The record breaker gathers steam at NNPC Ltd, By Richard Ogwuche

NNPC Ltd’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari (PHOTO CREDIT: ThisDay)

Like old wine, he is getting better by the day; in the diverse portfolios of the company, his enduring leadership, revolutionary aesthetics, the transparency and high accountability threshold he has entrenched in the governance structure of the organisation is paving way for the realisation of his pledge to transform the company into a world class company comparable to other players all over the world. With his impressive work ethic and steaming energy level, the attainment of the lofty goals he has for himself and NNPC is set to be achieved and even surpassed in the years ahead.

In one of his illuminating commentaries, Don Simpson, entrepreneur, educator, and mentor, captured in poignant terms, the qualities possessed by renaissance leaders. According to him, these leaders accelerate cross boundary learning, lead systemic change, think back from the future, drive performance with passion, apply a global mindset, and practice personal mastery.

Given his track record at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd, it is an incontrovertible fact that the Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari, brought these attributes to bear when he was appointed by the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari as the 19th Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in July, 2019.

His impactful years in the saddle, guiding the transition of the oil behemoth to a limited liability company, is an inspiring success story woven around hard work, resilience, accountability, and growth.

The resumed operations of the Port Harcourt refinery engineered by Mele Kyari, after a successful rehabilitation and modernisation of the refinery, broke a jinx of over two decades that had hitherto hovered around the country’s four ailing refineries like the sword of Damocles. Nothing in the mien of the self-effacing corporate titan prepared Nigerians for the lifting news that broke on 26 November, when it was announced that the refinery had finally resumed operations; not even his assurances when work was in progress that he would get the job done. After all, past administrations had made similar promises and failed to deliver.

Apart from Kyari, the capable team he had assembled and perhaps the President who I believe he made it a point of duty to brief on the progress of work, the vast majority of cynical Nigerians had given up on the refineries. For him, the eternal words of John C Maxwell to the effect that, “Success doesn’t just happen. You have to be intentional about it, and that takes discipline” held special meaning. So, in spite of the prevailing disbelief, Kyari plodded on with the implementation of a carefully planned rehabilitation; he was consumed by the determination to succeed where others had failed.

For those abreast with his work ethic, zeal, and unspoken determination, this milestone achievement was not the first time that Mele Kyari would shatter existing records he met on the ground when he assumed office.

At the inception of office, he unleashed a raft of far-reaching transformative reforms, so consequential that they not only placed the company on a competitive pedestal but prepared it for the challenges of a future in a competitive business environment devoid of government handouts. The task of guiding the much maligned state hydrocarbon company to respectability and profitability demanded a strong passion and unwavering commitment, without which his lofty vision for the revival and transformation of the company would have died on arrival. Mele Kyari’s vast experience in the company he joined in 1991, his understanding of its inner workings and uncanny insight of how to deal with the challenges, prepared him for the task at hand.

He anchored his plan for the rebirth of NNPC on the TAPE Agenda (Transparency, Accountability and Performance Excellence), a five-step strategic road map, which he envisioned as the vehicle for the attainment of efficiency and global excellence in the company’s operational processes.

His TAPE Agenda created a new system that adhered to well-defined operational processes anchored on acceptable international standards and global best practices. The system he established operated the right operational cost structure that guaranteed value addition for sustained profitability; at the same time, the TAPE Strategic Road Map developed governance structures for the strategic business units of the company to realise its goals and performance standards. The sole aim of the reforms was to ensure an open and transparent NNPC. In a move, unprecedented in the history of the company and pursuant to his drive towards transparency and accountability, Kyari directed the timely publication of the corporation’s audited accounts. From this record shattering move, the first in its 44 years history, it was easy to glean from the audited accounts that the corporation declared a profit after tax (PAT) of N287 billion for the year 2020, the first in its 44 year history. Also, the corporation’s losses were reduced from N803 billion in 2018 to N1.7 billion in 2019.

