The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has announced that it would build more depots across the country.
The Group Managing Director, NNPC, Maikanti Baru, disclosed the corporation’s plan to build more depots while inaugurating the board of one of its downstream companies, NNPC Retail Limited, in Abuja.
Baru said the addition to the corporation’s existing 23 depots nationwide would ease products supply and distribution.
He charged members of the board to expand the company’s market share from 13 to 30 per cent, adding that building more depots by the corporation was more feasible than acquiring dormant ones.
He lauded the NNPC Retail for its strong intervention to wet the market at a time when other downstream players were playing underhand games to create artificial scarcity of products.
The NNPC, in a statement issued by its spokesperson, Ndu Ughamadu, stated that its GMD tasked the board to aggressively see to the expansion of the NNPC Retail beyond the shores of Nigeria.
“By mid-2019, you should be having plans to go into the sub-region, this board should propel the NNPC Retail into a new height,” Baru was quoted as saying.
On diversification and backward integration, the GMD directed the company to venture into lubricants production as well as marine and industrial services to boost its revenue profile as that was in line with the corporation’s quest as an integrated oil company.
Responding, the Chairman of the board and Chief Operating Officer, Gas and Power, Saidu Mohammed, noted that as an NNPC-owned company, the watchword for the NNPC Retail should be “efficiency and profitability, especially in a downstream system like ours that is highly competitive.”
The Managing Director, NNPC Retail, Yemi Adetunji, said the company’s vision to expand beyond the shores of Nigeria was achievable, especially with the support of the board and management.
Other members of the board are the Chief Operating Officer, Downstream, Henry Obih, as alternate chairman; Chief Operating Officer, Refineries, Anibo Kragha; Group General Manager, Shipping, Aisha Katagun; Mr. Yemi Adetunji, and other senior management staff.
The statement added that the Company Secretary and Legal Adviser, NNPC Retail, Obioma Agbambo, would serve as secretary to the board.