The Nation Newspaper

Category: Energy

  • Solar: Steven energy to bridge capacity gap

    Solar: Steven energy to bridge capacity gap

    Steven Energy Institute has expressed the readiness to create a pool of well-trained people that would join in the solar revolution.

    Its Registrar,  Ebami Arogboritse, said the institute had undertaken a curriculum development, sponsored consultants to various countries to understudy them, studied the sector and the manpower needs before the curriculum was developed for the country.

    According to him, the institute interfaced with the National Board for Technical Education, to ensure the requirements were provided, facilities and equipment put in place, adding that no other training centre for renewable energy like his.

    Such equipment, he said, included a simulator to test electrical performance parameters and integrity of solar panels; a Spectroradiometer integrating sphere system to check LED Bulbs quality, Lab-to-field solar design and installation systems and also a well packaged financing and entrepreneurship model to ensure immediate integration into the clean energy industry upon graduation.

    President, Renewable Energy Association of Nigeria (REAN), Dr. Segun Adaju, noted that to install one megawatt of solar plant, at no fewer than 20 installers would be required. He, therefore, stressed the  need to provide the requisite capacity and manpower expertise so that Nigeria could scale up and provide better services to the industry.

    He noted that the demand was increasing because more power plants were coming yearly hence the need to close the gap very fast.

    “You see them bringing their people, they are the ones doing the jobs, and we are saying no, Nigerians can do the job. So, this calls for the need to build the capacity for more people to have the certification/qualification to do solar in Nigeria,” Adaju added.

  • Deepening women participation in oil and gas

    Deepening women participation in oil and gas

    As part of its commitment to deepen women’s participation in the oil and gas industry, the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has hosted the Nigerian Content Consultative Forum (NCCF) Diversity Sectoral Working Group Conference, MUYIWA LUCAS writes that the conclusions at the event are set to usher in a new vista for women in the sector.

    It was a gathering of egg heads in the oil and gas sector. For these stakeholders in a predominantly male dominated sector, the Nigerian Content Consultative Forum’s (NCCF) Diversity Sectoral Working Group Conference presented the opportunity to celebrate and further accentuate the women professionals in the sector.

    The conference, which held in Lagos, was themed: “Leveraging opportunities for women in the oil and gas industry.”

    According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), women make up 48 per cent of the global labour force, but only account for 22 per cent in it and 32 per cent in renewables.

        Women in oil and gas

    The Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Simbi Wabote, said the Board is committed to women participation in the industry.

    For instance, he recalled that in October 2019, the NCDMB announced that it would formulate gender-friendly policies aimed at increasing access to funding, award of contracts and support for research and development, for the benefit of women operators in the industry.

    He said since the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act was instituted to get more Nigerians into the industry, there should also be special initiatives to encourage women participation in the sector.

    Wabote quoted statistics by the Global Energy Talent Index Report which indicated that there is a chronic shortage of women in the industry. He said: “It is estimated that women occupy about 50 per cent of non-technical positions at entry-level compared to only 15 per cent of technical and field role positions.

    “Gender diversity decreases with seniority with only a tiny proportion of women in executive positions. The percentage of women in the industry drops over time from 36 per cent to 24 per cent between the middle and executive level.”

    He said NCDMB will review its strategy on the Nigerian Content Intervention Fund (NCI Fund), adding: “Access to finance is very important and we will look at our policy to see how we can support women who are serious to do business.”

    The Executive Secretary assured that the Board would work with project promoters to ensure the award of  contracts to companies owned by women, including the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Train 7 project.

    “Of the total number trained by the Board, women constitute about 20 per cent and we hope to increase the number to meet up the industry skilled labour demand,” the NCDMB boss said.

    The Chairman, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited, Mrs Margery Chuba-Okadigbo, stressed the significance of women in the industry, saying it is germane for growth.

    She saw the dire need for more provision for women in strategic positions to boost growth. “There is no better time to promote this forum than now, especially with the passage of the PIA,” says Mrs Chuba-Okadigbo.

        NCIF’s $200m initiative

    Still, in 2017, the Board in partnership with the Bank of Industry (BOI), launched a $200million Nigerian Content Intervention Fund (NCIF) to provide low-cost and accessible credit to service companies.

