The passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill by the National Assembly may have set the agenda for the energy sector as the second half of the year kicks in. While there are still grey areas yet to be harmonised by the lawmakers, coupled with the changing tide in the global oil market, experts are convinced that whatever happens, the effects will be very critical to the country’s economy as the second half of the year begins, MUYIWA LUCAS reports

 

It may not have been intentionally planned, but the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), on July 1, this year was quite significant. Not only did it mark the realisation of a 20-year-old dream, it also marked the beginning of the second half of the country’s fiscal year. The PIB, which seeks to provide legal, governance, regulatory and fiscal framework for the Nigerian Petroleum Industry and development of Host Communities.

Among the features were the objective of ensuring good governance and accountability; creation of a commercially oriented national petroleum company and fostering a conducive business environment for petroleum operations. It also encompasses the creation of the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission which will be responsible for the technical and commercial regulation of the upstream petroleum operations and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority to be saddled with the responsibility of the technical and commercial regulation of the midstream and downstream operations in the country.

While harmonisation on the PIB between the two arms of the National Assembly Chambers are soon to commence, it is clear that the government’s ambition of producing 40 billion barrels of reserves and production levels of four million barrels per day may have been further boosted by the PIB passage.

To achieve the goals set out for the nation’s 40 billion barrels crude reserve, the Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mallam Mele Kyari, said the corporation is revving up exploration in the inland basins with the drilling of the Kolmani River II Well, culminating in oil find in commercial quantity in the Upper Benue Trough. The drilling of Kolmani River III Well is ongoing. These, it is believed, are activities that are capable of defining the later part of oil activities this year.

Similarly, with the resolution of disputes around some oil blocks that had led to production shut-in, experts are convinced that the result may begin to manifest in the second half of the year thereby making the three million barrels per day oil production capacity possible before year end. The resolution of the dispute involving Shell and Belema Oil that shut in over 30,000barrels per day production in OML 25; execution of Abo OML 125 Heads of Terms leading to the resolution of the issues around most of the deep offshore Production Sharing Contracts, among others are pointers to brighter production prospect for the sector in the later part of the year.

Other initiatives that have bolstered hope for the second half include but not limited to the signing of agreement between the NNPC, SNEPCo and other PSC partners to resolve the disputes around another deep offshore block, OML 118, leading to the renewal of that acreage with the prospect of a new $10 billion investment in the development of the Bonga Southeast Field. This will further boost the nation’s oil production.

The happening in the international oil market will to a large extent affect the local market. International stakeholders are already upbeat about potentials laden in the second half of the year for the product.

According to S&P Global Platts Analytics, global oil demand rebound will be hugely accelerated in this period.  The firm predicts that oil demand will rise by over six million b/d; oil supply to rise three million b/d with OPEC+ dominant supplier

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Looking into his crystal ball, Chris Midgley, Global Head of S&P Global Platts Analytics, had noted last December: “Oil demand will rebound by more than six million barrels b/d in 2021, but consumption is still expected to be more than two million b/d below that of 2019’s 101.9 million b/d. Why? The global middle class – the real engine of oil demand – faces continued pressures from wealth inequality and the ongoing COVID-19 cloud.” He, however, emphasised that given the indices used in the analysis, the outlook presumes a recovery in global gross domestic product (GDP), highlighted by an acceleration of growth in the second half of 2021. He submitted that the rollout of effective coronavirus vaccines has “created a wave of optimism across commodity markets despite the fundamentals being unchanged’’.

Similarly, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has also predicted brighter prospects for the product in the second half of the year. Bloomberg reports that this will be buoyed as OPEC prepares to consider reviving more halted output. This position is based on a report by the world global oil regulator, OPEC, which forecast recently that oil consumption will jump by about five million barrels a day — or roughly five percent – in the second half of 2021 versus the first as the world emerges from the pandemic slump.

“The recovery in global economic growth, and hence oil demand, are expected to gain momentum,” the OPEC’s Vienna-based research department wrote. The need for transport fuels should climb as vaccination programmes contain the virus, it said.

The 23-nation OPEC+ coalition has already indicated it expects world crude markets to become tight in the coming six months, while the International Energy Agency (IEA) has warned of higher prices if the group doesn’t open the taps. Although OPEC and its partners have restored almost 40 percent of the production they shuttered when the coronavirus crushed demand a year ago, consideration is in the pipeline to consider reviving the remainder.

