The Nation Newspaper

Category: Energy

  • DPR commends Gulf Treasures for products delivery

    DPR commends Gulf Treasures for products delivery

    The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has commended Gulf Treasures Limited, an indigenous oil and gas services company, for the delivery of quality products and services to consumers of petroleum products across the country including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    The DPR made the commendations when the Managing Director of Gulf Treasures, Dekeri Anemero was conferred with the award of distinguished ambassador of the Faculty of Law of the Ambrose Ali University (AAU), Ekpoma in Edo State by the law students association.

    Speaking on the occasion, which held in Lagos, the Chief Technical Officer of the DPR, Enilama Victor, said the company as a player in the downstream sector of the oil gas industry, had maintained quality services to its consumers. “As a regulator, we don’t see people on the side, we see people on the quality and we see quality in the management services,” he added.

    Gulf Treasures, he said, was a registered oil and gas company in Nigeria, which specialises in oil and gas exploration, trading, shipping services, logistics and manufacturing. It also engages in the importation of petroleum products including dual purpose kerosene (DPK), automotive gas oil (AGO), premium motor spirit (PMS) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

    He said the company has an average turnover of 60,000 metric tons with over 50 trucks for prompt delivery to numerous customers. It also has a loading terminal located at Ibafon, Apapa with a total capacity of 45,000 metric tons and its retail outlets nationwide is known as Danco Petroleum.

    Enilama said the company was one of the major independent petroleum marketers that had maintained quality of product that had served the interest of the people so well for many years

    He said the company had petrol stations spread across the country, especially in the western part of the country, which according him, helps to ensure prompt delivery of the product to consumers and urged other operators to maintain good industry practices.

    Anemero said the award had only challenged him to further impact positively on the lives of the people, including management and staff of the company. While expressing hope for the growth of the oil and gas industry, he appealed to Nigerians to be patient with the ongoing reforms in the industry, saying the benefits in the oil and gas were yet to be tapped.

    He has also urged the youths to shun any act of unrest and vandalism and reassured the management’s commitment to creating more job opportunities for the teaming youths

    The Director of Administration, Ibru Group, Henry Muogho, said Anemero was a silent achiever and committed to adding value to the society, adding that the award was a reward for hard work, determination, honesty and discipline of character.

    The President, Faculty of Law of the university, Monday Mawah, said Anemero had contributed immensely to the faculty and Edo State.

  • NNPC eyes 40b barrels reserves, 4m bpd production by 2020

    NNPC eyes 40b barrels reserves, 4m bpd production by 2020

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has said it is determined to grow oil reserves from its current level of 37 billion barrels to 40 billion barrels by 2020.

    Speaking in Kaduna State at a reception organised by the state government in honour of some of its illustrious sons and daughter, the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Andrew Yakubu, who also is one of the illustrious sons of the state, stated that apart from ensuring an increase in the level of proven oil reserves, the corporation is working assiduously towards increasing daily production from the current 2.4 million barrels per day (bpd) to four million bpd by 2020.

    Nigeria’s production of crude oil now averages at 2.4 million barrels daily after recording an all time high of 2.7million bpd late July.

    Yakubu said: “As we endeavour to achieve effective transformation of the oil and gas industry in line with the transformation agenda of Mr President, our target is to ensure that we grow our proven crude reserves to 40 billion by 2020 and also increase our production to four million barrels per day by 2020.”

    Yakubu assured that the NNPC and its Joint Venture partners, are strategically focused on power generation through effective alignment with the power supply aspiration of the Federal Government.

    He said the NNPC is also working on strategic upgrade of gas infrastructure in Kaduna and other Northern states to help resuscitate the ailing textile industry in that part of the country. He reassured residents of Kaduna and adjoining states of adequate supply of petroleum products, noting that Kaduna Refinery is producing about four million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) per day.

    “The Kaduna Refinery is one of the best run in the country today. It produces four million litres of PMS every couple of days and this has helped us to stabilise supply in Kaduna and its environs especially at this trying period,” he said.

    He pledged that the plan to ensure complete turnaround and rehabilitation of the country’s refineries is still intact as the lead equipment for the TAM of Port Harcourt Refinery has since arrived. “Once we are done with Port Harcourt Refinery, Kaduna will be next in line and from there we move to Warri Refinery,” he added.

    Yakubu thanked the government and people of Kaduna State for the special recognition, noting that it is reassuring to know that “you are loved back home when embarking on a journey like this.”