    Wabote, in an interview last year, noted that almost 85 per cent of the fund has been accessed by Nigerian companies. It has about five products: equipment financing, contract financing, manufacturing, loan refinancing and community contractor refinancing. The loan interest rate, which is fixed at eight per cent with five years as repayment period and one-year moratorium, has enabled most companies to refinance their loans.

    The Governing Council of the Board at its meeting in June 2020 approved the expansion of the NCIF  from $200 million to $350 million. The Council chaired by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipreye Sylva, approved that $100 million from the additional funds would be deployed in boosting the five-loan products of the NCI Fund.

    Similarly, the Council also approved that $20 million and $30 million  should be deployed in two new loan products – the Intervention Fund for Women in Oil & Gas and the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN) Products, which include working capital loans and capacity building loans for PETAN member companies.

    As part of the Board’s response to ameliorate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Governing Council approved the reduction of the interest rate from eight to six per cent yearly for four of the loans in April 2020. The Board also extended the moratorium for loans. So far, some companies managed by women have benefited from the NCI Fund because of the NCDMB’s deliberate actions to ensure that.

        $40m intervention fund

    Last year, the NCDMB and the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM) rolled out a $40 million intervention fund for women entrepreneurs. Both partners’ equity contribution to the fund is shared equally.  The fund covered manufacturing, oil service contracts, environment management, leasing, logistics, catering and training.

    The target beneficiaries are firms where women hold a majority shareholding of 51 per cent or where at least 50 per cent of management are women or where the chief executive officers and at least 40 per cent of management are women.

    According to Wabote, the maximum amount that could be borrowed by a single obligor is $500,000. He said the tenor shall be up to five years and the applicable interest rate would be five per cent all-in yearly, fixed throughout the tenor of the loan. The maximum processing time shall be 21 working days from the date the applicant has provided the required documentation and applications shall be through the web.

    NEXIM Managing Director, Abubakar Bello, said the partnership with the Board fits into its framework for supporting inclusion as well as its strategy to grow the service industry in Nigeria and take it to the point of export to the West African region and other oil and gas economies.

        Inauguration of diversity SWG

    Last year, the NCDMB inaugurated the Diversity Sectoral Working Group (DSWG) at a virtual engagement of the NCCF, a body set up by the NOGICD Act to facilitate the collaboration of stakeholders and the development of ideas for the advancement of content.

    Wabote said the  SWG was a product of the Women in Oil & Gas workshop organised by the Board in October 2019 aimed at the Diversity SWG  to improve the participation of women in the industry as well as to promote all-inclusive gender policies.

    Stressing that Sections 57 and 58 of the NOGICD Act 2010 supported the creation of a platform for sharing information and to serve as a ‘think-tank’ to develop policies and implement frameworks that will achieve sustainable development of the content.

    The Chairperson DSWG, Mrs. Alero Onosode, commended the women in the industry for a platform to meet minds, make a case, and become a force for change in the lives. While conceding that women have achieved so much in the sector, Mrs Onosode urged the women to roll up their sleeves.

    She said: “The industry remains pivotal to the change that we want to see in our country and the world. The energy transition offers more opportunities to all women today. That change will only come when we get new creative energy around the table and new solutions to the problem ahead of us.”

    Mrs Onosode, however, cautioned that if anything new was to be birthed  in the industry, it would take the coming together of men and women. “We must face it with preparedness, resilience and fortitude. Now that we are getting ourselves ready, we must take our place now,” she said.

  • Sahara Power promotes sustainability with gree’n’lectric

    Sahara Power promotes sustainability with gree’n’lectric

    The launch of gree’n’lectric, a  digital publication which promotes environmental sustainability will bolster Sahara Power Group’s resolve to seek environmentally-relevant options and solutions in its operations, Director, Governance and Sustainability, Ejiro Gray, has said.

    At the launch of the publication at Egbin Power Plant, Gray said Sahara Power, a Sahara Group company, which connects over 30 million homes to power in the nation, considers access to clean, safe, and reliable energy as critical goals of the organisation.

