The Nation Newspaper

Category: Business

  • Four banks to manage N24b Cabotage Fund

    Four banks to manage N24b Cabotage Fund

    The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) will start the disbursement of over N24 billion (about $160 million) from the Cabotage Vessels Financing Fund (CVFF) to approved shipping operators early next year, The Nation has learnt.

    The Fund, which is aimed at promoting ship building under the Cabotage Act, is from the compulsory two to three per cent deduction on contracts by firms and organisations in the industry.

    The agency had screened qualified applicants, a source said.

    To avoid the mistakes of the past, sources said four banks—Diamond Bank, Sterling Bank, Fidelity Bank and Skye Bank — have been appointed to handle the disbursement to ensure that beneficiaries pay back the loan.

    It was learnt that selection of qualified applicants was still open to firms that were yet to apply.

    Besides, there is room for more banks to be invited to participate in the programme, the source said.

    The source, however, noted that some companies did not contribute the mandatory three per cent contract sum to the Fund.

    “Majority of those that are clamouring for the quick disbursement of the fund are those violating the law by not paying the appropriate amount they are expected to pay; yet, they think NIMASA will close its eyes and give the money to them, or be allowed to access the loan,” he said.

    The loan, the source added, would only be given to those that have contributed to it by paying the necessary fees as required by law.

  • Customs smashes a smuggling ring

    Customs smashes a smuggling ring

    The Customs has smashed a smuggling ring on the Agbara-Badagry Waterway, impounding 7,269 bags of rice.

    Area Controller, Federal Operations Unit (FOU) Zone ‘A’, Comptroller Dan Ugo, said the seizure was made by a team led by two officers, Kirawa Abdullahi and Zarka Audu.

    The team was said to have been tipped off and it swung into action catching up with smugglers at Agbara.

    Ugo said: “What you see here is in furtherance to the wake-up call by the Comptroller-General of Customs, Dr. Abdullahi Dikko Inde, on zero tolerance for importation of rice through the land borders.

    “The unit will continue to collaborate with the Rice Importers Association of Nigeria and other critical stakeholders in ensuring that the unpatriotic attitudes of these “businessmen” are nipped in the bud.”

    Dikko, Ugo said, had directed officers and men of the service to work hard during the yuletide to stop smugglers.

    Also, the unit intercepted a truckload of 155 bags of parboiled rice and 95 kegs of 25 liters of vegetable oil on the Shaki-Igbokpe road in Oyo State.

    The controller said the seizure followed harmonisation of intelligence gathering by three teams in the unit.

    Ugo lauded the Customs management for providing the logistics and tools which aided the seizure.

    He also praised his officers for their dedication to duty.

    Investigation by The Nation, revealed that the upsurge in smuggling on the Lagos-Badagry Expressway made the Western Marines Command to place its officers and men on alert.

  • High traffic at Lagos Airport for Xmas

    AS Christmas is celebrate today, there has been an upsurge in passenger traffic at the Lagos airport. People are travelling out in large numbers to celebrate Christmas in their home towns.

    Other passengers were also seen arriving from other aparts of the country.

    At the new General Aviation Terminal (GAT), Lagos, passengers were seen on long queues trying to buy their tickets while others were on their way to board the plane to their various destinations.

    The situation was not different at the International wing of the airport as the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA).

    One of the passengers at MMA2, Mr Michael Onocha, who was travelling on Aero Contractors airlines to Benin, said he was going to visit his family in Asaba so that he could spend the Christmas holidays with them.

    Onocha further said he had to fly to Benin because it was the shortest destination he could fly to before taking a bus to connect to Asaba where his family lives.

    He said: “I’m travelling to Benin. Actually, I am going to visit my family in Asaba, but I have to take Benin because that is the shortest possible place I can fly to, then I will take a bus to connect to Asaba.”

    Onocha, however, noted that he was not impress by the passengers traffic as there were no adequate airlines to carter for the growing need of the flying publics.

    According to him, “It is not impressive, it shows that the country is not even improving at all. the leaders are not really doing anything to improve the situation, we should have up to five domestic airlines flying and I want to believe that they can do this by reviewing the policies on aviation.”

  • Local content: Firm calls for more patronage from multinationals

    Engineering Automation Technology Limited (EATECH), a local engineering firm, has called for an increase in patronage from International Oil Companies (IOCs) on products and services offered by indigenous firms as that would boost the capacity of local firms in the oil industry.

