The Nation Newspaper

Category: Energy

  • NEITI to unveil oil, gas, mining register next year

    A comprehensive register of oil, gas and mining companies owners in Nigeria will be unveiled on December 31, 2019, the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), has said.

    Its Executive Secretary, Dr. Waziri Adio, disclosed this in Abuja at a one day stakeholders’ engagement meeting on the implementation of the beneficial ownership roadmap in extractive industries in Nigeria.

    Adio said this move would help to establish transparency and accountability in the extractive sectors, adding that with such information, Nigerians will begin to know the real persons having significant influence directly or indirectly in the nation’s extractive sectors.

    He said: “We are going to have the register of all the companies operating in Nigeria by December 31, 2019. A lot of discussions have been going on both at the level of the EITI and at the level of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) and the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). We have had a lot of discussions, we need to stop talking; we need to start acting.”

    According to him, hidden ownership could be used to fuel terrorism financing, money laundering, and drug financing, noting that such act could benefit only the minority elite in the country.

    “We know that hidden ownership can be used as a mask for conflict of interest; it can be used as a mask for abuse of office; it can also be used to facilitate corruption; it can be used to facilitate tax evasion, it can also be used to perpetrate money laundering, drug financing and terrorism financing,” he explained.

    The executive secretary nevertheless expressed concerns on the challenges of adopting beneficial ownership disclosure in the country, noting they ranged from lack of legislation on beneficial ownership disclosure; low level of awareness on the issue, and lack of capacity and readiness to comply with the disclosure of beneficial owners.

    Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) Director, Legal and Compliance, Garba Abubakar, explained that the fact that Nigeria has no register of beneficiaries did not mean that the laws do not refer to it.

    The CAC boss revealed that there were sections of the Company and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), which compeled businessmen to disclose their shareholders and their capacity of ownership of shares.

    He said the commission was proposing a law that would make it mandatory for companies to disclose their beneficial owners, adding that “already, the beneficial owners’ form register had been designed”.

     

     

  • NGA confab holds next week

    The Nigerian Gas Association (NGA) will hold its bi-annual international gas conference and exhibition at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel Abuja from October 14tto 16, 2018 with the theme: “Shift to gas economy: Pace and scale of innovation in the West African sub-region”.

    The leading gas companies in Nigeria, which make up the vast gas-value chain, including upstream firms,  gas processing and transportation companies, power generation companies, industries (fertiliser, methanol, petrochemical), industrial and commercial consumers (mini/micro LNG, CNG, LPG), will be at the two-day event.

    Confirmed international and national guest speakers to join Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Group Managing Director, Dr. Maikanti Baru, on ways to re-energise and maximise our natural gas potentials as we shift to gas economy, include Secretary General, International Gas Union, Mr. Luis Bertron; CEO of Ghana National Gas Company Mr. Ben Asante; Managing Director, West African Gas Pipeline Company, Mr. Walter Perez and  Trinidad and Tobago High Commissioner to Nigeria,  Mr. Wendell Vincent Carlton De Landro.

    Others are the Country Chair of Shell Companies in Nigeria Mr. Osagie Okunbor; LNG Limited Nigeria Managing Director, Mr. Tony Attah and Chevron Nigeria Limited Chairman, Mr. Jeffrey Ewing,  among others

    The exhibition will host innovation from the major IOCs, NOCs, EPC contractors, pipeline, manufacturing and technology providers and service companies for progressive discussions, business transactions and cross sector collaboration.

    “The implications of this revolution, with a particular focus on what it means for West Africa region, is important for our industry and the region economy to grasp,” a statement said.

     

     

  • Nigerian, others get ROSATOM awards

    ROSATOM Energy Incorporation has awarded six Africans, including a Nigerian, for possessing indepth knowledge of nuclear energy. The six won the awards from different categories.

    The categories include sustainable Development goals, Peaceful Atoms for Africa, among others.

    ROSATOM in a statement listed the award recipients as Ugenyi Igbokwe (Nigerian), Irvine Lumumba and Grace Malele (Kenya), David Mwaka and Donald Kemboi (Kenya), Clement Masele and Aneali Kisanga (Tanzania), and  Harriet Mphaho and Thabo Mametja (South Africans). Others are Veronica Kgabisang Gouws, Koketso Kgorinyane, Naomi Mokhine (all South Africans).

    According to the statement, Igbokwe won the sustainable development goals award, while Lumumba and Malele won the Peaceful Atom for Africa award.  Also, Gouws, Mokhine and Kgorinaine won the Benefits of Peaceful Atoms for Africa award.

