Ike Amos
23 May 2018, Sweetcrude, Abuja — The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’s (NNPC), Wednesday, ordered its downstream subsidiary, NNPC Retail Limited, to expand its operations into neighbouring states in the West African sub-region by 2020.
In a statement in Abuja, Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mr. Maikanti Baru, also directed the NNPC to grow its petroleum products distribution market share to 30 percent by 2020.
He explained that the targets would enable efficient products distribution and price stability across every nook and cranny of the country.
Currently, the Corporation’s downstream company holds about 14 percent market share of the nation’s products distribution network.
Baru noted that the NNPC was committed to ensuring that the Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC) as a flagship national products marketing company becomes more profitable and crucial to meeting the nation’s energy demands.
He added that the NNPC was working assiduously towards bequeathing a Nigerian Pipeline and Storage Company (NPSC) that would brim with revamped infrastructure for efficient storage and distribution of petroleum products across the nation, thereby ensuring supply reliability and energy security.
He also explained that the corporation’s key aspiration to strengthen its shipping outfit to support the downstream growth objectives of its subsidiaries, saying the corporation would not relent until NNPC Shipping becomes the partner of choice in the marine transportation and logistics business.
He said, “The Downstream Sector is one critical aspect of our business upon which we are readily assessed by a majority of our stakeholders nationwide and in the international market environment, making it imperative for the corporation’s long-term survival and image.”