    Managing Director of the company, Mr Emmanuel Okon, Okon spoke at the company’s fifth anniversary in Lagos.

    He noted that poaching doesn’t encourage growth of human capital base of local firms.

    He said low patronage of products and services introduced into the industry by local firms, impedes the development of some local firms.

    Okon also called for urgent intervention of the Federal Government in the act of poaching in the services sector of the industry. He said that it is vital for the government to help stop poaching of skilled Nigerian workers from indigenous firms by foreign oil and gas companies.

    He said with poaching and the ever-present problem of difficulty in sourcing for funds, the survival of most local contracting firms is slim.

    Okon noted that his company had lost a substantial number of trained staff to multinational oil and gas companies.

    He therefore demanded that payments for projects executed by local firms executing projects for major oil companies to be at par with what foreign contracting firms obtained.

    Okon said despite the poaching constraint, it was imperative for local firms to increase funding to train more future human capital in our tertiary institutions as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility.

    “Funding presents itself as the major factor facing most indigenous entrepreneurs in running successful businesses in the oil and gas industry,” said Okon.

    “Indigenous companies providing similar services like their foreign counterparts are paid less thereby affecting negatively their ability to sustain competent and certified personnel especially those trained by them.

    “The twin evil of poaching trained personnel by multinational companies and sustaining these trained personnel by local companies is a challenge which requires the intervention of regulators,” he added.

    Okon, who identified the high remuneration of staff by multinational firms, noted that they were able to pay higher salaries because they usually got more income earnings from even similar contracts or jobs performed by local firms.

    He said to improve the manpower base for local firms, despite the poaching by foreign firm, EATECH had to inaugurate an award (that goes with N100,000 gift) for the best graduating student of the Electrical and Electronic Department of the Akwa Ibom State Polytechnic, in Ikot Ekpene.

    Okon lauded the local content policy of the government, saying it had enabled his company established five years ago, to undertake projects in an industry hitherto reserved for foreign multinational.

    The industry is regulated mainly by the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), the Local Content Monitoring and Development Board and the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR).

    Okon said it was important for these regulators to “implement radical but careful tripartite relationship in providing guarantees for access to project specific finances especially to indigenous companies whose services are listed on NIPEX.”

    He said this option would provide alternative or additional comfort to banks where genuine indigenous companies cannot provide additional collateral in addition to domiciliation.

    Engineering Automation Technology started operations in November 2007 with seven staff and Saipem Contracting Nigeria Limited as pioneer customer.

    At present, the local firm provides services to other multinationals. They include ExxonMobil Group; Total Upstream; Delattre Bezons Limited; Aveon Offshore Nigeria; and ZB Joint venture Limited.

    The company holds the ISO: 9001:2008 Certification.

  • Ghana’s oil production exceeds 105,000 bpd

    Oil production from Ghana’s Jubilee Oil Field is now in excess of 105,000 barrels per day (bpd), one of the partners, Kosmos Energy, has announced.

    According to Daily Graphic reports, the lead operator on the Jubilee Field, Tullow Oil, in a report last week, said production had reached 90,000 bpd because the much anticipated Jubilee Phase 1A project had finally come on stream.

    It said production on the Phase 1A was now at a rate of 16,500 bpd boosting total output on the field to 90,000 bpd.

    In its update on the company’s global operations, Kosmos Energy said production was in excess of 105,000 bpd.

    The two figures from Kosmos Energy and Tullow Oil are indicative that production levels on the field seem to have improved again.

    When Ghana begun the commercial production of oil in December 2010, it was expected to produce 120,000 bpd but that could not materialize as a result of some technical challenges in the oil-producing wells.

  • Total, French Embassy partner on human capital devt

    Total, French Embassy partner on human capital devt

    A joint scholarship scheme (TQJS) entitled: TEPNG/ Quai d’Orsay, has been established between Total and the Embassy of France in Nigeria.

    Under the new programme, five Nigerians are to benefit from a yearly scholarship sponsored by Total and the French Embassy in Nigeria with effect from the 2012/2013 academic year.

