The Nation Newspaper

Category: Energy

  • DisCos ‘ll clampdown on fraudulent workers, says ANED

    Electricity distribution companies (DisCos), will not hesitate to clampdown on erring workers as part of efforts to improve efficiency, Executive Director, Research and Advocacy, Association of Energy Distribution Companies (ANED), Mr. Sunday Oduntan, has said.

    He said the firms have put workers on their toes with a view to ensure that they desist from acts capable of eroding consumers’ confidence.

    In an interview with The Nation, Oduntan said ANED, which serves as umbrella body for the eleven DisCos in the country, has started going round the firms to investigate corrupt practices among the employees,  adding that the firms have been directed to sack workers that are found guilty.

    He said the development became necessary in order to rid the DisCos of bad eggs and further give the sub-sector a new image.

    He said there are cases of corrupt workers in many of the firms as evident by the ways and manners they reportedly exploit consumers in the course of connecting their light.

    He said some workers collect monies to buy equipment such as meters, transformers, poles and others, from customers, without getting the consent of their employers.

    Oduntan said: “It is a normal thing to blame the problems in the nation’s electricity sector on the three critical value chains namely the generation, transmission and distribution. Of course, each of the segments has its own problems. But what we are saying is that the distribution segment, which comprises of eleven firms, should as a matter of fact, solve their own problem first.

    “Firstly, the DisCos must rid themselves of criminally-minded people to be able to win the confidence of customers. Secondly, they need funds to ensure seamless operation. Thirdly, rules need to be enforced in the firms to ensure discipline, honesty and further provide corporate governance standards.  When these have been provided, the distribution sector will operate optimally.”

    He said activities in the DisCos would pick up once they are able to get enough allocation or supply from the power generation companies (GenCos).

    The DisCos, Oduntan said, require sufficient power supply from the GenCos to operate well, stressing that failure to get enough electricity supply has impacted negatively on their operation.

    According to him, the bottlenecks hindering operation of power generation companies must be removed by the stakeholders, including the Federal Government in order to get the best services from them.

    He said the problems include shortage of gas, funds and collocation, which according to him, means   site gas pipelines in areas where they can be easily accessed by the GenCos.

    He urged the Federal Government and other stakeholders in the value chain to work together to ensure that DisCos meet the five-year deadline given them by the government to meter their customers, among providing other infrastructural facilities.

  • More trouble as NNPC’s 25m-litre tank packs up

    More trouble as NNPC’s 25m-litre tank packs up

    THERE are fears that marketers may not be able to lift fuel at the Ejigbo Depot in Lagos State as five of its storage facilities have stopped working.

    It was gathered that five facilities at the depot were not working, a development, which has made it difficult for the Depot to store fuel for onward distribution to marketers, who came to load petroleum products.

    The source said each of the facilities has capacity to store five million litres of fuel implying that the five facilities can store 25million litres of fuel.

    The issue, it was learnt, has hindered the capacity of the depot to serve marketers in Lagos and beyond.

    This happens as the country is just coming out of one of its worst fuel scarcity, which grounded economic activities and further made it impossible for people to move around.

    The Nation during a visit to the depot confirmed that four of the facilities are for storing premium motor spirit (PMS) while the fifth stores diesel. The issue has slowed down activities as marketers spend hours before loading their trucks. Some sections of the facilities were overgrown with weeds due to several years of neglect.

    A member of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), who begged for anonymity, said each tank was built to accommodate five million litres, adding that they were constructed to support availability of fuel during acute shortage.

    He said the depot has been relying on few, but smaller tanks to take delivery of fuel supply from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

    He said: “Each of the facilities has a capacity for five million litres. This translates to 25 million litres. The dysfunctional state of the tanks poses threat to the ability of the depot to keep enough fuel in its reservoir. The areas, which serve as the cover or lid of the facilities were broken, so also the walls of the facilities. This has made it difficult for the management of the depot to store fuel in them. The problem is yet to be rectified despite the operators call for the attention of the management of NNPC to the problem.”

    Besides, the Ejigbo Satellite depot cannot meet the yearnings of marketers in Lagos as it cannot provide fuel for marketers that are unable to be accommodated by the Apapa depot.”

    The source said a contractor was hired by the NNPC two years ago to repair the facilities. He, however, added that the contractor has since stopped work. He urged the Federal Government to proffer solution to fuel crisis by ensuring proper maintenance of its depots.

    He added that the Ejigbo depot has assisted in the supply of fuel to strategic areas, such as Ibadan and Ilorin in Oyo and Kwara states respectively since the NNPC’s depots in those states stopped operating many years ago.

