The Nation Newspaper

Category: Business

  • Ghanaian oil revenue hits $340 million

    Ghana’s petroleum revenue accruing to the state this year has hit USD340 million following the announcement of a third quarter receipt of USD64.91 million.

    The third quarter receipt, published by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MOFEP), plus USD236.76 million of petroleum revenue released for the first and second quarters of this year brings the total receipts from petroleum to about USD340million.

    Of the total receipts, USD146.5 million representing 42.7 per cent was transferred to the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC).

    The Ministry of Finance is yet to report on third-quarter transfers to the Ghana Petroleum Funds (GPF), which, according to the Petroleum Revenue Management Act, should receive any excess revenues above the quarterly Annual Budget Funding Amount (ABFA) – the share of revenues spent directly on the annual budget.

    The ABFA should be at most 70% of the oil revenues excluding transfers to GNPC, also known as the benchmark revenue.

    In quarters where transfers are made to the GPF, it means the bench mark revenue fell short of the quarterly ABFA.

    In the first half of the year, GHC 24 million and GHC 7.2 million were transferred into the Stabilization Fund and Heritage Fund respectively.

    Bank of Ghana data show that the Ghana Petroleum Funds as at January 2012 had an opening book value of USD 54.8 million and USD 14.4 million, while the closing book value as at June 30, 2012 stood at USD 54.9 million and USD 14.44 million for the Stabilization Fund and Heritage Funds respectively.

    The Stabilisation Fund was established to cushion the impact on the annual budget and sustain public-expenditure capacity during periods of unanticipated petroleum revenue shortfalls, while the Heritage Fund is meant to ensure Ghana’s oil wealth benefits posterity.

    Meanwhile, the Energy Commission has explained the 400 million dollar Photovoltaic (PV) solar power would be critical in the country’s bid to achieve optimum levels in energy generation.

    The plant is expected to produce an additional 155Mega Watts – representing 6 percent of the country’s current power generation capacity of 2000 Mega Watts.

    It is to be located in the Western Region and will be the largest solar power plant in Africa when completed by October 2015.

    An indigenous firm, Mere Power Nzema Limited is building this plant in collaboration with foreign renewable energy developers like Blue Energy. The Head of Renewable Energy at the Energy Commission, Kwabena Otu Danquah gave more details in an interview with Joy Business.

    “At the moment they have been granted a provisional licence which has a life span of 1 year – meaning after one year, if they are unable to mobilize funding and start construction, it would expire. Government has a policy target of 10 percent from renewable energy regarding the country’s energy mix by the year 2020. So bringing in a155 Mega Watts solar plant means that we would heading towards achieving this target” he said.

    Construction works are scheduled to begin by the end of next year and the plant is projected to provide electricity to more than a 100 thousand homes. According to Mr Otu Danquah, the need for the country to develop its renewable energy sources cannot be overemphasized.

    “We have several renewable energy resources in the country. We have wind, biomass, hydro and solar as well and so we are going to encourage the development of all these resources. As a nation we have to diversify and one of advantage of renewable energy is that it is environmentally-friendly the resource is indigenous and so the need to develop it for energy security,” he added.

  • NIMASA to present bill on sea piracy

    TO check sea piracy, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) will soon send a draft bill on sea criminalities to the National Assembly.

    NIMASA’s Director-General Patrick Akpobolokemi said the authority needs a strong legal framework for prosecuting suspected pirates.

    “The menace of piracy and armed robbery in our waters is a source of concern, but we are gradually containing the scourge, and our waters have become relatively safer, and we need to do more to ensure safe navigation at all times.

    He said NIMASA was collaborating with the Nigerian Navy and that the public-private partnership of the agency with Global West Vessel Specialists Limited, for the supply of vessels would ensure NIMASA’s presence in the waters and deter sea criminals.

    He said ships and offshore platforms pollution had been a major problem.

    “To give effect to a number of marine environment, legislators domesticated by the National Assembly, 11 regulations were gazetted and form part of our body of laws,” the NIMASA boss said.

    He said the agency was determined to ensure the enforcement of these laws, adding that soon disputes on these statutes would come before the courts.

