The Nation Newspaper

Category: Energy

  • Eland Oil raises N29.5b to buy Nigeria’s OML 40

    Scottish firm, Eland Oil and Gas has successfully raised N29.5 billion (118 million pounds) to buy some shares in Oil Mining Lease (OML) 40 in Nigeria. This was after being listed in the Alternative Investment Market (AIM ) in London, three years after the company was founded.

    OML 40 covers some 500 square kilometres and is located onshore in the Niger Delta and contains light ‘sweet’ oil. Since 1964, 18 wells have been drilled there, with 15 finding hydrocarbons. One field, Opuama, was formerly in production for over 30 years, from 1975 to 2006.

    Eland plans to target production from existing wells at Opuama that will be restarted at an expected initial gross rate of at least 2,500 barrels of oil per day (bopd) in the next six months.

    By late 2013, the company also plans to explore two wells. Within four years, it hopes to reach gross production of 50,000 bopd. The company also seeks to acquire and develop under-exploited upstream assets in Nigeria.

    “OML 40 is an asset with production and exploration potential and with independently certified gross recoverable 2P Reserves of 71.5 million barrels, 3P Reserves of 117 million barrels in the Opuama and Gbetiokun Fields and Mean Contingent Resources of a further 16.7 million barrels in the Abiala and Ugbo Fields,” an official of the company said.

    Expressing his gratitude to the company’s shareholders, Les Blair, CEO of Eland Oil & Gas, said: “I am extremely grateful to the shareholders of the company who have supported us to complete this milestone transaction. The fundraising of £118 million is the largest on an AIM IPO for over three years and highlights the exciting prospects for OML 40 and Nigeria as a whole.”

    The 45 per cent stake acquired by Eland and Starcrest Nigeria Energy Limited in OML 40 was previously held by Royal Dutch Shell, Total and Eni-Agip. Shell owned 30 per cent stake in the joint venture for OML 40 while Total Exploration and Production held 10 per cent and Agip Oil held five per cent and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) held 55 per cent.
    The Federal Government and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC granted all relevant approvals for the sale of the 45 per cent interest to the buyers.
    Shell JV sold the 45 per cent interest in OML 40 to Elcrest Exploration and Production Nigeria (EEPN) for $102 million. EEPN is a consortium of Starcrest Nigeria Energy and Eland Oil and Gas.

    With the purchase, Eland will own an initial 20.25 percent, with 24.75 percent held by its Nigerian joint venture partner, Starcrest. The remaining 55 percent is held by the Nigerian government through NNPC subsidiary – National Petroleum Development Company.

    Commenting on the sale, Shell Nigeria Country Chairman Mutiu Sunmonu said the divestment is part of the company’s strategy to refocus its asset portfolio. “SPDC is positioned well for investment and growth opportunities in all areas, including domestic gas, which will be delivered with the support of our government, partners and the people of Nigeria,” he added.

  • NAPE to Ondo: Exploit other solid minerals

    The Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE) has advised the Ondo State government to exploit other minerals in the state other than crude oil.
    President of NAPE Dr. Mayowa Afe when the association paid a courtesy call on the state Governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko at the government house Alagbaka Akure, said only three out of 11 minerals in the state are categorised as strategic, while the remaining don’t get the required attention.

    Afe said: “The Geological Survey of Nigeria has identified eleven solid minerals in the state. Only three which are bitumen, coal and limestone are categorized as on the Federal Government’s strategic minerals for development while others – kaolin, gemstone, gypsium, feldspar, granite, clay, glass-sand, and dimension stones, are classified as non strategic.

    “There is need to ensure these strategic minerals are evaluated and exploited to its full benefit for the state and the federation.
    “Ondo is also known to have the largest deposit of tar sand in the country and if the contents of the proposed Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) is anything to go by, this huge resource will soon be managed by the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and who knows, the state could become a force in the area of bitumen production with the potential of making the state an investment haven. I therefore urge your Excellency to argue the transfer of this asset from solid minerals to petroleum ministry as it is done in other parts of the world.”

    Afe in a statement also explained what the association stands for and the need for the state to partner. “NAPE is a foremost professional organization in the oil and gas industry committed to promoting the teaching and practice of the geosciences in relation to the exploration and exploitation of petroleum resources. As explorationists, our ideas indeed find oil and gas.

