ABUJA, Nigeria, July 15 (UPI) -- Debt is putting pressure on the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp but the company isn't on the verge of bankruptcy, the company said Thursday.
Aderemi Babalola, the Nigerian minister of state for finance, said early this week that the NNPC is seeking compensation for repairs to pipelines damaged by vandals and rebels in the Niger Delta and for disparities in business costs.
Babalola added that the NNPC is "insolvent, as its current liabilities exceeded its current assets" by $5 billion.
Levi Ajuonuma, a spokesman for the Nigerian company, denied claims made by Babalola that his company was running out of cash.
"We cannot be classified as insolvent when we have a healthy cash flow and we can pay for our crude and product importation obligations," he said in a statement Thursday.
He said the Abuja government owed the company millions in petroleum subsidiaries, which he said would offset debts if the NNPC was reimbursed.
The spokesman added that the NNPC would continue to play its central role in the Nigerian energy sectors and called on Nigerians and its joint venture partners "to remain calm."
