The Nation Newspaper

Category: Energy

  • ‘Retailers not liable for off-spec cooking gas’

    The Liquefied Petroleum Gas Retailers Association of Nigeria (LPGARAN) has absolved its members of marketing off-specification liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), which the group referred to as Niger gas.

    They condemned some unidentified persons who used the social media network to accuse their members of selling the gas to Nigerians.

    The National President of LPGARAN, Michael Chika Umudu, and the National Secretary, Ayobami Olalekan Olarinoye, said that the dissemination of such information by some competitors was aimed at discouraging members of the public from patronising LP Gas, which is also known as cooking gas.

    The group was accused of selling cheap but dangerous high-propane cooking gas allegedly imported from Niger Republic in their retail shops but absolved owners of LPG refilling plants. “The information is intended to scare members of the public away from gas retailers in order to achieve the selfish ends of its authors who doctored a story by the media and disguised under it. It is untrue and should be disregarded,” the group said.

    On how the problem started, LPGARAN explained that the two major elements that make up LPG (cooking gas) are propane and butane. Propane, they said, has high pressure but it is about 45 per cent cheaper than butane, which has low pressure but very costly. The requirement by the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), the group said, stipulates that butane and propane should at least be mixed on equal measures of 50 per cent each.

    SON’s prescription of 50-50 mixture of propane and butane, LPGARAN said, was based on the hot weather and the state of most of the gas cylinders in Nigeria, which are aged and unsuitable for LPG with high propane content. Because propane exerts much pressure on the cylinder, aged cylinders such as the ones used in Nigeria, are very susceptible to explosion. To be on the safe side, SON directed that marketers import LPG with more butane content or at least with 50 per cent each of butane and propane but some marketers disregarded this and continued to import LPG with high proportion of propane.

    According to LPGARAN, the former President of National Association of LP Gas Marketer (NALPGAM) had condemned the continued importation from Niger Republic of LP Gas with very high proportion of propane, highlighting the danger in such products but dishonest competitors chose to accuse retailers.

    LPGARAN said: “The Niger gas is a very high pressure LP Gas which is capable of causing incessant explosion of cylinders, pipes, and rubber hose. Indeed, there is increase in reported incidents of explosions since some LP Gas depot operators began to import the gas about two years ago.

    “LPGARAN for about two years now has been raising the alarm on the danger that Niger Republic gas poses to members of the public and market operators. The association has reported this to the Nigeria LP Gas Association (NLPGA) led by Alhaji Awalu Ilu. LPGARAN has been calling on LP Gas plant operators to stop patronising the depot owners who import the Niger gas because gas retailers buy their gas only from gas plant operators and not from depots.

    “Just early this year, February 7 and 8, the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) hosted LP Gas Technical Committee Meeting in Lekki, Lagos, with priority on quality of LP Gas. Umudu and Olarinoye condemned the continued importation of the Niger Republic gas and demanded that regulatory agencies only allow for production and importation of LP Gas with lowest possible propane content. We specifically demanded for not more than 20 per cent propane and not less than 80 per cent butane.”

    Umudu said the debate on this particular issue took more than 50 per cent of the time spent in the two-day event. Virtually all major stakeholders including NLPGA, LPGARAN, NALPGAM, SON, DPR, NNPC, PPMC, Local Refinery managements as well as depot owners and representatives of LP Gas engineering companies were present at the meeting. At the end of the meeting, he said it was agreed that only LP Gas with low propane content should be allowed for domestic related consumptions. Regulatory agencies were consequently asked to streamline and enforce the decision.

  • NNPC commiserates with Yakubu

    NNPC commiserates with Yakubu

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has expressed deep condolence with its Group Managing Director, Andrew Yakubu, on the untimely death of his younger brother, Yohanna Yakubu, in the early hours of Sunday.