    According to a statement by the company’s Manager, External Communication, Charles Ebereonwu, the agreement to formalise the programme was signed at the French Embassy in Abuja between Total Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited (TEPNG) and the embassy. The Managing Director/Chief Executive of TEPNG, Mr Guy Maurice signed for Total while the Ambassador of France, Jacques Champagne de Labriolle signed for the Embassy of France in Nigeria.

    The programme started with a pilot scheme this year when a candidate was selected and sponsored to study International Law in France. The agreement makes provision for a four-man steering committee to manage the scheme on behalf of the parties.

    The cost of each of the international scholarship is about 54,000 euro. Benefits to be enjoyed by the selected beneficiaries include a sum to cover travel expenses, academic fees if in a private university or institution in France, living expenses for 10 months, including food, housing costs and academic text or materials, logistics support in obtaining necessary permits or visas for the selected students, health insurance for each beneficiary (bourse de couverture sociale) such as will give the beneficiaries the status of French government scholarship’s beneficiaries and the health care benefits associated with this status.

    Others include 60 hours minimum language training in Nigeria for the selected students and school fees for beneficiaries selected into public universities in France.

    “Understanding changes in your environment is not a matter of specialisation but a matter of personal balance and culture,” said Ambassador Champagne de Labriolle as he explained that the programme was borne out the need to contribute to the training of Nigerians in different fields. He thanked Total for its contributions to the development of the Nigerian society.

    Also speaking, Mr Guy Maurice, noted that such initiative on the part of the company was a reflection of its confidence in the country and continuation of what it did in the past.

    The Quai d‘ Orsay educational cooperation between them started in 2011 and operates in other subsidiaries.

    Total’s delegation to the event included the Executive General Manager, Corporate Services, Mr. Vincent Nnadi; Executive General Manager Public Affairs and Communication, Mr. Chidi Momah; Training & Development Manager, Mr Sam Nkwo and Senior Legal Counsel Mr Adesina Salawu.

    The Ambassador’s team included the Counsellor for Co-operation and Culture, Mr Patrick Perez.

    Total has been collaborating with top rated institutions around the world as part of its contribution towards human capacity development in its host communities.

    It is the main sponsor of the Institute of Petroleum Studies (IPS), a postgraduate institution, at the University of Port Harcourt it run with the prestigious Institute France du Petrole (IFP) France.

  • Shell awards contracts to Nigerian firms

    The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) has awarded maturation studies services contracts to four Nigerian firms, which would help them, build their capacity in that key aspect of the oil and gas industry.

    These pioneer contracts, according to the Corporate Media Relations Manager, Tony Okonedo, would enable the four companies – Laser Engineering and Consultancy Nigeria Limited, Ankorpointe Nigeria Limited, Integrated Data Services Limited, a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and Nubian Nigeria Limited to conduct front-end subsurface maturation studies in SPDC’s onshore eastern operations for over two-years.

    Maturation studies involve evaluation of subsurface data to build a picture of the hydrocarbon reservoirs and are vital to determining major oil and gas development plans.

    In the past, there was a tendency to conduct some maturation studies overseas as a way of meeting planned targets. However, in line with Nigerian Content Development objectives, SPDC is working to domesticate these studies, thereby empowering Nigerian companies to acquire the necessary expertise while also significantly providing jobs in-country and reducing costs.

    SPDC’s Manager, Geosolutions, Nedo Osayande, representing General Manager, Development, Bayo Ojulari said at the contract signing ceremony in Port Harcourt: “It has been a long journey; we liaised with the contractors on the conduct of subsurface studies, understanding their challenges and working to resolve them to a point where they can now render the required services. This is a top moment for Nigerian contractors in the oil and gas sector, and the four pioneers must seize this opportunity and prove that the investment in time and resources has been worthwhile.”

    The managing directors of the four companies signed on behalf their organisations, thanking SPDC for the opportunity and promising to execute the contracts efficiently.

    In 2011, SPDC also inspired in-country manufacture of carbon steel pipes when it awarded a $37 million contract to SCC Nigeria Limited, a move that led to the establishment of the first line pipe manufacturing facility in Nigeria.

    Meanwhile, Shell companies in Nigeria have been given an award as the “Most Local Content Friendly International Oil Company” at the 10th anniversary celebration of the Nigerian Chamber of Shipping in Lagos. The award is in recognition of their “constant drive to source maritime materials and equipment within Nigeria, and giving priority consideration to Nigerian companies in evaluation of bids for maritime contracts.”

