The Nation Newspaper

Category: Energy

  • ‘How GenCos battle liquidity problems’

    The power generation companies (GenCos) are finding it difficult to get loans from banks for their operations, the Association of Power Generation Companies (APGC) Executive Secretary, Dr Joy Ogaji, has said.

    She said banks are not ready to provide loans to the firms because, they would not pay back.

    She said the development made  the firms to seek payment  for electricity generated and supplied to the power distribution companies(DisCos).

    In a chat with  The Nation, Ogaji said the controversy among the operators in the industry, had complicated the problem of the GenCos.

    Ogaji said: ‘’The Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trader (NBET) is accusing  the DisCos of not paying for the electricity it is supplying to them, while the DisCos are also blaming consumers – residential, commercial, and industrial concern, including  ministries,departments and agencies (MDAs) for owing them. This has compunded the woes of GenCos in the country.”

    On the other hand, Ogaji explained that the GenCos are not ready to produce more electricity, because they know it would not be paid for. “How do you expect GenCos to pay back the loans they collected from banks and workers’ salaries in this kind of situation?” she asked. She said GenCos, also incur losses they are not ready for in the course of generating electricity.

    She said losses are incurred in areas such as transportation of gas from the marketers to the thermal plants, storage of electricity, among others.

    According to her, the development is sending a signal that the country would be in darkness, if urgent measures are not taken to avert it.

    She said gas marketing firms  are shutting down supplies,because  generation companies cannot neither pay for product, nor pay salaries of their workers.

    She said owing to liquidity squeeze in the sector, most of the generation companies to maintain their machinery,  owe salaries and are laying off their staff.

    She urged the Federal Government to hold the DisCos accountable to  the agreement, they signed with  the Federal Government during the period of privatisation of the sector in 2013.

    She said, by so doing, the DisCos  would fulfil  their own part of obligations, among performing other roles that would help in moving the sector forward.

    He said wheh this happens, the  DisCos would would be able to meet their financial obligations to the GenCos among others in the value chain.

    She noted that when the generation companies were invited to buy the assets of Power Holding Company of Nigeria(PHCN), by   the Federal Government, the firms were assured that they would not have any problems.

    Ogaji said, few years after the privitisation, the GenCos are having problems meeting their obligations.

    This, she said, is having a spiral effects on the industry, noting that  operators have been affected by the development.

    She advised  the Federal Government to provide a holistic method of solving the problems in the sector, stressing that solving one part of the problem and leaving the other unsolved would not augur well for the sector, which is struggling to survive.

  • Govt eyes 3bscf/d from Bonny-Olokola-Lekki pipeline

    The Federal Government is expecting three billion standard cubic feet per day (scf/d) when the Bonny-Olokola-Lekki gas pipeline takes off next year, the Chairman of Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Nigeria Council, Dr Saka Matemilola, has said.

    Matemilola said the project would help in transferring gas from Bonny to Olokola and Lekki in Lagos. He said the power sector would bounce back if all went well with the project.

    According to him, stakeholders, including the Federal Government, are banking on the project to improve the power sector and that the sector relies on 2bscf/d for generation, adding that increasing gas supply to 3bscf/d would have a significant effect on power.

    He said three projects – gas, petrochemical and refinery – are within the Lekki Free Trade Zone, adding that the projects would have multiplier effects on the economy via creating direct and indirect jobs, boosting trade and the revenue of the government.

    Speaking on the sideline of a media parley, organised by SPC, Nigeria Council, in Lagos, to herald this year’s edition of its Lecture Series, Matemilola said the bane of the oil and gas industrywas inadequate infrastructure.

    The Oloibiri Lecture Series had as theme:, Domestic gas usage: from producers to users.

    He said the Lecture Series was titled, Oloibiri, to mark the anniversary of the discovery of crude oil by Shell in 1956. He said the title was apt when one considered that Nigeria has since 1956 not been able to produce oil optimally due to decayed infrastructure and other problems in the industry.

    He explained that gas is located in areas where it is not being used, noting that the issue is causing problems in the sector.

    Matemilola said: “Gas is located in the Eastern part of Nigeria while the bulk of the users are in the Western part of the country.The infrastructure for transporting gas is not adequate, making it difficult for operators to move gas from the East to the West.This means that all the gas that is being produced in the East is not getting to the West, causing hitches in production for the power firms, which use gas as a feedstock.