    In a statement signed by Acting Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, NNPC, Tumini Green, it stated that the 47- year-old engineer, who joined the corporation in July 1987, was until his death was the Chief Operator at the Power Plant and Utilities Department of the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company, was killed by men suspected to be armed robbers about 7am on Sunday in Idon Village in Kachia Local Government Area of Kaduna State, about 110km from Kaduna town while travelling to his village, Ungwar Wakili in Zango/ Kataf Local Government Area (LGA) .

    “While we await the outcome of the police investigation on this sad event, our prayers and commiserations remain with the entire Yakubu family and we implore the Almighty to give them the fortitude to bear this great loss,” the corporation said.

    The remains of the late Yohanna would be laid to rest on Friday in his hometown.

  • Hurdles before investors in PHCN successor firms

    Hurdles before investors in PHCN successor firms

    Before the end of this year, it is expected that the Federal Government would have completed the privatisation and handover of the 11 electricity distribution and six generation companies carved out of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN, to the entrepreneurs who bought them. EMEKA UGWUANYI Assistant Editor (Energy) examines the hurdles before these investors.

    Background

    The fundamental objective of the power sector reform and privatisation of firms unbundled from the government-owned and run Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) is to provide stable electricity to Nigerians. However, current indices and extant environment don’t show signs of attaining this aspiration in the near future.

    The Federal Government proposed handing over these power generation and distribution assets to the investors before end of June but the date doesn’t seem feasible considering some hurdles, which needed to be crossed. These snags range from sourcing of funds by the investors and payment for these assets to settling labour issues and finding skilled manpower that would manage, maintain and sustain these assets post-handover. Besides, there would also be the need to change the attitude of some electricity consumers to bill settlement.

    Creating the right environment and attitudinal change in consumers are imperative for sustenance of business. For instance, between August last year, when Prof. Barth Nnaji resigned as the Minister of Power to February, this year, when his successor Prof. Chinedu Nebo was appointed, power generation dropped from an average of 4220 megawatts (MW) to about 3100MW. Industry experts said it is only in Nigeria that such substantial percentage of decrease can occur without major natural disaster such as earthquakes and storms. But the government simply explained that the drop was caused by inadequate supply of gas to power plants.

     

    Dearth of funds

     

    Despite the adequate time the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) and the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) gave the investors to get all the information they required concerning the assets they submitted bids for as well as the ample time given the investors to seek for funds to pay 25 per cent of offers they made, it was almost impossible for some of the preferred bidders to pay. Three of the investors paid on the last day, which was the deadline to make such payments.

    Out of the 17 generation and distribution companies, 15 assets have currently been sold to 14 investors and out of the 14 investors, only 11 were able to pay the 25 per cent value of the offers they made before the closing date. The remaining three investors paid a few hours to the deadline.

    The BPE said that all the preferred bidders for the 15 PHCN successor companies have met the deadline for the payment of the mandatory 25 per cent of the offer value of their bids, adding that as at March 21, 2013 deadline, it had received $559,445,573.96 from 14 bidders for the 15 successor companies.

    The BPE also noted that 4Power Consortium, the preferred bidder for Port-Harcourt Distribution Company; Interstate Electrics Limited, the preferred bidder for Enugu Distribution Company; and North-South Power Company, the preferred bidder for Shiroro Power Plc are the three consortia that didn’t pay till the last day.

    If it was that challenging to obtain fund for 25 per cent offer value of their bids, it may be extremely challenging or impossible to get funds to pay for the remaining 75 percent of the offer value of their bids, which is a condition for handover of the assets to them (investors).

    Although it is very unlikely that the government will stick to the June handover date, most of the investors according to industry sources may find it pretty difficult to raise the remaining 75 per cent even by end of the year. The sources are of the view that the local banks may not have the muscle to provide such funds and seeking offshore loans are often difficult except for well known organisations or those that have structures, that may get the confidence of the banks, they added.

     

    Labour issues

     

    Labour issues constitute another obstacle the investors may contend with. The Federal Government has not concluded talks with the electricity workers’ unions and until consensus is reached on this issue between the government and the labour, investors may not have access to the assets they bought even when they have fully paid.

