By Dipo Olowookere
Not less than 128 indigenous and international oil and gas companies have indicated interest to participate in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’s (NNPC) Direct Sale of Crude Oil and Direct Purchase of Products (DSDP) programme.
The DSDP arrangement is a model introduced last year and is carried out through direct sales of crude oil to refiners or consultants, who in turn supply NNPC with equivalent worth of products.
The batch over which the bids were opened is scheduled to last for the next one year, starting from April 1, 2017.
Addressing the interested bidders and other stakeholders at the NNPC Towers in Abuja, the Group Managing Director of the Corporation, Dr Maikanti Baru, said the DSDP had saved over $500 million, particularly through reduction in the amount paid on demurrage by the Corporation.
Dr Baru described the DSDP as a major component of the NNPC’s petroleum products supply portfolio, stressing that since inception, it has greatly helped in the stabilization of product supply to the nation.
He said, “The DSDP programme has ensured that the supply from the refineries is fully augmented to meet national supply and sustained over 30 days sufficiency of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, otherwise known as petrol.”
Touting the transparency of the programme, Dr. Baru said the DSDP arrangement was a major instrument of partnership between NNPC and product suppliers, both local and international, adding that over the last one year, significant lessons have been learnt which have been incorporated into the tender process in order to improve quality assurance.
“One of the cardinal principles of NNPC under my leadership is the entrenchment of measures that will ensure transparency, accountability, performance and profitability in line with our FACTI principle of a Focused, Accountable, Competitive, Transparent Organization conducting its business with Integrity as enshrined in our 12 Business Focus Areas (BUFA)”, the GMD stated.
According to him, the DSDP programme was a major instrument for the attainment of this cardinal objective which he declared would be guided by the overriding public interest and in compliance with extant laws and regulations.
Earlier, the Group General Manager, Crude Oil Marketing Division, Mallam Mele Kyari said the tender process was to optimize revenue for the Federal Government in compliance with the anti-corruption drive of the Government, adding that yardsticks for successful bidders would include: possession of financial strength, cognate experience in crude oil business as well as competence to deliver on mandate.
Meanwhile, the Chief Operating Officer, Corporate Services, Mr Isa Inuwa has said the NNPC has set a trend of complying with the public procurement law of due process in the selection of bidders to execute any of its projects.
He stated this during the Invitation to Tender for prequalification of contractors for procurement, installation and commissioning of 4×4.687MVA and 1x635KVA dual engine generators at the NNPC towers.
Mr Inuwa said the Corporation was in search of the best supplier, installer and the best price on the basis of a transparent selection process, assuring bidders that they would all receive equal consideration based on the NNPC criteria and entries made.
General Manager, Supply Chain Management, Mrs Sophia Ndukwe, said 29 bids were submitted for the supply and installation of generators at the NNPC towers.
Representatives of the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) and the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) were on hand to ensure strict compliance to the bidding process.
