The Nation Newspaper

Category: Energy

  • Ughelli power plant eyes 2,200Mw

    Ughelli power plant eyes 2,200Mw

    Transcorp Ughelli Power Limited, the core investors in Ughelli Power, says it plans to increase the generating capacity of the plant from 972 megawatts (Mw) to 2,200Mw in the next three years.

    Speaking during the visist of the post-privatisation monitoring team of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE)  to the plant, its  Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Adeoye Fadeyibi, an engineer said on takeover of the plant on November 1, 2013, the core investor inherited only four operational turbines generating only 160MW of power.

    Fadeyibi, who was represented by the Chief Finance Officer, Mr. Olukunle Fagbayi, noted that by last month, the core investor had rehabilitated and made 13 out of the 18 units fully operational and generating about 635MW of available capacity.

    He said in the company’s generation forecast, by December, this year, the generation capacity would be raised to about 850Mw and in December 2017 to about 1,650Mw and 2,200Mw in 2018.

    He however lamented that due to the quality and quantity of gas available to the plant, only about 350Mw could be made available to the grid.

    He noted that another major challenge facing the company was the wheeling capacity of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).

    He urged the Federal Government on investment in the transmission segment of the value chain of the power infrastructure to strengthen the wheeling capacity of TCN.

    He said since takeover in November 2013, the company had engaged an additional 45 staff, assuring that Transcorp was going to surpass all the key performance indicators (KPIs) covenanted in its Post Acquisition Plan (PAP).

    The Chief Executive Officer also said as part of its corporate social responsibility, the company runs a model school with about 1,000 student enrolment as well as skills acquisition schemes for the host communities.

    The BPE is charged with monitoring the performances of privatised enterprises to ensure adherence to the tenets of the Share Purchase Agreements (SPAs), Performance Agreements (PAs) and full implementation of investors’ Post Acquisition Plans (PAP).

    The BPE Post-Privatisation Monitoring team to Ughelli Power Plc was led by the Director, Post Privatisation Monitoring Department, Mr. Chigbo Anichebe.

  • Grand Petroleum honours customers

    Grand Petroleum and Chemicals Limited, a subsidiary of Nosak Group and producers of Hi-Speed lubricants, has hosted its distributors and customers across the country at an interactive forum in Lagos.

    The event provided the company an opportunity to address its customers and get first-hand information from them on the areas that needed improvement on timely delivery of products, seamless procurement from the company and plans for the company’s expansion.

    The Group Executive Director, Corporate Services, Mr. Osagie Ogunbor, said the company produces 75,000 litres of lubricants daily with a storage capacity of six million litres. He said the company plans to expand its production to meet up with the demand.

    He also said the company would  strive to satisfy its customers in terms of price, packaging and delivery methods.

    He said despite stiff competition from multinational oil companies, Grand Petroleum plans to build on its own strength by carving a niche market for itself. In terms of quality, he said most of its raw materials are sourced from China and as a result, its products can compete favourably with other major lubricants in the market.

    The Chief Operating Officer of the company, Mr. Joseph Oboko,  said the company understands the customers’ challenges, especially on adulteration of products, which many companies  face. He said the company plans to rebrand its lubricant products by ensuring that the seal on the crown cover cannot be imitated. When this is done, it will be extremely difficult for adulterators to imitate the products.

    The Group Executive Director, Operations and projects, Mr. Osaheni Ogunbor, said the quality of its products is of high quality and helps to prolong the life span of an engine, adding that Grand Petroleum products are ISO certified. The company has various lubricant products both for petrol engines and diesel engines.

    One of the major distributors, Mr. Tony Nsitem, said he was satisfied with the development of the company, enjoining other distributors to work hard to get more rewards.

    He also enjoined them to be observant in the market and report any adulteration.

  • Chevron’s Adebawo bags award

    The Communications Manager of Chevron Nigeria Limited, Mr. Sola Adebawo, has won the Emerging African Leaders Pinnacle Award.

