The Nation Newspaper

Category: Energy

  • ‘Mobil, Nipco partnership to produce stronger business chain’

    Mobil Oil, now known as Double 11, and Nipco Plc, are fostering a relationship that would lead to the expansion of the businesses of the two players and further improve the operation of the downstream sub-sector of the industry, its Managing Director, Mr Tunji Oyebanji, has said.

    He said the decision by Nipco Plc to buy 60 per cent shares in Mobil was good, adding that it would lead to increased profitability as well as make the company to compete favourably.

    Speaking on the sideline of a promo organised for its customers in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, he said it was difficult to describe the relationship between the two firms as a synergy, since they are operating independently.

    Known as Mobil Peel and Win Promo, the event was organised to reward customers in the south region. Prizes, such as tools boxes, gas cookers, motorcycle, generator, tricycles, as well as cash, were given to customers in Ibadan, Ondo, Port Harcourt, Benin, Osogbo.

    Oyebanji said: “I do not know whether to describe the relationship between Nipco Plc and Mobil Oil as a merger or partnership, as they are still operating separately. But what I know and convinced of is that the two companies would help in consolidating activities in the downstream sub-sector, when they eventually come together to produce a bigger role in the industry. Though the process of taking over the business of the company took place over a year ago, we still believe that the firms would produce a greater efficiency in the sub-sector.

    He said more rewards were coming for customers of the firm, adding that there was the need to reward customers who remained loyal to a brand.

    Also, its Manager, Lubricant Sales and Marketing of 11 Plc, Steve Ezendiokwere, said the promo was a part of the company’s efforts to appreciate their loyal customers as well as an opportunity to interface with them.

    He said the firm would continue to engage in marketing promos, adding that draws  would be held in the six geopolitical zones of the country.

  • Aiteo, NCDMB, Total get awards

    The Aiteo Group has won declared Indigenous Oil and Gas Company of the Year.

    This was at the  Nigerian Oil and Gas (NOG) Awards held in Abuja.

    The gala and awards night rounded off the Nigeria Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibitions organised by  London-based CWC Group.

    NOG is Nigeria’s yearly oil and gas industry event, which draws key players across the energy sector. It is a viable platform for networking, sharing ideas, and exploring new opportunities and innovations in the industry.

    This year, many industry professionals came from both the public and private sectors.

    Aiteo’s CEO and Executive Vice Chairman, Benedict Peters, attributed the company’s emergence as the indigenous oil and gas company of the year to the depth of its human resource, and sustainable investments in the industry, and the economy.

    “We remain committed to our vision of shaping the future of sustainable energy in Nigeria and beyond, strategically deploying resources and technologies that lead to sustained economic development and value for all stakeholders. This honour from the NOG is fulfilling, particularly coming from our peers and a reputable industry platform. We dedicate this award to the highly committed, talented and industrious people working at Aiteo and making things possible on a daily basis,” Peters added.

    In the Corporate social responsibility (CSR) arena, Aiteo gives back to the local communities in which it operates through grants and donations, seed capital and philanthropy. It has also supported several social investment projects, including special focus on supporting the study of Engineering in host communities and sports, the CEO said.

    In sports, Aiteo has become the  major financier of football after a string of contributions to the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) and the  Super Eagles. To support local football, Aiteo took over the sponsorship of the Federation Cup,  and renamed Aiteo Cup.

    On the continental stage, Aiteo partnered the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to sponsor the African Football Awards in January this year.

  • Govt to invest N72b in equipment procurement for 2000MW

    The Federal Government is to invest N72billion in the procurement and installation of power equipment for 2,000 megawatts (Mw) generation.

    Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola,  stated this in a paper on “Power sector state of play, next steps and policy directions”, which he presented in Abuja.

    He said as 40 per cent shareholder, Federal Government was committed to investing the huge cash to help get the 2,000 Mw to consumers and that the process had been advertised, adding that encouraging responses had been received from original equipment manufacturers and that they were  being evaluated.

    He said: “To bridge the metering gap, government has settled an inherited court case and is able to make available N37 billion to Meter Asset Providers (MAP) under regulations made by Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to license meter entrepreneurs to help supply meters that the DISCOs are under contract to supply but are as yet unable to fully discharge.

    “The regulations require electricity distribution companies (DisCos) to contract with their MAPs to promote a harmonious relationship and reduce friction and disputes.