    The event, which had Vice-President Namadi Sambo as special guest of honour and former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Muhammadu Lawal Uwais as Chairman conferred awards to three other prominent indigenes of Kaduna State. These include: Minister of the Environment Hajiya Hadiza Mailafia; Justice of the Supreme Court, Hon. Justice Kumai Akaahs and National Organising Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Abubakar Mustapha.

    In his remarks, the Vice-President commended Yakubu for piloting the corporation in the right direction especially the recent effort to resuscitate the search for oil in the inland sedimentary basins particularly the Chad Basin, which has shown some significant breakthroughs.

    The Kaduna State Governor, Sir Ibrahim Yakowa, corroborated the Vice-President and praised Yakubu for his focus and sterling leadership qualities.

  • Ikeja PHCN spends N501m to strengthen network

    Ikeja PHCN spends N501m to strengthen network

    he Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company said it spent N501 million on old and new projects to strengthen its network aimed at ensuring improved electricity supply.

    The Chief Executive Officer of the company, Mr Chris Okaa Akamnonu, disclosed this when the members of House of Representatives Committee on Power, paid a visit to the company as part of its oversight functions.

    Akamnonu said the money was spent on 65 projects, including completed and ongoing ones and promised that once there are funds, which he said that the government is committed to providing, the majority of the ongoing projects would be completed before end of the year.

    He said the materials needed to complete the projects would be sourced from Nigeria, therefore it would not be difficult to procure and install.

    He said the company has worked hard to ensure that customers within the network do get get regular power supply, which some customers present at the event testified to.

    The Chairman of the committee, Hon. Patrick Ikhariale, urged the company to follow due process in its activities and ensure accountability and quality service delivery. He also urged Akamnonu to be committed in implementing constituency projects of House of Reps members that fall within his company’s areas of operation.

    When the committee members visited the Eko Electricity Distribution Company, the Chief Executive Officer of the company, Mr Oladele Amoda, told them that millions of naira belonging to them is still trapped in some branches of Firstbank following Mareva court order secured by the Lagos State Government, which restrained the utility company from accessing the fund.

    Amoda told the lawmakers that Eko’s funds totalling N480,331,269.28 is still stalled in the banks as a result of the order. He noted however, that the order affects only PHCN’s funds in First Bank. Further enquiries by The Nation, showed that the Mareva order, which was handed down by a high court in May, affected all PHCN’s deposits in First Bank until perhaps lodgements were stopped

    A breakdown of the trapped funds are as follows: May N138,904,214.75; June N289,457,059.68; July N51,734,351.10; and August N235,643.75 but Amoda said that the issue was being handled at the highest level of the power sector management.

    It was also learnt that if other companies’ funds trapped in the banks as a result of the court order are added, it would run into tens of billions of naira.

    The Chairman of the House Committee, Hon. Patrick Ikhariale and his members including Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, promised to unravel the complexities in the case and seek ways to resolve the conflict.

    The presentations by the two distribution companies showed that the government is yet to release the budgetary allocations to them.

    Ikhariale stressed the need for the distribution companies to follow due process in the ongoing privatisation of the assets of the PHCN. He said such due process will not only boost investors’ confidence, but also enable the companies to know the cost incurred in carrying out their businesses and how to recoup their investment.

    The committee advocated that the Federal Government should have a stake in the power sector in spite of the privatisation programme. The chairman said there is nowhere the power distribution, generation and transmission is left for the private sector.

    He said: “The government must still have a stake in the power sector. The fact that privatisation of the power sector is ongoing does not mean the government should hands off its duties and responsibilities in the sector.”

  • GE, GEL to supply power to Port Harcourt refinery

    GE, GEL to supply power to Port Harcourt refinery

    To resolve the recurrent power supply challenge to the Port Harcourt Refinery Company, a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Genesis Electricity (GEL) in partnership with General Electric (GE) of United States, have commenced the implementation of gas-fired Captive Power Project (CPP) to guarantee quality and uninterrupted electric power supply to the refinery.

    Speaking during a courtesy call on the Group Executive Director, Refining and Petrochemical, NNPC, Mr. Anthony Ogbuigwe at the NNPC Towers Abuja, the Regional Sales Director, Middle East Africa, Cees-Jean de Maaker of General Electric, assured the readiness of the partnership to provide reliable and qualitative electric power supply to the refinery facility.

    De Maaker stated the excitement of GE to partner with a professional and competent local company such as Genesis Electricity Limited. He said that GE is committed to ensuring full technical support across the spectrum of power plant installation, commissioning and subsequent long term management of the operations of the Genesis Electricity’s captive power plant investment.