    “It is one thing to build the pipeline and it is another thing to transport gas through the pipeline to where it is going to be used. Besides, the cost of building pipeline, among producing other infrastructural facilities, is enormous.”

    He said lack of infrastructure had resulted in the trapping of gas offshore, urging the government to assist in recovering the gas by providing the right infrastructure for the sector.

    He said the sector has what is called ‘Domestic Gas Supply Obligation,’ adding that the full implementation of the initiative would help the industry to meet its obligations to power, fertiliser and other firms, which use the product sufficiently for production

    Matemilola, who is also the Chief Petroleum Engineer, First Exploration and Petroleum Development Company (First E&P), said the cost of providing infrastructure for petroleum industry is beyond the governments across the world.

    “Nigeria has budgeted over N7trillion in 2017. Despite its huge budget, the country is unable to provide infrastructure needed for its oil and gas sector. The country does not have a revenue base that would support oil and gas infrastructure,” he said.

    The issue, Matemilola said, required that local and foreign investors come to the country to invest in oil and gas infrastructure to achieve the much-needed growth.

    He urged the Federal Government to incentivise the oil and gas sector, stressing that investors would be attracted to the industry, once they know that they would get enough incentives.

    According to him, incentives would enable investors to support the sector in order to achieve the desired growth. He advised the Federal Government to formulate policies that would guide the industry to growth first before providing incentives for investors.

    Dangote Group President, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, said Nigeria will be refining and exporting half of its crude soon, adding that the petrochemical project would come on stream in December, gas project next year while the refinery in 2019.

  • Global demand for LNG hits 265mt

    Global demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) reached 265 million tonnes (mt) last year, enough to supply power to around 500 million homes yearly. This includes an increase in net LNG imports of 17 mt, Royal Dutch Shell has said.

    According to Shell’s first LNG Outlook, many expected a strong increase in new LNG supplies would outpace demand growth last year. Instead, demand growth kept pace with supply as greater than expected demand in Asia and the Middle East absorbed the increase in supply from Australia.

    “Global LNG trade demonstrated its flexibility time and again in 2016, responding to shortfalls in national and regional gas supply and to new emerging demand,” said Maarten Wetselaar, Integrated Gas and New Energies Director at Shell.

    “The outlook for LNG demand is set to grow at twice the rate of gas demand, at four to five per cent a year between 2015 and 2030.”

    China and India – which are set to continue driving a rise in demand – were two of the fastest growing buyers, increasing their imports by a combined 11.9 MT of LNG in 2016. This boosted China’s LNG imports in 2016 to 27 MT and India’s to 20 MT.

    Total global LNG demand increased, following the addition of six new importing countries since 2015. They include Colombia, Egypt, Jamaica, Jordan, Pakistan and Poland. They brought the number of LNG importers to 35, up from about 10 at the start of this century, the Outlook added.

    Egypt, Jordan and Pakistan were among the fastest-growing LNG importers in the world last year. Due to local shortages in gas supplies, they imported 13.9 MT of LNG in total.

    The bulk of growth in LNG exports last year came from Australia, where exports increased by 15 MT to a total of 44.3 MT. It was also a significant year for the United States, after 2.9 MT of LNG was delivered from the Sabine Pass terminal in Louisiana.

    She said: “LNG prices are expected to continue to be determined by multiple factors, including oil prices, global LNG supply and demand dynamics and the costs of new LNG facilities. In addition, the growth of LNG trade has evolved into helping meet demand when domestic gas markets face supply shortages.

    “LNG trade is changing to meet the needs of buyers, including shorter-term and lower-volume contracts with greater degrees of flexibility. Some emerging LNG buyers have more challenging credit ratings than traditional buyers.

    “While the industry has been flexible in developing new demand, there has been a decrease in final investment decisions for new supply. Shell believes further investments will need to be made by the industry to meet growing demand, most of which is set to come from Asia, after 2020.

    “In China, a government target has been set for gas to make up 15 per cent of the country’s energy mix by 2030, up from five per cent in 2015. Meanwhile, Southeast Asia is projected to become a net importer of LNG by 2035, a significant transformation for a region which includes Malaysia and Indonesia, among the major LNG exporters in the world.

  • NERC orders Discos to set up more complaints units

    The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has directed the 11 power distribution companies (DisCos) to open more Customer Complaints Units (CCS) in their jurisdictions to address the deluge of problems facing them, its Head, Consumer Division Head, Consumer Affairs Division, Mr. Hardley Blue Jack, has said.