    “To accelerate supply to industries and heavy consumers, the government, through my office, pursuant to powers conferred by Section 27 of the EPSRA declared eligible customer, which was to enable people who consumed 2MW and above, who were not getting power because of lack of distribution equipment, invest in the provision of the equipment and take power from GENCOs who had the power.

    “The DisCos initially resisted and are currently giving reluctant co-operation to a policy meant to supply power to people they cannot supply.

    “All of you will remember, of course, that NERC (not the Ministry of Power or the Minister), approved a tariff increase for the sector. When the public complained it was I, not the Discos, who stood in the forefront of explaining to the public. Yet, it is the DisCos who collect the tariff.”

    Fashola said. “Government must act, and will do so. The DisCos bought these assets with their eyes opened, and they must compete to deliver or exit.’’

    Small businesses that need little power are not getting enough because the DisCos cannot take the power to them. The investment of generation companies (GenCos) is threatened because they cannot utilise the capacity they have installed.

    On other things government is doing to boost power supply, Fashola said: “As a facilitator of business and enabler of the private sector, government has through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has made available  N213billion to the power sector at concessionary interest rate below market rate to GenCos and DisCos.

    “Regrettably, because of the source of funds, conditions, such as the opening of Letters of Credit were attached to secure performance of the purpose for which the money was meant; some DisCos have not taken the money and instead have gone to court, thereby frustrating full disbursement, and recently the NERC has revealed unauthorised use of the money by Ibadan DISCO and taken some regulatory actions. Government has responded to claims of debts owed by MDAs to DISCOs before this administration alleged to be in the region of upwards of over N70 billion.”

    “At the cost of government, several hundreds of thousands of bills were very painstakingly verified and government ascertained that N27 billion was owed by federal ministries, department and agencies (MDAs) to DisCos. The payment was by a set-off of this amount against the N859 billion owed by DisCos to Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trader (NBET) (a government agency) to reduce that debt.

  • Chevron chief seeks more collaboration in oil and gas

    The Chairman/Managing Director, Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL), Mr. Jeff Ewing, has called for collaboration by stakeholders for the achievement of sustained investment in the oil and gas industry.

    He made the call during a panel discussion on “Unlocking Nigeria’s investment potential”, at the Nigerian  Oil and Gas (NOG) conference in Abuja.

    He noted that the relative stability in the global oil market presents an opportunity for both industry operators and the government to appraise the industry and provide solutions.

    He said the industry could rejuvenate old frontier basin exploration to discover impact resource additions for strategic reserves replacement and growth and opportunities to continue to enhance efficiency and reduce cost.

    Stressing the expected government’s focus on creating an enabling environment for investment to thrive and developing new oil and gas fiscal policy that are globally competitive, he applauded the government’s efforts and that of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in addressing (JV) Joint Venture cash call arrears.

    He identified some steps to ensure growth of the gas sector, which include efforts in driving initiatives in effective utilisation of the  nation’s abundant gas for achieving the goal of energy security, and enacting fiscal terms that encourage the development of small to mid-sized assets/reservoirs as well as non-associated gas fields.

    Other measures to advance the gas sector, according to him, include the establishment of a competitive deepwater gas fiscal framework, the commitment to support an enabling ‘willing buyer – willing seller’ gas pricing model, and the development of strategy for legacy payments for gas sold to the domestic power market.

    He assured that Chevron will  sustain efforts towards delivering exploration and production projects  as well as making significant investments in gas projects, citing the $1.2 billion gas and condensate project scope that include drilling, major rig workovers and facilities as well as ongoing offshore and onshore drilling campaigns.

    Jeff emphasised Chevron’s efforts in playing a leading role in growing supply of high quality domestic gas and monetising liquid rich gas reserves; the reduction of routine flaring by over 90 per cent in the past 10 years as well as the significant successes in  content development. Chevron contributes 41 per cent of the total domestic gas supply in Nigeria, according to Depatmet of Petroluem Resources (DPR) statistics.

    Chevron, he said, is proud to be partners with the government to actualise progress in the oil and gas sector for over 50 years, adding that with the right policies, the enormous potential of the oil and gas sector could yield even greater benefits.

  • Why NNPC signed pact with IOCs on domestic gas supply shortfall

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has signed an agreement with some International Oil Companies (IOCs) to bridge natural gas deficit in the domestic market.