    At present, the PHCN workers’ severance entitlements and the offer made by the Federal Government have been harmonised but the officials of the electricity workers’ unions are making the discussion difficult as the union leaders’ demand of N700 billion severance packages is described by the government and any right-thinking-person as outrageous and unfeasible.

    A source at the power ministry, however, said the PHCN staff members are working with the government to ensure that the severance package arrangement is cordially executed to ensure that the investors don’t encounter hitches when they take over the assets. The source said the hitch the government has in the discussion on severance package is hinged on the demand of professional unionists who don’t want a change in the power industry and not on the genuine PHCN workers.

    The total proceeds that will accrue from sale of the 15 PHCN assets already marketed by BPE are $2.237 billion and only $559,445,573.96 has been received. It is on the proceeds from the sold assets that government plans to pay the PHCN workers their entitlements and until the workers’ benefits are paid in full, the government will not hand over the assets to the investors.

    The source said that immediately the government concludes discussion of benefits with PHCN workers’ unions, it will start payment of the severance benefits with the N50 billion it currently has but would conclude payment of N384 billion it offered with receipts from the investors.

    The General Secretary of the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), Comrade Joe Ajaero, has directed the electricity workers not to allow the investors’ access to the PHCN assets until full payments are made and all labours issues are addressed.

     

    Manpower challenge

     

    The major challenge the investors may face post-handover of the assets include dearth of skilled manpower to manage the assets. Although during the bid period, the investors showcased attractive technical competence based on what their foreign partners did in their home countries, it may not be easy to effectively run these assets as they investors thought. Except some companies such as the Vigeo Consortium, which has local experience. Considering the challenge in the area of age of some of these facilities, which ought to have been out service years back, the investors need to court the current technical team that manage the assets to continue until the equipment attain reasonable integrity. Otherwise, a hasty sack of the current PHCN technical team may result in collapse of the power industry.

     

    Conclusion

     

    The investors should be prepared for these challenges. The 15 assets currently sold and the preferred bidders include Vigeo Consortium, Benin Distribution Company ($32.25million); Transcorp/Woodrock Consortium, Ughelli Power Plc ($75 million); CMEC/EUAFRIC Energy JV, Sapele Power Plc ($50,249,965); Kann Consortium, Abuja Distribution Company ($41 million); Aura Energy, Jos Distribution Company ($20,464,968.15); Mainstream Energy Limited, Kainji Power Plc ($59,467,500); and Sahelian Power SPV, Kano Distribution Company ($34.25million).

    Other are Amperion Power Company Limited, Geregu Power Plc ($33 million); Integrated Energy Distribution & Marketing Company, Ibadan and Yola Distribution Companies ($42.25 million and $14.75 million ) respectively; NEDC/KEPCO, Ikeja Distribution Company ($32.75 million); and West Power & Gas, Eko Distribution Company ($33.75 million); 4Power Consortium, Port-Harcourt Distribution Company ($31million); Interstate Electrics Limited for Enugu Distribution Company ($31.5 million); and Northsouth Power Company, Shiroro Power Plc ($27,913,633.50).

     

  • ‘Skills development ‘ll boost oil & gas industry’

    ‘Skills development ‘ll boost oil & gas industry’

    Head, Human Resources, Oando Energy Resources, Ernest Mpi, has said building relevant skills through training and retraining of university graduates would advance the Nigerian oil and gas industry and yield more revenue to the government.

    Consequently, he appealed to stakeholders in the industry, organisations and other concerned bodies to look towards the direction of building the right skills so that young school leavers can get jobs and support the economy. He noted that there are many graduates out there without relevant skills that can get those jobs in the industry.

    He called for well-thought-out trainings for potential hires, saying that Nigerians in Diaspora are not willing to return home to take up emerging roles. This, he said, has led to a reduction in the available team to support the ever rising drilling demand.