    General Manager, Nigerian Content, SPDC, Igo Weli, said: “We are grateful for the award which is further confirmation of the leadership role of Shell companies in Nigeria in NCD development.”

    Shell companies in Nigeria have won three awards this year in recognition of their local content performance.

  • Agents, importers seek officer’s removal at Tin Can

    • Abdullahi urges Customns to prepare for destination inspection

    No fewer than 200 clearing agents and importers at the Tin Can Port in Apapa, Lagos have protested to the Comptroller-General of Customs, Alhaji Dikko Abdullahi, to redeploy a female officer for allegedly frustrating their business.

    They made the call when Abdullahi toured Customs formations in Lagos last week.

    The importers and clearing agents led by some of their chapter executives, who carried placards, shouted at the top of their voices while demanding for the removal of the female senior officer.

    Addressing the protesters, the Customs boss assured them that the allegations against the officer have been brought to his table and that he would look into the matter.

    “If you ask me to remove her now, who do you want to fill up the vacancy? There are channels through which you can forward your complaints, but be rest assured that I am going to look into this matter,” Dikko promised.

    In another development, Abdullahi has urged officers and men of the service to prepare for the taking over of destination inspection next year, from service providers.

    Dikko gave the order during his tour of some Customs formations in Lagos.

    The Customs boss urged officers to be thorough in screening goods for clearance.

    “We should gain our independence peacefully and we must succeed with this commitment,” he said.

    Dikko promised to increase remuneration of officers to make them more comfortable and diligent in their duties.

    He warned officers against gratification, saying this would affect the yearly revenue target of the service.

    He said what is due to the Federal Government in terms of revenue must be collected.

    “No good thing comes out of corruption,” he said.

    Dikko said officers should convince importers that the service had come of age and could not be influenced by corruption.

    The operators of the destination inspection scheme are to hand over to Customs by the end of this year.

  • Lagos okays test for sand mining, dredging sites

    LAGOS government has made geochemical test for sand sites compulsory for operators.

    Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Taofiq Tijani, stated this at a meeting with managers and miners in Lagos.

    He said the geochemical/geophysical analysis is to help determine the mineral content of the sand samples, including filling, sharp and plastering sands obtained at different strategic locations.

    The move, he said, had become imperative to ascertain the ‘real content value’ of the sand samples.

    He said: “At a meeting, we had with the governor, we brought up the issue of mineral content of sand samples and why it has become necessary to carry out a test on sand samples to determine their true worth. Realising the relevance of the issue, the governor gave approval and instructed that we put up a modality for getting this done. This, in fact, informed our meeting today with all of you who are managers and operators of these sites.

    “One thing we want all of you to know is that most of the sands being stockpiled could be more than what you think they are. Some of these sands could be silica sands which is useful for the manufacture of glass. Besides, some which are used for plastering may be better being used for concreting and vice- versa. So, unless we make effort toward evaluating all dredging sentiments it may be difficult to ascertain the mineral contents and their significance.”

    Tijani noted that it might be true that lack of right mineralogy of sand may have been responsible for the high frequencies of building collapses in the state.

    Allaying fears on the exercise, he said the mineralogy test would rather facilitate a win-win scenario as economic benefit would accrue to both the state and the owner and manager of the site where such economic mineral is located.

    The benefit for the state, he said, had started becoming feasible as evident in an investor who had approached the ministry on the possibility of exploiting our silica sand deposit for the manufacture of glass adding that preliminary work on it would soon start.

    He hinted that the geochemical analysis and geological test had to be contracted to a thoroughbred professional consultant and his team of sedimentologists so as to prevent any form of interference and ensure that the exercise is meticulously carried out. Directing operators of the sites to liaise with the consultant on the best approach, which can be adopted to get the exercise done, Tijani said they should see decision on the exercise as irreversible.

    “We must all come to terms with the fact the test has come to stay. What I expect we should be talking about is how best to get the exercise done in a cost-effective way. So I expect that you liaise with our consultant and some of our staff when they come visiting at your various sites on how best you think the exercise could be carried out. You should discuss on whether it would be better done in clusters or groups so that the cost to be borne by you would be minimized,” he said.