    In the deal, NNPC is targeting least 3.3 billion standard cubic feet per day of gas (bscfd) in the next two years, from about 1.5bscfd.

    NNPC signed the Unitisation and Unit Operating Agreements (UUOA) with Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) and Oando.

    Five assets, which NNPC shares with these firms in the Joint Venture (JV) and two from the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), a subsidiary of NNPC, were identified as the Seven Critical Gas Development Projects (7CGDP).

    According to NNPC Group Managing Director, Dr Maikanti Baru, who signed the agreement for the corporation, the Seven CGDP include five from NNPC Joint Venture (JV) and two from NPDC.

    In his his keynote address entitled: “Framing workshop on the Seven Critical Gas Development Project (7CGDP)”, in Lagos, Baru said the projects would be executed simultaneously by the JVs and NPDC.

    “I hereby request that, as critical stakeholders, we must all come together to support the project management teams to ensure that these vital national projects are executed expeditiously for the benefit of the country.”

    “Domestic gas demand is growing at an exponential rate and outpaces gas supply development plan. A gap of about 3bcfd by 2020 has been identified by NNPC, which will be bridged at the full completion of the Seven Critical Gas Projects. We, therefore, see this as the beginning of the end to the gap in domestic gas supply/demand of 3.5bscfd, as these projects at full implementation will be the final solution in resolving the foreseen domestic gas supply gap.

    “NNPC has engaged two world- class project management consultants,  DeltaAfrik/Worley Parson & Crestech/Penspen, that will work with NPDC and NNPC JV partners and other stakeholders to achieve set project deliverables. The project management consultants are here present. The PMT will work with NNPC and partners to revalidate and carry out relevant technical studies to propose development plans, provide financial advisory services for project funding/financing strategy, appraise the fiscal requirements for viability and advice on interventions that may be required.

    “Others include to study and recommend fast-track tendering process for field development and project implementation, establish realistic cost  benchmark for identified projects, develop project schedules and cost Estimates for the respective projects, among others.”  In  addition, the NNPC Project Management  groups “will strengthen oversight function on the seven critical gas development projects by ensuring prompt decision making and timely approvals in line with international best practices.”

    The projects include the use of Uquo Gas Plant (200mmscfd) – NPDC OML 13 Utapate gas (Phase 1 AG) – to be developed and processed at the Seven Energy Uquo Gas Plant, which has a  capacity of 50mmscfd – 80mmscfd. The processed gas will be evacuated through Seven Energy spare pipeline capacity of 400mmscfd from Uquo Gas Plant to Trans Nigeria Gas Pipeline through Ukanafun-Obigbo Node to OB3.

    Others are joint development of  OML 24 (NNPC/Newcross JV) & OML 55 (BELEMA OIL) gas. Joint development of gas due to the close proximity of both assets will end gas flaring in OMLs 55 and 24 and add  120mmscf/d to the domestic market.

    “Full utilisation of Seplat Oben Gas Plant (465mmscfd) – Seplat has  expanded Oben NAG gas plant to 465mmscfd, but the sub-surface resources can only deliver about 320mmscfd creating a spare gas plant capacity of 145mmscfd. There exist another synergy opportunity for upstream operators in close proximity to OML 4 to process its gas in Oben NAG plant and evacuate the process gas through the ELPS.

    “Full utilisation of Pan  Ocean Ovade  Gas Plant (130mmscfd) – there exist another opportunity to utilise the spare  capacity of 100mmsfd in Pan Ocean Ovade Gas Plant, which currently processes 30mmscfd due to sub-surface limitation. The plan was to send NPDC Oredo gas to Ovade for processing, but due to lack of alignment of schedule, NPDC has progressed significantly with the installation of two compressors to supply the gas into the ELPS. This non-alignment can be eliminated through proper synchronisation of our developments.”

    On the challenges, Baru said: “I will seize this opportunity to talk on some key project issues and what we are doing to address them.  Timely availability of funds, NNPC has exited cash calls and we are in the process of settling all outstanding cash call arrears amounting to $5billion dollars. We have developed a third party financing arrangement for new investments and have secured $3.7billion for the under-listed projects.

    “Infrastructure development to enhance gas supply is a critical focus area in the Federal Government’s 2016-2019 “Big Wins” for the oil and gas industry as well as in NNPC’s 12 Key Business Focus Areas to grow the industry that will increase gas supply with correspondence improvement in power supply.”

