The Nation Newspaper

Category: Energy

  • NEITI seeks greater media partnership

    NEITI seeks greater media partnership

    The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has renewed its appeal to the media to support its commitment to end corruption, impunity and mismanagement of oil, gas and mining revenues.

    Its Executive Secretary, Mr. Waziri Adio, made the appeal when he visited The Nation.

    He  said  NEITI’s mandate  consistent with that of the media as watchdogs of the society.

    Adio underlined the role of the media in public education, enlightenment and social mobilisation, identifying dissemination of NEITI industry audit reports as an area the support of the media is indispensable

    He said: “NEITI exists to ameliorate and reduce the resource curse syndrome in Nigeria. The EITI approach to reversing the resource curse dwells on management of natural resources for the benefit of the people through the use of transparency and accountability tools. We need the media to help use the information and data disclosed by NEITI to shape public debate required to sensitise the citizens to ask informed questions on the management of natural resource revenues. We also need to empower the citizens and other accountability actors to appreciate their roles and the press to help set this agenda. The end goal is that abundant resources should transform to better living standards for the people.

    According to him,  until NEITI Reports lead to reforms in the extractive sector, sanction infractions and bring about improved quality of life for the citizens, the job of NEITI is far from done.

    Adio said: “As leaders, we should model the values we preach and walk the talk. There must be consequences for bad behavior and this can be reenforced by the Media.”

  • Total’s Ofon field platform takes off

    Total’s Ofon field platform takes off

    Key oil industry stakeholders were at the sail away of the wellhead platform for oil production from Ofon Phase 2. It is a shallow water field in oil mining lease (OML) 102 in 40 metres water depth. Industry players highlighted the milestones achieved by the project. EMEKA UGWUANYI was there.

    The new wellhead platform of Ofon Phase 2 have been inaugurated. The ceremony took place at Nigerdock’s Snake Island Integrated Free Zone in Lagos.

    The operators said the primary objective of the platforms is to eliminate gas flaring from the field and increase oil and gas production. The project is a boost to Nigerian content as all the activities were carried out in-country by Nigerians.

    Total Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited (TEPNG) Joint Venture Managing Director, owners of the project, Mr. Nicholas Terraz, said the project meant a lot to Total JV. He said with the completion of Ofon Phase 2 wellheads, Total was set to increase oil production at Ofon field to 65,000 barrels per day (bpd) from 25,000bpd.

    He said: “This delivery is, therefore, a key milestone in the Ofon 2 project. For the construction of the Ofon 2 wellhead platforms, over five million man-hours of work were completed with zero lost time injury. It opened a new chapter on the development of Nigerian Content. The first project ever with so many facilities manufactured in Nigeria. Five of the seven main engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts were awarded to Nigerian firms.

    “A pioneering achievement has been the Ofon living quarter platform, built in-country and providing a safe and comfortable accommodation for staff working on the site, the first in Nigeria. It will Increase production from 25,000 to 65,000bpd and also implementation of gas lift activation. It will help to develop additional reserves with water injection to maintain reservoir pressure and ensure an increased oil recovery, as well as improve operating conditions on site with the installation of a new living quarter platform and various facilities upgrade.

    “Delivery of the new wellhead platforms will pave way for the drilling of additional 24 wells and ramp up of production to a plateau of 65,000bpd and three million cubic meters of gas per day. This delivery is therefore, a key milestone in the Ofon 2 project.

    “The project target was to stop routine gas flaring and monetise associated gas from Ofon field. The flare out objective was successfully achieved in December 2014 and as a result Ofon phase 2 was awarded World Bank’s 2015 Global Gas Flaring Reduction Excellence Award. The first new wells were drilled last year and the project achieved first oil in September 2015.

    Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr Ibe Kachikwu, represented by the Group General Manager, National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), Mr. Dafe Sejebor corroborated the Total chief.

    He said the project marks a significant step towards the government’s drive to increase and sustain Nigeria’s daily target production, especially in the present phase of dwindling oil price and incessant vandalism and sabotage of oil facilities. “Following years of diligent work, commitment and challenges, we are indeed proud that our collective efforts have culminated to this event. Today Ofon phase 2 can be considered a success after several years of investment in capital and human resources. The more than five million man-hours of engineering for the project done in-country immensely reflected the drive of government’s policy on local content development. Government will continue to support efforts at increasing oil and gas reserves which stand at 37.2 billion barrels,” he added.

    Nigerdock Chairman Mr. Anwar Jarmakani called on the government and oil firms to support the huge investment the firm has made in infrastructure, technology and manpower training by giving the company more jobs to retain the over 3000 personnel trained to carry out such projects.