    The six, the statement said, will receive the awards in Johannesburg, South Africa, later this month.

  • Ibadan DisCo loses over N1b to energy theft monthly

    •70% of installed meters bypassed

    it is worrisome that the power sector situation is not getting better. This is made worse by the unpatriotic attitude of some consumers, who would not want to pay for what they consume, the Team Lead Revenue Protection, Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) Plc, Jude Ugwuoke, has said.

    Ugwuoke said the electricity distribution companies (DisCos) are running into huge losses, noting that the Ibadan distribution company alone loses over N1 billion to energy theft monthly. He said there’s no business person that would invest and lose such amount of money and be able to grow. It’s not likely, he said.

    He said the effect of energy theft was seriously telling on the Discos hence the power shutdowns, which often occur in most parts of the country. He appealed to Nigerians to desist from this kind of practice to enable the DisCos deliver on their promises.

    He stated that people are being sensitised on the need to discontinue from energy theft, spread the message across so that people can begin to see the need to pay for the electricity they consume.

    Ugwuoke told The Nation in Lagos that the major challenge confronting the DisCos was energy theft by consumers. According to him, about 70 per cent of installed meters are now bypassed, adding that meters are to measure the quantum of energy being consumed but when that has been distorted, there would be huge losses as a result.

    ‘’Consumers use the energy and they don’t want to pay. A lot of consumers bypass the meters, which the DisCos had invested huge amount of money on’’. It’s a very big problem to the DisCos, he said, but noted that with the kind of strategies the distribution companies are putting in place,  the challenges would be taken care of within a short time.

    Ugwuoke confirmed that the DisCos also have their own challenges too. He agreed the distribution companies’ metering standard needed to be checked but added that on no account should anybody tamper with the installation even if the meters were not installed at the right place. “It’s against the law, so we need to ensure that we stop tampering with meters, and when this is done, things will change,” he said.

    “We have illegal consumers who are not DisCo customers, they only hook on to the network without following the due process, their information would not be provided, they would be using electricity free of charge.”

    He warned that the Discos are monitoring these activities and anyone caught in the act would be brought to book.

    He also stated that Ibadan DisCo had embarked on enumeration exercise to reorganise its network, so as to know the number of its existing customers. Ugwuoke disclosed that the IBEDC had spent over N5 billion in this process trying to ensure the company effectively runs that process.

    With this, the company would be able to know the number of its existing customers, the process according to him, is also targeted at bringing in those illegal consumers and legalise them and bring them to the company’s data base.

     

     

     

    “We will be able to know the number of people in our network, that will help in planning and budgeting. So, the moment we know the number of customers we have through this enumeration, we will be able to plan ahead, we will be able to look at what to put in place in terms of metering, among others,” adding that other DisCos are doing the same, and other states are equally embarking on that process.

    Stressing the need for metering, Ugwuoke said the moment the customers are all metered and they stop tampering with these meters, pay for what they consume, the DisCos will equally be able to pay for what they consume, adding that the distribution companies too do get bills from the transmission company.

    “So, the moment there’s check and balances and people stop tampering with the meters, we will have proper accountability of our energy, the era of paying for what you did not consume or the DisCos losing excessively will no longer be there,” he said.

    The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) is equally putting measures to ensure that consumers of electricity do not tamper with installations. According to him, the regulatory body had redefined penalties for offenders. Before now, the single phase tampering was N25,000 but now it’s N50,000 while the three phase meter tampering is N100,000.

     

  • PwC praises govt’s support to mining sector

    PricewaterhouseCoopers(PwC) has extolled the Federal Government’s commitment to developing the mining sector. The professional services firm observed that government policies toward overhauling the sector had been a major discussion.

    PwC noted that government’s efforts around diversification of the Nigerian economy including the mining sector have continued to be at the front-burner of conversations.

    The professional services firm said the contribution of the mining sector to the nation’s economic growth had increased within the last one year. Before now, contribution of the sector to the economy was less than one percent.

    Associate Director and Head Mining Industry Business Development, PwC Nigeria, Habeeb Jaiyeola, noted  that there had been a lot of inputs from the present government around policy development and areas that would boost the development of the mining companies and the private sector as well.

    Jaiyeola, who spoke with The Nation on telephone, said in the past one year, a lot of activities had been dedicated to the mineral development funding including the Bank of Industry’s (BoI) support to artisanal mining. We have seen a lot of support from the Federal Government in that regard, he reiterated.