    Speaking at the presentation in Ikeja, Lagos, the Chief Executive Officer/Founder, Emerging African Leaders Academy, Stephanie Afolabi said the group honoured Adebawo for his “impeccable achievements towards the development of Africa as a people and continent”.

    She added that the award was aimed at inspiring and training African youths and emerging African leaders in programmes that promote the values of integrity, and entrepreneurial spirit.

    “This is a Pan-African initiative to discover and showcase some of our shining stars on the continent. Our emphasis is on leadership because we have realised that Africa can only fulfil its potentials if we are able to build effective leaders. We have come to understand that leadership can only be developed by strengthening the connection between, and alignment of the efforts of individual leaders and the systems through which they influence organisational and social operations.

    “He is a mentor and inspiration to many young people. We also monitored his activities on social media and identified him as someone many young people can learn from. It was for this reason that he was also slated to be one of the guest speakers at the award ceremony, she said.

    Adebawo thanked the organisers for the recognition. He  harped on Chevron’s commitment to the values of integrity, trust, partnership and high performance among others.

    On “Impact of oil and gas on livelihood in Africa,” he gave an insight into the contributions and impact of the oil and gas industry on the African Economy.

    He said listed the opportunities the industry have provided Africa, urging the youth to take advantage of these opportunities to develop themselves and the continent at large.

    He highlighted Chevron’s social investments in Nigeria in education, health and economic development.

    He noted the importance of the Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMoU) process in promoting sustainable development communities around its areas of operation. The GMoU, he said, was designed to create participatory development processes to address needs of the communities.

    According to him, the GMoU has not only cultivated transparency and accountability into the governance of projects and programmes by encouraging stakeholders to operate within designed frameworks, it has also given community leaders the platform to enhance their visibility.

  • ‘Technical development key to oil, gas growth’

    Players in the oil and gas sector have been urged to make technical capacity development as a panacea for their growth.

    Acting Principal/Chief Executive, Petroleum Training Institute (PTI), Effurun in Delta State, Mr. Jacob Avuakporeta Orukele, gave the advice at an oil/gas and allied companies learning managers workshop at the institute.

    In his welcome address on the occasion, he said allied companies  should be preparing their organisations for the challenges ahead.

    At the event, he sought for collaboration in human capital development, staff exchange programme, students industrial attachment and the support of stakeholders.

    In a lecture on, Gas development:  On-shore and off-shore, A level playing field of the future in the Industry,   Dr. Olimma Ufuoma Allison harped on the essentials of gas formation, noting the natural processes in the evolution of a viable oil and gas wells and reservoirs. She listed the global distribution of gas resources and disclosed that Nigeria has the largest gas reservoir in Africa and the ninth in terms of resource availability in the world.

    She underscored the enormous cost of infrastructure for gas development and the government’s effort in addressing such challenges. She stressed the success of the Joint Venture between NLNG and foreign companies in exploitation of gas in Nigeria.

    She reiterated that the investment potential in the industry was a consequence of the rising demand for gas both locally and globally and cited the various local and international companies involved in successful gas business.

    She noted the imperativeness of reduction of gas flaring to meet international regulations as regard to gas flaring actually gave rise to the investment opportunities to comply to national legislative  requirement and international regulatory laws. She reiterated the strategies embarked upon by the government in the nation’s Gas Master Plan to attract investments in gas sector of the economy.

    She recounted the issues of threat to security, inherent risk and low investment in gas infrastructure as the major challenges in gas development projects in the country.

  • Towards adequate gas supply

    Towards adequate gas supply

     Stakeholders in the global energy industry believe that natural gas is the fuel of the future. Unlike other fossil fuels, gas is environment-friendly and affordable. Nigeria is blessed with huge deposits of natural gas estimated at over 187 trillion cubic feet, yet it lacks adequate supply to fuel its thermal power plants. Gas is exported  but the Federal Government has introduced the gas revolution policy to boost domestic supply. Seven Energy is leading other indigenous firms with over $1 billion investment in the gas sector, writes EMEKA UGWUANYI.

