TheCable

Mele Kyari, group managing director, Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, has urged the National Engineering and Technical Company (NETCO) to take advantage of the investment opportunities provided by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) to increase its profitability.

Kyari said this at a two-day NETCO management retreat themed, ‘Repositioning NETCO for Growth and Profitability in PIA Times’ on Saturday in Lagos.

Noting that NETCO was one of the subsidiaries of the NNPC, he urged the company to key into the new mandate of the organisation. 

Kyari said the national oil company had metamorphosed into an entity that would continue to deliver value and dividends to its shareholders.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the global energy transition, which have reduced investment in the upstream sector, NNPC GMD noted that the oil and gas industry is facing huge challenges. 

Kyari said the PIA provided several platforms through which NETCO and other NNPC subsidiaries could attract investment for increased profitability.

“NETCO, which is our engineering company, is in a unique position to take advantage of the investment opportunities created by the PIA,” he said. 

“NETCO is one of the best engineering companies in Nigeria and globally, and this is the time for us to look outwards and take advantage of opportunities that exist in Nigeria and beyond.

“A number of Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contracts are being lined up, and you must deliver in a world-class manner to increase our standings in EPC contractors globally.”

Also, Adeyemi Adetunji, group executive director, downstream of the NNPC and board chairman, NETCO, said the PIA has spelt out the regulatory, administrative and fiscal framework for the oil and gas industry.

According to Adetunji, NETCO’s involvement in the NNPC refinery rehabilitation project placed the subsidiary on the global front as one of the reputable companies in refinery rehabilitation.

“The presidential assent on PIA is a major positive step towards improving the state of oil and gas in Nigeria, and it comes with the potential to create new investment opportunities,” he said. 

“PIA has expanded the vista of Nigeria’s gas development as the country joins other hydrocarbon producers and consumers on the energy transition and de-carbonisation train.”

On his part, Johnson Awoyomi, managing director, NETCO, said the retreat was organised to deliberate on how to advance the company following the passage of the PIA.

Awoyomi noted that NETCO would focus on cost optimisation in project execution and expand its business portfolio through diversification to align with the provision of the PIA. 

He said the company would also enhance construction management activities and technical collaboration to expand its business perimeters and seek more opportunities outside NNPC within Nigeria and overseas.