    According to Gray: “Gree’n’lectric is one of the vehicles of sharing our journey to green, as we articulate our efforts and plans towards addressing global sustainability concerns. Our business daily impacts and is impacted by natural, social, and human capital interests on which the sustainability of our people and the planet depend. We believe that these interests must be tackled head-on with unwavering accountability and responsibility to provide assurance for a better tomorrow.”

    She said Sahara Power’s commitment to protecting the integrity of the environment remained unwavering and generational through the involvement of young students and entrepreneurs in sustainability conversations and interventions. Israel Anyanwu, a student at Powerfields Group of Schools, Egbin said young Nigerians are increasingly becoming aware of the need to be part of the process of safeguarding the environment. “We are studying hard to contribute our quota while observing basic practices that helps to protect the environment,” he said.

    Gray said Sahara Power was exploring and investing in several renewable energy solutions to boost power generation and distribution mix, in a bid to ensure the company continues to “bring energy to life responsibly.”

    She noted that Sahara Power entities, including Egbin Power Plc, Ikeja Electric and First Independent Power Limited (FIPL) hinge their operations on emission reduction, resource efficiency, business ethics, health and safety, as well as inclusion and diversity.

    “With the deployment of electric buggies and scooters, bicycles and a robust walk-to-work initiative, Egbin Power has reduced the use of fossil fuel vehicles in the facility, cutting off the emission of 670,000kg of CO2 annually. We have also planted over 1000 trees, cut paper consumption, saved 105KWH from reduced printing and continue to digitalise our operations to secure the environment. Ikeja Electric pioneered the first e-billing initiative in the power sector and has safety certifications that reinforce our commitment to sustainability,” she said.

    “As we continue to scale our operations to meet expected global economic expansion and parallel increase in energy demand, sustainability will remain the driver of our operations, with a firm commitment to measuring, monitoring, and communicating our progress to our stakeholders,” Gray concluded.

     

     

  • EKEDC partners IRecharge on easy payment

    EKEDC partners IRecharge on easy payment

    Consumers on the Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) has launched its  payment platform in partnership with IRecharge Tech-Innovations-a payment solutions platform provider, to ease payment of bills.

    EKEDC’s Managing Director, Dr Tinuade Sanda, noted that the firm seeks to improve the quality of life for its customers by using technology to supply electricity.

    According to her, the new payment  platform will ensure  its postpaid and prepaid customers pay their bills and purchasing their prepaid meter tokens without hassles, adding that the new service enables customers to make their frequent utility bill payments through the use of a unique NUBAN account number.

    “While Eko Disco is making efforts toward the availability of adequate power supply to customers, we must also secure our revenue by ensuring customers find it easy to pay their electricity bills,” Sanda said.

    She assured EKEDC’s customers that the platform was not only fast and convenient, but was also safe for them to make their transactions.

    Sanda reiterated that the company would explore innovative ways to deliver values and improve its service delivery in order to maintain its leadership status in the Nigerian power industry.

    The Managing Director, IRecharge Tech-Innovations, Tomi Araromi, said payment of electricity bills could be made with the transfer from one bank account to another.

    He added that it was aimed at providing a safe and reliable bill payment.

    He said: “The new payment solution provides and pairs a unique NUBAN number to every prepaid meter number and postpaid account number.

    “Payment to this NUBAN numbers  generates and sends a token/receipt to the payee via SMS, Email and WhatsApp without convenience fees.

    “Customers through this solution will have access to convenience, accessibility, transaction security, shorter turnaround time, 24/7 customer support, instant value receipt and several other benefits.”

    Araromi said the permanent account numbers could be retrieved through the IRecharge website, downloading the IRecharge App, by dialing a unique USSD code on any mobile phone or via WhatsApp.He said payments to these account numbers could be done via several channels such as internet banking, ATM transfer, USSD transfer, bank deposit and at any mobile money agent location (POS).    Also, the Managing Director, Polaris Bank, Innocent Ike and Mr Usifo Ogbebor, Group Head, Power Sector, Zenith Bank, lauded EKEDC and IRecharge for the initiative. The duo maintained that collection of bills was a critical part of the industry value chain, adding that the platform would improve the ease of making payments.