    “To ensure compliance with the various statutes, which regulate our operations, NIMASA is also taking a stricter position on the enforcement of the Cabotage Law and violations of the provisions of the Merchant Shipping Act.

    “ The agency is exploring ways of ensuring the speedy prosecution of breaches, given the impediment which requires us to obtain a fiat from the Attorney-General’s office to prosecute such cases. This issue is made more delicate by the time sensitive nature of shipping and the need, therefore, to strike a balance between commercial imperatives and our responsibility as a regulatory agency,” Akpobolokemi said.

  • Importers, agents hail banks over e-form

    The introduction of electronic foreign exchange form (e-form M) by commercial banks, has earned the praise of importers and clearing agents.

    The e-form, they said, would boost cargo import and facilitate trade at ports.

    The Managing Director, Oguns Shipping Company,Mr Segun Ogunsanu, said the e-form was initiated by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), as part of the Federal Government’s efforts to start single window operations at the port.

    Ogunsanu said the pilot phase for the automation of forex forms on the trade monitoring system, otherwise known as the single window for trade started in seven banks. The banks are Unity Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank, First Bank of Nigeria, Diamond Bank, Zenith Bank, Wema Bank and Standard Chartered Bank.

    Ogunsanu said: “Any person intending to import physical goods shall process e-form M through any of the commercial banks irrespective of the value and whether or not payment was involved.

    The e-form has six months validity except for plants and machinery, which last one year. Requests for revalidation are to be directed to CBN’s director of Trade and Exchange.

    “Supporting documents would be marked “Valid For Forex or Not Valid for Forex”depending on whether or not foreign exchange remittance would be involved. And applications for goods subject to destination inspection must carry the “BA” code, while those exempted shall include “CB” in the prefix of the numbering system of the form M,” he said.

    Another importer and Executive Director, Bolas Motors, Mr Kayode Agbabiaka, said the requirements for filling the e-form M include the registration of Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) at the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS); validation of TIN by customers with TIN at FIRS offices and logging on to FIRS portal to register.

    Agbabiaka said importer or his clearing agent is also required to forward his original pro-forma invoice, insurance and other document to bank for approval after which the bank sends e-mail notification to the importer or his agent once the Form M is approved by the bank and also when the Form M is accepted or rejected by the scanning firm.

    Also, the National President of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Prince Olayiwola Shittu, said the introduction of e-form would facilitate trade and boost cargo clearance, adding that it would reduce human contact and hasten cargo clearance at ports.

    To ease cargo clearance, he said, the e-form M should carry a description of the goods to facilitate price verification like: product type and category; mark or brand name of the product; model name or reference number; description of the quality, grade, specification, capacity, size, performance; quantity and packaging.

    The e-form, Shittu added, should be valid for importation only after acceptance by the relevant scanning/risk management provider. Therefore, banks have to confirm acceptance of the e-form M before continuing with other import processes.

    Documents for each import transaction, he said, must carry the name of the product, country of origin, specifications, date of manufacture, batch or lot number and standards to which the goods have been produced like British Standards among others.

  • SON to enforce LPG cylinders requalification

    Hard times await importers and marketers of substandard and old Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinders as the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and other stakeholders are set to enforce the implementation of requalification programmes for LPG cylinders to enhance safety for the users.

    The regulatory agency dropped the hint at the Second Nigeria Liquefied Petroleum Gas Association (NLPGA) Conference in Lagos entitled: “The Cylinder: A vital tool for LPG growth in Nigeria.”

    Head, Metrology Department of the agency, Obiorah Manafa, who spoke on the enforcement and protection of the LPG sector with emphasis on cylinders, revealed that plans are afoot to constitute a technical committee comprising members from all sectors to develop a framework for the workability of the requalification scheme.

    He noted that the situation in the country where cylinders are either imported or produced locally and sold to users without any programme for their maintenance and requalification by marketers is not healthy for the industry and the country.

    He said the absence of such programme had caused more substandard and old cylinders of 15 years and above to be in circulation in the country, a development responsible for the safety issues that LPG has had to contend with over the years.

