In line with the Transparency, Accountability and Performance
Excellence (TAPE) agenda of the present leadership of the Nigerian
National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), and the commitment to
continually deploy information and communications technology (ICT) for
the purposes of operational efficiency and accountability within the
corporation’s system, the Corporation has deployed online petroleum
products procurement solutions and also developed a contacts-tracing
software application that would be deployed in all its locations
across the country.
A release on Tuesday in Abuja by NNPC Group General Manager, Group
Public Affairs Division, Dr. Kennie Obateru, quoted the corporation’s
Group General Manager, Information Technology Division (ITD), Danladi
Inuwa, as saying that the novel app was part of the NNPC’s sectoral
contribution to curb the spread of the pandemic within its formations
and Ministries, departments and agencies of the government.
“The Contacts-Tracing Solution is ready to be deployed, all the
technical testing have been done and the solution is ready to go live.
Everywhere you go around NNPC locations would be covered by this novel
application which would reveal all information about persons visiting
any official and should there be any medical challenge, the NNPC
Medical would be able to track from the information at the data base
all the contacts and advise properly,” Inuwa averred.
He said the application could also be used by members of staff of the
corporation to document their private visitors at their homes,
stressing that the novel application would enable the workforce to
adjust adequately to the ‘new normal’ way of living to minimize the
spread of the disease.
The IT expert stated that in order to minimize human contacts in
business transactions at the Petroleum Products Marketing Company
(PPMC), a Downstream subsidiary of NNPC, in the face of COVID-19, the
corporation has also deployed a Sales and Distribution application in
the Oil and Gas Secondary Model Portal that would enable marketers buy
petroleum products online.
He said the application, known as the Customer Express, would also
enable marketers to register, validate and revalidate their Bulk
Purchase Agreements online within a week, adding that the portal
provides a dashboard that enables the corporation to track every
molecule of products being imported, transported and sold at every
given time.
“The Portal shows what product is in transit in terms of volume, what
quantity is in the jetty, what volume has gone into the pipelines,
what quantity has gone into NNPC depots, private depots and refinery
depots. So, we have accurate accounting of every molecule of products
that we have in our system,” Inuwa disclosed.
The NNPC ITD head said already, the members of Major Marketers
Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) are now purchasing products online
seamlessly while the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of
Nigeria (IPMAN), Depot and Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria
(DAPMAN) and other relevant Downstream stakeholders are expected to
start transacting business on the platform soon.
He stated that an application that can show the volume of stocks in
the tanks of all NNPC Retail stations across the country has equally
being deployed and the ticketing digitized, affirming that more
technological innovations would be deployed in the months ahead.
Inuwa stated that despite the recent lockdown in the country, the NNPC
business value chains were not affected as the corporation was
well-prepared, adding that the NNPC had over 4,000 virtual meetings,
9.3million minutes of audio time, 6.7million minutes of video time and
2.1million minutes of screen shared times.
He added that the robust IT business continuity plan had enhanced the
corporation’s workforce efficiency.