    “The membership of the association includes students in tertiary institutions and individual practitioners, government institutions as well as operators in the oil and gas industry, mining industry and other energy sector. Established in 1975, NAPE is an affiliate of the American Association of Petroleum Association (AAPG) with membership spread across the globe.

    I am pleased to inform you that the current President of NAPE, Dr. Mayowa Afe is from Akure, Ondo State.
    “One of the goals of the association is to visit tertiary institutions as well as corporate and government institutions that employ geoscientists in different parts of the country to drum up support for our Annual International Conference and Exhibition(AICE) that comes up in November this year. Based on the involvements of the State in exploration and production activities and its vast oil and gas resources, a substantial part of which is yet to be exploited, the association is extending its hand of fellowship to the state for mutually beneficial relationship.”

    “It is important to let you know that as a state with an Exploration and Production company, i.e. Owena Oil and Gas which owns 45 percent in Ororo field and substantial interest in OML 241, in deepwater Dahomey basin, the State is an ally of the association and a potential corporate member of NAPE. Ondo state also has several tertiary institutions where the geosciences are taught and therefore captures the attention of the association as a fertile ground for attracting young geoscientists to NAPE.”
    NAPE also advised the state government to ensure well demarcated/defined and established coastal boundaries with others because of the issue of offshore dichotomy up to/beyond 200 metres water depth and also insist Federal Government retains the current fiscal agreement on offshore dichotomy.”

  • PHCN Molete relocates to Oluyole Industrial Estate (part 2)

    The executive and legislative arms of government should come together and harmonise their varying positions on the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) regardless of the number of versions in circulation.

    The advice was given by the former Senior Special Adviser to Dr. Goodluck Jonathan on Literacy programmes, Dr Kune Igoni, who criticised the politicisation of the matter.
    He said that the passage of the bill shouldn’t be a Herculean task if only the executive and legislative arms of government would come together and harmonise their varying positions on the bill.

    In an interview with The Nation in Lagos, Igoni said it was rather inconceivable that the country is still contemplating the passage of a bill five years after its creation at a time when other countries are churning out programmes to enhance new technology and discoveries such as the shale gas.

    Recalling how the bill had started generating controversies since birth, Igoni said: “It all started from the period of Dr. Rilwan Lukman’s revered oil and gas reform committee’s report of 2008, which led to the first Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).

    The issues raised in that bill are fundamental as well as controversial in some cases, but the issue remains that, politics took the larger part of all the controversies. What we now see is that some interest groups are working hard to make sure the bill does not succeed, thereby making new investment in the petroleum sector difficult.

    “And based on the so called controversies, the Federal government has had to set up a federal inter-agency committee, which was headed by Dr. Timothy Okon to review the bill. The outcome of the report again, caused more controversies, rather than solving it. The Senate also set up its committee to review the document in 2011 and the House of Representative followed suit and submitted its version in 2011.However, it is unfortunate that we are still foot-dragging on the bill till this day because we want a perfect document which is not obtainable anywhere in the world.

    “But the truth of the matter is that both the executive and legislative arms of government are elected to represent the interest of the people. It is therefore not acceptable that both arms cannot come to agreement in passing the bill, even if we have one thousand versions of it. The first bill, as it were, seeks to replace all the existing petroleum industry acts that provides for the management of fiscal policies in the oil and gas sector.

    “When one critically examines the objectives of the bill, it covers very fundamental areas including deregulation, funding and restructuring of the NNPC, enhancement of exploration, production and exploitation, thereby setting out to eliminate funding bottlenecks and unnecessary bureaucracies, thereby encouraging investments in the sector.”

    He admitted that as varying and imperfect as the different versions of the document are, one interesting thing is that they all have clauses and provisions for protecting the immediate environments.

    “We must appreciate the fact that the various versions of the draft bill have clauses meant to protect the immediate environments. I mean the oil and gas producing areas. Even if the bill is in- adequate for now, clauses in the bill such as the setting up of the Petroleum Host Communities Fund (PHCF) wherein 10 percentage of the net profit of the oil and gas companies is set aside in the pool for the development of the host communities as well setting a deadline to end gas flaring are highly welcomed as they would help protect the health and safety of the environment.”

    He said the 223-page document is a proactive piece of legislation, which also seek to promote transparency and openness in the administration of policies in the Nigerian oil and gas industry and most importantly, deregulating and liberalising the downstream sector.

    He said the country cannot afford to continue to lose investments in the hydrocarbon industry by the non-passage of the bill, which is meant to engender reforms for the country to take full advantages of its resources and potentials.

