials of Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) for failing to give appropriate figures on its daily output of Petroleum Motor Spirit (PMS) and other petroleum products in the country.
Chairman of the Committee, Faleke and other members unanimously agreed that, there are discrepancies in the records presented vis-a-vis revenues due to the government may be incorrectly documented.
The agency has been subsequently directed to reappear, to give clarifications on the noted discrepancies, as the PPPRA Assistant General Manager, Corporate Services, Kimshi Apollo, could not give satisfactory answers to some of the questions raised by members.
