Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, has advised its oil traders to prepare for challenges ahead to align with its vision of becoming dominant players in oil trade.
The Group Managing Director of NNPC, Dr Maikanti Baru, made the call in Abuja while receiving participants billed to depart for onsite customised oil traders training programme organized by Oxford Princeton, London, for select NNPC staff.
Mr Ndu Ughamadu, NNPC Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, who made the development known in a statement in Abuja on Wednesday, said that the course would start on Feb. 6.
“Trading on the major international platforms like the London mercantile exchange, the New York NYMEX, and of course Singapore requires in-depth understanding.
”It also requires total loyalty and commitment to your entity, as in the oil and gas industry, the margins are small so the volume definitely matters.
”We rely on you to make things happen’’ Baru said.
He said because successful trading required in-depth networking, the trainees must do everything possible to develop and sustain a rich pool of contacts within the trading world.
He said various attempts by NNPC in the past to have a stronghold on oil trading did not yield expected dividend because the corporation relied on big trading companies to transfer trading skills to staff during routine secondment.
“It is our aspiration that this crop of trainees would eventually realise our dream,’’ Baru said.
He explained that the training programme was designed to equip the participants with crude oil trading fundamentals and develop their capacity to compete in the global trading space.
”Trainees would be taken through the general introduction of trading of physical crude with focus on the steps involved in negotiating crude oil transaction.
”They would also be made to understand the fundamentals of petroleum refining with focus on the operational modus of refineries and its effects on global oil and products prices.
”The new traders would be further trained on the rudiments of exchange traded futures contracts, how to limit price risk exposure in the crude oil trading business, shipping, risk management, bidding and tendering processes documentation among others.
”The training would climax with site visits to refineries, petroleum exchange and banks ahead of scheduled evaluation and assessment process of all participants,” Baru said.
The Director, NNPC Trading, Malam Inuwa Waya, on behalf of the trainees, said ”the participants are prepared to accept the challenge ahead and maximise the opportunities on offer during the programme and beyond.’. (NAN)
YETI/JCE