The Minister of State for Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu, has announced the creation of seven sub divisions which the Nigeria National Oil Corporation (NNPC) will be broken into in the coming days.
Dr. Kachikwu said that the NNPC will not be unbundled into 30 subsidiaries as reported in the media, but will rather be broken into upstream, downstream, refineries, gas and power, ventures, finance and corporate services.
He said on Wednesday that five of the units would be focused purely on business ventures and profit making while two would handle service delivery.
The Minster said that the President’s approval has been secured for the final restructuring of the oil corporation.
Dr. Kachikwu, however, explained that the restructuring would not create new companies, but would break the Corporation down into specific areas of functions to move it from administrative to business focused and reduce the turnover periods of each unit.
The Petroleum Minister said that the objections raised by the Oil and Gas Union over lack of consultation, is not necessary as the process is still in the initial stage and consultations would begin when the break-down commences.
He said that seven names of top management staff of the corporation have been penned down to serve as Chief Executive Officers of the seven divisions, most of whom are currently administrative heads of departments in the Corporation.
Dr Kachikwu had said that the NNPC will be unbundled into 30 competitive revenue generating subsidiaries in the coming week.
He made the disclosure at the Oloibiri Lecture Series and Energy Forum organized by the Society of Petroleum Engineers.
It was the 25th in the series of lectures aimed at bringing key players in the oil and gas industry together to brainstorm on issues that will ensure profitability and economic advancement through oil and gas.
The House of Representatives mandated a joint committee of the House to prevent the Minister of State for Petroleum from usurping the powers of the legislature by attempting to unbundle the NNPC without legislative approval.