  • NCDMB, Waltersmith seal $10m modular refinery deal

    The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has signed a $10 million equity investment agreement with Waltersmith Refining & Petrochemical Company Limited for the construction of a 5,000 barrels daily modular refinery in Ibigwe in Imo State.

    At the signing ceremony held in Lagos, NCDMB Executive Secretary, Simbi Kesiye Wabote, and the Director of Finance and Personnel Management, Mr. Isaac Yalah signed on behalf of the Board while Waltersmith, Chairman Mr. Abdulrasaq Isah and the Executive Vice-Chairman, Mr. Danjuma Sale signed for the company.

    Under the Shareholders Agreement and the Share Subscription Agreement, the Board took 30 per cent equity in the modular refinery.

    Wabote said the investment decision was in line with the Board’s vision ‘to be the catalyst for the industrialisation of the Nigerian oil and gas industry and its linkage sectors.’ The Board was also keen to support the Federal Government’s policy on modular refineries and meet the key objectives of the Petroleum Industry’s Seven Big Wins launched by President Mohammed Buhari and the Economic Recovery and Growth Program (EGRP).

    According to him, “we have our exit strategy in place to ensure that the refinery reverts back as a fully owned, privately run modular refinery as our role is clearly defined as a catalyst.”

    He also commended Waltersmith for developing a bankable proposal, stating: “They sorted out the project feasibility, regulatory approvals, and other pertinent details before reaching out to the Board with the value they are bringing to the table and a clear definition of the support they seek.”

    Wabote confirmed that NCDMB in line with its mandate in the NOGICD Act 2010, and as part of the Nigerian Content 10-year strategic roadmap, would intervene and fund projects and activities directed at increasing Nigerian Content in the Oil & Gas industry especially those that utilise available resources in-country, add value and create jobs locally.

    “Establishment of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) depots, resuscitation of abandoned or establishment of new LPG cylinder manufacturing plants, partnerships on mini-petrochemical plants, and several others fall into the pack of interventions we are willing to look at,” he said.

    He advised project sponsors and promoters of modular refineries seeking the Board’s support to study the checklist of requirements hosted on the Board’s website.

    He restated his belief that at least 10 per cent of Nigeria’s oil production should be refined using modular refineries, assuring that the Board would be willing to consider proposals that meet the guidelines.

    Isah explained that the modular refinery project was originally conceived to mitigate the incessant vandalism of the company’s crude oil pipelines but feasibility studies later indicated that it could be a viable business because of the significant demand for refined petroleum products.

    He disclosed that the refinery would be sited close to the firm’s oil field at Ibigwe, Imo State, and the refined products would be distributed to consumers within 40 kilometre radius of the plant.

    He expressed optimism that the project would support the Federal Government’s plan to substitute imported refined petroleum products and as well as the strategy to use the establishment of modular refineries to address the menace of pipeline vandalism, illegal refining and other social challenges prevalent in the oil producing region.

    He commended the leadership of the NCDMB for supporting the project and assured that the company would do everything within its power to make it a success. “This is landmark in the history of the NCDMB and we pride ourselves as the first beneficiary of this initiative,” he added

  • Mojec advocates 70% local content in meter components

    Nigeria’s smart meter manufacturer, Mojec International Limited, has called on the Federal Government to reverse the law permitting meter manufacturers to import 70 per cent of its input as 30 per cent inclusion would not help the industry to grow.

    Its Managing Director, Chantelle Abdul, made the call in Lagos during the visit of the Chairman and management of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to the meter factory. She noted that metering the industry would not grow if the policy was retained.

    She explained that Nigeria has the capacity to produce 70 per cent of its component locally, adding that the huge foreign exchange (forex) expended on import of such inputs would be preserved.

    Abdul said: “The factory visit is to demonstrate that Nigerian manufacturers can produce more than 70 per cent of meter components and not 30 per cent as the case is now. When this is reversed, more jobs would be created for Nigerians, more meters would be available and the price would also go down. It will grow our GDP, and there would be less pressure on our foreign exchange as more components would be produced locally.

    “When this is done, there would be higher demand locally and small components factories would begin to spring up locally to feed the market. There are many components inside the meter that nobody has factories in Nigeria to produce them. This is why we advocate for 70 per cent local content.