    Citing the cases of China and India where requalification is working, he said it would be advisable for Nigeria to adopt the China’s model where cylinders are owned by individuals unlike India were cylinders are owned by marketers.

    He, however, tasked stakeholders including plant owners, marketers and retailers to cooperate for the programme to succeed in Nigeria.

    He listed some of the benefits of requalification of cylinders to include enhancing safety of lives and properties in the industry, creating more confidence in the minds of the users, boosting the LPG business and providing more business for indigenous cylinder manufacturers as well as eliminating most of the sub-standard and old cylinders from circulation.

    President, Alhaji Auwalu Ilu, said the focus of this year’s conference on cylinders was apt because Nigeria uses LPG mostly for domestic purpose.

    He said until recently, most cylinders were unbranded and owned by the consumers hence bestowing upon them the responsibility of ensuring that the cylinders are fit and safe for use.

    He added that because consumers lack idea on the maintenance and requalification of cylinders, they see nothing wrong in purchasing second hand cylinders.

    He noted that the association is about to review the LPG standard with SON as a result of the safety challenges that were observed with the imported LPG from Niger Republic.

    Speaking on opportunities, which Nigeria stands to realise by switching to LPG, Yomi Awobokun, Managing Director, Oando Marketing said a large portion of the $1.1b investment required is to be gained in exports of the gas and its cylinder.

  • Our predicament over GAT, by Bi-Courtney

    Our predicament over GAT, by Bi-Courtney

    In the past few weeks, opinions have been sharply divided over the ownership status of the General Aviation Terminal (GAT) of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos between Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited and the Federal Government.The firm’s spokesperson, Steve Omolale-Ajulo, examines the contending issues.

    The newly inaugurated General Aviation Terminal (GAT) remodelled and redeveloped by the Ministry of Aviation, has been a subject of controversy between the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited (BASL), concessionaire of the Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal Two (MMA2), Lagos.

    By consistently claiming that the GAT belongs to it, the Ministry of Aviation has clearly breached parts of the simple agreement willingly inked by its officials with BASL.

    Many Nigerians know that when you signed an agreement, it behoves you to obey that agreement. However, in the case of the ministry and FAAN, they signed an agreement, they reneged on certain aspects of it, we went to court and judgments were entered in our favour. Unfortunately, all the court judgments have been disobeyed.

    Two major issues are in contention over the agreement they signed with BASL on the GAT and MMA2. One is the ownership of GAT and the second is the tenure of our concession, which is 36 years. Without mincing words, GAT belongs to Bi-Courtney by virtue of the agreement the ministry and FAAN signed with us.

    The Coordinating Committee, set up to resolve all the disputes arising from the agreement, had long ago resolved the dispute over GAT in favour of Bi-Courtney after series of meetings attended by all the representatives of FAAN and Bi-Courtney thus: “The Committee unanimously resolves the issue in favour of the Concessionaire (BASL) and directs the Grantor (FAAN) to immediately deliver possession of the General Aviation Terminal at its Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, to the Concessionaire for the purpose of extending operations at MMA2.”

    The resolution of the Coordinating Committee of the GAT dispute is in tandem with what Justice Anwuli Chikere of the Federal High Court resolved in our favour as far back as March 3, 2009, in a matter brought before her by BASL, in which she said: “It is my considered view that if any right has been granted either in principle or otherwise, such is in breach of provisions of Article 2.2 (c) and 3.2 (c) of the Agreement.

    This judgment was reaffirmed by Justice G. K. Olotu, also of the Federal High Court, on July 3, 2012, and the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, on June 13, 2012, in which the panel of justices, led by Justice Jimi Olukayode Bada dismissed FAAN’s appeal of the judgment of the Federal High Court for lack of merit.

    “Consequent upon the foregoing, it is my view that the Applicant has not been able to establish any superior legally recognisable interest that would enable this Court exercise its discretion in the Applicant’s favour.”

    The court also faulted FAAN’s reasons for failure to appeal or seek leave to appeal within the time stated in paragraph 3(i) of the affidavit in support of the Application that it was not aware of the existence of the Suit No: FHC/ABJ/CS/50/2009 before the lower court and as a result, it could not participate at the hearing.

