NNPCL report shows N7.4b spent on entertainment in 2023 amid failure to revive refineries

SAHARA REPORTERS

A review of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) financial statement has shown that the oil company spent the sum of N7.4 billion on “entertainment expenses in 2023”.

This expenditure is an increase from the N7.3billion spent on same in 2022.

In total, between 2022 and 2023, the oil company spent N14.7billion on entertainment expenses.

This development comes amid scrutiny on the finances of the NNPC limited.

Earlier poor financial management was blamed for the management problems faced by the oil firm.

SaharaReporters earlier reported the financial debacles faced by oil companies subsidiaries with the refineries making losses for instance while spending billions on salaries of workers. 

There have been calls for more prudence in the management of the oil company finances, although the financial statements may raise concerns on priority spending of the oil company.

SaharaReporters had on August 15 reported that the company’s N200billion investments in the rehabilitation and repairs of refineries failed to revive the moribund refineries since 2021. 

The NNPCL had in 2021 noted that it spent N8.3billion every month to rehabilitate refineries. 

The company had stated this during a presentation to the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee. 

There are four refineries under the NNPC, they are the Port Harcourt refineries, Kaduna Refining Production Company, and the Warri Refining Production Company. 

All of the four have 445,000 barrels per day production capacity. 

In the 2022 financial statements, NNPC group noted that it spent the sum of N114.2 billion on repairs and maintenance, per official data provided by it. 

Usually, repairs and maintenance are earmarked for refineries, this is as Pipelines which also may require some maintenance have its own cost earmarked under the cost of sales while repairs and maintenance are labelled under “General and Administrative expenses”.

Specifically also, documents seen by SaharaReporters noted that between January and July, 2022, the NNPC spent N54 billion on refinery rehabilitation. This is based on the August 2022 NNPC FAAC report.

With NNPC stating that it spent N100 billion in 2021 and another N114 billion recorded for egg full year 2022, it would mean that between 2021 and 2022, NNPC spent N214 billion on rehabilitation of refineries, repairs and maintenance.

Despite these expenditures, the refineries have failed to work. 

THIS STORY FIRST APPEARED IN SAHARA REPORTERS