Bloomberg, according to the OPEC’s report, noted that the demand for OPEC’s crude will average 29 million barrels a day in the second half of the year; whereas the organisation’s 13 members pumped only 25.46 million barrels a day in May. It submitted that even if the organisation proceed with an increase scheduled for July, it will still be considerably below the level needed.

By and large, the second half of the year, barring any unforeseen dislocation to the local and international oil market, may well be a time of rebound for the sector.

Oil Service Company, Eunisell Limited has pledged assistance to new owners of Marginal Oil & Gas Fields in Nigeria, in accelerating the development of their fields.

The commitment was made at a recent meeting between Eunisell Limited and select owners of marginal fields in Lagos.

Managing Director of Eunisell Limited, Chika Ikenga affirmed his company’s commitment to support winners of the recent marginal field bid round in Nigeria to reduce their capital expenditure and get to first oil.

Read Also: OPEC warns against calls to discontinue oil, gas investments

Marginal field owners in Nigeria face significant challenges that hamper the development of their fields. Some of these challenges include lack of technical and financial resources.

Ikenga pledged his company will provide oil field owners’ production solutions that will help them overcome these challenges.

With 25-year experience in Nigeria, Eunisell is known for delivering fast track production solutions to Oil & Gas exploration and production companies in West Africa.

The Nigerian government introduced the marginal field development programme in 1996 to help grow oil and gas production by divesting the majors of dormant discoveries and making the same available to indigenous operators who are nimble enough to venture into neglected terrains.

By Niyi Adeoye

There was excitement among Nigeria’s maritime stakeholders following the berthing of an international vessel christened ‘PACIFIC RUBY’ at the SHI-MCI yard invested in Lagos by Samsung Heavy Industries Nigeria (SHIN) Limited.

The resumption of operations at the SHI-MCI yard has given a boost to the efforts of the global shipbuilding giant to use the yard, the first of its kind in Africa, to make Nigeria a hub of integration and fabrication of Floating Storage Offloading (FPSO) vessels, LNG tankers, ship repairs and shipbuilding in sub-Saharan Africa.

The dimension of the vessel is 249.869 metres length, 43.8 metres breadth, 21.2 metres depth, and 13.6 metres designed draught.

The SHI-MCI yard had made history as the first integration quay in Africa to receive a 330-metre long FPSO unit for the installation of six topside modules that were fabricated in Nigeria.

Being a reputable investor that operates in accordance with the Nigerian laws, SHI-MCI applied for and received all the necessary approvals from the relevant federal government agencies, including the Nigerian Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA), for the berthing of PACIFIC RUBY.

In the application for the approvals, the Chief Executive Officer of SHI-MCI, Mr. Jinsu Park, informed the Nigerian government that “the purpose of the berthing at the quayside is for the vessel to undergo some maintenance works for a short period, not longer than two weeks.”

Park, however, added that the duration of the maintenance works would depend on the prevalent conditions, with respect to weather complexities that may arise in the course of the maintenance.

He listed the scope of works to include: Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) tank cleaning, exchange of fuel filter and manhole insulation work.

Park also disclosed that the business of berthing of international vessels is line with the company’s activities in its Memorandum and Articles of Association.

Citing Clause 3 (b) (c) (d) and the omnibus clause 3 (g), Park pointed out that the enterprise is in marine vessels business “ and is allowed specifically in Clause 3 (d) to carry on the business of structures and facilities for marine vessels and all desirables thereof.”

According to Park, the berthing of the vessels at the SHI-MCI Quay for offloading and maintenance works is clearly in line with the company’s approved business activities as filed with the relevant agencies of the Nigerian government.

The berthing of the Pacific Ruby, which was also built by Samsung Heavy Industries Korea on July 9, 2021 represented another milestones after the SHI-MCI yard had successfully fabricated and integrated the Egina Floating Storage Offloading (FPSO) vessel.

The Egina FPSO, designed for 25 years of operations, added 200,000 barrels of oil per day to Nigeria’s oil production, representing approximately 10 per cent of the country’s total oil production.

Being the first project to be launched after the enactment of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act of 2010, Egina FPSO advanced the Nigerian Content to record levels and has by far the highest Nigerian Content ever completed in an oil and gas project.

The hosting and maintenance of PACIFIC RUBY is the second major project to be handled by the SHI-MCI yard since the sail-way of the Egina FPSO to the deep offshore oilfield in August 2018.