    Mpi, who said he was passionate about the Nigerian oil and gas industry, restated commitment to building the basic structure that would exploit meaningful development in the sector.

    He said the company has concluded plans to address manpower requirements over the next 10 years, adding that the company is also developing the capacity needed to fill relevant positions in that project.

    He said: “We are not only developing for ourselves, we are also developing for the industry at large because by and large we are training more people than required. That’s our contribution to developing capacity as it relates to the oil and gas industry.

    “We have different programmes that are drawn from our objectives and those programmes basically address the midlevel manpower requirement, which is where we have a big gap in the industry.”

    He identified unavailability of trained and competent personnel, large skills gap from potential hires, and the role of experts in key positions within the drilling contractors’ organisation as part of challenges confronting the Nigerian oil and gas industry.

    Expressing concern, Mpi said that the workforce, which was trained by the multinational oil firms, is ageing with no visible replacement in sight. He attributed the development to lack of formal structure to transfer knowledge from ageing staff, investment by stakeholders (especially public, private partnership), government’s inability to buy into providing support and lack of infrastructure to drive further the educational curriculum in institutions. He added that the Petroleum Training Institute (PTI) needs to be reassessed to be in harmony with changing industry dynamics.

    He said the company is training offshore installation managers, midlevel supervisory staff, drillers, assistant drillers, and truck pushers, among others.

  • Fuel scarcity not likely, says NNPC

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and its subsidiary in-charge of products supply, the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company (PPMC), have debunked reports of the reported imminent fuel scarcity.

    There were reports that NNPC was not supplying premium motor spirit (PMS) through the notorious System 2B pipeline often attacked by vandals at Arepo community in Ogun State. The pipeline supplies products to depots in Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Kwara and Ondo states, and there were concerns that if products are not pumped through the line fuel scarcity would hit the five states. This is because it supplies fuel to Ejigbo depot in Lagos State, Mosimi depot in Ogun State, Ibadan in Oyo State, Ilorin in Kwara State and Ore depot in Ondo State.

    Fear of likely fuel scarcity was necessitated by the report that marketers paid for over 15,000 trucks of fuel in depots serviced by System 2B line but for over one week after, none the marketers was supplied fuel.

    The NNPC and PPMC debunked the reports, saying that the corporation has enough fuel for Nigerians. The Acting Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, NNPC, Tumini Green, advised those in the states served by System 2B line not to embark on panic buying as there is more than enough fuel to go round.

    She said: “We urge members of the public to discountenance the report of imminent fuel scarcity in the South-West carried in a section of the media as there is no iota of truth in them.

    “It is not true that there has not been loading from the depots in the South-West since last week, adding that it was only the depot at Atlas Cove that was temporarily shut down for the maintenance of its power generator, which is a standard industry practice.

    “The Atlas Cove depot is not a loading but a storage depot, underscoring the fact that loading could not have been affected.What happened was that one of the major generators at the Atlas Cove was undergoing a routine maintenance, which resulted in shutdown of pumping activities. The suspension of pumping from Atlas Cove for maintenance did not in any way affect distribution activities as the depots serviced by the Atlas Cove Jetty through the System 2B Pipeline have enough products to keep all the states in the Southwest Zone wet throughout the period of the maintenance.

    “As at Friday, the maintenance, which started on Wednesday, has been concluded and pumping of products has resumed.”

    She explained that the depots served by the System 2B Pipeline have an average of 5.4 days fuel sufficiency with the breakdown as follows: Mosimi – 6.4 days, Ibadan – 5.9 days, Ilorin –4.2 days, and Ore – 5.1 days.

  • WAGPCo to engage Navy in pipeline protection

    The West African Gas Pipeline Company (WAGPCo) is to engage the services of the Nigeria Navy for the protection of its pipeline as the firm prepares to resume operation.

    The vandalism of its pipeline near Lome in Togo has kept the firm out of operation for over seven months.