     

  • Varsity fire: NUPRC to conduct seismic check

    Varsity fire: NUPRC to conduct seismic check

    Following the inferno on the campus of Caritas University, Enugu last month, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) will partner with stakehold

    ers in the industry to purchase advanced seismic data to explore the type and quantity of hydrocarbon in Enugu State.

    The Chief Executive Officer of the Commission, Gbenga Komolafe, represented by the NUPRC Owerri Zonal Coordinator, Mr. Enorense  Amadasu, at a media parley organised by the institution, noted that investigation had shown that there was no evidence of any oil and gas production or pipeline in or around the site of the incident.

    NUPRC, he said, is suspicious that the area might bear some hydrocarbon deposit. “From this result, the commission is putting a mechanism in place to work with stakeholders to see how we can come to acquire further seismic data that will further enable us to know exactly what kind of hydrocarbon or volume of hydrocarbon is in this area (Enugu) of the country,” Amadasu said.

    According to him, the situation is still being investigated and there is a school of thought that says the gas that came from below the tin belt across the Enugu region that forms some deposits of shallow gas came to the surface which was eventually ignited. He emphasised that depending on the volume of gas, if that postulation is correct, it means with time, the gas would eventually go.

    The university, state and the Southeast region are looking forward to joining the league of oil producing states, should the Federal Government strike the black gold or gas in commercial quantity.

    Recall that last month, from seeking to sink a borehole on its campus, fire was ignited from part of its land. The ensued fire did not only billow smoke into the atmosphere. The fire, which broke out and flared an undiscovered gas was unabating until it went off on its own. The situation was difficult to comprehend given that there were no relics of previous hydrocarbon discoveries or exploitations in the area.

    At the inferno site, Welltest Solutions Limited Director, Marcel Ahaneku, an engineer, assured of the safety of the site and environ for secured human activities.

    “We have used all industrial practice to secure this well. This place is passable. The environment is okay.  We can put some tension slab so that some vehicles can run on it. But we left it open for historic activities. But the place is free for activities and passable. For human activities around the university, the place is 100 per cent safe,” Ahaneku said.

    Caritas’ University Deputy Vice Chancellor, Prof. Michael Orji, the gas emitted from a borehole the university was digging for water.

    “The light went off miraculously. The light went off after we had all tried what we can. Another thing I want to emphasis is that throughout this incident we never had any fatality. When the fire went off the gas also went off,” he said, insisting that the varsity campus and environ is  safe.

    As the agony over the inferno is waning, it is also rekindling a very high hope that Enugu will share from the 13 per cent oil derivation should the oil find turn out positive and in commercial quantity too.

  • The LPG burden

    The LPG burden

    Apart from the effects of lingering fuel scarcity, Nigerians are confronted with the soaring cost of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) or cooking gas – a double assault on their psyche and pocket. MUYIWA LUCAS reports.

    The economics theory of scarcity at the source of production may aptly describe the gas situation in the country. This is because notwithstanding the huge gas reserves in the country, Nigerians are faced with an existential challenge as they are not just battling escalating prices of foodstuff, but also are spending more to cook.

    The cost of cooking gas, also known as Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), has drastically increased. The Nigeria LNG, which has been very active in the production and supply of the commodity, cannot produce all that is needed domestically.

    Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Mele Kyari, while appearing before the House of Representative Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), headed by Abdullahi Gaya, over the rising cost of diesel and gas earlier in the week, noted that the only way to tackle the rising price is to increase the production of crude oil. He blamed the problem on the non-functioning refineries.

    Kyari said besides that the Russia-Ukraine war was affecting supply of products across the world, most major oil companies were also shutting down due to the energy transmission to eliminate fossil fuel.

    The National President, Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALPGAM), Oladapo Olatunbosun, said a reason for the rising cost of cooking gas was as a result of sharp practices in the industry. He said unlike diesel which is imported, cooking gas was produced in the country, but profiteering was a problem.

    “There is a lot of profiteering going on in the LPG business. The kind of market we are seeing, which the terminal owners are seeing, I must be sincere, there is a lot of cross-border trading. There are infrastructural challenges, but there are still human interventions that we need to control. How many gas plant owners are actually off-takers? There is production going on in Edo. How many of them are they selling? People come from different angles who are portfolio investors, they buy gas and they hack on it, the price goes up,” he said.