    Doing so according to him, would mean hampering commercial and employment opportunities in the country as investments would be driven away to other investment friendly countries such as Ghana, Angola, Libya and even South Sudan.

    He, therefore, called on the executive and legislative arms to articulate thoughts and make necessary amendments on the grey areas of the bill with the intention of passing the bill on time for the industry to start witnessing the free flow of investments.

  • PHCN Molete relocates to Oluyole Industrial Estate

    The Power Holding Company of Nigeria Plc, Molete Business Unit under Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company, has relocated from its former office at Orita Challenge, Ibadan to an office complex along 7up Road, Oluyole Industrial Estate, Ibadan.

    The Senior Manager, Public Affairs, Molete Business Unit, Mr. Tokunbo Peters said the office complex is part of the multi million naira edifice built by the management of Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company as part of its effort to provide a conducive business environment for its customers and employees.

    The new office complex according to the statement, has a modern cash office for the payment of electricity bills and a standard and fully equipped customer care centre where customers can lodge complaints bothering on billing, metering and power supply.

    While addressing the staff of the Business Unit, the Business Manager, Mr. James Osikoya, an engineer, said Molete Business Unit was being repositioned to serve its customers better. He enjoined the employees to brace up to the challenges of providing total quality service to the company’s customers.

    He implored the company’s customers at Oluyole, Elebu, Challenge, Odo-Ona and environs to visit the new office complex for the transaction of business and experience the customer friendly atmosphere.

  • Oando’s rig marks three years of uninterrupted operation

    Oando Energy Services Limited (OESL), a subsidiary of Oando Plc, said its swamp drilling rig has recorded a safety milestone of three years of continuous operations without a Lost Time Injury (LTI) on its flagship rig, OES Integrity, last month.

    The achievement, the Head, Corporate Communications, Meka Olowola said, reflects Oando’ s commitment to health, safety, and environment (HSE) values, and affirms the company’s determination to remain a leading service provider in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry. LTI is an industry key performance indicator (KPI), which measures adherence to safety and environmental requirements by evaluating the number of injury-bearing incidents capable of preventing a worker from performing or continuing with a task or resulting in downtime in operations.

    OES Integrity rig was contracted to a leading international oil company in December 2009 and has successfully drilled, completed and worked over more than 14 wells, without any show-stopping incident. With a 3,000 hp modern swamp barge equipped with 15,000 psi Blowout Preventers (BOP), OES Integrity is the only rig in Nigeria capable of drilling in high pressure/high temperature (HPHT) wells to depths of 30,000 feet.

    Commenting, Mr Badejo Bandele, Chief Executive Officer, OESL said: “We are pleased with this feat achieved on the strength of our zero tolerance policy for stopping incidents in all our operations. The OES Integrity team has demonstrated their competence in world-class drilling operations and sound HSE values. We are committed to delivering consistent value to our clients’ drilling operations to the highest safety standards.”

    Chief Environment, Health, Safety Security and Quality (EHSSQ) Officer, Oando PLC Mr Chijoke Akwukwuma, said: “The health and safety of our employees are of the utmost importance to us. We strive to always be a bastion in oil and gas operations in terms of safety and environmental-friendliness, and we ensure our employees are always well-versed in the Oando culture of uncompromised safety and environment protection. We are committed to deploying best practice that meets global standards across our operations in conformity with world-class aspirations.”

    Oando has embraced vibrant policies and procedures covering product quality, safety, environment, health, security and emergency readiness to ensure that all its operations meet international safety requirements, guided by its “14 life-saving rules.” The company according to the statement, has a robust and strong environment, health and safety framework for employees that include training, regulatory certifications and a “stop work” policy which empowers employees to halt an operation on the account of unsafe work conditions. In addition, it hosts an annual safety week to deepen awareness and strengthen an incidence-free work life culture.

    OESL have three major offerings, which include drilling and completion fluids services, drill bits and engineering services, and drilling rigs.
    The company has five swamp rigs – OES Teamwork, OES Respect, OES Integrity, OES Passion and OES Professionalism – making it the largest swamp rigs fleet operator in Nigeria.

  • New Petroleum Industry Bill – An analysis

    The draft revised version of the Petroleum Industry Bill has finally been presented to the National Assembly and will hopefully be passed into Law without the necessity of any further amendments.

