The Nation Newspaper

Category: Energy

  • Navgas promotes safety standards

    Navgas has unveiled its ‘driving safety forward initiative’ in  Lagos. This came almost two years after it launched the same programme. According to the firm, the objective was to promote world-class safety standards and practices within the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) industry.

    Its management said:“Navgas strongly believes it is important to take a leadership role in ensuring safety of the Nigerian LPG industry.

    “Since Navgas introduced this initiative, we have achieved a number of accomplishments; the most notable being the mandatory installation of functional emergency shut offvalves on all LPG trucks.  Before Navgas started this programme, less than 20 per cent of LPG trucks in Nigeria had emergency shut off valves, and now almost all LPG trucks in Nigeria have them installed and this has greatly helped to control incidences of truck leaks in the industry.”

    It continued:“Navgas is now taking the Driving Safety Forward initiative a step further by directly reaching out to LPG drivers by launching a Loyalty and Reward programme.

    “Navgas believes that drivers, who come to our terminal serve an important role in the distribution chain and appreciating their efforts in safety will further reinforce safe behaviours, highlight the importance of safe practices in the communities they service and will help improve the overall safety of the LPG industry at large.

    “Navgas will reward drivers, who clearly demonstrate their commitment to safe LPG loading practices by entering them into a draw for various prizes. The initiative has begun on October 28, this year and will run till February 14, 2018.”

  • Cable vandal bags five-year jail term

    Efforts by the Benin Electricity Distribution Plc (BEDC) to tackle electricity equipment vandalism have yielded result as a cable vandal has been sentenced to five years imprisonment with hard labour, without option of fine by a Magistrate’s Court in Iguobazuwa, Edo State.

    The convict, Abdullai Usman, male, aged 27 years, was caught on September 28, 2017, at Iguobazuwa trying to cart away vandalised conductor cables from Iguobazuwa/Okada 33KV Line, an act punishable under the Miscellaneous Offences Act M17 Vol 9 laws of the country.

    He was dragged before the Presiding Magistrate Joyce .O. Ejale (Mrs) where he pleaded guilty to a three-count charge of conspiracy, stealing and malicious damage, though the terms will run concurrently.

    This conviction has further strengthened the BEDC’s commitment at fighting vandalism, energy theft and meter bypass, as the electricity supply industry grapples with other challenges.

  • Kachikwu: govt eyes more oil, extra $9b yearly, others

    Kachikwu: govt eyes more oil, extra $9b yearly, others

    The Federal Government plans to increase oil output from two million barrels per day (bpd) to between 2.2 and 2.3 million bpd, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, has said.

    He also said the government would begin the implementation of some fiscal policies to generate about $2 billion yearly in the short term and $9 billion in the long term.

    Kachikwu made this known in a podcast in Abuja. According to him, the Federal Government has achieved a lot in the past two and half years, adding that following the launch of the #7BigWins by President Muhammadu Buhari, some outstanding deliverables have been accomplished.

    He said: “Between 2015 and 2016, the government focused on delivering zero fuel availability challenges. We made sure that fuel scarcity and long queues disappeared and we have been able to continue with that. We thank the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for continuing on that delivery.

    “We have been able to exit cash call system. For the first time, the multinational oil firms have begun to have belief in the need to invest in the country. The amount of investment from the Joint Venture international oil companies (IOCs) is in excess of between $14 billion and $15 billion. The multi-nationals have begun to have confidence that the system is working. The Zabazaba and Bonga extension projects are testaments to the investments.

    “The NNPC has opened its books to be as transparent as possible. It is not just about NNPC, other parastatals are doing wonderful works. Openness has been achieved here.”

    On the Niger Delta region, Kachikwu said:“The Petroleum Ministry is working with the Vice President, the Niger Delta Ministry, the security forces and the Presidency to further deepen engagement in the region. We are still doing more work to bring calm and stability to the region.