    The General Manager, Corporate Affairs of the company, Harret Wereko-Brobby, told The Nation during the facility tour of the company in Badagry, Lagos that it would engage the Navy of the four countries (Nigeria, Benin Republic, Togo and Ghana) where the company’s pipelines passed to protect the facility from vandalism and attack.

    Specifically, she said the Nigerian Navy will be engaged to help protect the pipeline against sand mining, adding that the arrangement would be extended to protect the offshore aspect of the pipeline. The company has lodged several complaints about the activities of sand miners in the Lagos area of its operation, which it said threatens the safety of the pipeline.

    On conclusion of the arrangement, a combined team of Naval officers from Ghana and Togo would work with their Benin Republic counterparts to patrol the pipelines. She also said WAGPCo would work with the ministry to engage the Naval authorities so that there would be sub-regional cooperation to protect the entire pipeline in the offshore installation

    She said: “It is necessary because we want to make sure that the ships and the fishing community respect the pipeline protection zones that we have. It is compulsory for us to keep them from anchoring close to the pipeline so that similar damage does not occur again. We hope that through this arrangement, the pipeline would be protected against damage.”

    She said the company would continue to have periodic engagement with the media to inform the public about the progress of the company activities.

    “Because there is action going on towards the re-commissioning of the pipeline and some of the activities, we felt that we should bring you here to come and see what is going on and for you also to see that there is no flaring going on here,”she said.

    She said the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and the Lagos State Environmental Protection have confirmed that the gas flaring that occurred as part of cleaning the pipeline in preparation for resumption of operation was within allowable limit.

    The WAGPCo Station Supervisor, Agboola Olugbenga, said the company has made remarkable progress in its efforts to bring back the pipeline into service. He said the re-inauguration of the gas pipelines has been contracted out. He added that the company is committed to ensuring that the water and debris that got into the pipeline are completely removed.

    He said: “What we are doing now is the final cleaning base. We need this gas pipeline to be as clean as possible because we don’t want to supply gas that is out of specification to our customers. It is very good for us to ensure that the pipeline we would be using for our business is very clean. The pipeline has been repaired we need to clean out all the dirt that would have gone inside when the pipeline was exposed under the sea.”

  • Seplat to boost domestic gas

    Seplat to boost domestic gas

    Seplat Petroleum Development Company Limited is putting measures in place to exploit gas resources from its assets to boost domestic gas use.

    The company’s Gas Project Manager, Obi Nwasike, who stated this in Lagos, said the company has advanced strategies to ensure increased production of gas, which would start to manifest within the next 12-18 months.

    Nwasike, who spoke with The Nation, said the company has developed projects that would deliver more gas for supply to the power industry and other domestic gas users. He said that there are companies developing power plants currently that will benefit from the gas supply.

    “In the next three years you will see growth in the delivery of gas to consumers and off-takers in the country, so it is a growth opportunity around power and around manufacturing in Nigeria,” he said. He added that there would be a significant increase in volume of gas supply.

    He said his company is positioned to guarantee that the gas assets keep producing for 20-30 years, which he said is the effective period of gas assets.

    Nwasike said the company is challenged to take these assets that have been there for 20-30 years and stretch them for another period of time, adding that the company would not only value the assets but would also look at what the off-take demand would be on oil and also on gas.

    He also pledged commitment to encourage adequate gas supply to power plants in the country. He added that the company has embarked on some projects to improve the quality of gas that is delivered to power plants.

    Nwasike identified the fiscal regime including taxation and government’s take from produced resource as some of the factors that militate against gas production in the country.

    He expressed fear that the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) if passed the way it is would deter companies from investing in gas production in the country. He urged the government to step down some of its demand to encourage investment in the sector develop the gas reserves and help generate more power.

    He said: “If there is uncertainty in the fiscal regime, people who have the money to invest will hold on until they are sure of what the new law says, the they will assess it and may go ahead to invest but generally many gas projects will not go ahead if the PIB is passed the way it is.