    The appellate court added: “It looks absurd that after the authorisation to appeal, the Applicant did not file this application until 29/6/2010. The affidavit in support of the application did not explain the reason for the delay till 29/6/2010 in bringing this application, despite the fact that authorisation was given to the Applicant to proceed and appeal since 23rd March, 2010.”

    On the duration of our concession, which was Issue Number 4 resolved by the Coordinating Committee, we make bold to say that the agency and the ministry’s insistence on 12 years is absurd, as the concession tenure has long been settled at 36 years.

    On October 12, 2006, FAAN through a letter to BASL, dated October 12, 2006 and signed by Dr. Jaiye Oyedotun, Director of Commercial and Business Development on behalf of the Managing Director of the authority, entitled: “Re: Tenure of new MMA Domestic Terminal By Messrs Bi-Courtney On BOT Business Arrangement” wrote: “On the basis of the KPMG report, which recommends thirty-six years as the tenure for the concession, FAAN is offering BCC Limited a concession period of thirty-six (36) years on the New MMA Domestic Terminal, being developed by Messrs BCC Limited on Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) business arrangement.”

    Based on FAAN’s letter, Bi-Courtney accepted the offer via a letter dated October 13, 2006, and signed by Dr. Adeniyi Odunlami. In the letter, Bi-Courtney wrote: “We acknowledged receipt of your letter dated October 12, 2006, offering us a concession period of 36 years on the new Murtala Muhammed Airport Domestic Terminal that is being developed by us under a BOT arrangement. We write to formally accept your offer of a concession tenure of 36 years on the new Murtala Muhammed Airport Domestic Terminal.”

    And in resolving the dispute engineered by FAAN over the 36-year tenure and based on the facts before it, the Coordinating Committee said: “Decision: Accordingly, the Committee hereby unanimously resolves this issue in favour of the Concessionaire. The Committee affirms that the length of the concession period granted to the Concessionaire by the Grantor is 36 (Thirty Six) years from the anniversary of the Start Date as defined in the Concession Agreement.”

    The Ministry of Aviation and FAAN have also always argued that “most of the cases and attempts at arbitration were conducted without the full incorporation and participation of FAAN…” But, they know that this is not true, as they were fully represented by senior lawyers, who are still alive today, at every attempt at arbitration and in all court cases.

    They also say we parade fake documents to argue our case. Nigerians should tell them to bring out their own genuine documents signed by their representatives at all the meetings and court cases in which both parties were present.

    Then, another common language they speak regularly is that the GAT was developed in “public interest”. The question is which public interest in a matter already decided by the courts?

    Those in the know can attest to the fact that Bi-Courtney was not the preferred bidder for rebuilding the then burnt local airport, but the reserved bidder. It was a year after the bid was won by Sanders Ventures Limited without anything concrete on ground that Bi-Courtney was invited to take over the project.

    And today, Bi-Courtney has succeeded in making MMA2 the first and most successful Public-Private Partnership (PPP) project in Nigeria and we are aware that many Nigerians are proud of this unique achievement.

  • Oil spill clean-up: Kenaf to the rescue

    Oil spill clean-up: Kenaf to the rescue

    Oil spills remain one of the most serious environmental risks in the industry. Yet, the problem of clean-up remains unsolved. But there is hope of tackling the challenge. DANIEL ESSIET looks at the prospects of using a plant called kenaf to address the issue.

    HOW do we clean up environments affected by oil spills. This is the question which disturbs experts.

    As more and more companies venture into the rich oil and gas industry, they are being forced to imagine another oil spill scenario. Such considerations have led to the development of new technologies to detect and deal with spilled oil. As they push into environmentally deeper waters in search of oil, there is always pressure on them to demonstrate they could mop up spilt oil when it occurs.

    Big spills, such as BP PLC’s 2010 disaster in the Gulf of Mexico cost the company so much in expenses. BP has already spent $14 billion on clean-up operations, paid out over $8 billion in claims and offered a further $7.8 billion in settlement to those affected by the disaster.

