Joseph Bakare
The Senate Committee on Gas Resources,has asked the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), and its subsidiaries to submit their audited accounts for the past three years.
The committee also put blame on the federal government agencies for the unabating gas flaring in the country, pointing that their inability to enforce payment of stipulated penalties on erring International Oil Companies was responsible for the increased gas flaring activities in the oil producing communities in the country.
Chairman of the committee, Senator Albert Akpan, therefore asked the NNPC, and its subsidiaries to submit the audited accounts within the next one week.
Agencies affected are Nigerian Petroleum Development Company; Nigerian Petroleum Investment and Management Service; and the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas, among others.
He said the request was in line with the mandate of the committee in its ongoing investigation into the activities of the agencies.
Akpan stressed that the accounts must be submitted as soon as possible to enable his committee meet its deadline given by the Senate.
He said the audited documents would afford the committee, the opportunity to know the joint venture funding and cost determination of the oil companies and government agencies.
He said, “From here, we will know also who approves projects and how are the projects monitored and the mechanism for cost recovery and monitoring of the projects.”
He also tasked the agencies to present the data of the quality of gas flared by the oil companies in the past two years.
He said, “Give us the submission of the gas that you have flared and each of your operators involved. The quality of gas flared, the operators, the terminal and the related penalties paid.
He frowned at the 2016 budget of the Department of Petroleum Resources, saying the N3bn earmarked by the agency on penalties for gas flaring, was grossly inadequate.
The Group General Manager, NAPIMS /NNPC, Dafe Sajebor and the Managing Director of National Petroleum Development Corporation, Sadler Mai-Bornu, assured the Senate that they are working toward ending gas flare in the country between 2018 and 2020.