    He said: ‘’We have also seen a lot of enforcement on monitoring especially around the illegal mining. There’s been a lot of improvement in that regard, he said, adding the clampdown on illegal miners had been given more attention by the government.

    “We have also seen a strong support by the Federal Government around the mining monitoring team on the field, a lot of them have been supported by vehicles and funding. We have also seen support by the government in monitoring revenue collection especially the declaration by the various mining companies where the monitoring is being enforced, also checking the various mining companies and what they actually produce in terms of quality.

    ‘’We have also seen growth in revenue generation of the Federal Government generally, as well as strong support by the government for the Mineral Resources and Environmental Management Committee (MIREMCO)’’.

    MIREMCO, he said, is the mining inspection regulatory committee at the state levels. Jaiyeola said this committee monitors the mining activities at the state level to ensure that a very strong influence was imputed from the Federal Government up to the state level. They also get information from the miners through the Federal Government and also from the Federal Government through the miners.

    Thus, their activities had not been really known and brought to the fore but with this current administration and efforts of the ministry as well as the industry we are now seeing strong support for the regulatory committee. The support we are seeing is quite significant from this current government, he added.

    According to him, the body was set up to assist every state that has mineral activities, support state activities, they act as the federal, state and private sector liaisons. They are more on the field to inspect what the miners are doing, they have a committee that is constituted by the representatives of the ministry, federal, state and local governments and communities as well, adding they are able to know what the issues on ground are, and able to channel these to the federal government for ease of attention.

    He said the PwC would continue to give its support to the development of the mining sector.

  • Energy Institute’s confab for next week

    The Energy Institute Nigeria has concluded to host its inaugural Energy Sustainability Conference 2018 that will set the benchmark for best practices and solutions for the future of energy in Nigeria.

    The conference will take place on October 11, at Oriental Hotel in Lagos with a list of speakers to set the pathway.

    With the theme: Energy Dynamics, current issues and policy options, the conference will feature experts  and leaders in government & public policy, industry leaders from the private sector, regulators, energy consultants and analysts, who will discuss critical issues on creating sustainable energy future for Nigeria. They will exchange knowledge, best practices, innovative ideas and past experiences from across the energy spectrum.

    The speakers include Chairman, Energy Institute Nigeria, Mr. Osten Olorunsola, CEO Energy Institute, Louis Kingham, Vice Chairman, World Energy Council, Prof. Abubakar Sani Sambo and Managing Director/CEO First E&P, Mr.AdemolaAdeyemi-Bero, among others.

    The conference will also provide exclusive roundtable networking opportunities chaired by leading organisations with innovative projects and initiatives within the energy sector. The forum will help participants create synergies and forge partnerships in off-grid renewable energy.

    Olorunsola said: “In today’s changing landscape, Nigeria is re-imagining its position as a hub, leveraging its current strength in physical trade and its position of neutral governance to create new control points towards building a smart nation. I am excited to speak at the inaugural conference and look forward to sharing successful strategies on how the energy sector can fulfill its role in the industrial, technological, economic and social development of the country,” he added.

     

     

    Some highlights of the conference include special roundtable discussions on oil and gas, power generation and renewable energy. These are designed to deliver a focused approach providing valuable market insight, panel session discussions with keynote speakers and professionals, among others.

     

  • Gas marketers decry prolonged closure of plant

    •Seeks Lagos govt’s intervention

    The Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALPGAM) has criticised the prolonged closure of Second Coming Gas plant by the Lagos State Government.

    The Executive Secretary of the Association, Mr. BasseyEssien, on behalf of the members, called on the Lagos State Government to intervene and order the agency/ministry involved to reopen the plant.

    He expressed worry about the prolonged closure, saying whether it was meant to punish the owner and by extension  the association.

    He noted that remarkable progress has been made in the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) utilisation and consumption in the country over the years in that cooking gas which hitherto was usually associated with the elite is now being embraced by food vendors and low income earners. This huge achievement has been attributed to private investments by committed indigenous entrepreneurs who established gas bottling plants across the country.

    Nigeria, he said, is endowed with abundant gas reserves, however, utilisation of LPG also called cooking gas has been abysmally low in Nigeria compared to neighbouring African countries such as Morocco and Egypt despite being the largest producer of LPG in the West African sub-region and the third in Africa.