  • Customers decry PHCN’s ‘crazy’ bills

    Customers decry PHCN’s ‘crazy’ bills

    The billing system of the electricity distribution companies of the unbundled Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) has gone arwy and customers are complaining, writes EMEKA UGWUANYI.

    Customers of the electricity distribution companies unbundled from the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) are angry over what they described as unreasonable bills from the utility provider.

    The customers, particularly those who don’t use prepaid meters, are paying through their noses even when the expected uninterrupted power supply promised by the government remains a dream.

    Following complaints from the customers, our correspondent visited some undertakings and business units of the distribution companies in Lagos to ascertain the cause of the recent exorbitant bills. It was discovered that customers affected in the high billing include those in Residential One and Two (R1&2) category of MYTO 11 (Multi-Year-Tariff-Order), who according to the Electricity Power Sector Reform Act, are not only expected to pay low tariff, but also be protected from undue high tariff in order to enable them have access to power supply.

    At the undertaking and business unit levels, half of the customers acc osted came with complaints of high billings. Some of the bills were as high as N30,000 for households of two and three bedroom flats, who don’t even use air-conditioners in their houses.

    Some of the customers said the high billing started from September. For instance, Ajibola Akande who lives within the network of Festac Business Unit said in September he was billed N14,000, in October, over N18,000 and in November, ove N27,000. Also a customer under the Shomolu Buisness Unit, Mr. Julius Ogbonna said he got N14,000 in October and N29,000 in November. He said when he complained, he was asked to go and pay first so they (PHCN) would find a way of resolving future bills.

    The implication of this outrageous billing is that it might make customers lose confidence and trust in the power sector reform and promises of the government in making power affordable by low income earners, he added.

    Some of the officials of the Buisness Units who spoke in confidence to The Nation, said the marketers create a lot of problems for them by not reading the meters. They noted that even if customers have faulty meters or their meters are inaccessible, they (marketers) should endeavour and properly determine the consumption level of a customer before estimating his bill.

    “When we see customers mill around here, we don’t feel good because what we preach and expect to attain is commendable service delivery and customer satisfaction but we are working on resolving this issue of crazy billing but you know this cannot be achieved overnight,” they said.

    At the Quarterly Power Summit in Lagos organised by the Power Ministry, the Chief Executive Officer, Benin Electricity Distribution Company Effiong Umoren also highlighted on the issue of tariff. He said that it is very imperative to get the issue tariff right in order to get the privatisation and reform aspirations right.

    In his paper entitled: Market performance under the implementation of MYTO 11, prospects and challenges: Operator’s perspectives,’ he noted that the tariff structure needs to be slightly adjusted.

    He said: “Unless we are banking on periodical government bailout, the tariff structure is one single component in the power equation that decides the survival or otherwise of the electricity supply chain, we must get it right.”

    He identified major features of MYTO 11 as increase in energy and fixed charges across the various tariff class, abolished payment for meters and connection fees by customers, abolished meter maintenance fees effective from December 2011, disallowed payment of statutory charges for maximum demand (MD) customers: inspection and survey fees, testing fees, metering and commissioning fees, reduced tariff classes from 19 to 14, merger of all the low energy users in each class: R, C, D, and A and collapse of all charges in each category into only two components: Fixed charge and Energy charge and removal of KVA component from MD bills.

    He also noted the major benefits of MYTO 11, which he said discourages fraudulent classification of customers from R3 to R2 by under declaration of load demand and reduction in energy theft. He said that due to free meters, customers stealing energy are now coming out for free meters and regularisation of supply status.

    On challenges of MYTO 11, he identified among others, the unrealistically high fixed charge of N139,466 for a wide segment of D2 customers: small scale industrial customer, saw millers, aluminium and steel product makers, confectionary manufacturers adding that on high fixed charge of N25,018 on R3, “we have some instances where fixed charge is up to three times the energy charge; particularly on “seasonal and weekend” residential houses.

    He said that kva as a component of a tariff encourages more efficient machinery, thus improving system voltage profile noting that its abolition in MYTO II will increase ‘power factor indiscipline’ putting avoidable burden on terminal equipments. Power factor efficiency requires additional investment on the part of customer. There is no more incentives for this investment, he added.

    To discourage energy theft or illegal connection, the stakeholders said the tariff structure should be properly addressed and has to start from elimination of crazy billing.