NNPC mulls setting up bunkering Company to aid refuelling services to ships

In a bid to consolidate its foothold on the shipping business in Nigeria and boost profitability, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), has unveiled plans to set up a subsidiary to provide refueling services to ships and other ocean-going vessels.

A statement by the corporation’s Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Ndu Ughamadu, stated that the Group General Manager, NNPC Shipping, Mrs. Aisha Katagum, made the disclosure in an interview published in the August edition of NNPC News, the corporation’s in-house journal.

Speaking on the plan to set up the bunkering subsidiary, the GGM Shipping said: “Actually, the NNPC Group Managing Director (GMD) is also very keen on that. He has directed the Corporate Planning & Strategy (CP&S) Division to come up with a business model for us to see how it could operate”.

According to Katagum, the bunkering subsidiary was most likely going to be an incorporated company like Nidas, a subsidiary under NNPC Shippping, adding that the proposed company would likely be domiciled in the NNPC Shipping Division too.

On the prospect of the company, she enthused: “I’m sure it’s going to be a big business because we have so many vessels that come into the West African Coast. This year alone, over 120 vessels have brought imports for us.”

Nikorma and Marine Logistics are two other downstream subsidiaries under the NNPC Shipping Division. While Nikorma engages in shipping and transportation of energy products, Marine Logistics on the other hand, provides logistics services to the crude and petroleum products and gas sub-sector, with a mandate to effect demurrage reduction and ensure safe and efficient coastal distribution of petroleum products.

HARRISON EDEH,ABUJA