    Jarmakani said: “The Ofon platform project is the first EPC and onshore commissioning contract awarded to an indigenous contractor. Following the start of this project, it has been a celebration of one milestone after another, culminating into the full completion and delivery of the project work scope. The project will bring about additional oil and gas production from 25,000 barrels of oil equivalent (boe/d). It will also help to stop gas flaring on Ofon and deliver gas to to Bonny LNG plant via Amenam field. This injection of gas feedstock will significantly boost the domestic gas market and provide critical power for Nigeria’s domestic and industrial needs in line with the Federal Government’s power sector objectives.

    “A Jagal Energy Company, Nigerdock is West Africa’s leading indigenous company with expertise in oil and gas construction, shipyard and marine services, logistics support and industrial training. We have trained over 6000 personnel in our training facility recently and we have developed world class systems and processes for Nigerdock driven by competent and professional Nigerian workforce. In this high risk and HSE-critical work systems and environment, Nigerdock has executed over five million man-hours of productivity and achieved over three million man-hours without lost time incident.

    “There is a serious lack of effective and efficient engineering services in-country which causes escalating costs when work has to be outsourced overseas. Nigerdock currently provides engineering services and management as demonstrated by the performance on this EPC contract and will be a major enabler of improving the current in-country deficiencies. Our work methods and systems are world class, which has been attested to by major oil and gas companies and other customers. To keep this there needs to be a consistent flow of work. A stop-start programme will simply keep us and the rest of the nation uncompetitive and we will never reach our full potential.’’

  • Why Niger Delta is polluted, by Shell

    Why Niger Delta is polluted, by Shell

    Oil giant Shell Petroleum Development Company Limited (SPDC) has blamed crude oil theft, sabotage and illegal refining for about 85 per cent of the oil spills from its pipelines last year. These incidents, it said, were the main causes of pollution in Niger Delta.

    These are contained in Shell’s last year’s Briefing Notes, highlighting the firm’s activities at the end of each financial year. It said 25,000 barrels of oil were stolen from the firm last year.

    SPDC listed other problems as insecurity in the Niger Delta, criminality, threats from militants, violent host community agitations and offshore piracy. Others are armed robbery and kidnapping for ransom, crude oil theft, and damage to oil and gas facilities. It said  oil and gas operations in parts of the region are severely impacted by the oil bearing criminalities.

    “Theft of crude oil on the pipeline network was 25,000 bopd in 2015, which is less than the 37,000 bopd in 2014. The number of sabotage related spills declined 93 incidents compared with 139 in 2014. In 2015, the decrease in theft and spills was also in part due to divestments in the Niger Delta. However, theft and sabotage are still the cause of 85 per cent of spills from SPDC Joint Venture (JV) pipelines.

    “A key priority for Shell globally is to achieve the goal of no spills. Regrettably, in addition to spills caused by criminal activity, there were 16 operational spills of more than 100kg in volume from Shell Companies in Nigeria (SCiN) facilities during 2015. This number is less the 38 spills in 2014, partly due to divestments but also reflecting continued progress on preventing operational spills. The total volume of oil spilled in operational incidents also fell to 0.2 thousand tonnes from 0.3 thousand tonnes in 2014,” SPDC added.

    SPDC JV noted that to reduce the number of spills, it would implement its work programme to appraise, maintain and replace key sections of pipeline. Forty-two kilometres of flow lines and 12 kilometres of pipelines were installed in 2015 bringing the total distance of pipelines replaced over the last four years to more than 900km.

    It said last year it sustained surveillance efforts on the SPDC JV pipeline netweek to ensure that spills were discovered and responded to quickly. There are also regular over-flights to detect new theft points and we implemented anti-theft protection mechanisms on key equipment, it added.

    “In 2014, the SPDC JV signed a series of agreements with communities in Ogoniland, which has seen some of the highest rates of theft in recent years, using the Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMoU) model. Under these GMoUs, the SPDC JV provides funding to support unarmed community patrols which report incursions and suspicious activity directly to the forces.

    “The SPDC JV also works with communities and civil society across the Niger Delta to build greater trust in spill response and clean-up processes. The principal non-governmental organisation (NGO) coalition in the Niger Delta, the National Coalition on Gas Flaring and Oil Spills in the Niger Delta (NACGONDI) is invited to join joint investigation visits to spill incidents,” it said.

  • NDPHC workers back MD

    Workers of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) have pledged their support to the new Acting Managing Director, Mr. Chiedu Ugbo.

    They denied media reports that they kicked against his appointments.