    The regulator also ordered power firms to provide meters to their customers to reduce the problems affecting them.

    At a stakeholders’ forum in Lagos, he said the complaints units were vital to the growth of the sector since they would help to reduce problems in the industry.

    He said NERC had not shirked its responsibilities of ensuring that issues, such as shortage of meters, and other equipment were addressed.

    Jack said the units would help the power firms to aggregate the opinions of customers, prioritise them and attend to them.

    A deal among the DisCos, the customers and the communities, he said, was inevitable, if the sector wanted to achieve the much- needed growth.

    “We want service providers (DisCos) and customers to work as partners so also the communities where they operate. When this happens, operators and customers would have no choice than to follow due process in their pursuits for a well electrified society,” he said.

    According to him, it is illegal for anybody to buy and bring transformers into any community, without the approval of the DisCos, advising individuals or entities to desist from such acts.

    Jack said the sector was facing  a many problems, urging DisCos to try and solve them. He said gas was the bane of the sector, noting that the DisCos alone could not address the problems of gas and electricity generation.

    He said inability of consumers to pay their bills compounded the woes of DisCos, as well as made it dificult for them to meet their obligations to customers.

    He urged DisCos and the consumers to be alive to their responsibilities, by doing things that would engander growth.

    “DisCos can solve metering challenges as it affects them directly. However, major issues, such as gas, poor generation, should be jointly addressed by the stakeholders, including the Federal Government.

    DisCos have been inundated with complaints ranging from shortage of meters, cables,  poles,  transformers, to estimated billings, among others, in recent times. The development made them to launch the protests unit to seek redress.

  • N120b debts worsen GenCos’ operation challenges

    N120b debts worsen GenCos’ operation challenges

    The inability of the Federal    Government to pay over N120 billion owed power generation companies (GenCos) has hampered their ability to operate efficiently.

    Former Executive Director, National Integrated Power Project (NIPP), Dr Albert Okorogu, said power generation companies, including the NIPP plants, were in a precarious situation because of their inability to raise enough money for production.

    He said the firms’ hope of reviving their financial position was dashed by what he described as “tactical silence” of the government on the payment of debts owed them. He said the debts were long overdue, noting that they were marred during the  President Goodluck Jonathan administration.

    Okorogu said: “As at the last time I checked the operation of the plants, the NIPP plants were not doing well because the operators were being owed huge amount of money by the government. The debts were incurred during the regime of former President Jonathan and transferred to the current administration of President Muhammad Buhari.

    “Due to the government’s failure to pay the debts, the GenCos are in financial mess. The firms can neither produce well nor offset the debts they owe gas suppliers. The issue is having undesirable effects on their operation and the sector at large.”

    Okorogu told The Nation in Lagos that power generation companies unbundled from the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) and NIPPs were owed by the government, adding that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has approved payment for the debts before President Jonathan left office.

    Okorogu, who was the former Special Assistant on Renewable Energy, to the former Minister of Power, Prof Chinedu Nebo, also said apart from gas, liquidity wa s another problem facing the sector. He said operation of the sector was interdependent, noting that problems in one segment of the value chain spills over to another segment.

    He said liquidity problem in the sector was making it difficult for the firms to maintain their turbines, sell them and get the necessary market value, adding that firms that bided for the NIPP plants were unable to buy them because they do not have gas to operate them.

    NDPHC’s spokesman, Mr Yakubu Lawal, said Federal Government was indebted to the power generation firms. He said many GenCos are being owed by the government, adding that   some firms were owed between N20billion to N30billion, while others were owed N50billion.

    Yakubu said: “To treat the debt owed the power plants under NIPP in isolation is not good enough. Virtually all the power generation companies are being owed by the Federal Government.  The debts owed NIPPs is huge because seven of its plants are on the national grid. I’m sure the companies would be happy to get their money back.

  • Otakikpo field to boost oil production by 8,350 bpd

    Green Energy International Limited (GEIL) will soon increase crude oil output by 8,350 barrels per day (bpd). The firm is set to begin production from its Otakikpo marginal field in oil mining lease (OML) 11, it was learnt.

    Otakikpo is in a coastal swamp of Rivers State. It is located approximately 60 kilometres Southeast of Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

    Green Energy, in a statement in Abuja, by its Technical Director, Mr. Bunu Alibe, said the planned commencement of crude oil export followed the successful completion of Maximum Efficiency Rate, (MER) test on the production wells of the Otakikpo marginal field supervised by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR).