    The process was started in 2007 by the government of former President Olusegun Obasanjo on a realization that there was an urgent need to completely overhaul the oil and gas industry given the wanton ineptitude and gross inefficiency inherent in the system and especially in the operations of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), which rendered it incapable of meeting the aspirations for which it was set up.

    It is pertinent to note that the NNPC’s broad objectives included amongst others; participating in all stages and areas of the upstream and downstream energy sector; participating on behalf of the Federal Government in petroleum activities; performing regulatory functions; engaging in activities to enhance the petroleum industry with an overall mission to drive Nigeria’s economic and technical advancement, leveraging the country’s valuable petroleum resources.

    The NNPC became a hydra headed monster, performing the roles of regulator, operator, buyer and seller of oil and petroleum products and also a service provider. The consequence is an oil and gas industry that is bogged down by excessive government interference, bureaucracy, non-market pricing regimes, gross corruption and poor management.

    The former President Obasanjo set up the Oil and Gas Reform Implementation Committee (OGIC) to make viable proposals on how to overhaul the system with a view to making NNPC more efficient in its operations as a commercial entity. The findings of that committee were not implemented to the letter.

    The administration of former President Musa Yar’Adua continued this process by setting up the Lukman panel to address the plethora of issues that plagued the industry and importantly to define the legal regulatory and institutional framework that will govern activities in the industry especially the operations of the NNPC with a directive to maximise Nigeria’s interest. The report formed the basis of the first Petroleum Industry Bill of 2008.

    On coming to power, President Goodluck Jonathan followed the footsteps of president Yar’Adua to drive the reforms in the sector and create an industry that will usher Nigeria as one of the most industrialized countries in the world by the year 2020. The policy objective is to create an industry whose operations are transparent, highly efficient, corrupt free, competitive and in conformity with international best practice. There is also a policy goal to maximise Nigeria’s interest from the exploitation of its hydro carbon resource.

    The draft PIB repeals all existing laws and regulations governing the industry and is a comprehensive law governing all aspects of the oil and gas industry enshrining the principles of transparency, efficiency, competition and above all national interest.

    The first part of the Act deals with objectives which are stated as follows:
    •Create a conducive business environment for petroleum operations;
    Issues:
    This objective captures the need to create an enabling environment for investors and investments in the country. It is pertinent to point out that this will only be actualized when the current security challenge in the country is effectively contained.

    • Enhance exploration and exploitation of petroleum resources in Nigeria for the benefit of the Nigerian people;
    Issues:
    This objective makes the exploitation of the hydro carbon resource for the benefit of the Nigerian people a cardinal principle given the fact that the Nigerian people have not derived any significant benefit from oil operations since commercial discovery in 1950. It is hoped that the structures and institutions put in place in the new law will drive this objective.

    •Optimise domestic gas supplies particularly for power generation and industrial development;
    Issues:
    This is in line with government’s interventionist approach to stimulate gas supply obligation to ensure that there is supply to meet growing domestic demand projected to grow to 2 billion cubic feet per day of gas by the end of 2011.

    •Establish a progressive fiscal framework that encourages further investment in the petroleum industry whilst optimising revenues accruing to the Government;
    Issues:
    This seeks to strike a balance between investor and host government interest, given their diametrically opposing interests. For the investor, a fiscal regime that guarantees rewards commensurate with risks is vitally important while the host government seeks to maximize its revenues from oil and gas operations.

    •Establish commercially oriented and profit driven oil and gas entities;
    Issues:

    This is in line with the full commercialisation of NNPC to operate as a limited liability company with a profit driven mandate which will lead to good governance and high efficiency
    • Deregulate and liberalise the downstream petroleum sector;

    Issues:

    This is a welcome development to rid the downstream sector of government interference, stem fraud and corruption and introduce competition. It is hoped that government will demonstrate the political will to completely remove subsidy.
    •Create efficient and effective regulatory agencies;

    Issues:

    The bane of the industry includes gross inefficiency, weak regulatory institutions, endemic corruption and overall poor management. A new face of the industry with high efficiency and effectiveness of its regulatory institutions is certainly welcome. It is hoped that the institutions created under the Act will deliver on this objective.
    •Promote transparency and openness in the administration of the petroleum resources of Nigeria;
    Issues:

    This objective if implemented will institutionalize international best practice and boost investor confidence.
    • Promote the development of Nigerian Content in the petroleum industry
    Issues:

    As I stated in my recent analysis of the Nigerian Content Act, the PIB is a superstructure upon which the Nigerian Content Act is based. The PIB and LC Act are therefore mutually inclusive and coterminous. The PIB in supporting the Act confers the same benefits as the NC Act and provides for those categories of contracts which now fall within the domain of Nigerian indigenous companies and also for the training and participation of Nigerians in all aspects of the oil and gas industry.
    • Protect health, safety and environment in the course of petroleum operations;
    Issues:

    The protection of health, safety and the environment has become a central focus of oil and gas operations globally and continues to be on the front burner. There is provision for the early remediation of health, safety and environmental problems and an obligation on all operators to develop environmental management plans as well as pay compensation for damage to the environment.A very welcome development that will check environmental degradation especially in the Niger Delta.