Commenting on the successful berthing of the vessel, the Managing Director of Samsung Heavy Industries Nigeria, Mr. Jejin Jeon, thanked the various agencies of the Nigerian Government, particular the Nigerian Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), Federal Ministry of Industry Trade and Investment (MITI), Port Health Services-Federal Ministry of Health and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) for supporting foreign investors, including SHIN, that are operating in Nigeria.

Jeon said the cooperation received by his company from these agencies of the government was in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s aspiration to support reputable investors in order to create employment opportunities and grow the Nigerian economy.

He said SHIN is in Nigeria for the long-term, pointing out that the company has demonstrated its faith in Nigeria through the huge investment it has made and in the training of Nigerians in the SHI-MCI yard and its Korean yard.

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Jeon commended the Managing Director of NEPZA, Prof. Adesoji Adesugba for repositioning the export processing zones within one year of his assumption of office.

Jeon called on the Nigerian government to continue to protect foreign investors.

He also called on the multinational companies to continue to launch new projects that will utilise its world-class fabrication and integration yard in Lagos.

With the arrival of the PACIFIC RUBY, business activities will resume at the SHI-MCI yard, which has been largely idle due to the inability of the oil and gas operators to launch new major projects after the Egina project.

It was gathered that before the arrival of the vessel, positive business activities were already gradually returning to the SHI-MCI yard as the Egina FPSO fire water pump engine was also taken to the yard for inspection.

The resumption of operations at the world-class integration and fabrication yard will create job opportunities for Nigerians, especially those who were trained by SHIN in the course of executing the EGINA project.

It will be recalled that when the Senate Committee and officials of NEPZA visited the SHI-MCI yard on June 15, 2021, the federal lawmakers, who were very impressed by the world-class investment made by SHIN, were however worried that the yard was idle due to the many challenges caused by the free zone operator.

However, with the cooperation of NEPZA and other agencies of the government, the SHI-MCI yard is gradually resuming normal operations.

The Committee which was headed by the NEPZA MD, had spoken about the issue surrounding Operating licenses when handled by the Free zone Management companies.

NEPZA stated that it was now important to issue the National Operating Licenses directly to all free zone companies to avoid the issues which had been emanating from Zone management companies in the past.

These issues were believed to have caused a negative impact on business activities in the Free zones and it was high time that it was resolved to bring back the confidence and businesses back to the free zones of the country.

Apart from providing job opportunities for those that have already been trained, the resumption of normal operations at the yard will also help more Nigerians to build local capacity, in line with the Nigerian Content laws.

NCDMB had also commended Samsung earlier for its massive investment in Nigeria and for positioning Nigeria as a hub for fabrication and integration of FPSO unit in Africa, citing the construction and integration of the FPSO for the EGINA Project

Adeoye, a Maritime expert, writes from Warri, Delta State.

By Ozolua Uhakheme, Assistant Editor (Arts)

Managing Director of National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) Dr George Moghalu has challenged boat operators to utilise the 3,500 navigable channels across the country, promising to assist them to find their bearings.

He stated that NIWA is determined to get containers bearing heavy duty vehicles out of Nigerian highways to the waters to avoid pressures and damage to roads infrastructure.

“It is sad to see the damage done to our roads by containers bearing heavy duty vehicles, and which ordinarily can be moved easily through our Inland Waterways.

“We shall continue to advocate that such trucks should be kept off the highway and containers and heavy equipment be transported through the waters” he added.

Moghalu, who spoke at the Annual General Meeting of the Association of Tourist Boat Operators and Water Transporters of Nigeria (ATBOWATON) in Abuja, stated that a contract for the construction of a jetty in Illa, Delta State will be awarded soon.

He commended ATBOWATON members for the long years of dedication and sacrifice for the growth of water transportation business in Nigeria.

“No doubt ATBOWATON is our partner in progress and deserves our support. We at NIWA are happy to see the huge turn-out of ATBOWATON members from over twenty states, an indication that the future of the association and water transportation is bright” he added.

Dr Moghalu presented an ATBOWATON branded face cap and inducted Mr Frank Meke, an accomplished Maritime and Cultural Tourism development journalist as a member, Board of Trustees of ATBOWATON, commended the selfless service and passion to which Mr Meke brought to bear in the reporting and advocacy on marine transportation and tourism.

President ATBOWATON Mr. Gani Tarzan Balogun praised the efforts of NIWA to change the narratives of water transportation in Nigeria and for also carrying the association along in its programmes across the country.

