Six days to the end of the first term of the Muhammadu Buhari administration, industry sources say Maikanti Baru, group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), and Mohammed Barkindo, secretary general of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), top the list of possible candidates for the job of Petroleum Minister in Buhari’s second term.
Unlike the first term in government, the sources told BusinessDay some of the candidates under consideration want to be appointed as minister rather than as minister of state. Buhari has been serving as President and Minister of Petroleum Resources since the present cabinet was formed in November 2015.
Our sources say Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, current minister of state for petroleum resources, will likely be dropped.
Maikanti Baru
Maikanti Baru, who was appointed NNPC GMD in July 2016, appears a clear favourite for the job. Baru enjoys the trust of the president through his management of the petrol subsidy helping to maintain supply despite budgetary constraints.
Baru has kept faith with the president’s deeply-held beliefs that refineries must remain state-owned to be better managed and rather than being sold, refurbished for optimal performance.
This has not happened, as Nigerian refineries continue to produce less than 10 percent of national petrol demand.
Under his watch as the NNPC boss, Baru has tirelessly worked to actualise the president’s desire to drill oil in the north in commercial quantities.
Baru told some local investors last year that based on preliminary results from the exploration activities in inland basins, especially the Benue Trough, there was a strong indication that commercial quantity oil and gas finds would soon be made.
Baru also said almost 400 square kilometres (400km²) of 3D seismic data had been acquired in the part of the Benue Trough that was earlier explored by SNEPCO and that similar work would be extended to areas previously explored by Chevron and Total.
Three years later and billions of naira sunk into the project, oil has not been found in commercial quantities.
However, attacks by Boko Haram insurgents have threatened the quest. In 2017, the sect attacked a local team of oil explorers in Magumeri in northern Borno State. The team was gathering soil samples in preparation to commence drilling. 48 people were killed including soldiers and some NNPC staff members were abducted.
The GMD position in the NNPC is not tenured so Baru, serving at the pleasure of the president, could leave when called upon to do so.
Mohammed Barkindo
Barkindo was appointed secretary general of OPEC for a three-year tenure on June 2, 2016 and began his tenure on August 1, 2016. Unless reappointed, his tenure comes to an end in July this year.
If Buhari maintains his legendary slow pace in making appointments, Barkindo could be ready to resume at the Petroleum Ministry before the end of this year.
The OPEC Secretary-General is the legally authorised representative of the organisation and chief executive of the Secretariat. In this capacity, he administers the affairs of the organisation in accordance with the directions of the Board of Governors.
Barkindo, a former NNPC GMD from 2009 to 2010, could leave the OPEC job if appointed as minister, sources say.
Under his watch at OPEC, Barkindo and his team compelled Russia and other non-OPEC producers to form an alliance which cut production to shore up prices. While the pact is threatened by US President Trump’s preference for low oil prices, the Nigerian job may be a welcome relief.
ISAAC ANYAOGU