    He said following the success of  the test, the Otakikpo field has been given a technical allowable rate (TAR) of 8,350 barrel of oil per day (bopd) from the four strings in two wells – Otakikpo 2 and Otakikpo 3 for the first quarter of this year.

    In addition, the company, he said,  has been given the commercial allowable rate (CAR) of 5,000 bopd for February this year by the crude oil marketing department of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

    According to Alibe, the field has the capacity of adding about 10,000 bopd to the national production when operational.

    He said: “Having successfully completed its pipeline from the field to six kilometres offshore in preparation for crude evacuation through a shuttle tanker and finalised its Crude Handling Agreement (CHA) with Amni International Petroleum Development company, GEIL has recently secured an Evacuation Permit from the regulatory body to enable it move its crude to Ima terminal operated by Amni.”

    Other milestones achieved by the company, according to Alibe, include the approval of its Field Development Plan and the installation of its processing facility, while it has also completed an onshore storage facility of 45,000-barrel capacity.

    He said the company and its Technical Partner – Lekoil Oil and Gas Investment Limited, were poised to follow through all processes of crude oil export before the end of the quarter.

    Alibe explained that as part of its commitment to uplift the socio-economic status of the host communities, the company was embarking on the immediate installation of six megawatts electricity plant while ensuring that the Trust Fund set up to finance development projects and managed by the community, are adequately funded.

    He expressed the company’s appreciation to all regulatory agencies and other stakeholders for their support in bringing the field to production. He also thanked the technical partner and its employees for their efforts in achieving the milestones. According to Alibe, under a farm out from Shell Petroleum Development Company, Joint Venture (SPDC JV), the Federal Government awarded the marginal field to Green Energy, which it designated as the Operator, to implement the company’s innovative Small Scale Gas Utilisation Programme (SSGUP).

    Otakikpo field was identified as one of the suitable sites for a pilot programme that offers unique solution to utilize the gas from the field for power generation, and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), production for domestic cooking.

  • Meter manufacturers kick against malicious criticism

    Electricity Meter Manufacturing Association of Nigeria (EMMAN) has warned that it would no longer condone acts capable of undermining its position in the industry. Its Secretary, Mr. Muhideen Ibrahim, said the allegation levelled against the company by some distribution companies (DisCos) that it produces inferior meters compared to the ones imported from China and other countries, was not true.

    He said local meter manufacturers have suffered a lot in the hands of DisCos and their foreign partners, which publicly criticised them for producing substandard meters. Besides, the DisCos said EMMAN members did not manufacture the meters, that they only import accessories and assemble them.

    Ibrahim said: “Criticism is part of life. Without criticism, it would be difficult to improve on the quality of one’s product or services. But the criticism must be objective in order to achieve the goal intended. That is the area where meter manufacturers in Nigeria are having grouse with people that are criticising their product.

    “While it is true that there are producers of substandard products in the country, it would be hasty to generalise that all Nigerians are fake. In the meter manufacturing sub-sector of the industry, meters were produced in line with international standards. That is why the products are certified by duly recognised institutions before they were sold.’’

    Ibrahim also said some DisCos were buying the locally-made meters because they are good and can give them good results. “Why did DisCos keep buying our meters? If the meters are of lower quality, as some sections of the society are made to understand, they would have stopped since,” he added.

    He said the Federal Government licensed four companies to produce meters, adding that the firms have tried to improve capacity in recent times. The companies are MOMAS Nigeria Limited, UNISTAR Nigeria Limited, MOJEC Nigeria Limited, and EMCON Nigeria Limited, he said, stressing that MOMAS has the capacity to produce 50,000 meters monthly, while the other three firms produce between 20,000 to 30,000 meters a month.

    He lauded the Federal Government for its local content initiative, urging it to fulfill its promise of making Nigerians consume what they produce, in order to grow the economy.

    He said countries such as China, Korea, Germany, United States and others grew because they were able to improve on their production, urging Nigeria to follow their footsteps.

    Also the Chairman, MOMAS Nigeria Limited, Mr. Kola Balogun, said the sub-sector has what it takes to compete with their counterparts abroad. He said the firms were able to manufacture prepaid meters and smart meters, despite infrastructural deficiency in the country.

