How Mele Kyari’s Leadership Of NNPCL Rescued First E&P From Financial Ruin, Boost Oil Production

Despite criticisms, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) under Mele Kyari’s leadership has made significant strides in improving Nigeria’s daily crude oil production, increasing it by 60,000 barrels per day.

In a recent interview, First E&P’s CEO, Ademola Adeyemi-Bero, revealed how NNPC Ltd rescued his company from financial difficulties, providing 100% funding for the development of the Madu-Anyala fields.

This intervention not only saved the company but also contributed to Nigeria’s increased oil production, with the country now producing 1.53 million barrels per day, including condensates.

Industry experts have praised Kyari’s transparency and accountability initiatives, which have led to the publication of audited financial statements and monthly financial reports. However, Kyari faces opposition from those seeking to tarnish his reputation.

According to data made available by Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), from a low of 900,000 barrels’ monthly production in the last quarter of 2022; under the Kyari-led NNPC Ltd, Nigeria hit 1.53 million barrels per day in July 2024. This includes condensates.

Therefore, it has not just been gloom, doom and missed deadlines in the industry, there is also good news.

Aside from breaking the decades-long jinx of not releasing yearly Annual Financial Statements (AFS), several industry operators have also acknowledged the role played by Kyari in saving oil and gas operations in the country.

Founder and Chief Executive Officer of First E&P, Ademola Adeyemi-Bero, recently acknowledged how NNPC Ltd rescued his company from financial abyss, to deliver 60,000 bpd in Madu-Anyala fields.

“When we finally put the development plan in place, we were looking for about $725 million to develop Anyala and Madu fields,” Adeyemi-Bero told Africa Oil+Gas Report.

“The two fields are a pair of undeveloped discoveries in oil mining leases (OMLs) 83 & 85, which First E&P purchased from Chevron in 2015. OMLs 83 & 85 are located in shallow water, offshore central Niger Delta.

“At that time, you may have heard that we were talking to a multinational oilfield services company which we needed their financial support.

“We closed that deal but a few months later, the company stepped back and declined to abide by the agreement”.

The step back was like a bolt from the blue as the circumstances leading to the company’s withdrawal of financial support are still nebulous. The company was billed to finance the joint venture – First E&P 40 per cent share, and NNPC Ltd’s 60 per cent.

“They looked at our plan, they liked the fact that we have done it up to the finance and when the multinational oilfield services company stepped back, we didn’t have the fund, and to raise money in financing was challenging at that time.

“So, NNPC said “First E&P, we’ve looked at this plan, we believe in this; how much do you need to bring the first field on stream? We told them. And they said, go ahead, we would fund it 100 per cent; they had never done that before,” he added.

He further said; “The NNPC support came, not only from funding, but also by giving the company freedom on contracting. Even in terms of our deal with the multinational oilfield services company. They said, ‘don’t take the contracting away; leave it with them because they can do the work for you.”

Commenting further on the strides, Joshua Oke said, Kyari has been a beacon of transparency and accountability in the industry. He said, “his scorecard is impressive, and his efforts have not gone unnoticed. However, with great success comes great envy, and Kyari is now facing opposition from forces of evil who seek to tarnish his reputation.

“When Kyari took over as GMD in 2019, he inherited a company plagued by questions about its business practices. But he has since turned things around with his Transparency, Accountability, and Performance Excellence (TAPE) initiative.“

“He has published audited financial statements, made monthly financial and operations reports available to the public, and has been instrumental in the rehabilitation of refineries, the oil and gas expert added.

“Despite these achievements, some individuals are bent on destroying Kyari’s reputation. It is clear that these forces of evil are motivated by jealousy and a desire to bring Kyari down. But their efforts will not succeed. Kyari’s achievements speak for themselves, and he has the support of the government and the people,” he said.

When Kyari assumed duty as the head of NNPC on July 7, 2019, it was at a critical period not only in the life of the corporation but for the entire Nigerian oil and gas sector as well as the national economy. It was a turbulent period characterised by low production, burgeoning vandalism of oil pipelines, oil theft on a grand scale, and demoralised staff of the corporation.

“His assignment was clearly cut out. A lot was riding on his appointment as time seemed to be running out. It clearly wasn’t a task for the faint-hearted. But Kyari was no spring chicken. As an insider, he understood well, the working of the NNPC system. He was going to give it his best shot certainly”, NNPC Ltd spokesman, Olufemi Soneye said recently.

He noted that like every determined achiever and visionary, Kyari hit the ground running and within days of his appointment, he unveiled his “Roadmap to Global Excellence” anchored on the TAPE Agenda.

The roadmap, TAPE represents Transparency, Accountability, and Performance Excellence. Throughout Kyari’s time as NNPC GMD, he remained the guiding rubric of his administration at the corporation.

He added, “subsequently, Kyari announced the discovery of a four-kilometre illegal oil connection line from Forcados Terminal into the sea which had been in operation for nine years.
“Certainly, efforts at checkmating crude oil theft and illegal refineries are yielding positive results as there has been a significant spike of daily oil production to 1.6 million barrels per day”, Oke said.

Notably, Nigeria has regained its position as the largest crude oil producer in Africa, ahead of Algeria, Angola.

In 2022, the company posted its second consecutive year of ‘profit’ announcing N674.1 billion in the 2021 financial period by growing it from N287 billion in 2020.

The figure represented an increase of N387 billion or 134.8 per cent when compared to the previous N287 billion recorded in 2020. In 2023, the NNPC Ltd announced that it made a profit of N2.5 trillion for the 16 months from December 2022.