Kyari’s trailblazing efforts have continued to tumble records. The drive by major players in the oil and gas sector to achieve the full deregulation of the sector took about twenty years in the making. The enactment of this landmark piece of legislation by President Buhari in August 2021 had the imprimatur of Mele Kyari, who rallied diverse stakeholders behind what he believed would have profound impact on Nigeria’s oil and gas sector. He worked tirelessly to build consensus among diverse stakeholders and secure the necessary approvals from the Buhari administration. He actively participated in various public hearings organised by the National Assembly, where he passionately appealed to the lawmakers to pass the bill into law.

The Petroleum Industry Act provided the legal framework for the transformation of NNPC into a public liability company; NNPCL came into existence as a result of PIA under the provisions of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA). This consequential law signalled a new beginning for the oil and gas sector; it has created more transparent and competitive environment in the oil and gas industry and delivered a better deal to oil producing communities in the Niger Delta and elsewhere.

The law also led to the establishment of new regulatory bodies such as the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority. His commitment to the transformation of the industry went beyond the PIA, he initiated the process of divesting NNPC’s non-core assets, led the development of the NNPC’s 2020-2024 Strategic Roadmap that was envisioned to transform the organisation into a more efficient and profitable entity. He also successfully negotiated a $1.2 billion loan from the World Bank to assist the organisation in financing its capital expenditure projects.

Under his leadership and guidance, NNPC has forged a strong partnership with the global EITI to further entrench the culture of transparency and accountability and ensure that the organisation’s processes are operated in line with global standards and international best practices. With Mele Kyari at the helm, NNPC is one of the few major players in the extractive industry that adheres strictly to EITI standards through open reporting and transparent disclosures of details of its finances and operations. The repositioning of NNPC under Kyari’s leadership, in line with the reality of global energy transitions, has been remarkable.

Under his guidance, NNPC has demonstrated readiness and determination to achieve carbon neutrality through the use of the country’s abundant natural gas resources as a low carbon alternative that will help improve access to energy. To achieve this goal, NNPC established a Renewable Energy Division and transformed the NNPC R&D Division to NNPC Research, Technology and Innovation, as part of the plan to transit to What he calls, ‘Energy Company of Global Excellence.’ In May 2022, NNPC and Sahara Group, a leading energy and infrastructure conglomerate, took delivery of two 23,000 CBM Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) vessels at the Hyundai MIPO Shipyard in Ulsan, South Korea, with plans to add 10 vessels in 10 years to enhance Africa’s energy transition to cleaner fuels.

Kyari sees the vessels as critical to driving government’s commitment to the domestication of gas in Nigeria through a plethora of initiatives, one of which is the LPG Expansion Plan geared towards encouraging the use of gas in households, power generation, auto-gas and industrial applications in order to attain five million metric tonnes of LPG consumption by next year. As part of its concerted effort to boost the existing 1.6bscf of gas supply for domestic market, the company has also perfected plans to deliver 12 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Mother Stations and Mini LNG plants soon. This move is part of ongoing efforts by the company to improve its supply chain, develop new refining capacities, and expand the retail network.

Kyari has successfully guided the diversification of NNPC beyond its traditional oil assets. With the pledge to take over engine lubricants in the country, the company, through one of its subsidiaries, NNPC Retail Limited, launched a range of lubricant products. The range include Nitro Diamond, nitro gold, nitro Sper 40, nitro 2T engine oils, and many more. After five years of an unrelenting work ethic powered by a robust vision, positive signs point to growth and irreversible progress. The ongoing revival and transformation in the fortunes of NNPC is not an accidental occurrence but a product of deliberate planning anchored on visionary leadership. The record breaker at the helm of affairs at NNPC has proven that with grit, passion, commitment, belief, and the right temperament, positive change is possible. Like old wine, he is getting better by the day; in the diverse portfolios of the company, his enduring leadership, revolutionary aesthetics, the transparency and high accountability threshold he has entrenched in the governance structure of the organisation is paving way for the realisation of his pledge to transform the company into a world class company comparable to other players all over the world. With his impressive work ethic and steaming energy level, the attainment of the lofty goals he has for himself and NNPC is set to be achieved and even surpassed in the years ahead.

Richard Ogwuche, a commentator on public affairs, contributed this commentary from Area 1, Abuja FCT.