    He said the depot is strategically located to serve marketers in the Southwest, adding that the issue has disrupted the supply of fuel in recent times.

    Efforts to get the Group General Manager, Public Affairs Division of the NNPC, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, to comment on the issue proved abortive as neither calls and text messages sent to him were replied.

  • Shell sells LPG marketing business in Hong Kong

    Shell sells LPG marketing business in Hong Kong

    Shell has completed the sale of the first phase of its Hong Kong and Macau liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) marketing business to DCC LPG on 31st December 2017.

    The company, in a statement, said it  continues to operate the LPG plant in Hong Kong, which is part of the second phase of the transaction and that the issue is subject to conditions, including regulatory approvals.

    The sale of Shell’s entire LPG business in Hong Kong and Macau was announced on 5 April 2017 for an agreed total transaction value of approximately US$ 150 million. As part of the sale, Shell branded LPG products will continue to be available in Hong Kong and Macau via a long-term brand license agreement with DCC LPG.

    The sale does not impact any of Shell’s other businesses and Shell remains committed to helping meet growing energy demand in Hong Kong and Macau.

    Similarly, the oil giant said the agreement it signed with Dansk Olieselskab AS (DO) in September 2016 regarding the sale of A/S Dansk Shell, which consists of the Fredericia refinery and local trading and supply activities, has terminated and the sale will not complete.

    A/S Dansk Shell, including the refinery and local trading and supply activities, will remain under Shell’s ownership and continue business as usual.

    Shell Group’s $30 billion divestment programme remains on track to complete in 2018, with deals worth $23 billion completed, $2 billion announced and $5 billion in advanced progress.

     

  • Sahara Group, Zuriel Oduwole collaborate to empower girl-child

    With statistics indicating that 15 million girls of primary school age – half of them in sub-Saharan Africa – will never enter a classroom, an energy conglomerate, Sahara Group, is providing empowerment platform that would give wings to the aspirations of the African girl child.

    Tagged: “Empowering the African Girl Child”, the project is being implemented under Sahara’s Grooming Film Extrapreneurs initiative, which seeks to promote economic empowerment through the arts.

    Sahara Foundation in collaboration with Zuriel Oduwole, young film maker and advocate for girl child education and gender equality will host a film making session for 90 African girls in Nigeria, Ghana and Cote d’ Ivoire between January 8 and17, 2018 to give the beneficiaries a head start in pursuing a career in the creative arts.

    According to Head, Corporate Communications, Sahara Group, Bethel Obioma, the project is expected to drive the advocacy message for girls’ rights, highlight key issues affecting girls across the three African countries and equip 90 girls with the foundational skills required to become film makers. “We plan to identify and empower girls, who have shown a talent for film making and/or production. Our hope is that the initiative would inspire and replicate Zuriel’s success among other girls of her age in Africa. Above all, Sahara Group is particularly passionate about the fact that the project would give traction to ongoing conversations and interventions geared towards the pursuit of Gender Equality and Quality Education, being Goals 4 and 5 of the Sustainable Development Goals,” he said.

    Speaking on her partnership with Sahara, Oduwole said she was hopeful that the success of the project would encourage more corporations around the world to create partnerships with small groups to empower more girls across the globe.

    “I like the fact that Sahara Group sees some value in what I am doing with Girls’ Education across the world, and just like the African proverb, if you want to go fast, go alone, and if you want to go far, go together. I think I have gone very fast in the last five years, since I started my project at age 10. Sahara has shown that they are serious about Girls’ Education, so it’s easy for me to create a partnership, so we can do more together, for Girls’ Education in Africa, and also around the world,” said the teenage film maker, who at the age of 12 had her self- produced movie screened in a commercial cinema.

    Manager, Sahara Foundation, Oluseyi Ojurongbe, said the film making workshop would run for two days in each of the three countries. “The participants will be expected to execute a joint docu-film project featuring human angle stories of children across Africa, using their countries as case studies, to highlight challenges, opportunities and aspirations of the girl child in Nigeria, Ghana or Cote D’Ivoire.”

    Ojurongbe explained that 90 girls (30 from each country) between age 13 and 19 have been identified across the three African countries as beneficiaries based on their interests in film making. “The physical workshop training will be accompanied by several on-line and classroom based mentorship/follow-up sessions for six months to track and sustain the progress of the beneficiaries. At Sahara, we are hopeful that the platform would amplify the cause of empowering the girl child across the continent though the voices of the beneficiaries and millions of other girls that would be inspired to reach for their dreams,” he added.

