The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has laid off around 850 workers as a result of the market uncertainty due to the Covid-19 crisis. Credit: fernando butcher via Flickr.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has laid off around 850 workers as a result of the market uncertainty due to the Covid-19 crisis.

Most of the redundancies were from refineries and included contractors and technicians, Reuters reported citing a local oil union.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Data Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

Related Company Profiles

View all

In May, NNPC had more than 6,600 employees.

Reuters cited PENGASSAN general secretary Lumumba Okugbawa as saying that the workers who have been fired include both skilled and unskilled contractors, who contributed to maintaining the country’s oil refineries.

Nigeria is the biggest producer of oil in Africa. Petroleum exports are the country’s major source of revenue.

Anadolu Agency cited two Nigeria’s petroleum workers unions namely, the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association (PENGASSAN), as saying that the mass firing will affect thousands of families.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

A total of 33,616 cases and 754 deaths due to Covid-19 have so far been confirmed in Nigeria.

The World Bank predicts that the country’s economy will sink by 3.2%-7.4% this year. This is, however, based on the severity of the Covid-19 outbreak.

Last week, Africa’s top crude oil exporter Nigeria’s excess crude account (ECA) dropped to $72.41m as of 7 July, a figure announced by the country’s finance minister just a day after seven people were killed in an explosion at the Gbetiokun oil field in southern Niger Delta region.

According to the NNPC, the explosion occurred during the installation of a ladder on a platform.

In August 2015, NNPC cancelled its previously signed offshore processing agreements (OPAs) with the Duke Oil Company, Aiteo Energy Resources, and Sahara Energy Resources (Nig).