The CEO/GMD, NNPC , Mallam Mele Kyari has said that the NNPC is a permanent collaborator with the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN) as the new company continually adopts technology for cost optimization and higher professional efficiency translating into higher value for oil and gas industry stakeholders across the country.Mallam Kyari, who was speaking while receiving a delegation from the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN) who paid him a courtesy call at the NNPC Towers in Abuja added that the NNPC values the contributions of PETAN to the Nigerian oil and gas industry and will continue to keep the Association in the loop, especially in its Nigerian Upstream Cost Optimisation Programme (NUCOP), an industry-wide initiative designed to optimize Nigeria’s upstream operating expenses through process enhancement and industry collaboration.”Empowering collaborators like PETAN is strategic because of ongoing reforms in the NNPC – aimed at repositioning the company to better serve shareholders, including PETAN member companies and all Nigerians and substantial progress is being made in this regard. Our critical initiatives are geared towards stimulating activities back to our industry on the back of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), so PETAN is a major partner to us in our value-added activities”.He urged PETAN members to be mindful of flurry of activities centred around gas expansion, penetration, monetization and export as the nation’s transition fuel, saying that the future of the Nigerian energy sector is gas, which is attracting massive investments and keeping the NNPC as the energy company of the present and future.Mallam Kyari, who pledged support for PETAN’s annual #SAIPEC in Lagos as well as the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) – the Nigerian Pavilion of which the association organises in Houston, Texas – added that the new NNPC is undergoing re-branding and needs such platforms such as the two to showcase its new identity to industry players.Earlier, the Chairman, PETAN, Mr. Nicolas Odinuwe in his remarks, congratulated the NNPC on its new status and ongoing reforms and said that the purpose of PETAN’s courtesy call was to extend its members’ best wishes for success of the CEO on his more challenging task and a more vibrant oil and gas industry post-COVID, urge the NNPC to renew its partnership efforts with PETAN as well as garner the company’s support for the association’s present and future industry events which has primarily focused on burning industry issues such as harnessing our local content, reducing and eliminating carbon emissions, renewable energy and nurturing collaborations for economic enhancement throughout Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa.He said that as the foremost oil and gas Association in Nigeria, PETAN, which has also been undergoing restructuring of its own, aligns strongly with ongoing reforms at the NNPC and wishes for its continued partnership in its local content drive.”We have come to enlist your support and participation at both SAIPEC, holding in Lagos between February 22-25 2022 and OTC in May, 2022. Since the onset of Nigeria’s participation at OTC in Houston, NNPC’s presence with her stand in the Nigerian Pavilion and as a major sponsor and participant has brought pride to Nigerians. This is also true for SAIPEC. We are therefore seeking your continued presence to show participating African countries and beyond, the Nigerian government’s commitment to the oil, gas and renewable energy sector as well as to showcase your latest and developing ideas and technologies to show that the industry is thriving beyond compare in Nigeria”