    The pace of economic development in Nigeria continues to be constrained by lack of investment in the country’s power infrastructure. This is partly responsible for the unreliable electricity supply situation.

    Nigeria has power generating stations that have combined installed capacity of about 24,000 megawatts (Mw) but struggles to attain 4,000Mw output. The reason for this, according to generation companies (Gencos), is a shortfall in gas supply.

    To boost gas supply to power plants, industrial and commercial concerns, the Federal Government introduced the Gas Revolution programme aimed at encouraging oil firms, especially indigenous players, to step up gas supply for domestic use. The domestic supply drive has been boosted by the acquisition of Shell’s divested oil blocks by indigenous consortia and marginal fields’ owners. When the price of crude oil fell by over 50 per cent from an average of $100 per barrel mid-last year to less than $50 per barrel in the first quarter of of this year, the need to focus more attention on gas production became imperative.

    Some indigenous companies, such as Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc, Midwestern Oil & Gas Company Limited Waltersmith Petroman Oil Limited, Niger Delta Exploration & Production Plc (NDEP) and Frontier Oil Limited, developed or resuscitated their assets and are making  progress in gas production.

    However, what stands Seven Energy out is that while other companies produced associated gas from already developed assets divested by the multinational firms, the company financed and produced non-associated gas assets. Associated gas is gas found in the process of finding crude oil. It mixes with crude oil and is separated during the processing of crude oil. In the past, such gas is flared because there was no infrastructure to process, store and utilise it. But due to the global fight against environmental pollution, oil firms are compelled to find ways to utilise it but in non-associated gas, the asset or field’s reserve is wholly gas or sometimes with little oil as is the case of Frontier’s oil field.

    Besides, Seven Energy has interests in some of these oil assets owned by local firms. For instance, it has indirect interests in oil mining leases (OMLs) 4, 38 and 41 through a Strategic Alliance Agreement (SAA) with the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), an arm of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), which holds 55 per cent interests in the oil blocks. It is also a major financier and technical partner to Frontier Oil Limited, with regard to the Uquo Marginal Field in the OML 13 area. The field was awarded as an oil field, but it eventually turned out to be a gas field.

    It produces 200 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscf/d).

    Seven Energy has championed the exploration and production of natural gas, and more critically, its commercialisation through the provision of processing and distribution  infrastructure. It has invested over $1 billion in gas production in the Southeast region of the Niger Delta in the last five years. The infrastructure provision enabled end-users to access gas in the eastern axis. It also helped to meet the growing energy needs of the industrial sector and also provide stability in the emerging electricity market.

    Its Chief Executive Officer , Phillip Ihenacho,  told The Nation that delivering a cost-effective and reliable gas supply was critical to sustainable power supply to the national grid in order to meet the government’s reform objectives and facilitate industrial development. He said he was glad his company is contributing to the actualisation of these objectives. “I am delighted that our ability to deliver an indigenous gas solution from end to end is now being recognised by a broad range of industrial and power sector customers,” he said.

    He said last year, former President Goodluck Jonathan commissioned the Uquo Gas Processing facility owned by the firm. The facility has begun gas supply to the 190 Mw Ibom Power Plant in Akwa Ibom State.

    “Today, by deploying a combination of fixed-price gas sales and take-or-pay contracts, the facility supplies gas to five industrial customers, which includes three Independent Power Plants (IPPs) in Southsouth/Southeast Nigeria as well as industrial off-takers (such as ) Ibom Power since the start of 2014, Unicem late  last year, Calabar NIPP, Alaoji Power and Notore Chemicals in early 2015.

