IS NNPC ON BLOCKCHAIN EXPERIMENT?

VICTOR C. ARIOLE argues that it is apparent that NNPC has embraced blockchain technology

Global trade depends on the Oceans. Whoever controls the oceans ultimately controls global trade… George Friedman

Nigerian oil, nowadays, is known to be the object of sea and ocean trafficking and the way the MD of NNPC adumbrates “market forces fundamentals”, extended to evasiveness in where NNPC money goes, it is apparent that NNPC has embraced sea operations and blockchain technology and its crypto connection, and it could also be the conveyor belt of the chain, on which participants rely on for dividend.

Penetration of the oceans and seas are factually not meant for weak countries and what is known as international waters are exclusive zones for the great powers, especially the five permanent members of the United Nations’ Security Council – USA, Great Britain; France, Russia and China. Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) had turned limited to, expectedly, be in position to be a bride for any of the great powers who control the seas, and be in position to hide its finances in the amorphous blockchain technology platform that rakes money from remote unbanked individuals, like I know of in central Africa, as well as quick profit making venture companies.

Vessels with commodities moored in international waters are becoming the norms as Russia, sanction or no sanction, thrives in relying in such deals. The rules are clear – keep your vessel far from mine as the waters can contain all of us. It rhymes with what the secretary to the US Fed Treasury just said after interacting with China that the trading world is big enough to accommodate both China and USA so as to douse trade tension, as long as it is not defence tension which, in effect, China and Russia had found in Africa a continent to thrive on as they go on engineering destablisation as they take sides in leadership contest of African countries. Wagner group is clearly and unfortunately proud of that.

They should really keep themselves off Nigeria, and NNPC should not act to attract their attention. It has been reported that Nigeria’s crude finds its way to China either accounted for or not accounted for as National Assembly had cause to summon the former Attorney General, Abubakar Malami, and he had consistently denied ever knowing anything about that, referring the National Assembly to the CBN Governor and Finance Minister.

Between Morocco and Algeria, NNPC is not denying the fact that it has a pipeline project linking separately the two countries and that billions of dollars or its equivalence, either in euro, yuan, or rubble are needed to keep on executing it to fruition. And who says that the financing structure of such a huge project is not likely to fall into blockchain technology template?

Again, how absurd is such venture, lining pipeline in parallelogram form to two opposing neighbours; one linking through the sea and the other on land. One in support of the West and the other in support of the East.

Like American Deposit receipts (ADR) market used in the 2000, as explained by Giovanni et al, to link relevant USA industries to their demand outlets in weak countries like Nigeria, so as to avoid legal scrutinies as well as to hedge against market forces, which unfortunately the NNPC is hammering on and create hardship on Nigerians, as fuel prices, according to their Managing Director must obey market forces. Market forces that Keynes dreaded that could lead in the long run the death of Nigerians.

Market forces seems to be what blockchain technology also avoids as transaction in such close circuit template is shrouded in secrecy except that the lead company or the commodity owned company in which all participants look forward to gain from is NNPC.

Morocco is an intermediary for the powers in the West and Algeria is the intermediary for the Eastern powers and both are interested in the NNPC pipeline project, connecting other weaker countries in West Africa. And NNPC must find money to finance its projects as the MD asserts, unmindful of poor Nigerians who just need at most, in average, three litres a day to operate their artisanal businesses; not even for a medium income earning business, and the workforce is not up to 40 million. Hence at most 120 million litres per day. What a shame! And in the current world, nation’s income generating capacity is based on great dose of fossil fuel consumption, either as electricity or transportation.

Blockchain technology and its crypto-currency ally are part of creating ADR, albeit modified to accept any currency that can go back to the population using any currency attached to the currencies of the powerful nations, not exclusively the dollars; hence Russia could easily remain unaffected by sanctions, and enforces the rule that the purchase of its oil and gas must be in rubbles. The sanction imposing West has even waived sanction on Russia’s diamond; the reason best known to the West.

Vessels abound in international waters with commodities’ seeking for buyers to plough back into Blockchain ventures and seemingly Russia and NNPC are not lacking in making such vessels their supply outlets. Of recent a vessel was reported being loaded in a “jacket” carrying 800,000 litres of petroleum product and the captain claims his boss is reachable, and no one is telling Nigerians who the boss is. The said jacket is NNPC outlet and no one is telling Nigerians for how long and in who’s benefits, instead the said vessel was set ablaze.

According to experts, oil loading jacket platform is a fixed offshore platform supporting rigs at water depth much greater than 100m, moving oil from that point to the high sea/ocean. It is not a child’s structure. It is well planned engineering structure and NNPC cannot feign ignorance of their existence.

Nigerians should be aware by now why NNPC transformed itself to limited liability so as to be allowed to source for funds in the “dark” and, of course, not far from operating also the 1983 model of the first coming of Buhari crude selling style – trade by barter.

There are more hidden jackets yet to be detected conveying Nigerian crude to high seas international waters where Nigerian Navy dare not go and that is the type of trade NNPC seems to like.

God save Nigeria!!!

 Ariole is a Professor of French and Francophone Studies,

University of Lagos