By FBNQuest Research
In September, the NNPC’s operating deficit halved from N5.7bn the previous month to N2.8bn (US$9m). Before central costs and ventures, a profit from production (N20.4bn) covered the losses from refineries (N3.5bn) and retail/marketing (N10.0bn).
The corporation’s Financial and Operations Report for September notes a gentle decline in crude output (including condensates) in August to 1.99 mbpd from 2.01 mbpd. The commentary adds that the Trans Forcados pipeline was closed from 28 August to 02 September due to “failed illegal connections”.
Among the corporation’s three refineries, Port Harcourt processed 115,000 metric tonnes of crude in September while the figure for both Warri and Kaduna was zero.
The operating deficit has declined to N68bn in January-September 2017 from N145bn in the year-earlier period.
Without a legal framework for the industry and root-and-branch change at the refineries, further upside is limited. In the period sizeable operating surpluses were reported by the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC; N75bn) and the Nigerian Gas Processing and Transportation Company (N49bn).
The commentary states that the NPDC has successful drilled and completed five horizontal wells in OML 26 over nine months, amounting to incremental production of 7,000 bpd.
In conclusion, we recall that the distribution of October’s revenues by the FAAC was delayed by two weeks because the accounts submitted by the NNPC were challenged. The corporation pledged to do better next time.
Dipo Olowookere 
Adedapo Adesanya