    “By end of the year, we plan to implement our petroleum and gas policies, bring out industry regulations and hold industry reward in December. The reward is to those players, who have been exceptional such as low cost operators, those that brought some unique IT projects, those that worked under very challenging conditions and delivered good barrels on the table, downstream players that have delivered good deliverables and infrastructure.

    “We will also launch ‘Project 100.’ Get small and big firms and bring them to the finish line by finding the difficulties they have, incentives they need, how do they create work and energise the sector?

    “We will also implement our fiscal policies waiting for approval by the Federal Executive Council (FEC). When approved and implemented, they will be expected to generate $2 billion earnings in a year in the short term and about $9 billion yearly in the long term. So, we are working with the National Assembly to transmit it into legislative provision.

    “For 2018 and 2019, we expect to rehabilitate the refineries, stop importation of products, among others,” Kachukwu said.

  • Total Nigeria increases lube production capacity

    Total Nigeria increases lube production capacity

    TOTAL Nigeria Plc has inuagurated the second high-speed filling machine at its lubricant blending plant in Koko, Delta State.

    The first high-speed filling machine was inuagurated at its Lagos lubricant blending plant at Kirikiri, Lagos in 2015.

    The installation of high speed filling machines will increase Total’s capacity in the production of high quality lubricant for Nigerian and export markets.

    “Satisfying our unique customers’ needs is very important to Total, which is why it is dedicated to continuous investment in its Nigerian production plants in pursuit of developing the supply of products and services of the highest quality to best satisfy our clients’ requirements,” Managing Director, Jean-Philippe Torres, said.

  • Marketers warned against short-changing customers

    Fuel marketers should desist from any act capable of short-changing their customers, else they lose them (customers), former Managing Director, Pipeline and Products Marketing Company (PPMC), Mr. Sam Okeke, has said.

    The development, he said, became necessary in view of the untoward practices in recent times among owners and operators of fuel stations in the country.

    Speaking at the opening of a mega station built by Emadeb Energy Services Limited in Lagos, Okeke said short-changing motorists and other petroleum products’ users affected operators in the downstream sub-secto. He urged operators, who engage in such criminal activities, to stop or lose their market to other competitors in the sector.

    According to him, marketers do not have to be greedy before they survive in the sector, emphasising that quality service is key to sustaining customers’ confidence.

    Okeke said:“No operator can survive through exploitation of unsuspecting customers in the sector, especially at the retail end of the market. By exploitation of customers, I’m talking about the issue of short-changing the customers by owners of fuel retail outlets across the country.”

    He noted that Federal Government-owned agencies such as Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), PPMC and others, have frowned at the issue of short-changing people by marketers in recent times.

    The DPR, Okeke said, has clamped down on retail outlets that engaged in such unwholesome practices to serve as deterrents to others.

    “During my tenure as PPMC’s Managing Director, I laid emphasis on quality of the services provided by operators in the downstream sector. I spoke about quality service delivery a lot and through the advocacy programme initiated by the PPMC, we were able to know operators, who allow ethical standards to guide their operations. I’m, therefore, not surprised to see the landmark achievements recorded by Emadeb Energy Services Limited, especially in the area of diversifying to retail business,” he added.

    Okeke advised downstream operators, especially owners of retail outlets to stand out by not seeking outrageous margins, which according to him, will ultimately destroy their businesses.

    He said a market-dictated margin should be the focus of marketers, if they want to succeed in the market.

    The sub-sector has witnessed several cases of sharp, especially manipulation of fuel pumps by marketers. Motorists have complained about the ways they were being defrauded by marketers, who use measurements that have been tampered with to sell fuel to them.

    Former President, Nigerian Association of Energy Economics (NAEE), Prof Wunmi Iledare, had called for proper calibration and adjustment of pump prices to the pricing template of the Petroleum Product Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), and market dictated margin.

  • Marketers defy govt’s directives, sell diesel at N225

    Marketers are selling automotive gas oil (AGO), also known as diesel, at between N210 and N225 per litre across the country, months after the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) crashed the price by 42 per cent, from an all-time high of N300 per litre in January 2017 to N160 per litre in July, The Nation has learnt.