    While organisations are putting most of their efforts into ensuring there isn’t a spill in the first place, including establishing a series of barriers, such as the blowout preventer that sits on the sea floor at the well-head, to guard against , the industry has ramped up funding to improve response technology after other major spills.

    It takes millions of dollars to carry out clean up. So far, there is technology to suck up surface oil pools . But the challenge is in addressing the smaller amounts of oil left behind — that which isn’t easily removed from sand and water. It is this small percentage of oil that sits under rocks and forms a thin film on the water’s surface. When cleanup crews reduce the amount of oil at sea, there will be enough left behind to kill birds and wildlife. According to experts, while the million barrels of oil spilled into sea or the environment may an ecological disaster, the millions of gallons of dispersant used to clean it up apparently made it even worse — 52-times more toxic. That’s according to new research from the Georgia Institute of Technology and Universidad Autonoma de Aguascalientes (UAA), Mexico. The study found that mixing the dispersant with oil increased toxicity of the mixture up to 52-fold over the oil alone. Dispersants are preapproved to help clean up oil spills and are widely used during disasters.To accelerate dispersion and enhance breakdown of the oil by microorganisms, gallons of the dispersant are sprayed on the surface of the spill and applied at the underwater source of the leak. Concerns are raised about the safety of dispersants for wildlife, plants, and humans alike. Oysters, shrimp, and other delicacies could bioaccumulate oil or dispersant in their tissues, so eating contaminated shellfish presents one possible route by which humans could be exposed.

    With millions of gallons crude oil being spewed into oceans , the leader of the United States Alumni Engagement Innovation Team, Dr. Morufat Balogun, warned against the use of chemical dispersant so as not to make a bad situation even worse.

     

    To contain the spreading oil slick and keep it from polluting the fragile ecosystems , clean-up crews deploy an array of chemical dispersants, oil skimmers and booms. They have also attempted to burn off some of the surface oil. Such aggressive clean-up efforts are fraught with unintended consequences.This is because the concentration of detergents and other chemicals used to clean up sites contaminated by oil spills can cause environmental nightmares of their own. She advocated the use of a local plant kenaf in the clean-up of environments ravaged by oil spills. She said the plant grown in the northern part of the country was environmental- friendly and could help in tackling the problem of oil spills in the Niger Delta. Balogun, who lectures at the Department of Crop Protection and Environmental Biology, University of Ibadan, said kenaf could be used as an absorbent material in cleaning oil spills. To further the cause, the United States Alumni Engagement Innovation Team on the Kenaf Clean-Up Project held a Stakeholders’ workshop on ‘Clean the Spills: Going Green in the Niger Delta’.

    The workshop urged the oil companies to support the use of kenaf as a locally available, safe and environmentally friendly alternative .

    The workshop noted that the Niger Delta is one of the world’s largest wetlands covering over 20,000km2 and is one of the most endowed deltas in the world in both human and material resources.

    The workshop lamented the fact that Nigeria has over 4,835 reported incidents of oil spills. Significantly a vast majority of these spills (about 1.89 million barrels out of 2.4 million barrels) occurred in the Niger Delta between 1976 and 1996).The largest spill, Bonga spill, covered an area of more than 923 square kilometres, and no lesser than 40,000 barrels of crude, was spilled into the Atlantic Ocean in 2011.

    The workshop urged oil companies to sponsor the adoption and utilisation of Kenaf in local entrepreneurship and farm activities as part of a holistic community engagement strategy beyond oil spill remediation.

    Participants were drawn from the academia, farmers, media, civil society groups, ministries, departments and agencies of governments at all levels. It offered an opportunity for the presentation of papers on the use of the kenaf plants as well as practical demonstration of the use of the plant.

    The Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund of the Alumni Office, United States Department of State, the University of Ibadan, Institute of Agricultural Research and Training (IAR&T), and the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) jointly sponsored the event.