Other dignitaries at the meeting were the acting President Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria (FTAN), Mr Nkerewuem Onung, President National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA) Mrs Susan Akporiaye and President, Women in Hospitality, Justina Ovat.

By Emmanuel Udodinma

 

Operator of the Otakikpo Marginal Field, Green Energy International Limited (GEIL), has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with one of its host communities – the Ikuru Town Community.

The ceremony was endorsed by the Rivers State Ministry of Chieftaincy Affairs and Community Development. The MoU encompasses improved governance and administrative components that would support the delivery of development outcomes in target communities, reduce youth restiveness and promote inclusion of women and vulnerable groups.

The MoU, spanning five years, covers a comprehensive structure that identifies key stakeholders, who will act as sustainability drivers that will support the Ikuru Town community to plan and undertake the implementation of projects based on their development priorities and agenda; an approach that is yielding noticeable improvement in the social performance indices.

Part of what the community stands to benefit is the resuscitation of the liquefied petroleum gas plant in the community. This was confirmed by the Chief Executive Officer, GEIL, Prof. Anthony Adegbulugbe, who assured of the firm’s intention to conclude the installation of the LPG extraction plant and power plants within the next few months in Otakikpo. When this is done, it is believed a new vista of interlinked, multi-level and multi-sectoral development investments, with significant socio-economic and technological impacts will be berthed in the community.

Adegbulugbe added that the company’s future expansion programmes are anchored on sustaining a conducive and mutually beneficial relationship with its host community. He further assured the Ikuru community that the company was set to commence the development of the field which will include drilling additional wells, expanding the production facility to handle the increased production and installing the first indigenous onshore terminal with a capacity of one million barrels at Otakikpo. This level of field development would lead to a transformation of the host communities in terms of development and social change.

GEIL’s Director for Corporate Social Responsibility, David Serena Dokubo-Spiff reiterated that the MoU identifies various development project ratios necessary to reflect the community groups, including women and vulnerable people through the development of community development plan (CDP) that covers the needs and aspirations of the Ikuru people and implemented by the trust fund.

The Paramount Ruler of Ikuru Town, King A.M. Ikuru, expressed appreciation to the management and staff of GEIL, for supporting the building blocks of community transformation through the delivery of sustainable programmes. He added that this MoU was designed to improve citizen’s participation and seeks to encourage a positive alignment of executed MoU-projects in the community, thereby enabling Ikuru Town to evolve into a reference point within the Andoni Local Government Area and Rivers State.

The conclusion and award of licences for marginal oil fields, mass metering commencement and the steady but gradual rise in the global oil market, among others were events that shaped the first half of the year, giving hope of a brighter tomorrow for the economy,  MUYIWA LUCAS writes.

 

Perhaps the most cheery news in the first half of the year was the granting of 57 licences to marginal oil field operators. This feat, achieved after 18 years, marked the first successful bid since 2003 when 24 assets were put on offer.

The journey to achieving the feat was initiated by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), in June, last year and concluded with the award of licences to the successful bidders on June 1, this year. The 57 marginal fields span land, swamp and offshore put up for lease by the Federal Government. Marginal fields are smaller oil blocks typically developed by indigenous companies and have remained unproduced for a period of over 10 years.

Some of the companies, which emerged winners, included: Matrix Energy, AA Rano, Andova Plc, Duport Midstream, Genesis Technical, Twin Summit, Bono Energy, Deep Offshore Integrated, Oodua Oil, MRS and Petrogas.

Others were: North Oils and Gas, Pierport, Metropole, Pioneer Global, Shepherd Hill, Akata, NIPCO, Aida, YY Connect, Accord Oil, Pathway Oil, Tempo Oil and Virgin Forest. It was a big win for local oil and gas companies, which had a good outing during the ceremony as 100 per cent of the beneficiaries of the exercise were indigenous entities.

For the economy, the recent licence award brings to her about $500 million in signature bonuses, a major boost when compared to the two per cent contribution the 16 fields awarded in 2003 licencing contribute to the national oil and gas reserves.

DPR’s Chief Executive Officer, Sarki Auwalu, couldn’t agree less. He said: “The bid will enhance economic growth, increase Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and create employment, while with the experience garnered before now, mistakes of the past will be avoided.’’

Another high point in the first half of the year was the signing of a contract for the Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Installation and Commissioning (EPCIC) for the rehabilitation of the 210,000 barrels per day capacity Port Harcourt Refinery in Alesa-Eleme, Rivers State.

