NNPC Partners Chinese Investors On Research And Development

In a statement by its Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Ndu Ughamadu, NNPC’s Chief Operating Officer (COO), Ventures, Dr. Babatunde Adeniran, said the partnership was necessary to enable the corporation seek fortune in non-core oil sector.

According to Adediran, the non-core oil and gas sectors that are of interest to NNPC include: healthcare, shipping as well as telecommunications.

Adediran made the disclosure at the 10th edition of the Annual Sub-Saharan Africa Oil and Gas Conference in Houston, Texas.

He said the response so far from the Chinese prospects had been favourable.

Adeniran said, “In addition to the Chinese who were being invited to partner with NNPC in Research and Development, NNPC had also flung its dragnet wide open to let in American investors too.

“There had been low investment in Industry R & D in Sub-Sahara Africa, necessitating NNPC’s commitment to key in to maximize available opportunity in the subsector.

“NNPC Medical is already talking to top class medical centres across the world for partnership. Billions of dollars went into medical tourism in Nigeria yearly. NNPC is poised to take advantage of the gaps in the healthcare delivery in Nigeria,” he said.

Adeniran added that “Oil companies must re-think the essence of their business and their role in the value chain, while demonstrating astuteness in spotting and capturing business opportunities in ancillary services, among others.

“Oil companies, at a time like this, must prioritize profitable growth to guard against dissipating valuable resources and energies on developing unprofitable assets, adding that the current situation in the industry also required that the workforces are flexible to navigate the new era of volatility,” he said.