The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), yesterday, in Abuja announced the acquisition of Oando’s OVH Energy, a move aimed at growing the portfolio of the national oil company.
OVH Energy Marketing (OVHEM) Limited, is the licensee of the Oando retail brand and ASPM Limited, custodians of the Lagos Midstream Jetty.
Coming under the NNPC’s Accelerated Network Expansion (ANEX), the new move adds OVH downstream assets, including a reception jetty (ASPM) with 240,000MT monthly capacity, eight LPG Plants, three Lubes blending plants, three Aviation Depots, and 12 warehouses to the existing NNPC downstream business.
The acquisition would also bring over 380 additional filling stations under the NNPC Retail brand in Nigeria and Togo, bringing the national oil company’s outlets to 1,500 stations.
Speaking at an event to welcome OVH Energy to NNPC, the Group Chief Executive of the company Mele Kyari sees the new acquisition as a step toward growth and a way of ensuring energy security and making money for Nigerians.
“As of today at this moment, we’re the largest downstream company in the country. We also know that by this partnership; by this acquisition; by this merger, that’s what we want to call it. We’re also very likely to be the largest downstream company in Africa.
Kyari decried the reliance of over 70 per cent of Nigerians on biomass for cooking, stressing that the people deserve clean cooking to mitigate the impacts of climate change.
He disclosed that the NNPC would not disrupt OVH workforce, instead, it would integrate and work with them.
Chief Executive Officer, OVH Energy, Huub Stokman said the acquisition came at a critical time in the history of Nigeria’s energy sector, especially with the enactment of the PIA.
He added that the progress made by the company over years would have been impossible without the resilience of the workforce.
He noted the need to prioritize natural gas, especially in a bid to achieve energy transition goals.