    The Chief Executive Officer of Genesis Electricity, Mr. Akinwole Omoboriowo said that the objective of the partnership is to provide sufficient power supply to the Port Harcourt Refinery, to guarantee efficient operations of the refinery. He assured Ogbuigwe that it has commenced the deployment of the best power technology in the world to refinery and would keep to the schedule of the arrangement.

    He said that the GE would install power plants, operate and maintain the power plants over several years, adding that part of their obligation is to train young engineers.

    Ogbuigwe said the NNPC looks forward to the day when power supply to the PHRC would be stable and expressed confidence in the ability of the public private initiative to deliver on the mandate. He noted that the power project was close to the heart of the NNPC and implored the GE to justify the confidence reposed in them.

    Other members of the team were Felix Achibiri, a Director of Genesis Electricity, Jasper Ogbonna, Vice President – Finance, Genesis Electricity, Longinus Okereke of General Electric and Amina Lawal, Assistant Legal Officer of Genesis Electricity.

  • PIB: NNPC begins transformation training for staff

    PIB: NNPC begins transformation training for staff

    As Nigerians are expectant that the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) would be passed into law before end of this year with the attendant transformation and restructuring of some existing processes, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has earnestly started training its workforce in preparation for the changes that would come with the passage of PIB.

    The corporation hired the services of an American-based consultancy firm – New Generation Consulting Resources and Solutions (NGCRS) based in Cresco, Pennsylvania, USA, to train the NNPC staff to be adaptable to the new NNPC that would come with passage of the bill.

    The corporation organised a weeklong training in Lagos for select staff drawn from its different departments and The Nation spoke with the Principal Consultant of NGCRS, Dr. Njideka Kelley on some of the issues.

    Kelley said: “The training is on change, reform and transparency and the participants are mid level to higher up cadres. As you know with the intended Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), NNPC has been very proactive in training their staff on change. The training would be able to reform the corporation because the PIB will restructure the NNPC and with all of that, the highlight will be on transparency because that is what will sustain the change and the reform practices that will come to NNPC. The first training we had for the NNPC was on improving organisational security, which was last year and we are taking the training to Delta State later this year for the Asaba Chamber of Commerce.”

    On the compliance level of the participants to the intended change, she said: “when we started on the first day, they had mixed feelings on whether change will truly be possible in NNPC considering where the country is coming from and what the society’s mindset is in terms of what constitutes value but by the time we rounded off, the level of compliance had improved tremendously.

    “The participants were a great group, very awesome, they were willing to learn. They gave their own assessment and feedback. The class was very participatory-oriented, with methodology in discussions, case studies and lectures, so as we give theories, we also give practical, which are real life examples. The participants were very compliant.”

    On whether there are plans to have an overseas part of this training so that participants can see what their counterparts in other developed countries do in terms of transparency, she said, we have not discussed that with NNPC but it is definitely worth giving a trial.

    The NGCRS chief advised the management of NNPC to continue to invest in their human capital development, which she noted doesn’t just mean sending them to training but also doing internal reviews and making sure that the resources that they put in towards training is received back through the application of the duties, functions, interpreting the core values.

    “In other words, the management has to make sure that the participants are assessed through tests and periodic reviews, examination, among others internally to ensure that the money the corporation spent to receive these principles are also received back by the staff by way of periodic reviews and application. All of these have to be inculcated into NNPC,” she added.

    To inculcate the right principle in the country’s workforce, the first is to create awareness, she said, adding you have to understand change by knowing and accepting that you want a change. You have to understand that you have a problem and want to solve it that is the first step. In keeping a change sustainable, you keep on emphasising where you were, where you are going, and where you are now. NNPC is not the way it was 20 years ago. There have been improvements, which have been developmental because they keep improving on them. But where we are going is a transformational change, she said.

    She also said the training would certainly bring a change that would make the corporation as competitive as other state owned oil companies such Statoil and Petrobras. “Because NNPC has recognised that there is a problem that needs to be solved and part of it is a cultural problem. It lies in the core values and principles of NNPC and the country as a whole because it is not news that Nigeria has social problem, which corruption is at the top. NNPC being a government entity is perceived to be part of that corruption. This may be true or false but if we want to take it from that point of view, we can say that NNPC is doing all that it can within its power to change given the external influences that sometimes are not conducive to business.

    “This is the reason they are investing in their human capital and make sure that people begin to understand that it will no longer be business as usual especially when the PIB is passed into law. The reformatory practices have to be put in place. They have to be transformed and that is the key. They must be transparent and those core values must have to be revisited. NNPC has to go back to the drawing board and look at the ways they had been doing business, look at their operations and technology and see how all of that will influence their bottomline and will start to make profit. To achieve this they have to streamline many things.”