    He said DisCos were importing smart meters at a higher cost, adding that paying local producers of meters for services rendered to them has become a problem to electricity distributing companies.

    Balogun said: “The only snag or problem is that there is no infrastructure in place to do it. This is in the area of technology. Providing smart meters require a communication infrastructure, and that technology is not in place in Nigeria. Do we have the technology in place? No. When they say smart meters, they are talking about meters that provide a two-way communication. The communication takes place between the consumers and their meters.  You can sit in your office and know what is happening to your meters at home.”

  • Our plans for local content devt, by NCDMB chief

    Our plans for local content devt, by NCDMB chief

    Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) Executive Secretary Simbi Wabote, an engineer, who has just marked 100 days in office, unveils the Board’s plan to maximise  local content development. EMEKA UGWUANYI reports.

    Simbi Wabote was appointed  the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) on September 26, 2016 by President Muhammadu Buhari, after spending 26 years in the Shell Group of companies in Nigeria and abroad. He held various positions in engineering services, contracting & procurement, local content management, external and community affairs.

    He said he was committed to running an open and transparent organisation, and to be upfront with information on the activities, programmes and challenges of the NCDMB.

    “I am determined to remove opaqueness, rumours and insinuations often associated with oil and gas establishments,” he said.

    He noted that with the crash in crude oil prices since 2014, there have been very few activities as operators and the government were finding it difficult to fund new projects while existing contracts were being renegotiated downwards. “But without ongoing and new projects, there hardly can be Nigerian Content. These challenges notwithstanding, I took on this job with the conviction that the low-price regime presents the Board and the entire industry with a wonderful opportunity to find ways of doing things differently and better,” he said.

     

    Achievements and future plans

    Baseline study – the Board with the support of its consultants, he said, has started conducting a baseline study on Nigerian Content implementation, to review how well its act have been implemented in the past six years. “It is to review where we made progress and where we need to up the game. Also we have developed a Community Content guideline, which provides pragmatic steps for incorporating and engaging community contractors as a critical delivery point for Nigerian content development,” he said.

    “This guideline,” he continued: “was borne out of the necessity to boost peace and security in the Niger-Delta and address the lingering squabbles between host communities and service companies over participation in oil and gas activities.”

    Sections 25, 26, 27 and 28 (1) & (2) of the Nigerian Content Act provides for the operator to maintain a level of presence in communities where projects are located. The sections also mandate participation of community entrepreneurs in activities of operations throughout projects life cycle.

    President Muhammadu Buhari launched the Petroleum Industry Roadmap on October 27, 2016 to revitalise the oil and gas industry. “A key component of the Roadmap is to “deploy 30 per cent of business opportunities from operating companies to communities. The Board’s Community Content Guideline sets out strategies to realise this target. Our Capacity Development Initiatives are in aligment with Roadmap,” he stated.

     

    Contracting Cycle

    He said: “On resumption, I took on the lingering issue of protracted contracting cycle in the industry. With support from my team we have put in place internal performance measures to fast-track the contract processing time from NCDMB’s end. We have committed to specific timelines for review of Nigerian Content plans, technical & commercial evaluation and issuance of Nigerian Content certificates. It is my believe that other agencies involved in the contracting cycle are working on their internal processes so that we can collectively work together to reduce the protracted contracting cycle, which has been identified as the main cause of the high cost per barrel of Nigerian crude in comparison to other OPEC countries.”

    Others measures according to him, include fast-tracking implementation of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Parks Scheme (NOGAPS), Polaku Pipemill and accelerated disbursement of the Nigerian Content Development Fund (NCDF), which is nearly $700 million to deserving oil and gas service companies as well as the reconstitution of the joint committee with the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) on local content development in shipbuilding.

    “The Board also has concluded HR process review and institute performance driven work, set clear targets such as develop 5-year strategic road map,  developing Oil and Gas Parks in Ogbia, Bayelsa State; Oguta in Imo State; Okoyong in Cross Rivers State and Ikwe-Odio in Akwa Ibom. Each of these five parks is expected to create about 2,000 direct and indirect jobs and link community entrepreneurs to the oil and gas supply chain. The Board will also hold Nigerian Content Opportunities Fair, Research & Development Fair, and expand compliance oversight to midstream and downstream,” he said.

  • 19 academics conduct research in Shell

    Nineteen academics from various universities in Nigeria have begun research attachments in several fields of study in the latest phase of the sabbatical and internship programme of Shell Petroleum Development Company Nigeria Limited (SPDC) Joint Venture, which was introduced in 1980.

