DPR launches VMB to promote transparency, accountability in oil, gas sector

THE Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has launched Value Monitoring and Benchmarking (VMB) to promote transparency and accountability in the oil and gas sector.

Speaking during the launch in Lagos on Tuesday, the Director of DPR, Mordecai Ladan, stated that the VMB of oil and gas assets development is part of DPR’s regulatory oversight function.

Represented by the Head, Upstream, Monitoring and Regulation, Pat Maseli, stated that the VMB is a regulatory framework aimed to scale up best-in-class regulatory values, strategically monitor and benchmark industry cost performance with transparent and standardized digital platform, hence, stimulate sustainable competitiveness for growth and development.

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According to him, “the objective is to promote transparency and predictability through cost evaluation and Benchmarking of assets development and operational data. This will stimulate industry competitiveness and investment influx through analysis and valuation of producing and non-producing assets for viability and net worth purposes.

“Assessment and benchmarking of fiscal terms impact on asset development and operations as a guide for policy decisions for future development. It will underscore hydrocarbon cost implication to capital expenditure diversification and maintain industry cost data repository.”

Meanwhile, the DPR also launched its annual report tagged: “2017 Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Annual Report.”

Ladan stressed that the report tends to give credence to the traditional views on the Nigerian downstream sector and especially it’s weak link to the domestic upstream sector.

“For example, while crude oil production aggregately peaked at 2.07million barrels per day during the period, the total installed capacity of the local refineries capacity remains at 446,000 barrels per day, and the need for growth in the refinery sub-sector becomes increasingly urgent, considering that capacity utilization in the year under review was merely 8.67 per cent.

“The availability of petroleum products in Nigeria continues to depend primarily on the importation of such products. The importation of petrol stood at an average of 45.8million litres per day; posting a decrease of 7.8 per cent from 2016. For diesel mainly used for private power generation, the average volume imported for 2017 was 11.6million litres per day; a decrease of 4.5 per cent when compared with the importation volume for 2016.

“Average importation for aviation turbine kerosene (ATK) was 1.7million litres per day in 2017 which is equal to a marginal decrease of 3.86 per cent when compared to 2016 volume. The decrease in the importation volumes which may be attributed to an increase in landing cost amongst other reasons may have been responsible for the fuel scarcity experienced towards the end of 2017,” he said.