NNPC denies N152bn expenses on refineries’ TAM

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has
described the recent report on its alleged expenditure on Turn
Around Maintenance (TAM) of local refineries as deliberate
distortion of facts and figures about its operations by
desperate vote-seeking politicians.
NNPC in a statement in Abuja Tuesday, signed by its
spokesman, Ohi Alegbe, noted that as a public entity with
fiduciary responsibility to the government and people of
Nigeria, the NNPC was focused on its mandate and would not
be distracted by the spate of politically inspired polemics
against its operations.
Specifically, Alegbe described as fiction the recent report
credited to some nondescript civil society organisations, fired
by an overheated imagination, alleging that the NNPC has
committed N152 billion to execute the TAM of four refineries
between 2011 to 2013.
He explained that though a decision was taken in 2011 to
rehabilitate all refineries using the Original Refinery Builder
(ORB) of each of the refineries, the corporation made a
recourse to a new strategy after the ORBs declined
participation and nominated some partners in their stead who
came up with outrageously unfavourable terms.
“The nominated partners, as sole bidders came up with
humongous price offers after two years of thorough and
exhaustive scope of work definition and price negotiations.
The proxies were also unwilling to provide post-rehabilitation
performance guarantees,” the NNPC said.
It noted that the new arrangement, which kicked off in October
2014, entails phased and simultaneous rehabilitation of all
refineries using in-house and locally available resources in line
with the spirit and letters of the Nigerian Content Law.
The strategy also embraces the direct use of Original
Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) representatives to effect major
equipment overhaul and rehabilitation.
The NNPC said it is projected that the new strategy would
create 70 per cent reduction in costs, which would help in
mitigating the financing challenges of NNPC visa-a-vis
refinery rehabilitation.
“The phased rehabilitation programme started in October of
2014, after the required funding stream was established, and
will last for 18 months,” noted the corporation.
It hinted that over 60 per cent of TAM materials have been
delivered to Port Harcourt Refinery and installation of such
equipment and parts is in progress while material orders and
deliveries to Kaduna and Warri refineries are substantial and
sufficient to operate the production process.
The NNPC called on members of the public to discountenance
sensational comments about its operations being bandied
about by some desperate politicians who are bent on
achieving partisan political objectives.