NNPC reduces crude buyers from 43 to 16

Firstclass newsline gathered that the Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation on Thursday said it had reduced the number of crude oil
off-takers for the proposed 2015/2016 term contract from 43 to 16.
It said the move was part of measures to optimise the marketing of the
nation's crude oil and secure new market potential.
The corporation, in a statement signed by its Group General Manager,
Group Public Affairs Division, Mr. Ohi Alegbe, said, "In a novel move
to instill transparency and probity in the award of the annual crude
oil term contract, the NNPC has mapped out measures to execute the
2015/2016 award of contract to companies for the evacuation of
Nigeria's crude oil equity from the various crude and condensate
production arrangements."
It said, "In the days ahead, we shall place advertisement for the
2015/2016 term contracts and the publication will run for one month in
major national and international print media to ensure effective
message penetration. Later, the guidelines for the selection of new
off-takers would be published and subsequently a special bid
evaluation committee would be constituted to conduct due diligence on
successful applicants."
The NNPC also clarified that apart from the earlier listed industry
operators whose performance trajectory impressed the management of the
corporation to invite them to bid for the proposed Offshore Processing
Agreements, "the corporation is extending the invitation for
competitive bidding to Forte Oil and Mobil, among others."
It said, "We are throwing the tender process open for competitive
bidding by strong industry players with track records of integrity and
financial strength to execute the project."
The nation sells its oil through annual term contracts awarded by the
NNPC to a list of companies, both local and international and the
firms are then eligible to buy crude throughout the year.
The list of the 2014-2015 crude oil term contracts, which was released
in April last year and expanded in June, showed 28 Nigerian firms
among the 43 winners.
Firstclassnewsline.net