    The larger chunk of the LPG needed  is imported and because of this, it has fallen victim to the ongoing Russia/Ukraine war.

    Another factor that is responsible for the increase is the issue of foreign exchange. The Naira has been highly devalued. Major importers of the commodity are also struggling to get foreign exchange to purchase the commodity.

    In the retail market 12.5 Kg cylinder ranges from N11,000 to 12,000 depending on where it is purchased. This was against the N9000 per unit cost of 12.5KG about a month ago.

    The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in its Liquefied Petroleum Gas (cooking gas) Price Watch and National Household Kerosene Price Watch for last month stated that the average retail price of LPG also known as cooking gas increased by 89.28 per cent from N2,071.69 in May 2021 to N3921.35. Monthly, cooking gas price rose from N3800.47 recorded in April 2022 to N3921.35.

    The NBS report showed that the highest average price for refilling a 5kg cylinder of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Cooking Gas) was recorded in Gombe with N4366.67, followed by Bayelsa with N4325 and Adamawa with N4250. However, the report says Yobe recorded the lowest average price with N3200; this was followed by Ogun and Ondo with N3450 and N3480.77.

    In addition, prices analysed by zones showed that the average retail price for refilling a 5kg cylinder of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (cooking gas) was highest in the Southeast with N4094.39 followed by the Northcentral with N3989.98 and Southsouth with N3977.72, while the Southwest recorded the lowest average retail price of N3719.53. The average price for refilling a 12.5kg cylinder of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (cooking gas) increased to N8726.30 in May 2022 from N8164.37 in April 2022 representing a 6.88 per cent monthly  increase.

    Similarly, yearly, the average retail price for refilling a 12.5kg cooking gas increased by 103.46 per cent from N4288.95 in May 2021.

    In many parts of Lagos, the price of 12.5kg is N11,000 while in Ibadan, a 6kg cylinder has hit N4000. This was sold at between N 1,500 and N2000.

    As consumers continue to search for a reprieve, the question is: “At what cost will LPG sell next week?”

  • Deepening local content through partnership

    Deepening local content through partnership

    The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), as part of its core mandate of encouraging local content participation in the oil sector, has partnered with a critical stakeholder, National Insurance Commission  (NAICOM),  to outlaw offshore insurance for foreign, local oil firms in the country, MUYIWA LUCAS reports

    The Nigerian oil terrain is one that has been grossly dominated by foreign operators. But with the establishment of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board in 2010 by the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act, more indigenous operators are now taking advantage of the opportunities that abound in the sector.

    Recently, the NCDMB, as part of its mandate  to address frontally loopholes in implementations of NOGIC Act particularly Sections 49 and 50, which deals with insurance of oil and gas activities and the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) signed an insurance services guideline which will oblige the oil and gas industry to patronise the local insurance sector.

    Stakeholders and operators have since commended this initiative, saying it will bolster activities by indigenous operators and help in preventing capital flight. The Executive Secretary, NCDMB, Simbi Wabote, an engineer and the Commissioner for Insurance, Sunday Thomas, signed the guidelines recently on behalf of their organisations in Yenagoa, capital of Bayelsa State.

    Wabote explained that the provisions of Sections 49 and 50 of the NOGICD Act require all operators engaged in any form of  activity or project in the oil and gas industry to insure all insurable risks related to its oil and gas business with an insurance company, through an insurance broker registered in Nigeria.

    He stressed further that the Act provides that where an operator seeks to place an insurable risk offshore, a written approval of NAICOM must first be sought and obtained and that NAICOM before the issuance of the approval, must ascertain that local capacity has been fully exhausted.

    Wabote reiterated that the insurance guideline will strengthen the Board’s local content drive and ensure that a greater portion of the spend in the insurance industry as it relates to oil and gas activities in Nigeria is retained in-country.

    In his words,’’ The insurance guideline being launched today was developed by the two regulatory bodies to ensure that government’s intention of promoting insurance services within the country is achieved so as to capture significant financial spend under oil and gas insurance services in country.”