    The workers at a town hall meeting with Ugbo said they would support the new helsman to ensure effective delivery of projects under the National Integrated Power Project (NIPP) superintended by NDPHC to boost power supply in the country.

    According to the General Manager, Communication and Public Relations, Mr. Yakubu Lawal, the workers also believed that NIPP has played a vital role in the power infrastructure development across the country and assured the new managing director that they are ready to raise the bar so that all ongoing NIPP projects will be delivered within schedule and look forward to kick-start the phase II projects of the company.

    Acting executive directors and senior managers who spoke on behalf of the workers told the new managing director that NDPHC relates like a family and urged him to sustain the family ties in the company.

    “We are like a family, these young men and women are ready to work with you and support you,” they said.

    Ugbo requested staff to cooperate with him to sustain and increase the momentum of project delivery for the benefit of all Nigerians.

    s“I know that it may be difficult to adjust to this change considering the fact that everybody is used to previous management but we have work to do and need everyone’s cooperation to deliver the projects to Nigerians,” he said.

    Lawal said at no time did the workers protest or resist government plan to appoint outsiders as replacement for the sacked management of the company. He noted that the reports carried by some media organisations were false and were the reporters’ imagination.

    “The executive directors that removed, were appointed in 2015 contrary to the reporters’ claim of 2013 while the former Managing Director spent 10 years as Chief Executive Officer of NDPHC,” Lawal said.

    As part of the Federal Government’s plan to address the power situation in the country, the executive management of NDPHC was dissolved last week and an Acting Managing Director appointed to manage the company.

  • Govt urged to manage pipelines

    Participants at a workshop organised by the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) have urged the government to grow the domestic gas market by managing its pipelines effectively.

    They bemoaned pipelines vandalism by some militant groups in the Niger Delta, saying their actions should be condemned.

    In a communiqué after the event, the participants, which included learning managers of the oil and gas managers and the executives of the Petroleum Training Institute (PTI), noted that pipeline vandalism would destroy and disrupt the industry if urgent steps were not taken to arrest the situation.

    The communique said: ‘’To effectively contain losses due to pipeline vandalism, Nigeria must overcome the toxic and explosive relationship between the government, corporate establishment and their host communities. ‘’

    It added: ‘’The government should hasten the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) to attract the requisite foreign Direct Investment into the oil and gas industry and the steel industry to establish the basic steel infrastructure for easy access to steel products and its auxiliary facilities for effective pipeline management.’’

    Earlier, PTDF’s Acting Executive Secretary, Mr Ahmed Galadima Aminu, said Nigerians should continue to complement the government efforts to towards achieving a viable, sustainable and efficient oil and gas sector by experimenting on new innovative ways that would ensure that the country exploits its enormous gas potential.

    Noting the contributions of PTDF to nation building, he praised PTI for its role as a foremost training institute in the oil and gas sector.

    PTI’s Vice Principal Mrs Emily E. Arhagba said knowledge management is vital to the sector, especially gas pipelines operations.

    She assured that PTI will continue to train the needed manpower in the sector.

  • Schneider rewards retailers

    Schneider rewards retailers

    Schneider Electric has launched in Lagos a range of electrical distribution boards, switches, sockets, and mobile solar solutions into the market.

    According to the company,the launch reinforced its commitment to producing world-class electrical appliances to impact positively on its customers.

    At the event, winners in the ‘Low Voltage Product Resellers campaign were rewarded.’ The prizes include a trip to France and a ticket to watch the semi–final match of the Euro championships taking place in France, which was won by Ortho Chibuzz International Limited.

    The second place winner – a trip to France went to E. E. Obilly Wise International Company while the third place winner, Zomak Electrical Company Limited, received a 52-inch Samsung television.

    The Partner Vice President, Schneider Electric, Mr. Ahmed Fateen, noted that Schneider Electric’s customers have various high quality switches and sockets to choose from at affordable prices.

    “At Schneider Electric, we just don’t ask our customers for feedbacks, our research and development (R&D) and subsequent new products are based on these feedbacks.

    “Our customers wanted high quality electrical distribution boards, sockets and switches with sleek functional and aesthetic designs. We heard them and today, we are launching these products that meet those specifications. It just goes to show that Schneider Electric remains committed to our  market,” he said.

    The Country President, Schneider Electric Nigeria, Mr. Walid Sheta, said: “We are in business today because of our retailers and we are happy that we are keeping our promises of constantly innovating safe, efficient and reliable products that will meet the needs of our ever growing customers. They bank on us for quality products and we are happy to deliver.”