    •Attain such other objectives to promote a viable and sustainable petroleum industry in Nigeria.

    Part 11 of the Act establishes key institutions.

    • Petroleum Technical Bureau – Section 9.
    This is a special unit in the office of the Minister and shall consist of professionals with expertise in the upstream and downstream sectors of the petroleum industry. It replaces the former Frontier Exploration Services of NNPC. Functions include: to provide technical and professional support to the minister on matters relating to the petroleum industry amongst others.

    • Upstream Petroleum Inspectorate – Section 13.
    This replaces the former DPR, with the objectives to promote the efficient safe effective and sustainable infrastructural development of the upstream sector of the petroleum industry amongst others.

    Its functions include: to administer and enforce policies, laws and regulations relating to all aspects of upstream petroleum operations which are assigned to it under any law. It is also to enforce compliance with the terms and conditions of all leases, licences, permits in respect of upstream petroleum operations amongst others.

    Issues:
    This function clearly overlaps with the functions of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board and may result in conflict in carrying out their duties. It is hoped that the two institutions will work harmoniously.
    • Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Agency – Section 43
    It takes over the functions of the Petroleum Pricing and Regulatory Agency and the Directorate of Petroleum Resources. Its main function is to administer and enforce policies, laws and regulations relating to all aspects of downstream petroleum operations as may be assigned it by law.

    • Petroleum Technology Development Fund – Section 73.
    S. 76 states that the purpose of the fund shall be for training Nigerians to qualify as graduates, professionals, technicians and craftsmen in the fields of engineering, geology, science and other related fields in the petroleum industry and in particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, the funds shall be utilized inter – alia to (a) provide scholarships and bursaries, wholly or partially in universities, institutions and in petroleum undertakings in Nigeria or abroad.
    Issues:

    Note that this law is saved in the new Act. Its key function is to apply the Development Funds for development of petroleum technology, capacities and capabilities or the training and education of Nigerians in the petroleum industry.

    It is hoped that there will be a transparent, equitable and just system that ensures access of qualified Nigerians to the Fund. Equally, it is expected that the Funds will drive Research and Development and capacity building in the industry and Nigeria as a whole thereby serving as a catalyst for Nigeria’s technological and economic development. The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board must of necessity work closely with the Fund to ensure maximum success.

    •Ms Obua, a solicitor with over 20 years experience, is from the University of Dundee. She practices in the UK and also a partner at EN&N Legal Practitioners Victoria Island Lagos and can be reached at efuru@ennlawfirm.com/ eobua@hotmail.com

  • Shell to construct world’s first oil sands CCS project

    Shell Company has said it would go ahead with the first carbon capture and storage (CCS) project for an oil sands operation in Canada. The Quest project will be built on behalf of the Athabasca Oil Sands Project joint venture owners (Shell, Chevron and Marathon Oil) and with support from the Governments of Canada and Alberta.

    In a statement issued by the company, its Chief Executive Officer, Peter Voser, explained that CCS is critical to meeting the huge projected increase in global energy demand while reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. “If you want to achieve climate change goals, CCS has to be part of the solution. We are helping to advance CCS technology on a number of fronts around the world, but Quest will be our flagship project,” he added.

    Alberta’s oil sands are a secure, reliable source of energy and an economic engine which drives employment, training and business development across Canada and beyond.“We will need all sources of energy to meet world demand in the coming decades,” Voser noted adding that lower CO2 energy sources will grow, but even by 2050 at least 65 per cent of our energy will still come from fossil fuels, so CCS will be important to manage climate impacts.

    The Athabasca Oil Sands project produces bitumen, which is piped to Shell’s Scotford Upgrader near Edmonton, Alberta. From late 2015, Quest will capture and store deep underground more than one million tonnes a year of CO2 produced in bitumen processing. Quest will reduce direct emissions from the Scotford Upgrader by up to 35 per cent – the equivalent of taking 175,000 North American cars off the road annually.