    “It is the concerted efforts of these indigenous entrepreneurs who have invested massively to erect terminals and gas bottling plants that have led to the growth in consumption from about 70,000 metric tonnes (MT) in 2007 to about 840,000MT as at 2018. The Federal Government is encouraging LPG expansion to a target consumption of five million metric tonnes by year 2030.To achieve this feat means more cooking gas plants springing up both in the urban and rural communities while massive awareness is being created in the usage and safe handling of gas and its accessories.

    “Like everything in life, there is always safety precautions that have to be observed and adhered to, be it in daily lifestyles, travels, among others.

    “Early in the year, a gas plant – Second Coming Gas plant located in Magodo area of Lagos, experienced fire incidence with a casualty figure involving two recorded deaths and damage to the plant.  Investigation panel and inquest set up by the state government and federal regulatory agencies did not, however, indict the company for negligence as the company had always taken adequate measures to ensure safety at all times. It’s worthy to note that the company has been operating in that same location for over 20 years without any mishap. At the conclusion of investigations, the company was granted approval to commence reconstruction and renovation of the burnt plant albeit with strict compliance on standards and further safety measures while each level of work was being monitored and approved by the relevant government appointed panel/body.

    “The management of the plant had complied with all standard safety requirements given to it and as at today, it ranks among the most safety compliant gas plants in the country. However, while awaiting the final inspection so as to be given the final nod to reopen for business, the place was unceremoniously locked by another agency/ministry in the same state and has remained locked for nine months.

    “The association is wondering whether the closure is due to power show between ministries in the same state or does the ministry /agency have superior power over a statutorily instituted panel of investigation that had done their assignment and made recommendations to the government based on which a provincial approval to commence renovation work according to the recommended standard and safety precautions was granted?

    “If the ministry wielding the big stick to keep the company closed felt sidelined in not being a member of the panel set up by the government, was it the fault of the company? They should have rather made their inputs into entrenching more safety regulations and enhanced supervision of such facilities in the state going forward,” the association said.

    Lately a tanker fully laden with PMS spilled its entire content on the Otedola Bridge, the inferno that erupted accounted for the loss of 12 lives and 52 vehicles completely burnt, yet the government has not closed down the company that owns the truck or the spilled PMS. Today many tankers conveying PMS (petrol), gas, diesel, among others, have not been barred from plying the same road because of the incidence that occurred, Essien said.

    Essien said: “While we cannot compromise on safety and safety standards in the industry and in our everyday lives, it appears that the company – Second Coming Nigeria Limited, is actually marked out for punitive measures.

    “In these days of unemployment, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are helping out where government cannot provide the requisite jobs. For every employed staff, there are dependants looking up to the person for sustenance. Therefore, for all the staff members that have been redundant and perhaps laid off for nine months, the economic implications on the families can be imagined as well as the revenue loss to the state.

    “We take cognisance of safety in the industry and making the state and nation a safe place hence the constant dialogue, seminars and workshops within the industry and in collaboration with the state and federal regulatory agencies to ensure periodic operational trainings are undertaken to maintain a safe business environment.

    “As an association, which the company belongs to, we are appealing to the state government to look into the plight of the company and approve the reopening of the plant.

    “Lagos State is a cosmopolitan state and home to all groups of people regardless of ethnic and religious colouration. The revenue base of the state is not sensitive to either as well. Therefore, the government should be fair to all regardless of ethnic or religious ownership of enterprises.”

     

  • ‘Chevron an equal opportunities employer’

    Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL), operator of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation /CNL Joint Venture, is an equal opportunities employer and does not undertake employment decisions on the basis of race, gender, religion, colour, age, ethnicity and disability, among others, the General Manager, Policy, Government & Public Affairs, Mr. EsimajeBrikinn, has said.

    Brikinn, who spoke against the backdrop of the protest by candidates of Vocational Training Programme 5 (VTP5) in Lagos, said employment into the company is dependent on organisational requirements and business needs.

    The VTP 5 group said Chevron told them at inception they were being mobilised for operators and technician roles in the company. ‘’We were informed that four sets had been mobilised before us and employed. VTP 1 to 4 have been employed, ours shouldn’t be different, they added..

    ‘’We were told that we were being mobilised for operators and technician roles in the company. We were informed that four sets had been mobilised before us and employed. We came in under the Vocal Training Programme (VTP)

    Brikinn, however, said: “CNL’s sponsorship of the Vocational Training Programme (VTP) was a corporate social responsibility initiative intended to help build the skills and capacity of the VTP trainees from the local communities in various areas of oil and gas operations.Trainees spend a portion of their time in this programme attached to a CNL facility.