  • Integrated Oil resumes operation

    It was cheery news for the downstream sector of the petroleum industry as the depots and head office of the Integrated Oil and Gas Limited have been unsealed for business after two weeks of being under lock and key.

    The company was sealed by the management of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) for accepting throughput arrangement for alleged stolen petroleum product.

    The members of staff of the company were excited for resuming business again. A staff of the company told The Nation that: “As you all are aware, on September 13th, 2012, armed men purported to be under NIMASA and GWVSL invaded Integrated Oil and Gas Limited tank farm located at Ibafon, Apapa, Lagos and occupied the premises.

    We took steps to notify all relevant agencies about the national security implication of this action.

    “However, we are glad to announce that on Wednesday September 26th, 2012 at about 12noon, the occupying army vacated our tank farm. We are therefore, grateful to God as we have repossessed our tank farm. We sincerely thank all Nigerians and our esteemed customers who stood by us in this trial. By the grace and mercy of God, we will always endeavour to stand on the part of truth.”

  • Gaslink upgrades odourisation system

    Gaslink Nigeria Limited, a natural gas distribution company, has begun upgrading of its odourising system at its facility on Jobi Fele Way, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos.

    The upgrade according to the company would last from 24 to 28 September. Odourisation is a global safety measure that involves the systematic injection of a synthetic odour into gas pipeline systems to help detect leakage.

    The planned exercise is a controlled process that uses a precision mechanism to prevent emissions. However, in the unlikely event that there is an emission of a pungent smell similar to that of a rotten egg, the public especially those living around Alausa, is hereby placed on notice to remain calm and please call 0700 GASLINK (0700 4275 465).

    Commenting on the planned exercise, Victor Dairo, Head Operations, Gaslink said: “As an ISO certified company, Gaslink takes the safety and environment requirements of its natural gas network very seriously.

    “As we commence the odourising exercise, the general public should be rest assured that we have put in place world-class safety measures required for this level of upgrade of our gas pipeline network.”

    Gaslink pioneered private sector distribution of natural gas to industries in Nigeria. The company has since built a 100km natural gas network in the Greater Lagos Area, connecting over 120 leading companies, which having experience reduction in their energy costs by as much as 75 percent. This has tremendously improved the profitability of the offtakers, making them globally competitive brands able to employ thousands of Nigerians.

  • NAPE frets over future of LNG business

    NAPE frets over future of LNG business

    The Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE) has expressed worry over the future of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) business, which Nigeria banks on as one of the major and future income sources.

    Technology is gradually eroding the anticipated prospects and hope of natural gas as a major income stream of the Federal Government.

    The association had at a press conference it held in Lagos to announce its plans for the forthcoming pre-conference workshop, which will hold in Lagos next week, said that development of shale gas is seriously threatening the future of LNG. The group particularly expressed fear that the development would stall new LNG projects in Nigeria.

    In his presentation, NAPE President, Dr. Mayowa Afe, who was represented by the President-elect, Mr. George Osahon, said: “Natural gas is the fastest growing energy resource in most regions of the world owing to its abundance and relatively low carbon content that makes it more environmentally acceptable compared to coal or crude oil.

    “However, gas transportation from producing locations to areas of consumption could be capital intensive which probably accounts for the large volume of stranded gas in the country. This encourages flaring while constraining its widespread utilisation in various industries including the power sector.

    “Development of shale gas in different parts of the world has become a game changer in the global energy mix, having forced the Henry Hub reference price of gas to less than $3 per million British thermal unit (Btu) from about $7/mBtu just a year earlier. The situation is likely to stall new LNG projects with implications for Nigeria’s huge gas resources.”

    The pre-conference workshop, which holds at Eko Hotel in Lagos, ushers in NAPE’s annual international conference and exhibition, which will also hold at the same venue between November 11 and 15.

    The theme of this year’s preconference is “The economic imperative for the local utilisation of Nigeria’s gas resources,” while the theme for the conference and exhibition is “Nigeria oil and gas exploration: the next frontier.”

    The Group Managing Director, NNPC, Andy Yakubu, Conoil Managing Director, Dr. Ebi Omatsola, President, Nigeria Gas Association, Chima Ibeneche, DPR Director, Osten Olorunsola, and Vice President Gas, Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited, Ubaka Emelumadu, will present papers at the pre-conference workshop.