    “By this feat, Seven Energy is supplying power stations and industrial customers gas that accounts for 1,700 Mw of electricity, about one third of Nigeria’s total power output. This accomplishment has been recognised across Africa as the company recently clinched indigenous firm of the year award in the gas category conferred by the Petroleum Africa magazine,” he said.

    He after leading the supply of gas to the domestic power market, its foray to industrial sector is quite instructive. He said the case of Notore Chemicals demonstrates its commitment to the development of the industrial sector. The commercial delivery of gas to Notore, a leading fertiliser and agro-allied company in Onne, Rivers State is being executed through Accugas, a 100 per cent subsidiary of  Seven Energy. Gas is being supplied at a rate of 25 mmcf/d as part of the feedstock to the fertiliser plant. By this supply arrangement, Seven Energy has enabled the fertiliser plant to improve its operational efficiency and enhance the plant’s output. Natural gas is the core input into the production of fertiliser. “Through the supply of our processed gas, we are providing a new source of feedstock to meet the company’s increasing requirements, whilst directly enabling the production of fertiliser that Nigeria’s agriculture sector desperately needs to grow,” Ihenacho said.

    The Managing Director, Accugas, Stephen Tierney, said it is a manifestation of the firm’s commitment to the industrial development of the nation that it was supplying gas to the fertiliser firm.

    He said: “This milestone represents another significant step for Accugas in our effort to increase domestic supply and utilisation of gas for the good of the Nigerian people and its economy. By providing a clean, dependable, quality source of gas supply to the Notore plant, and doing so via an integrated end-to-end solution, we are demonstrating our clear commitment and execution performance toward enhancing domestic gas consumption for broader industrialisation.”

    Last year, Seven Energy completed the acquisition and integration of the East Horizon Gas Company into its core group and also reached an agreement with Niger Delta Power Holding Company to construct, and take ownership of a further section of pipeline between Oron and Creek Town, thus expanding its geographic reach over this industrialised area of Nigeria.

    In addition, Seven Energy reached agreement with Nigerian Gas Company (NGC) to transport gas from Ikot Abasi through its pipelines to customers in the Port Harcourt region. By this, the company has the capacity to transport gas to customers covering from Port Harcourt to Calabar.

    Last year too, Seven Energy completed two wells, Uquo 7 and 8, which are producing gas at a combined rate of about 85 mmscf/d with estimated potential of some 140 mmscf/d. This year, the company drilled an exploration well, Uquo NE-1, which encountered gas and oil reservoirs, achieving results ahead of expectations.

    With limited competition, Seven Energy’s quest for expanding its gas processing and transportation infrastructure positions them to reach a larger distribution area and demand for their own and third party gas. Having demonstrated ability to deliver gas to high specifications with consistent reliability, the company is attracting new customers.

    Beyond its forays in gas,  the company, through its subsidiary company Universal Energy Resources Limited, recently announced the commencement of crude oil production from the Stubb Creek Field, in Akwa Ibom State, following approval to embark on delivery of oil through ExxonMobil’s Qua Iboe Terminal. Its interest in the Stubb Creek field is held through a 62.5 per cent interest in the operator, Universal Energy Resources Limited.

    Stubb Creek’s development was conceived and led by the Seven Energy’s team, resulting in production start-up in February this year at an initial gross rate of 2,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) with plans to increase the processing capacity to 8,000 bpd. The company also constructed a 23-km oil pipeline from the field to the Qua Iboe Terminal to enable evacuation and export of the crude produced.

    The Stubb Creek Field lies in OML 14 located in Akwa Ibom State. It was classified as a marginal field in 2002, and subsequently transferred to Universal Energy, a subsidiary of Seven Energy, in 2004.  The field has been developed in a joint venture with Sinopec International Petroleum Exploration & Production Company (Nigeria) Limited.

    “Production at Stubb Creek is also important because it marks the attainment of first oil at one of the marginal fields allocated to indigenous companies. This realises the original intention of the marginal field round to enable domestic companies to bring smaller, unutilised fields on stream, enhancing domestic ownership, national production, and also revenue,” Iheanacho said.

