In retrospect, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited recorded some remarkable achievements in 2021 including the signing into law of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) by President Muhammadu Buhari.

There are other major achievements in the industry which had placed the country on the part of success since the first discovery of crude oil in 1956 at Oloibiri, in present day Bayelsa.

The oil and gas industry had since grown to become the bane bedrock of Nigerian economic and a major source of national development.

The industry contributes about 30 per cent of the nation’s gross domestic product, GDP, over 70 per cent of government revenue and 90 per cent of foreign exchange earnings.

With this steady beat over the past six decades and the attendant contribution to the national coffers, the Nigerian oil and gas industry has evolved; with Nigeria becoming the largest oil and gas producer in Africa.

According to the defunct Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Nigeria has a total of 159 oil fields and 1,481 operating wells.
Nigeria currently has the largest gas reserve in the African continent and the world’s fifth-largest exporter of liquefied natural (LNG).

According to the defunct DPR, Nigeria has a proven gas deposit of 206.53 trillion cubic feet; the gas reserve is projected to increase to 230 trillion cubic feet by 2030.
The new figure represented a major increase of 3.37TCF in proven natural gas reserves; a 1.66 per cent rise from the 203.16TCF recorded on Jan. 1, 2020.

Sarki Auwalu, who was Director of DPR, in a breakdown, said of the 206.53TCF, Associated Gas was 100.73TCF and Non Associated Gas 105.80TCF.
The impact of the unexpected emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global oil and gas industry in 2020 brought huge losses to the industry; consequently, in the last two years, the global oil and gas industry suffered a two-pronged setbacks caused by the imbalance in oil supply/demand and price deflation.

This global issue of course did not happen without a reverberating effect on the Nigerian oil and gas industry and that has not put the nation’s economy in a good stead.

In January, Chief Timipre Sylva, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, declared 2021 to 2030 as the Decade of Gas Development.
Sylva said the initiative was to transform Nigeria to a gas-powered economy by 2030.
“Our efforts will continue to focus on gas to transmute Nigeria from the conventional dependence on white products to a cleaner, more available, accessible, acceptable, and affordable energy use in gas.
“This will not only cushion the effects of current deregulation but also create enormous job opportunities for Nigerians”.

The NUPRC is in charge of upstream petroleum regulatory activities while the NMDPRA is responsible for oil and gas activities in the midstream and downstream sectors.
NNPC Ltd. was incorporated as a Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) company on September 22 in line with provisions of the PIA.

The NNPC Limited and its subsidiaries would operate under CAMA 2020 without recourse to Government funds, declare dividends to its shareholders and retain 20 per cent of profits to grow its business.
The new company is to be the supplier of last resort for security reasons and all associated costs shall be for the account of the federation.
In October, the NNPC was given approval for the reconstruction of 21 federal roads across the six geopolitical zones of the country.
The approval was given at the FEC meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Briefing State House correspondents at the end of the council meeting, the Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola said that the construction works on the 1804.6 Kilometers roads is a strategic intervention under the Federal Government Road Infrastructure and Refreshment Tax Credit Scheme.
He explained that the Executive Order 7 allows the private sector to deploy in advance the taxes they would pay for infrastructure development.

OTHER ACTIVITIES
The year 2021 witnessed intensified calls for global transition to cleaner sources of energy and reduction in investment in fossil fuels exploration activities which saw the major International oil companies divesting from crude oil to gas and other renewable resources of energy.
Many of the companies have changed their names from oil companies to energy companies to reflect their current positions as they move to become carbon neutral by 2045.

It is to this end that the world leaders gathered at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 26) in Glasgow, Scotland in November with discussions on energy transition dominating the conference.
President Buhari who addressed the conference demanded for energy justice for Nigeria and other developing countries with hydrocarbon resources.

He said there was need to exploit the available resources as a pathway to attain the net-zero carbon objectives by 2050.
The president noted that even though Africa accounted for only about three per cent of the global carbon emission, the continent still had the responsibility to join the world in combating climate change.
According to him, Nigeria has identified its abundant gas resources as its fuel for energy transition which informed the declaration of the 2021 to 2030 as the “Decade of Gas” by the government.

He also said that the enactment of the PIA would attract investment for the enhancement of gas utilisation. This is in alignment with the various incentives granted to investors.
In November, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, announced that government would remove subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit from 2022.
The minister said that government plans to replace it with a monthly N5,000 transport grant to about 40 million poor Nigerians.

Analysts believe that removal of subsidy would make the price of petroleum products in Nigeria, be at par with its African neighbours which would discourage smuggling.
He said that the 2022 deadline is realistic as the impact of the subsidy removal might be mitigated with the coming on stream of the 650,000bpd Dangote Refinery, Bua Group Refinery, Waltersmith Refinery and other modular refineries.
Nigerians also witnessed an unprecedented hike in the price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), also known as cooking gas, in 2021.

The increment forced some low-income families to go back to the use of firewood and stove, which was a setback to the government’s aspirations to deepen gas utilisation in the country.
As at January, the price of cooking gas ranged from N4,500 to N5,000 depending on the location, but in a few days to the end of the year in December, the marketer sold the LPG for between N8,500 and 10,000.

Marketers attribute the hike to global supply challenges, high international prices, limited availability of foreign exchange and high exchange rates.
The GMD/CEO of NNPC, Kyari gave reasons for the increase and assured the nation of NNPC’s commitment to bring down the prices.
On Nov. 5, Well head 1 in Nembe, Bayelsa operated by AITEO Exploration and Production spilled its contents, causing serious damage to the environment.

The company, working with local and international experts, was able to stop the leakage on Dec. 8, while clean up and investigation into the incident was carried out.
Also, NNPC presented a symbolic tax credit cheque to the Minister of Works and Housing Mr Babatunde Fashola, in his office in Abuja.
At the event, the minister dispelled insinuations that the NNPC was taking over road construction from the ministry. (NAN)