Uche Cecil Izuora
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has opened door to Egypt to provide technical expertise as Nigeria expands new oil fields frontiers.
To achieve broader steps towards enhancing energy production the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) and the NNPCL have agreed to expand future cooperation and increase the contribution of Egyptian petroleum companies to development projects in Nigeria.
This comes on the back of the experience that Egyptian petroleum companies have in operating projects in different African countries, as well as the good track record that the Egyptian Projects Operation and Maintenance (EPROM) has in operating Nigeria’s refineries.
The agreement was made during the visit of a NNPC delegation to Egypt, where it met with Salah Abdel Kerim, EGPC Chairman, according to Egypt oil and gas group report.
Additionally, Abdel Kerim noted that Egypt’s petroleum sector can confidently its expertise of its companies to support the expansions in Nigeria.
This includes all the phases of designing, implementing, managing, and maintaining petroleum projects.
These companies include the Engineering for the Petroleum and Process Industries Company (ENPPI), the Petroleum Projects and Technical Consultations Company (PETROJET), EPROM, and Sonker. Abdel Kerim also called for a holding workshop that brings together the two sides to explore the potential for expertise exchange.
Headed by Mumuni Dagazau, the Executive Vice President for Downstream at NNPC, the Nigerian side gave a presentation on the progress of work in Nigerian projects, including the work that Egyptian EPROM is carrying out at the Kaduna, Port Harcourt, and Warri refineries.
Dagazau explained that there are opportunities to increase cooperation in training technical staff, transferring expertise, and operating oil refineries. He also mentioned leveraging Egyptian expertise to establish natural gas fueling stations and convert cars to run on natural gas.
The meeting further discussed the opportunities to utilize the expertise and capabilities of petroleum project companies, as well as both Gastec and Car Gas.
The NNPCL operates as an oil company in Nigeria and the United Kingdom (UK). The company offers exploration and production, gas development, refining, petrochemical distribution, engineering, and refinery services, as well as commercial investments.