The Niger Delta Exploration & Production (NDEP) Plc, a leading independent Integrated energy Company, held its 26th Annual General Meeting on Tuesday, June 29, at which its shareholders approved a dividend per share of N7.00, the Company’s 15th year of consistent dividend payment.
For the second time, the AGM was held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic and was held in compliance with Health & Safety protocols as well as the relevant regulatory guidelines.
Ladi Jadesimi, chairman of NDEP, said though the dividend of N7.00 was significantly lower than its record N17 per share for the preceding year, it was a prudent approach based on the effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic, and reflected NDEP’s solid fundamentals and commitment to its growth strategy and cash preservation.
He said that despite the effect of the Pandemic on business operations in 2020, NDEP “demonstrated its resilience by meeting all its obligations, attaining new milestones and ended the year in profit albeit modestly with staff strength intact”.
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“We rose to the challenges posed by COVID-19 and the prolonged lockdown” he said, “The Board and Management carefully monitored industry developments and took steps to reposition NDEP and its subsidiaries while sustaining efficiency and ensuring company survival”. With a Profit After Tax of N1.6 billion for the Company and N16.8 billion for the Group, he added that NDEP entered 2021 “on a solid financial foundation”.
He announced the appointments of ‘Gbite Falade and Adegbola Adesina as the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive and Chief Financial Officer of the Company, respectively and thanked the pioneer Managing Director/CEO, ‘Layi Fatona, for coming out of retirement to hold fort until Mr. Falade’s appointment. Both appointments were ratified by the Shareholders at the AGM.
Among the highlights of the Company’s operations for the Review year, according to the Chairman, was the 15th Anniversary of first oil production from its Ogbele Marginal Oil field which had produced 20 MM bbls of oil, 95 BScf of Gas and over 160MM litres of Diesel as at 2020 year-end.
He also announced DPR’s approval for the introduction of Hydrocarbon to the Train of its Ogbele Refinery which he said would make the full-fledged refinery “the first of such privately owned and operated in Nigeria.”
NDEP Plc through its wholly-owned operating Companies, Niger Delta Petroleum Resources Ltd (NDPR), ND Gas Ltd and ND Refineries Ltd – it owns a range of assets including its flagship asset, the Ogbele Oil and Gas Field with a fully self- managed Flow Station, the soon-to-be commissioned Refinery with 11,000 bbl/d processing capacity, a 100MM Scf/d gas processing plant, and a Joint Venture in South Sudan with Nile Petroleum.