    The NCDMB boss said the collaboration between Board and NAICOM will further ensure the successful implementation of the insurance guidelines and every other activity that will lead to the attainment of the objectives of the NOGICD Act, 2010 as well as 70 per cent Nigerian Content by 2027 under the Board’s 10-Year Strategic Roadmap. Wabote further said that finer details of the guidelines will be released at the Nigerian Content Seminar at the 2022 Nigerian Oil and Gas Conference scheduled for July 2022.

    In his comments, the Commissioner for Insurance, NAICOM, Sunday Thomas, charged all stakeholders engaged in any form of business, operations or contract in the sector to ensure compliance with the relevant laws and compliance with the insurance guidelines.

    Thomas expressed optimism that the partnership between the Board and NAICOM will realise the benefits of increased local content, in-country value retention, job creation and employment generation and GDP growth amongst other.

    While appreciating the efforts of the Board, the NAICOM boss pledged his agency’s commitment to create an enabling environment that will consistently enhance increased capacity of the insurance institutions both financially and technically.

  • EKEDC pledges improved service delivery

    EKEDC pledges improved service delivery

    Electricity consumers in Itire, Lawanson, Idi-Araba, and Mushin have urged Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) to improve its service delivery. The demand to the DisCo was made during an engagement forum earlier in the week.

    According to the spokesperson of the EKEDC, Godwin Idemudia, “The purpose of the town hall meetings with our customers was to let us know how we can serve them better by listening to their challenges. The management is keen on establishing a closer relationship with customers across our network, hence the engagement forums. This is the third engagement forum since Dr. Tinuade Sanda assumed the role as MD/CEO of EKEDC following the ones we held for customers in Ijora and Ojo districts.’

    Represented by the Chief Finance Officer, Mr. Joseph Esenwa, the MD/CEO of Eko DisCo, Dr. Sanda assured the customers that the company will do better in meeting their expectations. She said: “It is obvious that the electricity industry is going through numerous challenges that are even beyond the capacity of the DisCos, which are causing setbacks to power supply. As the face of the power industry to the consumers, it is essential for us to actively engage our customers on platforms such as this to identify their problems and provide solutions.”

    The customers lauded EKEDC for taking such a measure but decried the impact of the challenges they face such as the drop in electricity supply, overloaded distribution transformers, estimated billings, and challenges in getting prepaid meters.

    The Chairman of Customer Consultative Forum in Mushin, Afeez Lawal, requested the EKEDC to provide more prepaid meters which according to him, is the solution to the menace of estimated billing to customers, while Lawal Musa representing Idi-Araba Community, charged Eko DisCo to replace the deteriorated poles and wires that are preventing adequate power supply and causing safety hazards.

    While addressing the complaints, Dr. Sanda through the CFO, explained to the customers that inadequate gas supply, low power generation, system collapse, and vandalism have contributed to the drop in power supply and they are not peculiar to only EKEDC.

    However, she assured that the company is currently working with the other industry stakeholders to ensure these challenges are reduced to the barest minimum. ‘’We are upgrading our distribution infrastructure across our network with a loan from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The network improvement projects may not be going as quickly as you had anticipated but I can assure you that we will get to your areas.’’

    In addition to this, Dr. Sanda urged the customers to embrace the Meter Asset Provider (MAP) scheme provided by the government in closing the metering gap before the commencement of Phase 1 of the National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP). She further announced the mobile metering exercise by Eko DisCo to ensure customers get metered within 72 hours of payment confirmation.

  • Board partners NEXIM bank on $40m women in energy fund

    Board partners NEXIM bank on $40m women in energy fund

    Funding, which is one of the key challenges that hinder participation of women in the oil and gas industry activities may have been put to rest as the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) partners NEXIM Bank to establish a $40 million Women in Energy Fund.

    This is in addition to the $300million Nigerian Content Intervention Fund (NCI Fund) which also provided a long term, single digit interest rate funding.

    The Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Simbi Wabote disclosed this during the Nigerian Women in Oil and Gas Conference 2022 in Lagos with the theme: Leveraging Opportunities for Women in the Oil and Gas Industry.