  • ‘NIPS to attract new oil, gas investors to Nigeria’

    With about 37 billion barrels of oil reserves and 192 trillion standard cubic feet of gas reserves, there is no doubt that Nigeria remains a major petroleum producing and exporting destination in the Gulf of Guinea,  the Project Director, Nigerian International Petroleum Summit (NIPS), Mr. James Shindi, has said.

    Investigations showed that a bulk of these endowments has not been developed for domestic application and export as a result of many factors, especially limited investment.

    “It is against this backdrop that the Federal Government’s planned Nigerian International Petroleum Summit (An African Petroleum Technology and Investment Conference scheduled for Abuja from February 19 -23, 2018, is very important and relevant,” he added.

    Shindi, the Project Director of the first edition of the Summit said: “As part of the ongoing reforms in the sector and as a contribution to the Nigerian and African oil and gas industry, the Federal Government took a formal position to stage an annual National Resource event backed at the highest level and which will create the perfect platform for cross pollination of ideas, networking, business and local content development, government to business, business to business, government to government and other linkages while promoting Nigeria as a business and tourism destination to the global energy community.

    “The event will be run on a Public Private Partnership (PPP) basis and be self-funding, which explains why the government undertook an international competitive bidding process to select a partner to work with on terms, which the government set out. These are very strict terms but they ensure that the partnership works and all parties deliver on their roles and responsibilities.

    “The government has demonstrated adequate commitment to this event. For instance, the Federal Executive Council granted approval for the event to take place under the current arrangement. The government also through the Vice president, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, unveiled the event in the presence of 19 Ministers of Petroleum who attended the extra-ordinary meeting of the African Petroleum Producers’ Organisation (APPO) earlier this year,”he said.

    He continued:“The support from the government has been fantastic. There are regular planning meetings, which involve all the government agencies under the Ministry including the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF), Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) and Petroleum Technology Institute (PTI).

    “There are also wider consultations with other agencies and government departments outside the Ministry of Petroleum to ensure that the event goes well. The government has also officially invited other governments to attend including National Oil Companies from both the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC and non-OPEC members. The aim is to make this event a reference point for energy related discourse globally.”

    Sequel to the Joint Senate and House of Representatives Committee hearing on fuel scarcity in Nigeria, the Ministry of Petroleum Resources would like to correct some erroneous reports emanating from some sections of the media on the outcome of the hearing.

     

  • ‘Strong demand, OPEC cuts will boost oil prices’

    ‘Strong demand, OPEC cuts will boost oil prices’

    Crude oil prices are expected to continue to rise in early 2018 as global oil demand remains strong and members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) look set to extend their current production cuts throughout the year.

    The latest report by Deloitte’s Resource Evaluation and Advisory (REA) group noted, however, that concerns over transportation bottlenecks to the United States (US) market have increased the historic price differential between Western Canadian Select (WCS) and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil.

    Infrastructure issues in Canada have also created extreme volatility in natural gas prices between AECO and Henry Hub, with similar volatility predicted as more maintenance projects are planned for the summer of 2018.

    “Canadian oil prices lagged behind those in the United States during 2017 largely due to increased US production and possible transportation difficulties getting Canadian oil into that market,” said Andrew Botterill, Deloitte’s National Oil & Gas Leader and Partner, REA group.

    “But if Canada can take advantage of declining Venezuelan and Mexican exports to the US and access some of its heavy oil refining capacity, the price differential between WCS and WTI should at least be moderate compared to the historical differential.”

    Botterill said the US is increasing its light oil production after rig counts rose throughout 2017. More importantly, the US is boosting its oil exports to large consumer markets such as Asia, which now accounts for one-third of its crude oil export volumes.

    Meanwhile, import volumes in the U.S. during 2017 remained similar to those during the previous year, giving Canadian producers an opportunity to pick up some of the market previously supplied by Mexico and Venezuela. Taking into account increased crude oil prices over the final two quarters of 2017 and the increased heavy oil price differential, Botterill said Deloitte is forecasting a price of US$55 per barrel for WTI in 2018 and C$46.40 per barrel for WCS.

    Canadian natural gas prices, which fluctuated considerably in 2017, recovered somewhat in the final quarter of the year as transportation systems resumed operating at full capacity after several maintenance projects during the year. Botterill said more price fluctuations could occur in the summer of 2018 when new maintenance projects are expected to take place. He notes that, while increased natural gas production has allowed the U.S. to grow its gas export market by 31 per cent in 2017, Canada’s limited ability to access new markets has resulted in low AECO pricing. As a result, the Deloitte forecast is for AECO to be C$2/million cubic feet (Mcf) in 2018 while Henry Hub is forecast to be US$2.80/Mcf.