    The eight professors and 11 research interns began their programmes last month, seeking to build industry knowledge and understanding in such fields as biodiversity, petroleum engineering, geophysics, impact assessment, community health and oil and gas exploration.

    According to Shell spokesperson, Bamidele Olugbenga Odugbesan, the recipients are from the University of Benin, University of Ibadan, Niger Delta University, University of Ilorin, University of Lagos, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ahmadu Bello University, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, University of Calabar and University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

    “Our research and internship programmes are key aspects of our effort to contribute to the development of higher education in Nigeria,” said Igo Weli, General Manager External Relations.

    He continued: “It is a mutually beneficial relationship. SPDC obtains specialised and cost-effective services from the professors and senior lecturers, while they in turn acquire industry experience and exposure to new technologies that can be ploughed back to the university community.

    For a period of one year, the professors on sabbatical will conduct research in identified areas and share their findings with SPDC. Part of the internship programme involves Master’s degree students who are also offered one-year placements to acquire work experience in SPDC.

    “The other set of internships are from the Shell Centre of Excellence at the University of Benin who will spend six months, enabling them to gain critical working experience and be exposed to Shell’s working culture and ethics. Recruitment for sabbatical and research internship scheme begins with advertisements in national and local newspapers in March with interviews in July each year,”

  • Baywood invests over $70m in equipment, capacity

    •Unveils scorecard

    An indigenous integrated oil and gas technical service firm, Baywood Continental Limited (BCL), has invested over $70 million in equipment and operational capacity.

    Its President  and Chief Executive Officer, Emperor Chris Baywood Ibe, told reporters in Lagos that the 28-year-old company had been positioned  to offer seamless and world-class service to clients this year.

    He said: “BCL has made massive investments in all key sectors of our operations in order to sharpen our competitive edge and reinforce our leadership position in these areas. This is in line with our corporate mission to be the ‘Provider of Energy Services that meet and exceed client expectations always’.

    “This we have been able to achieve by constantly evaluating the business dynamics to position the company for optimal growth whilst maintaining profitability with a staff strength of over 1000 comprising some of the most experienced and competent personnel in the industry. We have made significant investments in our human capital and will continuously seek to leverage the skills and competences of BCL staff in our pursuit of excellence in performance standards.”

    Ibe continued: “Over the years, our company has achieved a widely acclaimed track record for excellence in our project deliveries with a number of industry firsts. BCL is the first to have engineered, designed and constructed the largest onshore gas pipeline in Nigeria for Total Exploration & Production. This project, being BCLs’ flagship under oil mining lease (OML) 58 Upgrade –  Obite-Ubeta-Rumuji (O.U.R), is a 42″ X 46km gas pipeline a major artery supplying gas to Alaoji power plant for electricity generation to the grid as well as gas supply to NLNG.

    “Additionally, BCL is first to carry out River Crossing through horizontal directional drilling (HDD) of the  largest bore pipe of 1km  crossing through Sambrero River. It is a record setting feat in the Nigerian oil industry by an indigenous company. BCL has also demonstrated an impressive capacity in our project delivery records. We have constantly supported our clients towards ensuring value-for-money audit in such areas as facility upgrade and construction, enabling them to produce, process and export through the export terminals where we have held our own.

    “These terminals include and not limited to Escravos terminal operated by Chevron, Forcados terminal operated by Shell, Bonny terminal operated by Shell, Akpo deepwater FPSO operated by Total, and Sea Eagle FPSO operated by Shell.”

    He added: “Each  of these terminals supports the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and her joint venture partners thereby ensuring that Nigeria’s production and export quotas are achieved in alignment with national economic objectives.”

    Ibe also stated that BCL  has to date achieved over 30 million man-hours with an industry unparalleled zero fatality record while providing cost-effective and fit for purpose solutions for our client’s projects in challenging onshore and offshore locations.

    He noted that BCL was looking to upscale its operations especially, marginal fields, acquisition of matured oil fields from oil majors and explore new frontiers in the energy sector such as cluster power generation, using abundant gas for upcoming new cities and towns.

    “Baywood Continental Limited is re-branding to achieve a brand equity balance between current and projected profile of the company. We have developed the broad and specific elements of the company strategy to actualise this vision,” he added.

    Baywood Continental Limited is ISO9001: 2008 certified. It was incorporated in 1989.