    Also, ex-depot prices of diesel, which dropped to between N135 and N155 per litre in July, when the NNPC cut the price of the product, have risen considerably.

    It was gathered that many outlets owned by the independent and major marketers have adjusted their pump price to between N210 and N225 per litre. However, a few outlets, including those owned by the NNPC, are selling diesel below N200 per litre.

    A visit to some filling stations in Egbeda, Ikeja, Ikorodu and other areas within the Lagos metropolis  showed that the price of diesel has shot up to over N200 per litre from N160; the price it was reduced to in July, in line with its strategic intervention programme of easing the burden of high cost of the product on consumers.

    Marketers, who spoke to The Nation, said the rise in the price of diesel was not surprising as the price of the product has been deregulated over the years. So, the price is determined by market forces of demand and supply, they said, adding that such developments are expected in a deregulated market.

    NNPC  spokesman Mr. Ndu Ughamadu attributed the increase to deregulation of that segment of the downstream sub-sector years back.

    Ughamadu told The Nation on phone that the deregulation resulted in the differential prices of petrol, diesel and kerosene, adding that the idea has paved way for what he described as free entry and free exit market regime in the sector.

    He said the NNPC was not suprised by the turn of events in the sector in view of the decision by the Federal Government to deregulate the industry.

    Ughamadu said: “NNPC was definitive in its statement that the market is influenced by the forces of supply and demand, and that the intervention was meant to ease the burdens of high cost of diesel on the consumers. The intervention is subject to the dynamics of demand and supply. When the demand for diesel is high, the price of the product will also be high. Conversely, when the demand is low, the price will also be low.”

    The Federal Government in June 2016, increased fuel prices across boards. To reduce the burdens on the users, the NNPC strategically intervened by reducing the price of diesel from N300 per litre to N160 per litre in July through flooding the market with the product.

    Part of the interventions include improving supply of diesel, remodeling of the product distribution to address sufficiency issue, and working hard with relevant stakeholders to improve distribution from refinery depots, by implementing a robust loading programme.

    The NNPC also partnered stakeholders such as the major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) and the Independent Petroleum Marketers to improve fuel supply.

    Other efforts included the resuscitation of critical pipelines and depots in places such as Atlas Cove-Mosinmi, Port Harcourt Refinery, Kaduna Refinery, and the ongoing plans to revamp and commission other major pipelines across the country.

  • ‘Dangote Refinery ‘ll be sector’s game-changer’

    ‘Dangote Refinery ‘ll be sector’s game-changer’

    Ghana’s Deputy Minister for Energy (Petroleum),  Mohammed Adam, has said the 650,000 barrels per day (bpd), refinery being built by Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical Company, will be a game-changer for Nigeria’s oil industry.

    The refinery, estimated to cost over $14 billion, according to Adam, will attract global attention and market. He added that the initiative has raised hope for other African countries on the viability of investing in a huge refinery.

    Adam spoke at the just-concluded 2017 African Downstream Oil Trading and Logistics (OTL) Expo in Lagos. The Expo’s theme was: “Downstream-Renewed Opportunities”.

    He said the refinery would  open a sub-regional market with a West African price index for countries in the sub-region.

    He said when the refinery becomes operational, Nigeria’s import of products would stop or reduce drastically, and the cost of products imports from Europe and Asia by smaller consuming countries around Nigeria would be expected to increase.

    This is because Nigeria’s large petroleum imports, which are hugely subsidised and taken across the borders, would no longer be there for sub-regional neighbours.

    Adam said: “The development in Nigeria reinforces my conviction that there is strong basis for shared infrastructure in our sub-regions, as this could integrate our industries, lower cost of business and reduce the prices of petroleum products.

    “Transportation of fuels across the continent is largely by bulk road vehicles. It increases substantially, the cost of petroleum products for our people. It is possible working with the private transportation companies in our markets to build enduring Private-Public partnerships to build the railways and the pipelines that will cost-effectively deliver petroleum products across the regions while building substantial economic value for the states, the business and the people across this continent.”