    Topics to be discussed include international developments in the shale gas arena; domestic gas utilisation, challenges and opportunities, the journey thus far; and gas to petrochemicals: adding value for economic development.

    NAPE had over the years through the outcome of its pre-conferences, conferences and exhibitions influenced government’s policies on the oil and gas sector.

  • Firm acquires high-tech data processing equipment

    A indigenous oil and gas services firm, Verity Geosolutions Limited, said it has completed the installation of 240 Central Processing Unit (CPU) of power edge dual core servers, several high-end workstations, high capacity two phase Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) and Cisco-based telecommunication systems at its Lagos office to enhance hydrocarbon production.

    The Group Managing Director of the company, Yomi Adejonwo, in a statement made available to The Nation, said Verity Geosolutions is the first 100 percent Nigerian owned geophysical data processing company to provide its seismic imaging, interpretation, reservoir modeling and characterization, subsurface data management and geomatics services, to its customers in Nigeria and the West African sub-region.

    He said the equipment will provide oil and gas companies the opportunity to boost production and reduce their cost of exploration and development. The technology would also boost local development of advanced geophysical solutions in the oil and gas business in the country, he added.

    He said: “With the installation of this equipment, we are moving closer to the realization of our vision to be the leading provider of geophysical services in Nigeria and West Africa as well as meeting the increasing demand for our technologies.

    “Having worked in the oil and gas industry for several years, we saw an area where attention had not been paid and where we had acquired skills as Nigerians having worked with the international oil companies, so we felt we could bring the skills to the Nigeria oil and gas industry.

    “Our emphasis is to move away from being just commercial agents to foreign companies to bringing in our skills and investing in bringing these technologies down to Nigeria and that’s what we have done by acquiring this equipment. By so doing, we had put in place equipment that would be required to technologically advance in our own methods in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.”

    The equipment he added would give adequate provision of timely high-quality services in support of customers’ exploration and production activities.”

    He said the company offers 2D, 3D and 4D seismic acquisition support services as well as integrated geophysical processing and inversion services adding that the company services would allow hydrocarbon exploration and production companies to create value and optimize cost by reducing hydrocarbon exploration risks, improving oil well placements and improving understanding of producing reservoirs.

  • Group steers oil industry enlightenment campaign

    The Campaign for Growth in the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry (CGNOGI), a non-governmental organisation has launched a nationwide public enlightenment crusade aimed at providing public education and promote informed discourse on issues affecting the oil and gas industry.

    The group just published its maiden edition of the public enlightenment campaign and said the initiative became imperative in view of the need to ensure that all stakeholders have all the facts and can meaningfully contribute to public debate on issues. The NGO argued that for too long a small group of individuals and corporate bodies have consistently monopolized the discussion of issues for selfish interests, arguing that in this age of information explosion, there is need for citizens to be adequately informed.

    Explaining the rationale for the campaign, the group said the oil and gas sector is strategic to the aggregate economy; pointing out that anything that happens in the industry would easily have multiplier effect on other sectors.

    In view of this, the Executive Secretary of the group, Mallam Abubakar Kalto noted that rather than expedite the reform required moving the industry forward, the current debate over the provisions of the draft PIB, which is before the National Assembly is aggravating the challenges in the sector.

    According to him, the PIB is very important as it aims to overhaul the industry that has not been blessed with such legislation for several years. Contrary to the view of many operators that the PIB would scuttle their operations if allowed to pass into law, Kalto explained that the overhaul will touch on indigenous and foreign operators in the sector.

    The CGNOGI boss stated that the goal of the public enlightenment series is to put the record straight by educating the operators and investors alike about the critical issues that are causing what he called undue delay in the passage of the bill into law by the National Assembly.

    He said Nigeria has an estimated 37.1 billion barrels of oil in reserves and produces an average of over two million barrels per day in compliance with the allocated production quota from the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) while the gas reserves are in excess of 165 trillion cubic feet and like its oil, Nigeria’s gas is rich in liquids and low in sulphur.

    Kalto said the legal framework that has guided the industry to date is the Petroleum Act, which was enacted in 1969. The Act, he stated, vests the entire ownership and control of all petroleum in, under or upon any lands within the territory of Nigeria in the state. The legal framework, he noted, gives the power to grant the minister the exploration, prospecting and production rights. Aside the Petroleum Act, CGNOGI identified the Deep Offshore and Inland Basin Production Sharing Contracts Act No. 9, as another laws that govern the industry.

    Kalto said the modern legislation that is expected to bridge the gap is the draft 2012 PIB that is intended to spell out a new legal framework that would govern the operations and activities of the oil and gas industry.