    The latest REA forecast also identifies several trends to watch in 2018, including drilling and completion costs expected to rise in 2018 as competition for rigs increases; uncertainty about AECO pricing in a volatile environment could hinder development plans of Canadian dry gas producers, light oil development should continue as a consistent pace, particularly in Saskatchewan and southeast Alberta; while total bitumen production may for the first time exceed three million barrels per day and producers will continue to target liquid-rich gas plays in the Deep Basin.

  • Fuel supply: we‘re committed to friendly rates, steady delivery

    Amidst the current fuel crisis in the country, NIPCO, one of the leading petroleum downstream operators, has pledged to continue with market-friendly rates for all petroleum products from its depot in 2018.

    NIPCO’s new Managing Director, Sanjay Teotia, stated this in a New Year message to members of staff. He also promised stakeholders and consumers unfettered access to petroleum products, including Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) also known as cooking gas from its facilities in Apapa, Lagos.

    He said: “NIPCO would remain a reference point as a market leader in products marketing, working for the benefits of our stakeholders. Our depot will continue to be a major player in ensuring unfettered access to petroleum products at market friendly rates.”

    In the Liquefied Petroleum Gas business, he said: “We would seize the opportunity of our present status as the outfit with the largest LPG storage facility in the country to enhance access to the product by promoting the consumption of LPG, otherwise referred to as cooking gas through flaw less operations with a view to aligning with the federal government’s policy to revitalize domestic cooking gas use across the country.”

    Teotia said NIPCO’s meteoric rise among its peers has consistently shown that the organisation is a world class company, operating in a highly endowed oil and gas country.

    “We hope to build on the successes of the out-gone year in conscious move to take the company to greater heights, leveraging our unique infrastructure and highly committed workforce.

    “We would continue to build on our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes. Our desire is to significantly impact positively on our host community in sports and education through series of sponsorship of school programme in Apapa Local Government Area in Lagos and other parts of the state and the country at large,” he added.

    Felicitating with members of staff, Teotia said: “The New Year holds high optimism of better days ahead. From my vantage position, I am upbeat about our company’s growth pattern. May I seize the opportunity of this missive, which is my maiden one since assumption of office as the Managing Director to express my appreciation of the great work you have been carrying out for the company.

    “I join you all in giving thanks and praises to God Almighty for His guide to the company’s management and the nation in general, even as we wade through the challenges of the sector. I wish to assure you that as a company, we remain rock-solid and fulfilled.

    “I am excited with our modest performance in 2017, which would not have been possible without the support of our stakeholders of which members of staff contribution is very crucial. The commitment of our staff and the cooperation from the government and other stakeholders, including our esteemed marketers, has facilitated our performance in the outgone year.

    “Be assured that I would strive to keep a happy and well motivated workforce based on a transparent performance driven reward and compensation system aimed at enhancing the company’s service delivery.

    “Management would endeavour to prioritise staff welfare in recognition of the importance it places on the company’s workforce. NIPCO Pie Staff are the asset of the company. I urge you to rededicate yourselves to your duties to further propel the company to greater heights.”

  • IPMAN celebrates Okoronkwo’s victory at Appeal Court

    IPMAN celebrates Okoronkwo’s victory at Appeal Court

    Members of the Indepen-dent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria IPMAN have expressed joy over the Appeal Court judgment in Abuja that declared Elder Chinedu Okoronkwo as the National President of the association.

    IPMAN’s national Secretary, Alhaji Danladi Pasali, stated this after the National Executive Meeting (NEC) of the Association in Abuja.

    Pasali said the judgment and restoration of Okonkwo as the as IPMAN president would address the issues of misconduct and mismanagement that have been rocking the Association.

    Pasali said Okoronkwo remains the substantive National President of IPMAN based on the Appeal Court judgment.

    He said the Court of Appeal, Abuja reaffirmed the High court judgment of Federal Capital Territory, Abuja suit No. FCT/HC/CV/1479/2016 delivered on 28th day of May, 2014, which upheld the election of IPMAN National Executive committee of 10th May, 2014.

    According to him, the interest of all members of the association will be a top priority of the President. He said the judgment is a welcome development to IPMAN members nationwide and the oil and gas industry. “The judgment once again confirmed Okoronkwo as substantive National President of IPMAN,” he said.

    Pasali said IPMAN members nationwide welcomed the Appeal Court judgment as it will enable the Association maintain the serenity and orderliness members used to enjoy in the distribution and dispensing of petroleum products to Nigerians across the country.

    “Now that Okoronkwo is on IPMAN driver’s seat, members will get their allocation accordingly. The NEC had reached agreement with DAPPMA for better synergy in meeting product availability in the country since DAPPMA has better strength in storage.