    Nwasike said the economy would be affected in the sense that the power plants may not be able to get the gas. “If as a country we have the money, we will invest it and develop our gas resources, but we don’t have the money and these people that have the money have told us that unless the bill is altered slightly they may not bring their money. Therefore, we may not witness any meaningful development in any of the sectors in the near future if the bill is not addressed to favour all stakeholders,” he added.

  • Baywood, Ghana in talks on local content

    Baywood, Ghana in talks on local content

    Baywood Continental Limited (BCL), a Nigerian oil firm and Ghana’s Minister of Energy and Petroleum, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, met in Accra to discuss how BCL would assist the emerging Ghana’s oil and gas industry develop robust local content.

    In a statement BCL said its Chief Executive Officer, Emperor Chris Baywood Ibe, led the delegation from his company while Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah represented the Ghanaian Energy and Petroleum ministry and the government.

    Speaking during the meeting, the minister said Ghana will understudy indigenous companies from sub-Saharan Africa to develop local content in its oil and gas industry. Armah-Kofi Buah said he was satisfied with BCL’s profile and advised the company to develop a good local content model, which he assured would be adopted by Ghana’s oil industry.

    Since the discovery of oil in Ghana, the government has been making efforts to ensure it prevents all the ills and shortcomings that are associated with oil producing firms including developing content and indigenous skills early enough.

    The minister noted that Ghana’s local content policy is not only targeted at skills acquisition by Ghanaians but also empowering indigenously-owned companies. He added that Ghana’s move to optimally develop local content was on top gear.

    Speaking on behalf of the delegation, Ibe said BCL is a Nigerian company incorporated in 1989, which has developed capacity in designing, construction, operation and maintenance of major oil and gas facilities.

    He said BCL’s investment in equipment and plants over the last five years is in excess of $180 million. He also assured the minister that his company was ready to enter Ghana’s oil and gas industry, for mutually beneficial partnership to ensure the growth of the country’s indigenous companies.

    He said: “Our Company has firsthand experience in design, construction and operation of onshore base. Our company is currently carrying project execution portfolio of about $700 million, with additional $100 million new projects, which will start this year.”

    He said the multinational oil firms in Nigeria, including Shell, Total, Chevron and Agip, among others, are major clients to BCL, adding that as a result of the outstanding services, BCL has won various safety awards from these international oil companies.

    Some of the projects Baywood has done, and is currently doing, which it presented to the Ghanaian minister include onshore 42-inch by a 46-kilometre gas pipeline construction for Total; onshore 6-inch by 33 kilometre oil pipeline construction for Agip; maintenance and upgrade of Shell’s floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel (Sea Eagle); maintenance of Shell’s Western Division Swamp Pipelines of 6-inch to 24-inch capacity and 200 kilometre length; rehabilitation of Shell’s Forcados terminal tanks; and Chevron’s Escravos terminal tanks.

    The company’s newly-awarded contracts include mechanical modification works on Shell Petroleum Development Company’s (SPDC) flow-station and offshore shop fabrication call-out contracts phase 2; fabrication and load-out of platform structures, as well as piping and appurtenances for Chevron.

    He said the company has also completed world-class projects valued in excess of $200 million, which include the EPIC (engineering, procurement, installation and construction) contract to relocate and upgrade the entire Oredo flow-station for the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), which was executed between 2003 and 2005.

    It has also carried out maintenance and operations of Compressors for Shell’s Eastern Division between 1996 and 2000; Swamp Flowline/Pipeline Replacement Campaign for Shell’s Western Division between 1999 and 2000, as well as Shell’s Eastern Division Pipeline Maintenance between 2003 and 2009.

    Others include the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) and rehabilitation of collapsed storage 75,000 barrels capacity tanks at Yola and Mosimi for Pipeline and Products Marketing Company (PPMC), a subsidiary of the NNPC between 2000 and 2001 and EPC of two new 25,000 barrels capacity tanks at Izombe for Addax Petroleum between 2001 and 2002.