The rehabilitation, which has a completion timeline of between 18 and 44 months, was signed by between the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and Milan based Tecnimont SpA under a three-phase arrangement at a lump sum contract price of $1.5 billion, inclusive of Value Added Tax (VAT) and other statutory payments.

NNPC’s Group Managing Director, Mallam Mele Kyari, described the Port Harcourt Refining Company Limited (PHRC) rehabilitation as a dream come true, noting that the project was in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s promise to Nigerians to make the refineries work.

The GMD explained that the rehabilitation was very different from a routine Turn-Around Maintenance as it would entail a total retrofitting of the plant with major part and equipment replaced with new ones.

Providing further insight into the project, Managing Director of PHRC,  Ahmed Dikko, explained that phases 1 and 2 of the project would get the refinery ready to receive hydrocarbon, while Phase 3 will focus on the start-up of the refinery for operation, stressing that the work shall be delivered in 44 months beginning from the day the contract was signed in April.

So far, crude oil prices have continued to rise.While this implies good revenue earning for the Federal Government, not so for Nigerians. The flip side to it is the increase it will translate to in the local market, especially as it affects the landing cost of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS). The landing cost of PMS is estimated at N180/litre compared to the market price at N160-N165. This means the product is being subsidised.

It is worthy of note that in the period, the NNPC has on more than three occasions, ensured that pump prices of petrol was not been increased, especially between March and June. But this has also come at a cost to the corporation.

The NNPC, going by the differential in pump price and the landing cost of PMS, could have been losing about N30 on every litre of the product. An analyst estimate that the corporation may be losing about N1.2 billion daily assuming daily consumption of 40 million litres

In the power sector, it has been a roller-coaster journey. While the sector started the year on a 5,600MW of electricity generation, the several national grid collapse saw to the frequent darkness most part of the country the nation was thrown into darkness arising from collapse of the national grid. For instance, in April, 16 thermal and hydroelectric plants developed faults, thereby throwing the country into darkness. A breakdown of this showed that while eight of the plants were broken down, one hdro was shut; seven integrated plants suffered gas constraint and one other hydro had water management problems.

The plants affected included Sapele, Afam,Olonrunsogo, Omotosho, Ibom, Egbin, Alaoji and Ihovbor. The Jebba Power Plant was shut down for annual maintenance.Seven other integrated power plants, namely Geregu, Sepele, Omotosho, Gbarain, Omuku, Paras and Alaoji experienced gas constraints while the Shiroro plant had water management problems.

Still unable to meet the local demand for electricity, an idea of selling unutilised power to some neighbouring countries was mulled. Niger, Togo, Benin and Burkina Faso are collaborating to buy the unutilised power produced in Nigeria.

The Chairman of the Executive Board of the West African Power Pool (WAPP), Sule Abdulaziz, revealed that the four countries were collaborating to make the power purchase from Nigeria through the Northcore Power Transmission Line currently being built.

“The power we will be selling is the power that is not needed in Nigeria.The electricity generators that are going to supply power to this transmission line are going to generate that power specifically for this project. So, it is unutilised power,” Abdulaziz, who is also the acting Managing Director of the Transmission Company of Nigeria, said.

 

Metering

To tackle the problem of prepaid meters, the government rolled out an initiative that will ensure the release of about one million meters under the Meter Asset Provider (MAP) and the National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP). This is to ensure increase in the number of metered electricity users, cut down on estimated billings to customers and reduce non-technical losses.

Overall, a brighter prospect may just be in the offing given the level of investment some distribution companies are putting in place ahead of the second half of the year.

 

By Muyiwa Lucas

 

Women entrepreneurs in the oil and gas industry can nwo benefit from the $40 million Women in Oil and Gas Intervention Fund deployed by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM). The NCDMB is contributing $20 million to the pool, while NEXIM will supply the balance.

The Executive Secretary, NCDMB, Simbi Kesiye Wabote and the Managing Director of NEXIM, Mr. Abubakar Bello, signed the memorandum of understanding (Mou) on the administration of the Fund earlier in the week in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital.

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

According to the Executive Secretary, the scheme, which has been rolled out, would be available to both startups and other companies. It covers manufacturing, oil service contracts, environment management, leasing, logistics, catering and training.

He confirmed that the maximum amount that could be borrowed by a single obligor is $500,000 or its Naira equivalent at the official exchange rate prevailing at the time of borrowing. He added that the tenor shall be up to five years and the applicable interest rate would be five percent all-in yearly, fixed throughout the tenor of the loan.

