NNPC, Denmark partner on manufacturing firm

….To produce animal feeds
The Danish Government will guarantee a 10 per cent equity financing of a Joint Venture Company involving the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and a Danish firm, Unibio A/S Limited.

The proposed JV Company will be engaged in the production of animal feeds from Nigeria’s abundant natural gas resources, through conversion of methane gas into protein.

The Danish firm assured that the business relationship would have no negative impact for human consumption, just as the animal feeds industry in Nigeria accounts for N800billion annually.

In a press statement issued by the General Manager, Public Affirms of NNCPC, Mr. Ndu Ughammadu, the NNPC Group Managing Director, Dr. Maikanti Baru, who said this recently in Abuja, when he received a Delegation from Denmark led by the Danish Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Torben Gettermann, expressed optimism of the success of the initiative.

He said such collaboration would have positive impact on the Nigerian economy in the area of revenue generation, food security and job creation.

Represented by the NNPC’s Chief Operating Officer, Ventures, Dr. Babatunde Adeniran, the GMD said that NNPC was considering partnership with the Danish company to utilize the abundant natural gas resources in the country for the production of animal feeds as part of its diversification agenda into non-oil ventures like other national oil companies to generate additional revenue for the country.

“This proposal, though it is coming newly, has already started gaining traction in the industry and across the globe especially in Europe.

Nigeria being the first point of call in Africa, we can leverage on the opportunity to increase the revenue of the country through local food production,” Dr. Baru stated.

The GMD described the project as laudable, saying it was capable of making positive impact on the country’s economy, adding that the Corporation would look at the proposal holistically to ensure that Nigeria drives maximum benefit from it.

According to the statment, Dr. Baru applauded the Federal Government for providing an enabling business environment which has already started attracting investors into the country.

Also speaking at the meeting, the Danish Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Torben Gettermann, stated that Unibio had revolutionized natural gas conversion into animal feeds.

“There are huge possibilities in view of the demands for this kind of feeds; and it will boost food production in Nigeria tremendously. The benefits are not only in local production and consumption of the feeds, but also in terms of revenue generation in foreign currencies through export,” Mr. Gettermann stated.

He said Nigeria was an important partner to the Danish Government both politically and economically, adding that the Danish Government had established a special office in Lagos to facilitate trade relationship between the two countries.

Shedding more light on the proposal, the Chief Executive Officer of Unibio A/S Limited, Mr. Henrik Busch-Larsen stated that his company owned the right to a unique fermentation technology known as U-Loop Technology, which enables natural gas conversion into a highly concentrated protein product called Uniprotein.

Busch-Larsen said the product could be used to feed such animals as pigs, poultry, and fish.

Mr. Busch-Larsen explained that Uniprotein had a raw protein content of at least 72% which is a key component in animal feeds and can conveniently substitute the traditional proteins in animal feeds such as fish meal and soy beans.

Multinational food/care products companies as Nestlé, Proctor and Gamble, (P&G) and Colgate-Palmolive, he noted, had already started using the products as feedstock.

Meanwhile, NNPC has asked those criticising the recent shake-up that led to the redeployment of key Management staff to shield their swords as the issue has since been layed to rest by those concerned.

The recent NNPC mass redeployment was massively criticised by a section of Nigeria as being ethnocentric devoid of Federal Character and incomprehensible.

The major critics of this move was however the Igbo socio cultural group the Ohaneze Ndigbo, who questioned the redeployment of key Management staff of the NNPC without a touch of the Igbo indigene .

Reacting to this over the weekend, Ughammadu, through a telephone conversation with our correspondent, explained that the issue raised by the leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo has been laid to rest as such has received attention required through proper explanation on the issue brought.

His words, “we the issue raised by the people from the South East has been solved because took up the matter and there was a meeting were the group was detailed of how the whole thing happened and why it happened that way and they were satisfied, I do not think such argument will arise again.”

Ughammadu, told our correspondent that there is no need for the release of the lists of the redeployed workers.

However, noted that reasons for such has been quashed as the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, is now informed of the presidential reasons for the choice of persons chosen for the positions.

Recall that the NNPC carried out management shake-up, which about 55 senior management workers were affected.

The NNPC, lead by Baru, indicated that the shake-up was part of its restructuring process of the organisation which had already started at various departments.