    Wabote revealed that the Oil and Gas Industrial Parks in Bayelsa and Cross River states were getting ready for completion and would begin operation next year.

    The industrial parks according to him, had been developed as a low-cost manufacturing hub for equipment, component parts, spare parts, chemicals, consumables and other products.

    He, therefore, encouraged women owned businesses with workable proposals to look out for the adverts in the newspapers and apply for allocation of plots to set up manufacturing outfits, adding that they would be given special consideration as part of commitment of the board to mainstream women into the oil and gas industry. The Executive Secretary appreciated the Ministry of Petroleum Resources for recognising the board’s efforts to lead the womenfolk into the mainstream of the Nigerian oil and gas industry through the award given to the board as the “Best Gender Support Agency in the Energy Space” at the fifth Nigerian International Energy Summit early this year in Abuja.

    He promised to keep the flag flying in the board’s effort to empower the women in the oil and gas industry.

    “To all the female we promise to continuously leverage on your numbers to start a movement in the oil and gas industry. We cannot afford to leave behind half of our populace.

    ‘’We will leverage on your advocacy skills to influence policy direction, leverage on your intellect to deepen Nigerian Content, and leverage on your intuition to make the right judgement call when it matters most.

    ‘’Our female staff will continue to work in a safe and secure environment where we break down all bias”, the executive secretary stated.

    He noted that the role of women was very vital in the oil and gas industry. NCDMB has therefore seen the need to leverage on these qualities to attract, involve, engage, and empower the females in the oil and gas industry.

    Wabote noted that the efforts aimed at repositioning women as formidable players in key areas including the oil and gas industry was already yielding positive result, adding that this fact is underscored by the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) 2020 survey which placed Nigeria in the second position among countries where a woman may likely be one’s boss.

    He commended all the various socio-political interventions and cultural adjustments that made it possible such that the female colleagues, our mothers, our wives, our daughters are treated with respect they deserve in the society.

    He noted that one of the unique skill sets of our womenfolk was advocacy. Whether in the selection of school for enrolment or in the next destination for family holidays, they possess the tact and the convincing power to secure alignment of purpose.

    One of the initiatives put in place by the Honorable Minister of State for Petroleum Resources in line with the Decade of Gas declaration is the National Gas Expansion Program (NGEP) with three (3) key elements namely Domestic LPG Expansion, Autogas, and Power Generation.

    He said the Domestic LPG Expansion and the Autogas elements of the program required four intervention focus areas namely availability, affordability, accessibility, and acceptability.

    While the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and its agencies have been working on various programs to make the LPG products available, accessible, and affordable, I submit that our women are best placed to be at the fore-front of LPG acceptability.

    He noted that there was huge role for our women to eliminate hinderances to adoption resulting from dangerous perception of LPG cooking gas.

  • NERC to begin phase 1 of NMMP in August

    NERC to begin phase 1 of NMMP in August

    The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) says it will begin the second phase (Phase One) of the National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP) in August 2022. The electricity sector regulator also said it received bids from 45 local meter manufacturers to participate in the programme and was currently reviewing them.

    NERC Commissioner, Finance and Management Service, Nathan Shatti, made this known at an interactive session with newsmen after the Second Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) meeting in Lagos. Recall that the Phase Zero of the NMMP was flagged off on October 30, 2020 with about 980,000 electricity customers installed with free prepaid meters under the first phase.

    Shatti said the procurement process for the second phase started in early 2022, adding that NERC was currently reviewing the capacity of the manufacturers.

    “Our target is to install four million meters for customers. From our experience in phase zero, we want to make sure that the manufacturers can deliver before allocation is made. I am sure that we will be able to finish the assessment by the end of this month and it will be finalised by the Procurement Implementation Unit. We are hoping that before the end of August, we will begin to see meters from our local manufacturers going to the electricity Distribution Companies and then to end-user customers,” Shatti said.

    The NMMP is aimed at meeting the target of closing the metering gap in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry. It would assist in reducing collection losses, while at the same time, increasing financial flows to achieve 100 per cent market remittance obligation of the DisCos.

    Part of the objectives also include the elimination of arbitrary estimated billing, improving network monitoring capability and provision of data for market administration and investment decision-making.