    According to him, developing an African market no doubt imposes greater demand for skills, adding that there is the need to readjust the educational curriculum and open new centres of excellence to provide relevant skills to the youth and prepare them for a very demanding industry.

    Adam also said there was the need to harmonise policies and opportunities to allow the African downstream to deliver the infrastructure and services required by African economies.

    To him, the drive to move from “dirty fuels” to “cleaner fuels” has resulted in most countries opting to tighten the specifications for gasoline and gasoil. He noted that the transition to low-sulphur fuel is the most topical issue that must be discussed at all levels on the African downstream industry.

    Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and other African countries had specified sulphur levels for diesel imported, Adam said, supporting the call for African countries to move to cleaner fuels as it presents an opportunity for investments in domestic refineries to meet national specifications, allowing the downstream to be supportive of the development goals of African economies.

    According to him, following the sustained lower oil price environment of the last three years, there has emerged what is called “petro-democracy” in which citizens’ demand for greater accountability from their governments and players in the petroleum industry have improved. The demand for domestic prices to follow a symmetrical trend with international prices led to downward adjustments in prices in some countries.

    According to Adam, one of the greatest challenges confronting the downstream petroleum industry was the inability to match the upstream industry in the area of safety and security. He noted that operating at the very end of the petroleum value chain, proximity to human populations, their health and safety, and consequently, their property, the requirements for improved safety standards placed on Nigerian and other African countries the duty to be more responsible.

  • OGFTA: Govt to sanction erring operators

    OGFTA: Govt to sanction erring operators

    The Federal Government will sanction any operator who contravenes the rules guiding the operation of the Oil and Gas Free Trade Zones (OGFTA) across the country, its Managing Director, Dr. Umana Okon Umana, has said.

    The operators are mainly those that bring oil and gas equipment into the country.

    Umana said this became necessary in view of the corrupt practices in many of the zones.

    He said the government frowned at a situation whereby operators brought goods into the zones without following the rules guiding shipment.

    He said the pre-release facility through which operators effect the release of their cargoes ahead of payment of required fees has been abused in recent times, stressing that the government would not condone such acts.

    Umana said  henceforth, the government would stop erring operators from effecting the release of their cargoes ahead of payment of the required fees in subsequent shipments as provided for in section (5) of the MoU signed between OGFTA and its clients.

    According to him, OGFTA is the body directed by the Federal Government, to regulate activities in the free trade zones, in line with the best possible standards, stressing that the body has vowed not to circumspect the rules.

    In a circular issued to free zones investors after the meeting of the management of OGFTA at Onne Zone, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, and contained in the OGFTA journal, Umana said reports from the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) have indicted many of the operators in recent times.

    He said the operators were indicted by the Customs for failing to redeem their bonds, adding that the issue is a violation of the condition that is precedent to the pre-release facility as contained in section 1(b) of the Memorandum of Understanding between OGFZA and its clients.

    He said the MoU stated that all Customs formalities including payment of duty are being ignored by operators.

    Umana assured that in upholding the laws and rules of engagement in the free zones, OGFZA would work in line with the global best practices to ensure that the Federal Government was not shortchanged in terms of revenue.

  • Oil cut : OPEC records highest conformity in Sept

    Oil cut : OPEC records highest conformity in Sept

    The OPEC-non-OPEC producing countries’ Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) has said based on the report of its Joint Technical Committee (JTC) for September, OPEC and participating non-OPEC producing countries have achieved a record high conformity level with the voluntary production adjustments, reaching 120 per cent.

    The JMMC was established following OPEC’s 171st Ministerial Conference Decision of November 30 2016, and the subsequent Declaration of Cooperation at the joint OPEC-Non-OPEC Producing Countries’ Ministerial Meeting  on December 10, 2016, at which 11 (now 10 after Equatorial Guinea became a Member of OPEC ) non-OPEC oil producing countries cooperated with the 13 (now 14) OPEC member countries in a concerted effort to accelerate the stabilisation of the global oil market through voluntary adjustments in total production of around 1.8 million barrels per day.