    “IPMAN members own and control 80 per cent of fuel outlets in Nigeria and are better positioned to efficiently distribute and dispense fuel to Nigerians in urban and hinterland.

    Pasali said the Appeal Court Abuja judgment delivered on 7th December, 2017, confirmed the National Executive Committee members as Elder Chinedu Okoronkwo, National President; Alhaji Abubakar Maigani Shettima, Vice President; Aihaji Danladi Pasali, National Secretary; Bola Adeleke, National Treasurer; Chief Leo Nkameme, National Organising Secretary; Alhaji Yakubu Ali Dimka, National Auditor; Chief J.D. Ubani (JP).

    National Financial Secretary;  Dr  Hammed Adekunle Fashil, Assistant National Secretary; Alhaji Umar Baba Kano, National Legal Adviser; Chief Ezekwesili Maduagwuna, Chief Whip; and Alhaji Yakubu Suleman, National PRO.

  • Marketers to resume fuel importation soon

    Marketers to resume fuel importation soon

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)has advised fuel marketers to seize the opportunity of special window, provided by the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) to access  dollars for importation, its Head, Group Manager, Public Affairs, Ndu Ugbamadu, has said.

    He said marketers will resume importation soon, when they maximise the use of the window, by accessing  enough forex for fuel importation.

    He said when this happens, NNPC will relieve itself of the  burdens of being the sole importer of fuel in the country, adding that the issue is affecting some activities of the corporation.

    He said all the marketers, including NNPC, were regarded as participants in the market, arguing that it would be wrong for marketers under the aegis of Major Marketers Association of Nigerian (MOMAN), the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria(IPMAN) and the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) to conclude that the Federal Government is  giving NNPC preference in the area of allocation of forex in the country.

    Ngbamadu said: ‘’ The fuel situation in the past few weeks is worrisome, as Nigerians were made to queque in the filling stations, trek for hours under the sun,  sleep in the heat, run businesses without being able to access light through their generators, among others. But importation of fuel has been left to only the NNPC by marketers under the guise that they are denied forex allocation by CBN.’’

    He said the more the importation of fuel, the higher the supply of the product and its usage for improved economic activities in the country.

    Still on fuel, Ngbamadu said NNPC boasts of enough supplies in the country, despite the challenges in the micro economy.

    He said NNPC would not have increased fuel supply from the normal 30 million litres per day to 50million litres and even 80million litres during the heat of fuel scarcity, if it does not have enough fuel reserve.

    He said NNPC had a meeting with tanker’ drivers and other members in the supply fuel chain days ago in order to ensure seamless distribution of the product in the country.

    He said the NNPC’s Group Managing Director, Dr Maikanti Baru, has directed all the depots that were owned by NNPC, to store fuel for onward distribution to its outlets and other marketers across the country, in order to ease fuel supplies.

    He said the proposed strike action by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) gave more impetus to the scarcity, stressing that the scarcity would have subsided since.

    Marketers, he said, started the scarcity, by issuing a statement that they would embark on strike, following the allegations that the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) are short changing them by selling fuel at N142 per litre to them, as against N133.88 per litre, the price in which they got fuel from NNPC.

  • NASS, stakeholders collaborate on extending Local Content to construction, power sectors

    Members of the Federal House of Representatives have begun working with stakeholders in Power, Construction and Information Communication Technology sectors to extend the Nigerian Content Act to the three sectors of the economy.

    The collaboration was firmed up at the recent workshop organised by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) for members of the House of Representatives Committee on Local Content, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

    The consensus at the event was that extending the Act to those key sectors would replicate the achievements recorded in the oil and gas industry through the implementation of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act.

    In his presentation on Opera-tionalising Local Content in the Construction Sector, Chief Executive Officer, Megastar Construction Company, Arch Harcourt Adukeh stated that the construction industry could be a key driver of the Federal Government’s economic diversification programme when the prevailing dominance of the industry by international companies is reversed.

    Adukeh underscored the need to encourage indigenous participation in the construction sector, adding that the industry was a key enabler of ancillary services like financial services, education, retail, real estate and hospitality.

    Speaking on Local Content in the power sector, Commissioner, Engineering, Performance & Monitoring, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Prof. Frank Okafor, stressed that”no country in the world had grown its power network through the importation of all components and devices.’’He canvassed a legislation that would promote deliberate utilisation of local human and material resources, goods and services in the power sector.

    Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Local Content, Hon. Emmanuel Ekon in his address, highlighted some of the achievements recorded in the oil and gas industry through the imple-mentation of the Nigerian Content Act.