    To secure its operations and activities in the Niger Delta, it engaged specialist security consultants to examine and manage transport routes and any other identified hazards to mitigate potential risks and security issues. It also engaged host community representatives and affected persons along the right of way (RoW) of the Uquo to Oron gas pipeline to ensure compliance with community expectations and international best practices. The firm has interest in OPL 905 in Anambra Basin with gas processing facility and pipeline network of 260 km, which has distribution capacity of 600 mmscf/d.

  • Sokoto Cement to build $600m plant

    Sokoto Cement to build $600m plant

    The Cement Company of Northern Nigeria (CCNN), Sokoto, is to build an additional power plant to make it self-sufficient in power supply to enhance its production capacity. The plant will cost about $600 million.

    The company generates 12 megawatts (MW) of electricity but has gone into partnership with a Chinese company, CBMI to build a new plant to increase its generation to 16MW, the Head, Public Communications, Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Alex  E. Okoh, has said.

    Okoh said the Principal Manager, Corporate Affairs, CCNN, Alhaji Sada Suleiman, stated this while explaining the company’s activities and plans when the post- privatisation monitoring team of the Bureau of Public Enterprises led by Mr. Ibrahim Babagana visited the plant.

    He said earlier, CCNN’s plant does not generate sufficient power to take the full load when running the plant on full capacity utilisation. He said CBMI of China has started the construction of a new production line which has a production capacity of one million tons of clinker per year, and that the line should be commissioned by the end of next year to increase the company’s capacity by about 200 per cent.

    The BPE team was also told that the company is being operated by the core investor with total staff strength of 383 of which only two are expatriates.

    The Cement Company of Northern Nigeria’s prime market area covers six states of the Northwest zone, including Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara, Katsina, Kano, and Kaduna. The company is leading supplier within its geographical market area.

    The firm was founded by the late Premier of the Northern Region, Alhaji Sir Ahmadu Bello. It was incorporated in 1962 and commenced production in 1967 with an initial installed capacity of 100,000 tons per annum at the Kalambaina plant.

    The need to meet the increasing demand for cement necessitated an expansion of the plant with the commissioning of a second line with an installed capacity of 500,000 tons per year in 1985, by the then Head of State, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari. Thereafter, in 1986, the first line was shut due to its uneconomic mode of operation, thus leaving the plant with a rated output of 500,000 tons per annum.

    Under the privatisation and commercialisation programme of the Babangida Administration in 1992, the Federal Government disinvested about 20 per cent of its holding in the company and sold it to the Nigerians. But under the civilian administration of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, the Company was earmarked as one of the companies to be fully privatised. In 2000 therefore, public bidding for the company was concluded and Scancem International ANS of Norway, a member of Heidelberg Cement Group was appointed as core investor and technical partner of the Company. Following a strategic re-orientation, Heidelberg Cement Group divested its CCNN shares in 2008. A Nigerian company Damnaz Cement Company Limited later became CCNN’s new core investor and assumed full responsibility as with its technical/administrative experts.

    In 2010, Messrs BUA International Limited acquired Damnaz Cement Company Limited and became indirectly the majority shareholder in CCNN and its technical partner. The ownership structure has core investors owning 50.7 per cent of the company; State Governments over the years reduced their shareholding from 36.8 per cent to 7.6 per cent; while other private shareholders retain 41.7 per cent.

    The BPE team expressed satisfaction with the success story of the privatisation and the company is doing to remain competitive.

     

  • ‘How Buhari can improve power supply’

    ‘How Buhari can improve power supply’

    The Special Adviser (Technical) to former Minister of State for Power, Mr. Darius Dickson Ishaku, and Managing Director/CEO of Mayok Engineering Works Limited, Chief Abayomi Awodipe, charts a roadmap on how President Muhammadu Buhari can solve the power problem. EMEKA UGWUANYI reports.