    The resulting declaration, which came into effect on  January 1, 2017, was for six months. The second joint OPEC-Non-OPEC Producing Countries’ Ministerial Meeting, held on May 25, 2017, decided to extend the voluntary production adjustments for another nine months commencing  from July1, 2017.

    In September 2017, the OPEC and participating non-OPEC producing countries achieved an excellent conformity level of 120 per cent, the highest level since the start of the Declaration of Cooperation. This again underscores the resolute commitment of participating producing countries to cooperate towards the rebalancing of the market. The JMMC expressed satisfaction with the overall results and encouraged all participating countries to continue on the path towards conformity, for the benefit of producers and consumers alike.

    The JMMC noted that while some participating producing countries have consistently performed beyond their voluntary production adjustments, others are yet to achieve 100 per cent conformity.

    The JMMC took note of the recent developments in the market and expressed confidence that the oil market is moving in the right direction towards the objectives of the Declaration of Cooperation. Indicative of these positive developments are the recent upward revisions for global oil demand growth in both 2017 and 2018.

    Commercial oil stocks in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) fell further in September and the difference to the latest five-year average has been reduced by 178 million barrels since the beginning of this year, however, there remains another 159 million barrels of stock overhange to be depleted.

    The JMMC will continue to monitor other factors in the oil market and their influence on the ongoing market rebalancing process. All options are left open to ensure that every effort is made to rebalance the market for the benefit of all.

    The next JMMC meeting is scheduled for Vienna, on November 29 2017.

  • Propel opens service station in Port Harcourt

    Propel, the brand name of Propetrol Limited, one of the emerging downstream players, has opened a new service station at Trans Amadi Industrial Layout Road in Rumubiakani, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

    The latest addition, which was inaugurated on October 20, brings to four the number of Propel service stations in Port Harcourt and 19 across its retail network in Lagos, Ondo, Cross River and Edo states.

    According to its Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Harry Ebohon, the launch of another service station is a strategic step to enable the brand expand its excellent service delivery and product quality to more customers.

    “With the new retail outlet at Trans Amadi, we would be fueling the trust of more customers in Rivers State as we have done with thousands of customers from our other existing stations, since establishing our footsteps in the state. The people of Port Harcourt deserve to be served right, with the assurance that what they buy is what they get.

    “We plan to continue to expand our retail business, increase our bulk supply customer base and redefine the Nigerian bunkering industry. Our heavy retail presence in the South-South and the South-West is strategic. Although, the efficiency and service delivery gaps in these markets were huge when we set out, we have done well in correcting these anomalies and are now shifting our focus to the northern market in the nearest future. We hope our value proposition and core values as an organisation will continue to provide us the foothold we need to succeed in the markets and industry segments where we offer our goods and services”, Ebohon added.

    Propetrol has been in business for over 15 years. It started as an haulage company, moving products for the oil majors. However, having observed the inefficiencies in the retail market, made a bold decision to make a foray in the petroleum products retail marketing space to contribute to bridging the fuel supply gap in the Nigerian energy market.

    Over the years, the company has further expanded into other sectors if the downstream industry and is now a market leader in the maritime and bunkering service niche. Propel was never deterred by foreign dominance in the Nigerian bunkering space, but was rather determined to outperform them in delivering critical time-dependent bunkers to clients across the coast of the West African sub-region, in line with internationally acceptable best practices.

    Propetrol Limited is committed to sound environmental, health, safety, security and quality (EHSSQ) practices in all its operations. Its focus is on ensuring that the lowest incidence rate is sustained in its operations for both the employees and the customers.

    It also ensures that all  products and services comply with international standards and industry best practices. Hence, its stringent standards for the achievement, sustenance and effective monitoring of performance through the implementation of an integrated management system, audits, evaluations and controls designed to cater for the key elements of Quality Assurance as required by its ISO 9001:2015.