The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) would begin retailing of petroleum products across markets in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in the next two years.

NNPC Group Managing Director, Maikanti Baru, who rebranded key downstream subsidiaries of the group yesterday, in Abuja, said the company would own 30 per cent market share of petroleum products distribution business in Nigeria by 2020 from the current 14 per cent.

Unveiling new logos for four of its downstream subsidiaries: Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC), Nigerian Pipelines and Storage Company (NPSC), NNPC Retail Limited and NNPC Shipping, Baru said: “In making the choice to rebrand these entities, we are taking a huge step towards enhancing our corporate reputation, improved profitability, sustainable growth and most importantly, capture a larger share of the market across the entire downstream value-chain.”

He said the target would enable efficient products distribution and price stability across the nation, adding that by 2020 NNPC Retail Ltd would extend its businesses to other neighbouring states in the West African sub-region.

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According to him, re-branding the four companies also prepares them for more competitiveness in the downstream sub-sector, in line with the corporation’s 12 Business Focus Areas (BUFAs).

He informed that the NNPC was committed to ensuring that PPMC as a flagship national products marketing company becomes more profitable and crucial to meeting the nation’s energy demands.

Baru added that NNPC was working assiduously towards bequeathing an NPSC that would brim with revamped infrastructure for efficient storage and distribution of petroleum products across the nation, thereby ensuring supply reliability and energy security.

The GMD stated that it was the corporation’s key aspiration to strengthen its shipping outfit to support the downstream growth objectives of its subsidiaries, saying the corporation would not relent until NNPC Shipping becomes the partner of choice in the marine transportation and logistics business.

He said: “The downstream sector is one critical aspect of our business upon which we are readily assessed by majority of our stakeholders nationwide and in the international market environment, making it imperative for the corporation’s long-term survival and image.”

The Chief Operating Officer Ventures, Victor Adeniran, stated that the unveiling of the logos seeks to rebrand the corporation’s four downstream companies, adding that ultimately the logos would be part of the underlying factors that would change their respective fortunes for the better.

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