Wabote confirmed that the maximum processing time shall be 21 working days from the date the applicant has provided all required documentation and all applications shall be through the web.

Bello explained that the partnership with NCDMB fits into the bank’s 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.

Also, the Chairperson of the Diversity Sectoral Working Group, Nigerian Content Consultative Forum, Mrs. Alero Onosede, commended the Board for providing practical enablers to support diversity in the industry. She assured that women in the oil and gas industry would take advantage of the Fund to increase capacity in the industry and grow the economy.

By Ambrose Nnaji

 

Teamwork among operators of the marginal refineries and the marginal fields would guarantee long-term supply of the crude product, the General Manager, Commercials, Oando Energy Resources, Bambo Ibidapo-Obe, has said.

He spoke on the sidelines of an event in Abuja. He said the linkage between marginal fields and modular refineries was in the supply of crude oil produced by the marginal fields, which according to him was the primary feed stock for the modular refineries adding that there’s need for teamwork between the modular refineries and the marginal fields to guarantee long term supply of crude.

Stressing what is common to both the modular refineries and marginal field, Ibidapo-Obe said in an industry such as the oil and gas with significant high entry cost, conversations around skills, process and operations were available all the time, adding that these are common to both marginal fields and modular refineries.

The Federal Government’s favourable posture towards modular refineries is underscored, for example, by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board‘s (NCDMB) acquisition of a 30 percent stake in WalterSmith Modular Refinery Project.

The Oando chief said, however, that there was work that had to be done in terms of regulatory consideration towards incentivising modular refinery investment in the country. He said there was the need for synergy between the modular refineries and marginal fields’ operators.

“Although the oil production of marginal fields has increased, it is still below the six percent mark of the marginal fields licenses awarded today as over 60 percent of them are yet to reach commercial production,” Ibidapo-Obe said.

Some of the challenges being faced by marginal fields licensees, he noted to include production ramp up, financial and evacuation constraints, community agitations and assets vandalism, among others. He said that the successful delivery of the project was proof not only to the technical and financial competences of the indigenous companies but also to the power of partnership which everybody must tap into.

Modular refinery is a skid-mounted modular structure based crude oil processing refinery plant. Each modular structure is an essential component of crude oil refinery. Modules manufactured are transported to the required site for installation, resulting in a much quicker installation time than conventional refineries.

Marginal fields refer to discoveries which have not been exploited for long, due to very small sizes of reserves/pool to the extent of not being economically viable as well as lack of infrastructure in the vicinity and profitable consumers.

Nigeria has a total of 159 oil fields and 1481 wells in operation, according to the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR).

By Muyiwa Lucas

 

 

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Western Zone, has directed depots and petrol stations to go about their normal business and ensure free flow and hitch free of supply and distribution of petroleum products across the zone.

The Zonal Chairman IPMAN Southwest, Alhaji Dele Tajudeen, gave the directive in a statement  in Lagos. He urged members to stop creating panic over fuel scarcity as there is sufficient product in the depots.

He said the zone depots comprising Ejigbo Satellite, Mosinmi, Ore, Ibadan and Ilorin, which make up of the Southwest zone, has sufficient products, noting that the association was not considering any strike.

Tajudeeen said there was no need for panic over fuel scarcity threat by the national body, as the NNPC depots across the states had sufficient petroleum product and were discharging.

The Southwest zone chair reaffirmed the commitment of the association toward supporting the Federal Government’s efforts on effective and efficient distribution of petroleum products across the country. He stressed further that IPMAN had so far reached an agreement with other marketers for better synergy in making the product available in the Western zone.

“IPMAN, which controls 80 per cent outlets, has more advantage in distributing and dispensing in both urban and hinterlands in the country. In line with the Federal Government’s efforts at ensuring efficient petroleum products distribution across the country, IPMAN members have opted for a seamless distribution of petroleum products,’’ he said.

He noted that such synergy among members with the Federal Government would present a common front that would advance the interest of the group and ensure smooth distribution of the products across the country.

“While we support Federal Government and NNPC/ PPMC to achieve their objectives of products supplies we will continue to do our businesses legitimately without fear or favour. We are passionate about Nigerians’ plight and we will not add to the suffering of the people. We therefore advise our principals to employ means of dialogue rather than exposing our members to public embarrassment. Once again you have assurances of all stakeholders in South West of our commitment to place the country above our personal interest,” Tajudeeen said.

It would be recalled that the National body of IPMAN last week threatened to halt operations over ‘police harassment’