    Solving the power sector problems is not rocket science,  Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mayok Engineering Works Limited, Chief Abayomi Awodipe, has said.

    Awodipe is not new to the sector. He has handled challenging jobs in the sector in several parts of the world while working with world’s leading power equipment and facilities manufacturer, General Electric (GE) of United States.

    Awodipe, who has completed a blueprint on fixing the power sector that would be sent to President Muhammadu Buhari, listed steps the government could take to tackle Nigeria’s power supply issues.

    He said Buhari should set up a committee of experts, about 20 per cent of whom should be politicians and others power in generation, transmission and distribution, stating that  the  President should ask them to set  a goal in the sector and  that they sholud be alotted a time frame within which to fix the ills of the power sector.

    ‘’They should state what they will do in six months, one year and two years to stop this power problem. That committee must not be political and may not even be visible, but they will be doing a lot of work. The terms of reference must centre on how to improve power, and ensure  uninterruptible power in Nigeria,’’ he said.

    He said the committee’s programme must be such that will deliver 5,000 megawatts (MW) within the next six months to Nigerians. The committee must also look at the distribution system, which he described as rickety.

    He said  there are technical issues in each of the departments – generation, transmission and distribution, adding that all the technical issues must be resolved toward achieving this output. The only way Nigerians can be happy is to see above 5,000MW and if possible 10,000MW. They must ask for another 5000MW in two years and in the next 10 years, get 10,000MW. Nigeria has 46 power plants and the machines are already there, why can’t these machines work?’’

    Awodipe advised the Federal Government to compel all the generation stations to operate efficiently and produce 80 per cent of their installed capacities, and that  anything short of that, the management of such companies should be queried.

    He recommended that the government should create a code of conduct for contractors handling power projects. According to him, many contractors have come to the sector and left without doing the job not just in the power sector but in the entire economy. For instance, how many contractors are handling NIPP projects, how many have finished? he asked.

    “I was the chairman of the committee of abandoned power equipment at the ports. My committee recovered about 400 containers of power equipment. For eight months I was busy running to and fro the ports and delivering the NIPP transformers and materials with the army, so they can finish these projects. How many contractors went to the ports? They only tell you the Customs didn’t allow them. The small transformers you see installed all over the place are of the abandoned equipment. If there was an effective code of conduct, such actions wouldn’t happen,” Awodipe said.

    He advised the government to adopt regional grid system as against the national grid system.

    He said the national grid system is wasteful and uneconomic because every power generated is sent to the transmission centre where it is allocated to various parts of the country and in the process of transmission to places far away from the centre at Osogbo, a lot of power is lost. The losses are worsened by the weak and unstable transmission network. Therefore, with regional grid system, power generated would not travel long distances before utilisation.

    ‘’How many of them have been punished for not performing? When the month ends, they get their salaries. Now that the power sector has been privatised, I have reservation because privatisation means results. But, are we getting results? If we are not getting results, who will be blamed? All these are the questions the government must ask,’’ he said.

    On revenue loss, I must tell you that Nigeria loses a lot of money. America generates 750,000MW every day, South Africa about 70,000MW, and Nigeria hit a peak of 4000MW and has been dropping ever since, what does that mean? For every 1MW we fail to generate, we lose N1 billion per day. If you have 1MW, multiply it with N8 per kilowatt/hour, you see how much money you will get.

    On the calls for review of the privatised generation and distribution assets, Awodipe said the privatisation was okay, but unfortunately, privatisation means results and Nigerians are not seeing the results almost two years into the privatisation.

    He said: “The privatisation was good, but the only thing is that we jumped it. What could have been done first was to commercialise them (the power assets) and privatisation will follow later. By commercialisation, I mean the government would have been able to know how feasible and financially viable those assets it wants to sell are. We didn’t look at the viability of each plant or distribution company we sold. Ughelli that has 900MW capacity was only generating 200MW when it was sold. The government didn’t bring the machines or the stations to the viability point of 60-80 per cent. In that sense, the buyers have now seen that what were sold to them are not profitable and they are having problems in generating fund to keep what they bought running.