    “Quest is another example of how we are using technology and innovation to improve the environmental performance of our oil sands operations,” said Shell Executive Vice President of Heavy Oil, John Abbott. “The opportunity Quest provides to reduce emissions from our upgrading activities is an important achievement in itself, but the project’s technical and strategic value reaches beyond the emissions it will capture.”

    “Quest is important because it is a fully integrated project that will demonstrate existing capture, transportation, injection and storage technologies working together for the safe and permanent storage of CO2. The knowledge it provides will help to enable much wider and more cost-effective application of CCS through the energy industry and other sectors in years to come.”

    Both the Canadian federal and Albertan provincial governments have identified CCS as an important technology in their strategies to reduce CO2 emissions. The Alberta government will invest $745 million in Quest from a $2 billion fund to support CCS, while the Government of Canada will invest $120 million through its Clean Energy Fund.

    “We will continue to invest in innovative clean energy technologies such as the Shell Quest project to help support high-quality jobs and responsible development of Canada’s energy resources,” said the Honourable Joe Oliver, Minister of Natural Resources. “Carbon capture and storage has the potential to help us balance our need for energy with our need to protect the environment.”

    “Today’s announcement reaffirms Alberta’s position as a global leader in carbon capture and storage,” said Energy Minister Ken Hughes. “Technologies like CCS will play an instrumental role in helping to lower greenhouse gas intensity from the oil sands and demonstrate to the world Alberta’s commitment to responsible energy development,” he added.

    The International Energy Agency (IEA) calls CCS “a crucial part of worldwide efforts to limit global warming” and estimates that it could deliver about one-fifth of necessary worldwide reductions in greenhouse gases by 2050. Shell is also working with governments and experts to help the development of CCS in other countries, including projects in Norway and Australia.

     

     

  • Group recommends measures to boost petroleum sector

    A group, National Society of Chemical Engineers (NSChE), has urged the Federal Government to divest majority shareholding in the three existing refineries in the country in order to restore them to full capacity.

    Its National President, Dr. John Erinne, who spoke at a press conference in Lagos, said competent private investors with strong technical and financial capabilities as well as track record in petroleum refining be allowed to revive the Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna refineries.

    He said the government should also implement the proposed 350,000 barrels per day Lekki refinery to ensure adequate refining capacity that would meet the growing demand for petroleum products in the country, even as he advised that the proposed refineries for Bayelsa and Kogi should be explored subsequently.

    He said: “Nigeria indeed has the potentials of becoming a regional petroleum refining hub in West Africa and a net exporter of petroleum products in the next seven years with consistent commitment to these remedial measures.

    “The Pipelines and Product Marketing Company (PPMC), the Strategic Business Unit (SBU) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) responsible for the network of pipelines and infrastructure for supply of crude oil to the refineries and distribution of petroleum products nationwide, should be separated from NNPC and transformed into a new holding company which should act commercially and should be mandated to concession various aspects of the operations to competent private sector operators under clearly defined terms.”

    On the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), Erinne called on the legislature and executive to without further delay; enact it, even as he objected to the proposal for the retention of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, which he says will run parallel with the new Petroleum Technical Bureau (PTB).

    Erinne proposed a National Petroleum Directorate to accommodate both bodies and maintained that the creation of two regulatory bodies in the oil and gas Industry would be a wasteful duplication and would lead to confusion.

  • Drogba vows to remain in China

    Drogba vows to remain in China

    FORMER Chelsea striker Didier Drogba has expressed his desire to help the Ivory Coast win the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations by staying in China and playing competitive football.

    The Shanghai Shenhua striker scored a penalty in a 4-2 qualification victory over Senegal in Abidjan on Saturday, and put the minds of all his fans at ease by stressing that he not only intends to stay in Asia, but also to help his country to glory, should they come through the second leg unscathed.

    “For the Africa Cup of Nations 2013, I will do everything in order to remain competitive while in China. Don’t worry,” he told L’Equipe before the game.
    “My start has generated good and bad reviews but I’ve always taken on my choices.”

    The 34-year-old made good on his word, helping his side twice fight back from a losing position to put themselves in the driving seat ahead of October’s decider.
    With the scores tied at 2-2, Drogba stepped up to convert a late penalty, before Max Gradel added a fourth goal with five minutes left on the clock.