    “Today’s factory tour is also about the Meter Asset Provider (MAP) Programme, which is a new initiative under the Ministry of Power and the NERC. This is intended to bridge the metering gap, quoted at five million but we all know that it is about 15 million gap. The result of this policy is that providers who have the money can supply and install meters for utilities (customers). These meters exist, but they are not in people’s homes yet, we have millions of them in the factory warehouse, but the utilities are saying they do not have enough money to buy them.”

    Abdul pointed out that Mojec has been providing vendor financing, which is to provide meters for electricity distribution companies (DisCos) to pay at a later date, stressing that it has signed agreements with some DisCos to provide 100,000 meters, which 10,000 pieces, would be supplied monthly, for them to pay over 36 months or more.

    “Mojec has been predominantly leading in vendor financing over the past three years. We are financing six out of 11 contracts that we are running today, but most of our competitors rather prefer cash transactions, which is why Mojec is standing out,” she noted.

    NERC Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Professor James Momoh, stated that he was impressed that a Nigerian entrepreneur is contributing immensely to the development of electricity industry, adding that Mojec is one of the best metering companies the team has visited.

    He said: “We have seen and I am impressed that they are determined to succeed and they have the support of NERC to take us to the next level of industrialisation and the Nigerian electricity revolution. I hope that this will be replicated in other parts of the country because their meters are all over the country. We want to see their presence so that the youths would benefit from all these technologies Mojec is displaying in manufacturing and assembling.’’

    On the issue of some DisCos importing meters to the detriment of  local manufacturers, he said they had no choice as there is a law mandating them to patronise the local manufacturers, stressing that NERC  is ready to enforce it.

  • ‘DisCos sell power at shortfall of N49.38 per kilowatt’

    The inability of the power distribution companies (DisCos) to meet their obligations to customers is because they incur huge losses in the market, the Executive (ED) Director, Research and Planning, Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED), Mr. Sunday Oduntan, has said.

    He said the power firms are recording a shortfall of N49.38 per kilowatts. They buy electricity at N80.88 and sell it to consumers at N31.50.

    He said the 11 DisCos lose billions of naira weekly, adding that the development makes it impossible for them to provide transformers, wires, meters and other equipment to customers.

    He also said the firms further suffer huge losses because of some customers who steal energy through meter by-pass, stressing that the DisCos and ANED frown at these untoward practice.

    In an interview on phone with The Nation, Oduntan said this was why it was difficult for the firms to meet the rising demands of their customers.

    Oduntan said: “Rather than consumers facing the reality that the power firms are battling huge losses in revenue and unable to recoup the money they spent in buying the assets of the defunct Power Holding Companies (PHCN) privatised in 2013, they keep on blaming energy distributors for not supplying transformers, meters and other facilities to them.  Where power firms would get money to provide poles, wires and other equipment to customer?’’

    On meters, he said the Federal Government has removed the burden of providing meters from the DisCos by allowing Meter Asset Providers (MAPs) to take over sales and deployment of meters to the customers, adding that this would soon enable consumers to get meters without stress.

    He said the introduction of Meter Asset Providers by the Federal Government would make deployment of meters to customers seamless, noting that the government should have done that long time ago.

    Oduntan said Meter Asset Providers are contractors and consultants hired to make meters easily accessible to customers. According to him, the problem posed by the imposition of estimated billings on the consumers by the power firms can only be resolved when there are enough meters, assuring Nigerians that they would get over the problem of lack of meters soon.

    He noted that the absence of meters gave rise to estimated billing, adding that few Nigerians are lucky to have prepaid meters through which they know their electricity consumption.

    “In the meantime, ANED as a body overseeing the activities of the electricity distribution firms is trying its best to resolve the issue of estimated billing by collaborating with power firms to stop giving such bills to their customers pending the time the Meter Access Providers give meters to customers captured in the enumeration exercise conducted by the DisCos,” the ANED ED added.

    He said the Federal Government was yet to pay the DisCos outstanding N100billiion tariff debt promised them during privatisation of the sector in 2013, noting that the issue of N100billion tariffs came under the Service Performance Agreement (SPA) reached during the exercise.

  • NLNG, others sign pact on new vessel to boost LPG supply

    Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG), and E. A. Temile and Sons Company Limited, have  sealed an agreement for the construction of a new liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) vessel to boost supply to domestic market. E. A. Temile and Sons Company is a wholly Nigerian company, under a contract with Hyundai Mipo Dockyard, South Korea.