    Baywood is also involved in other major contracts, which are at tender stages including the upgrade of water treatment plant in Amenam Kpono platform for Total, which was scheduled for 2012; Brass tank rehabilitation and upgrade for Agip, which is scheduled for 2013 to 2017 and firewater systems upgrade in oil mining lease (OML) 100 for Total, scheduled between 2013 and 2015.

  • WorldStage power confab holds Sept.

    WorldStage power confab holds Sept.

    As the Federal Government shows commitment to privatisation of successor companies unbundled from the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), the WorldStage National Electricity Power Conference (WNEPC), has set aside September 24 for industry players to discuss the huge potentials in the emerging private sector driven power industry.

    The Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) has made substantial progress in 15 of the companies – 10 distribution and five generation companies whose preferred bidders have paid $559.446 million, which is 25 per cent of the bid value of the assets, with expectation that the private investors will take over the power assets within the next six months.

    WNEPC entitled: Moving Nigeria’s electricity power sector forward, according to the organisers, would bring the policy makers and the private sector together to review the new development in electricity power sector, identify new challenges, deliberate on critical issues and chart the way forward for the realisation of stable power supply in the country.

    President and Chief Executive Officer, WorldStage, Segun Adeleye, in a statement, said this year’s conference will be a watershed in the history of summits on electricity power supply in the country.

  • Gas flaring: Lagos clears WAGPCo

    Gas flaring: Lagos clears WAGPCo

    •Firm may resume operation this month

    The West African Gas Pipeline Company (WAGPCo) has been absolved of the reported gas flaring at its Lagos Beach Compressor Station (LBCS) at Badagry.

    The gas flare was said to have caused environmental and health hazards within Itoki community and environs where the compressor is situated.

    It was as a result of the gas flare report that the Lagos State Government mandated the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA) that carried out a thorough investigation to confirm the veracity of the report and magnitude of the impact of the flaring on the communities within the facility.

    The report of LASEPA’s visit to the LBCS, which was obtained by The Nation, showed that five officers, including Ogunleye Abiodun, Okeleye Olusegun, D. K. Adeyemi, M. A. Akinjeji and Lewis Gregory Adeyemi, were members of the LASEPA team while the WAGPCo team comprised Olugbenga Agbola, Romeo Obaye and Egbe Jude.

    The LASEPA team, it was learnt, carried out both day and nocturnal tests at the LBCS on separate days to determine if the level and intensity of flared gas during the day were different from those done at night. This was because the communities said that whenever they cried out, WAGPCo would reduce the level of flared gas.

    But the LASEPA team led by Ogunleye, which paid an unscheduled visit to the facility on February 15, this year, after receiving WAGPCo’s last year third and fourth quarter environmental reports, carried out the day test at LBCS to establish WAGPCo’s compliance standard on alleged persistent gas flaring by some members of the public. The team after the test made their findings.

    However, following a subsequent joint meeting with the LASEPA General Manager, and a Director, Mrs. A. W. Onisarotu, there was a request to conduct a night test at the LBCS, which was carried out on February 19, this year. Ogunleye said the essence of the night monitoring was to establish the fact that both day and night are incompliance with the statutory environmental standard.

    Following their findings, he buttressed the fact that the public outcry could be that most people may not have an appreciative understanding of the operation of a company such as WAGPCo, hence the complaints. He added that as environmental regulators, they are in a better position to clear all the grey areas. He also dismissed earlier report that there was presence of heavily armed security personnel, which made people unable to gain access to WAGPCo’s facility.

    He said: “If we were not at the site on Friday, 15th February, 2013 unannounced, we would have assumed that WAGPCo demobilized the security force due to our proposed visit.”

    According to the report, Romeo Obaye and Olugbenga Agboola gave further enlightenment on the compliance position of WAPCo with respect to the flaring. They also presented previous reports by an external auditor certified by both the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and LASEPA.

    Besides, Ogunleye and his members confirmed that the external auditor is well known to them and requested that in future, they should be carried along from the on-set so that they will also assist in the sensitisation exercise since they stand to be believed and understood better than hearing from the company’s officials.