    Responding on behalf of the winners, the CEO of Ortho Chibuzz International Limited, Mr. Chibunna Anazodo, noted that the new products attest to Schneider Electric’s commitment to quality and value for money.

    He thanked Schneider Electric’s management for looking for ways to improve its distribution channels.

  • Flexible forex: marketers strategise for growth

    Fuel marketers are leveraging on their relationship with refineries abroad to make the best of the flexible foreign exchange (forex) regime, which implementation began last Monday.

    It was gathered that the marketers have been discussing with refineries’ owners overseas to ensure efficient fuel supply, with a gurantee for payment.

    The National President, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Chief Chinedu Okoronkwo, said marketers will leverage on their contacts,  relationships with owners of refineries abroad, among  other factors, to buy fuel since the government has simplified the process of accessing forex.

    He said some marketers have collaborations with foreign refineries, adding that such marketers would rely on the partnership to import fuel into the country. He said marketers that have their own jetties would have unimpeded access to fuel, while those that do not have jetties would have the opportunity.

    Okoronkwo said that indices such as good assets, relationship and confidence, are what marketers need to make the best of opportunities provided by the new forex policy. He said marketers will access forex at relatively cheaper rates, import fuel, sell it, make gains and fresh purchases, and instill confidence in the minds of firms that sell fuel abroad.

    “Marketers will benefit greatly from the forex policy. The reason is because the flexible forex policy would provide them with the opportunity to play better in the industry. The policy would enable marketers to access forex at relatively cheaper rates, import and sell fuel, make gains and fresh purchase, and instill confidence in the minds of firms that are selling fuel abroad. Business thrives on confidence between two parties or more. Through the policy, marketers are sure of getting opportunities to buy forex. As a result of this, marketers would be bringing fuel into the country. Once marketers are getting returns on investment (RoI), they would not hesitate to buy more fuel,  a development, which would go a long way in building confidence in the owners of refineries abroad.’’

    He said marketers would not run out of fuel during the new regime, assuring that there would not be fuel scarcity again. Marketers, Okoronkwo said, would be able to project how, when and where to buy dollars whenever they discover that the currency is scarce in the market, stressing that the issue would enable them to do a comparative analysis of happenings in the oil industry for growth.

     

  • Kachikwu: Govt ‘ll save N1.4t yearly from subsidy removal

    Kachikwu: Govt ‘ll save N1.4t yearly from subsidy removal

    •’NNPC’s monthly losses drop to N3b’ 

    The Federal Government will save over N1.4 trillion yearly from the removal of oil subsidy, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Dr. Ibe Kachikwu,has said.

    He spoke when he visited the headquarters of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital.

    Kachikwu said the deregulation policy had reawakened the downstream sector and would help the nation become a net exporter of petroleum products in a few years.

    “We have a lot of people interested in investing in our refineries and building more refineries and we will remain committed to the goal which is to reduce importation of petroleum products by 60 per cent by the end of 2018 and become a net exporter of petroleum products by 2019,” he said.

    He described NCDMB as a critical agency in the petroleum industry and expressed delight that the Board had the right personnel to deliver on its mandate. He recalled the Board’s lofty achievements in the last six years of existence, noting that every Nigerian appreciated the good work that it has achieved. He further pledged to provide the right support and encouragement for the Board to deliver on its targets.

    With the fall in crude oil prices and reduced investment in the sector, the Minister charged the NCDMB to restrategise and transit from its role of just propagating local content and local participation to one of finding commonality with industry stakeholders to encourage investment.

    The new focus of the Board, he said, “affects how quickly you process things, it affects the rigidity of some of the terms you ask for as people enter into transactions and the need for increased collaborative relationships”.

    Kachikwu also stated that the corporate restructuring initiated in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has reduced the average monthly loss recorded by the corporation from N40billion in the recent past to N3billion while efforts remained on target to achieve profitability before the end of the year, a feat that had not been recorded in 20 years. He said the achievements were being recorded by staff of the NNPC who had previously given up hope in the system.

    Responding to comments from staff of the NCDMB, the Minister hailed the contributions of various trade unions in the oil and gas industry to the introduction of the deregulation policy, stressing that “the success of the policy was only possible because of the unity that was provided by PENGASSAN, NUPENG, NARTO and every active participant in the oil sector. My role was to be the professor, explaining why we had to do it.”

    He also announced plans to carry out infrastructural re-graphing of Nigeria’s petroleum sector, adding that plans were afoot to review Nigeria’s aging pipelines, depots and gas infrastructure and begin the process of replacing them.

    With regards to gas flaring, the Minister stated that the new thinking was to move away from a penalty based gas regulation which had largely failed over the years to a zero tolerance gas flaring regulation with year 2020 as the new target deadline.