    According to NLNG, the new LPG vessel will boost volume and availability of cooking gas as well as consolidate the company’s contributions to deepen the domestic LPG industry and increase consumption of the clean gas. The new LPG vessel will be built  under a contract with Hyundai Mipo Dockyard, South Korea and chartered to NLNG.

    At a contract signing ceremony between E.A Temile and Sons Limited and Hyundai Mipo Dockyard in London, NLNG Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Tony Attah, remarked that the signing ceremony was ground-breaking for NLNG because it supports the company’s aspiration, firstly, to further help develop the domestic LPG market and promote the growth of indigenous companies and Nigeria’s economy.

    Attah said: “NLNG remains the single largest supplier of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) over 50 per cent in Nigeria and looks to enable its expansion in future. We produce the LPG in our plant in Bonny, Rivers State, and transport it by sea to Lagos from where it is distributed to every part of the country. This assures the product availability, accessibility, and affordability which are central to us as a company. NLNG’s domestic LPG intervention scheme aligns with its business focus of bringing energy to the world and helping to build a better Nigeria.

    “A World Health Organisation (WHO) report on Household Air Pollution and Health published in May 2018, affirmed that about four million people die prematurely annually from illness attributable to air pollution from inefficient cooking practices, using solid fuels and kerosene. And local data suggest that about 100,000 women and children die in Nigeria annually from the same causative factors. We believe that the expansion and strengthening of the domestic LPG market can help to stem this tide in Nigeria.”

    On NLNG’s contribution to Nigerian Content, he said: “We work closely with the Nigeria Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) to ensure compliance with the Nigeria Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act 2010, consequent upon which we signed a Business to Business Service Level Agreement (SLA) with in June 2017, the first of its kind in the relationship between the oil and gas industry operators and NCDMB in Nigeria.

    “Examples of our Nigeria Content initiatives implementation include BGT Plus Project where over 80,000 metres of cable, manufactured in Nigeria by Nexans Kabelmetal, as well as 9,000 pieces of anodes, produced by Metec WA, were exported to South Korea for utilization  in the construction of 6 new Dual Fuel Diesel Engines (DFDE) LNG carriers.

    “PCMN/Berger Paints Nigeria Limited exported over 400,000 litres of Paints and Coatings and IO Furniture/Vina produced and exported movable furniture to South Korea, all for the construction of the LNG carriers. In addition, Nigerians were involved in the project at the Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) and Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) shipyards in South Korea.

    “The benefitting indigenous companies, some of whom were exporting their products for the very first time, earned revenues in excess of $10 million and international reputation as exporting companies. All these are testaments that great things can truly happen once we set our minds to achieve them. Same way, we believe and are working assiduously towards achieving the final investment decision (FID) for NLNG Train 7, which in addition to raising our LNG production capacity by 36%, from 22,000 million tonnes per annum to 30,000 million tonnes per annum, also has capacity for 1.0 MTPA in the DLPG market,” he said.

    Also at the ceremony, Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, Simbi Kesiye Wabote, said the signing ceremony was a manifestation of the local content journey in the LPG sector, adding: “I commend NLNG for this bold endorsement of our local capacities and capabilities. It is certainly a confidence building move across board and I expect several operators and service providers to get inspirations from this milestone event and see the possibilities in our local content practice rather than the difficulties.”

    The 23,000 cubic metres vessel will be delivered in 2020.

  • ‘600m have no electricity in sub-Saharan Africa’

    Global law firm, Hogan Lovells, has said about 600 million people in sub-Saharan Africa have no access to electricity.

    This is contained in a new report published by the law firm entitled: “Africa and Renewables: Wholesale Change or Short term surge?”  launched at the African Energy Forum in Mauritius.

    The report was compiled with input from the firm’s partners and many of its clients, spanning infrastructure, energy, finance, and private equity. The report highlights the challenges posed by producing and accessing renewable energy in Africa, and how these can be overcome to achieve potential and scale.

    In sub-Saharan Africa, approximately one-third of the population (about 600 million people) has no access to electricity, with demand outstripping supply due to increasing life expectancy driven by greater access to healthcare, increased urbanisation, and technological advances. The estimated investment needed is $50 billion yearly, the report said.

    The report also highlighted the potential for renewable energy production to revolutionise access to energy throughout the continent. Africa has vast potential to tap into its natural abundance of hydro, solar, wind, and geothermal energy sources, while the technological and financial hurdles to achieve major energy breakthroughs are increasingly surmountable.