    “They have a legitimate reason but they should have known that before they bought them, so it is nobody’s business. What I advise the new government is to call a roundtable with the buyers, let them have their own independent studies on where the assets were before they bought them, what they have done in two years and the way forward. Let the new government do that quickly and invite those that bought it, tell them we know where we were when we sold it, we know what you have done and this is where we want you to be. Can you meet it or not? If you cannot meet it, we can find somebody who can do it. It is as simple as that. That is my advice. It un-businesslike and might cause a lot of disenfranchisement or even breakdown of the power sector completely if the privatisation is reversed, but it needs a lot of dialogue and review with those that understand the sector. ‘’

    “No buyer has added one single thing since they bought it. No station has increased by one megawatt since they bought it and no distribution company has installed anything. Even in my street, we conducted a study and discovered we need a transformer but had to buy it by ourselves because the utility firm refused to bring it. There is actually a lacuna but I advice it is not reversed.

    On Ajaokuta Steel Company, Awodipe advised that the government shouldn’t start something it wouldn’t finish.

    “Secondly, we change contractors unduly because of political interests. Our iron and steel technology is a Russian technology. I believe the solution to that Ajaokuta is to bring the original manufacturers. There is nothing you can do when you change the contractor handling a project. You don’t hold a new contractor responsible for output issues and this is political. The politicians have to take responsibility for failed technology and industries that we have. That industry will not see the light of the day until we bring the original manufacturers to come and help us to complete it and also unleash on them our Nigerian engineers. We have brilliant Nigerian engineers all over the world and we have failed to tap that. Who knows that I was in GE until I came to Nigeria? I was all over the world – in South America, Saudi Arabia, Europe, among others. Who knew when I came to Nigeria in 1976, that there was a Nigerian who was commissioning turbines all over the world? We have Nigerians that can help solve the problem of the power sector but the government has to encourage those who have gone out to get the technology by involving them in the scheme of things,” he added.

     

     

     

     

  • Indigenous engineers can fix power problem, says Onu

    Indigenous engineers can fix power problem, says Onu

    Nigerian engineers have the capacity to solve the power problem, an All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain, Chief Ogbonnaya Onu,  has said.

    Onu, an engineer, spoke at the  Academy Technology Dinner held in his honour by the Nigerian Academy of Engineering (NAE) during its yearly lecture, life achievement awards and induction of new fellows in Lagos.

    He urged members of the academy and other engineers to  contribute to the development of the power sector, adding that there is no way the power problem can be solved without engineers.

    He said emphasis on technology would, among other things, fast-track the development process that would create jobs. Technology would facilitate the rebuilding of the economy and also enhance efficiency in public institutions.

    Onu said the power sector is very important to the development of any nation, adding that economic and industrial development of the country cannot be achieved without fixing the power sector.

    On the event’s theme The Nigeria power sector reform: progress, status, issues and outlook, Onu said the  administration was committed to building the sector.

    “As a body made up of highly skilled professionals, you would avail the administration the benefit of your expertise in order to strengthen standards and ensure that as we embark on massive infrastructural renewal programmes, your contributions and commitments will become invaluable assets that will leave behind enduring legacies that would stand the test of time,” he said.

    He noted that the country cannot develop at the pace it should if Nigerians do not emphasise  technology, adding that engineering professionals have an important role to ensure this is achieved.

  • Schneider Electric marks 10th anniversary

    Schneider Electric marks 10th anniversary

    SCHNEIDER Electric celebrated its 10 years of operations in Nigeria in Lagos.

    The forum was also used to appreciate its long-serving members of staff that were described as the reason behind the success story of the company’s decade long operation in Nigeria.

