The Acting Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr. Abubakar Yar'Adua has described the new oil and gas policy as a "right step in the right direction.'' Yar'Adua, while receiving the board of directors of First Bank of Nigeria Plc in Abuja, said the new policy announced last week would "make the corporation stronger.''

He said government believed that the NNPC had the capacity to raise funds for its projects and operations like its peers around the world. Yar'Adua said: "NNPC is not scrapped, but will be re-structured and strengthened to operate like its counterparts such as the Malaysian oil and gas company (Petronas), Brazilian oil and gas company (PetroBras) and Saudi oil and gas company (Aramco). The NNPC chief enthused that the outfit would come out stronger from the new arrangement, "since our Strategic Business Units (SBUs) will be able to go to the capital market to raise money and offer Nigerians the opportunity to buy shares into the SBUs."

Yar'Adua added that under the present arrangement, the exploration and production arm of the NNPC, the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), would be further empowered to raise its production capacity. The subsidiary firm currently produces about 70,000 barrels of crude per day.