    “The technical skills that the VTP trainees are equipped with are transferrable and, therefore, the trainees are capable of contributing to the oil and gas industry and various other sectors of the Nigerian economy.

    “Several of the VTP trainees have been able to get employment within the oil and gas industry. The VTP was never and is still not intended to serve as a pathway to employment in CNL for the VTP trainees. CNL never made any commitment in this regard to the VTP trainees.

    “CNL will continue to encourage qualified persons to apply to the company for employment, whenever there are vacancies,” he said.

     

  • Eko Disco eyes 100% customer complaint resolution

    The Chief Legal Officer and Company Secretary, Eko Electricity Distribution Company, Mrs. Wola Joseph-Ojoye, has said the firm plans to attain a 100-per cent customer complaint resolution level before year end.

    Joseph-Ojoye said this at press conference to highlight activities of the DisCo’s Customer Service Week holding this week. She said the company was rated in the first position in the area of customers’ complaint resolution in the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission’s (NERC) first quarter 2018 report.

    According to her, EkoDisCo currently stands at 82.3 per cent level in customer complaints resolutions. This, she added, was relatively high considering the industry it operates. According to her, the company also remained the first in matters such as metering, billing efficiency.

    She also said the DisCo was currently the lowest in terms of aggregate technical and commercial (ATC) losses which was achieved through its investment in capital projects. She said the investment had impacted positively on attaining the lowest in ATC losses.

    Joseph-Ojoye hinted that investors had recently invested in acquiring more meters, which would be rolled out soon. She said EkoDisCo as a distribution company was constantly ensuring it does its best to ensure effective delivery in spite of the constant pipeline vandalism.

    She said this had affected power generation and led to transmission constraints. She also listed some of the challenges facing the DisCo as by-passing of meters, energy theft, stealing of cables and poor tariff which does not reflect the current exchange rate.

    Joseph-Ojoye, said the Customer Service Week with the theme “Experience happens here” would afford customers the opportunity to have all their complaints addressed. The six-day programme would include feeding of 500 people in poor community within its network area, and creating awareness on the importance of the customer service week.

    Others include random phone calls to customers thanking them for their patronage and assuring them of satisfying service as well as celebrating some officials that met or exceeded targets.

    Also, the head Customer Service Department, Ms Iyiola Ezichi, urged customers to always use the various medium of communications on the social media to get their complaints addressed.

  • IPMAN suspends partnership with refiners, others

    The Independent Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has suspended talks with foreign oil refining companies until after the resolution of its crisis in December this year, its Controller of Operation, Mr. Mike Osatuyi, has said.

    He also said IPMAN will not seek lending from international financial institutions in order to boost its operation, discuss the possibility of importing premium motor spirit (PMS) into the country, among other issues that are germane to the downstream sub-sector of the oil and gas industry.

    In a telephone interview with The Nation, he said the development is aimed at ensuring that IPMAN has a clearer issue of happenings to the sub-sector, operates in line with the constitution, which guides activities of individuals and organisations in the country.

    Osatuyi said: “IPMAN, like any other, is subject to the law of the land, therefore, ensures that it operates within the confines of the law. The Supreme Court has fixed December for the hearing and judgement on the case that borders on leadership tussle in the union. The case is being presented for hearing and judgment in order to find a lasting solution to the crisis. The issue is decisive, as it will enable IPMAN to know and take the next line of action needed to move the union forward.”

    He said IPMAN would get better and stronger after the resolution of its leadership crisis, noting that such issues are tests of the viabilities of any organisation that is determined to be progressive in the society.

    Osatuyi said the  leadership crisis might be a major reason, why IPMAN is not enjoying the support of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC),  stressing that NNPC would love to see all the stakeholders living in peace in order to be able to promote the corporate existence of the industry.

    He said the role of IPMAN is central to the growth of the downstream sub-sector of the nation’s oil industry as it controls larger percentage of the fuel distribution market.

    “IPMAN is controlling more than 70 per cent the retail outlets nationwide. Its outlets are visible and have also helped in ensuring seamless distribution of petroleum products across the country,” he added

    He noted that IPMAN has concluded plans to set up its own refineries, in order improve local consumption of fuel. He said when IPMAN’s refineries come on stream, they would help Nigeria to export fuel to other countries in the West African sub-region and beyond.

    Similarly, IPMAN’s southwest Chairman, AlhajiDebo Ahmed, urged the Federal Government to provide an enabling environment for investors that want to go into processing of crude oil in Nigeria, adding the idea would help in contributing to the growth of the economy.