    Speaking at the special recognition and awards for employees, the Country President, Schneider Electric Nigeria, Mr. Walid Sheta, said the company will be indebted to their staff who ensured that the company’s objectives were met and surpassed.

    “Today, we not only celebrate 10 successful years of operation in Nigeria, we also would like to show immense gratitude to all our staff and publicly extol the hard work of key staff members, whose efforts undoubtedly accounted for the steady growth of the organisation and brought it to where it is today,” he said.

    Sheta also said Schneider Electric has remained a partner in the power reforms, adding that it would continue to liaise with key stakeholders toachieve its objectives.

    “We are part of those improving IT and electrical distribution and energy efficiency around the world, and we will continue being major players in the industry, but we know also that a key factor that has helped us and will continue to help us achieve this,  is our team of dedicated and committed staff. This is why we are celebrating them today. With them, we know that the next 10 years will even be better,” he added.

    He said the past decade has seen Schneider Electric’s operation in Nigeria, driven towards the actualisation of the Federal Government’s effort of national development through the Energy and IT sectors.

    He listed some milestone projects like its collaboration with MainOne on the finalisation of the first of its kind Tier 3 datacenter in West Africa,  stemming the counterfeiting of its products, its participation in the “Light Up Rural Nigeria project”  with the Federal Government, and launch of  APC by Schneider Electric experience centre, another first of a kind in Africa to mention a few.

    As part of its focus for the year and beyond, Schneider Electric plans to address emerging markets.

    Sheta added: “With over 170 million inhabitants and 10 cities among the 30 biggest cities in Africa, there is a growing need to address the building and construction gaps. The key word for Schneider Electric is geographical coverage, being available to serve not only big infrastructure projects but also the small and medium scale building sector. We are going to address these diffused markets.”

     

  • Renewable Energy Society seeks shift in power generation

    Renewable Energy Society seeks shift in power generation

    The Renewable and Alternative Energy Society of Nigeria (RAESON) has called on the Federal Government to move away from dependence on one source of power generation if it wants to increase power in the country.

    The association said that power is the foundation for sound economic growth of any country that wants its citizens to have quality standard of living.

    Speaking at its 5th annual conference at Gregory University, Uturu (GUU), Abia State, the President of RAESON, Prof. Chidi Akujor, said his members were ready to partner with the government to solve the energy problem of the country and move the economy forward.

    Akujor said his association believes that a solution to the electric power challenges will require the inclusion of renewable energy in the nation’s energy mix.

    He said: “We agree that Nigeria has a lot of energy, like oil, gas and solar radiation, among others more than some countries yet we lack electric power, which we need to change.”

    The RAESON boss said that there was need for alternative energies in ameliorating the country’s energy challenges and reduce the over-dependence on oil and gas as the main source of power.

    Akujor lamented constant erratic and inadequate power supply, stressing that it has affected the setting-up and maintenance of critical strands of national infrastructure. He said there are 60 per cent of Nigerians who do not have access to electricity and most of them do not make use of alternative energy, such as solar, wind or biomass.

    In his address, the Chancellor Gregory University, Dr Gregory Ibeh, said the reason for RAESON to be the new face of energy in the country is that the Society will go a long way in putting the country on the part of success.

    Ibeh said there was need for alternative energy in the country because there are numerous resources to produce alternative energy, stressing that such resources could be tapped with less expenses for the benefit of all.

    He said: “The world is talking about alternative energy for its people and economic development, so Nigeria cannot be left behind. There are wind storms everywhere in the country. There is need for the engineers in the country to come together to harvest wind for energy generation for the improvement of the economy.”

    Ibeh said the reason for the failure of the power sector under the government of President Goodluck Jonathan was because gas pipelines were vandalised by vandals and oil thieves.

    He noted that alternative energy is the best thing that would happen to the society, stressing that they are environment-friendly unlike fossil fuels.