    It was gathered that both WAGPCo and the LASEPA teams took temperature readings within and outside the plant, which they confessed were in line with the required standard. The teams also went to the communities to take readings and meet with the community leadership.

    The community leaders at the meeting include the Chairman, Council of Chiefs, High Chief Agbesanga, who deputises as the community paramount ruler, Dr. S. Amosun – community opinion leader, High Chief Vokor, High Chief Hunga, Youth Vice President – Saheed Isiaka, Misimau Ajasa – youth assistant secretary, and Chief Akibu, the Baale in the community.

    Ogunleye explained to the community leaders of their findings on Friday, February 15, and February, 19, this year. He pleaded with them not to envisage any environmental concern now or in future since their readings indicate that WAGPCo flaring operations are in line with the statutory approved standard. He told the community leaders that if there were hazards, WAGPCo personnel will not be excluded from the impact since they are also in the community.

    But Dr. Amosu, it was learnt, said he is a qualified health physician and based on his research, such impact may not manifest until about 20 years of which most of the existing generation would have gone. He added that as long as ionisation was not considered in the readings they took, he doubts if the findings could be taken hook line and sinker by the community. High Chief Vokor also supported his view.

    However, after due explanation on the mechanisms and control systems deployed by WAPCo in the flaring operation to ensure adequate regulatory compliance standard, the concerns of the community were allayed. But they said that the WAPCo team reduces the flare each time they raised the alarm on too much heat.

    Amosu and the chairman, Council of Chiefs, however, attested that the community executives were informed about the flaring by the WAGPCo team, but complained that the notice was too short. He requested for a minimum of two weeks prior to commencement of the flaring in future. LASEPA team also requested for adequate sensitisation and their involvement in future.

    The LASEPA team used the opportunity to visit some of the community development projects (CDPs) in Ajido and expressed their joy on WAGPCo contribution to the community. They suggested that a lot of publicity should be made during the inauguration of the clinic so that outsiders will know the contribution of WAGPCo to one of their major host communities.

    The flaring issue started when WAGPCo’s 20’ main line broke into two on August 28, last year at Lome, Togo during a skirmish between the Navy and a third party vessel, which dragged anchor across Anchoring Exclusion Zone, and caused the damage. Necessary actions and repair processes have since been done by WAGPCo but the pipe needs to be cleaned before normal operation resumes, which involves a measure of flaring.

    Sea water entered the line when it was broken and also de-pressurised it. It was in the process of removing the water, contaminated gas and debris in the line that brought about the alleged gas flaring.

    The company had expected to fix the pipe and commence operations last December but in order to ensure that adequate and standard repairs and safety measures were observed, normal operation is expected to resume this month, it was learnt.

    The WAGPCo owns and operates the West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP) with headquarters in Accra, Ghana and an office in Badagry, Nigeria. It also has field offices in Cotonou – Benin, Lome – Togo, Tema and Takoradi, both in Ghana.

    WAGPCo is a joint venture between public and private sector companies from Nigeria, Benin, Togo and Ghana.

    The company’s main mandate is to transport natural gas from Nigeria to customers in Benin, Togo and Ghana in a safe, responsible and reliable manner, at prices competitive with other fuel alternatives.

    WAGP transports purified natural gas free of heavy hydrocarbons, liquids and water, ideally suited as fuel for power plants and industrial applications. Eighty-five per cent of the gas is for power generation and the remaining for industrial applications. The Volta River Authority’s Takoradi Thermal Power Plant in Ghana, CEB of Benin and Togo are WAPCo’s foundation customers.

    WAPCo is owned by Chevron West African Gas Pipeline Limited (36.7 per cent); Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (25 per cent); Shell Overseas Holdings Limited (18 per cent); and Takoradi Power Company Limited (16.3 per cent), Societe Togolaise de Gaz (2 per cent) and Societe BenGaz S.A. (2 per cent).