NNPC Confirms Signing New Interim Offshore Processing Agreement

Source: thewillnigeria.com

SAN FRANCISCO, September 09, (THEWILL) – The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Wednesday confirmed signing an interim Offshore Processing Agreement (OPA) with three of its joint venture companies.

Reuters had earlier reported the interim deal quoting sources with knowledge of it.

Spokesman of the corporation, Mr. Ohi Alegbe, in a statement Wednesday in Abuja, listed the companies as Duke, Carlson and Napoil.

It said that NNPC was determined to sustain the prevailing unimpeded nationwide supply and distribution of petroleum products.

According to the statement, the agreement with the companies was designed to boost the supply of refined petroleum products across the country.

It said that the 'stop-gap OPA' arrangement, designed to run for three months, obliges the corporation to allocate a certain volume of crude oil within the period for refining at offshore locations.

The statement said that the temporary OPA agreement would lapse with the advent of a fresh OPA contracts being envisaged which would take effect at the end of the ongoing public tender process.

It noted that the OPA arrangement would help augment in-country production of refined petroleum products from the nation's refineries to meet local demand.