    Admitting that the entire spectrum of petroleum industry required strategic intervention, Kachikwu harped on the need to see the challenges as opportunities to transform the sub sectors into income earners for the populace. According to him, “anywhere you look, you see that the oil and gas sector is populated by a need. We have to translate those needs to economic models that are beneficial to the citizenry. The drop in oil price should motivate us into going into parallel income streams.”

  • ‘Why $200b oil, gas markets remain untapped’

    ‘Why $200b oil, gas markets remain untapped’

    An estimated $200 billion oil, gas and power markets are yet to be tapped in Nigeria and other countries in West Africa due to problems, such as poor financing and lack of capacity building, the Managing Director, Lagos Deep Offshore Logistics base (LADOL), Dr. Amy Jadesinmi has said.

    She said lack of funds and manpower have crippled activities in the energy and allied sectors in West Africa, urging stakeholders to proffer solutions to the problem.

    Jadesimi in her presentation at the Global Green Growth Forum (3GF) in Copenhagen, Denmark, a copy of which was obtained by The Nation, said happenings in the energy services industry are having spiral effects on other sectors in the region.

    She said once investors in the oil and gas sectors are able to provide enough capital and manpower, they would find it easier to service the $200 billion market in West Africa.

    Jadesimi said: “International banks and investors should collaborate if they really want to tap into the investment opportunities in the region. When this happens, the issue of under-utilisation of potentials in the oil and gas and power sector would be a thing of the past.

    “New businesses are going to be generated in the power, oil and gas sector.  Regarded as areas that are critical to the growth of any economy globally, oil, gas and power industries would not only record growth, but would help in moving any economy forward.”

    LADOL, she noted, has keyed into the sustainable development goals (SDGs) mantra by planning to provide over 50,000 jobs through its investment in oil and gas sector.

    She said LADOL has built a fabrication yard that would help in providing services for the Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels and other projects in its base, adding that the yard has assisted in training people for the oil sector.

    She advised owners of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and other companies in high growth markets to play their part by attracting investments into the region.

    According to her, companies need to empower people in the communities, where they are operating, if they really want to provide  necessary changes.

  • Sahara Foundation eyes 12m beneficiaries from programme

    Sahara Foundation eyes 12m beneficiaries from programme

    Sahara Foundation has adopted what it tagged ‘extrapreneurship strategy’ to drive integrated economic empowerment programmes.The programmes will see strategic partnerships and support for innovative, scalable business ventures where 12 million people are expected to benefit.

    Sahara Foundation is the corporate responsibility vehicle of Sahara Group, energy and infrastructure conglomerate with operations in power, downstream, midstream, upstream and Infrastructure sectors, and has presence in Africa, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

    According to a statement by the firm’s spokesman, Bethel Obioma, over the next four years, Sahara Foundation plans to impact 12million beneficiaries and also create value through the identification, development and maintenance of relevant stakeholders through which beneficiaries can grow and sustain businesses. This will be achieved through skills acquisition training, mentoring and access to a network of committed stakeholders.

    Executive Director and Co-Founder, Sahara Group, Mr. Tonye Cole, explained that the core of the extrapreneurship framework is “to produce a platform that finds, creates and connects young ‘extrapreneurs’ in emerging markets”, adding that this would be achieved by leveraging on Sahara Foundation’s key strength of bringing together various committed stakeholders and promoting cross- sectoral collaboration.

    ‘Extrapreneurship’ involves creating value through leveraging internal and external strengths to drive cross-sectoral collaboration. This is made possible by connecting the right people and organisations towards providing sustainable solutions to global social problems.  Unlike entrepreneurship which focuses mainly in income generation, extraprenuership is centered on wealth creation and preservation.

    Cole said the shift in Sahara Foundation’s focus is modelled after Sahara Group’s strategy. “Sahara has evolved from a fledgling entrepreneurial business which began 20 years ago into a world class conglomerate with operations across the energy value chain including upstream, midstream, downstream operations. We have leveraged our network of committed stakeholders to expand the business, embrace opportunities and grow the franchise sustainably over the past two decades,” he added.

    Sahara Foundation aims to drive the extrapreneurship programme through the establishment of community/academic hubs and the social media. These platforms will provide resource materials and inspire networking and collaboration on a mass scale for local, regional, national and global beneficiaries.

    “You cannot even imagine the multiplier effect we are hoping to generate with the new model as young business owners are exposed to boundless opportunities that exist within the various hubs and our dedicated web portal where leading business individuals and organisations will be available to guide and link budding extrapreneurs,’’ Cole said.