     

    Senate’s action

    The Senate said Nigeria has the highest number of oil spills among oil producing countries with no penalty regime attached. It noted that the level of spills in the country was a reflection of the disregard on our environment and the dignity of our people. Declaring open a public hearing on National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency(NOSDRA), Amendment Bill 2012 in Abuja by Senate Joint Committee on Environment and Ecology;Chairman of the committee, Senator Bukola Saraki said oil spill had become an irresponsible environmental behaviour and reckless waste of the people’s wealth and benefit, adding that it was high time multinational oil companies stopped oil spills.

    Saraki said the move had become imperative against the backdrop of its devastating effect on the environment and livelihood of the people, even as he lamented that the statistics of oil spills in the country was “shameful” while the impact on the environment is “offensive.”

    He said the Bill entitled: “An Act to amend the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) establishment, etc, Act 2006 and for other matters connected therewith” was designed among others to redress the legal loopholes in the existing Act.

    He said: “Oil spill is ravaging our environment and has become one of the greatest threats to our sustainable development. This amendment Bill is a clarion call to us all, to put a stop to this.

    “The statistics of oil spills in Nigeria is shameful; the impact on the environment is offensive. It can no longer be business as usual. Without a doubt, oil spillage is dealt with all over the world as an environmental issue and a human right issue that goes to the quality of the environment and the value of life of those impacted by spills.

    “It is erroneous to continue to view oil spills as a necessary consequence of oil exploration.”

    Saraki ,who stressed that the Act setting up NOSDRA was deficient to meet challenges posed by oil spills and at such a better legal framework was required, said: “This bill seeks to cure the observed deficiency in the previous law bytweaking the institutional framework for oil spill management and regulation to make it more efficient.

    Our objective is to reverse the ugly trend of endless spilling and devastation of our environment and the repugnant impact on our people.”

  • Rivers, Gambian firm partner on N12.1b Golf Estate

    Rivers, Gambian firm partner on N12.1b Golf Estate

    The Rivers State Government and TAF Nigeria Homes, a subsidiary of TAF Holding Company Ltd in The Gambia, have signed a N12.1 billion partnership agreement for the development of 750 housing units for the upper and middle classes. The houses are expected to be delivered in 30 months, OKWY IROEGBU-CHIKEZIE reports.

    The N12.1billion Golf Estate targeted for the middle and high income earners is sited on a 38-hectare land located on Peter Odili Road, Trans Amadi, Port Harcourt.

    At the signing ceremony at the Governor’s Office last week, the Managing Director of TAF Nigeria, Mr Mustapha Nijie, said his firm would build homes that are equipped with high maintenance facility to meet the expected taste of the target audience.

    The estate would be the biggest residential estate with scenery a well-laid out landscape, he added.

    Nijie, whose housing developments in other countries won him the European Council for Global business award for quality and excellence, said the project would also incorporate the development and delivery of infrastructure, such as shopping centres, sports centre, recreation centre, nine-hole golf course, central water sewage and power supply.

    The government equity contribution, he said, includes the 38 hectares, basic external infrastructure, such as power supply, roads and other utilities leading to the project site.

    He promised that the first tenants would move into their apartments in 12 months ahead of government schedule. On the house types, the TAF Nigeria boss said when completed the estate would comprise 200 two bedroom apartment; 408 three- bedroom apartment; 30 three bedroom town/ terrace house; 32 four-bedroom town/terrace house; 10 four bedroom villa/duplex; 21 five bedroom villa/ duplex; 50 plots of site and services; retail and shopping mall; recreational facilities nad nine hole golf course.

    In addition, he said the following services would be offered in the estate upon completion: 24-hour electricity and water suppl; round the clock security (gated community); garbage collection; maintenance of streets and pub- lic areas.

    On costs, he explained that a two-bedroom costs over N12million while a three bedroom town houses costs N35million. The cost of a four- bedroom duplex is N40million.

    The Chairman of company, Mr Basil Omiyi, assured that they would complete the job on schedule with material and encouraged the public to take advantage of the unique opportunity to live in a world standard estate.

    On mortgage facilities, Regional Head, Marketing,Aso Savings & Loans Plc, FCT, Mr Elijah Onyeagba, said the firm expects subscribers to deposit a minimum of 30 per cent equity to qualify. He said his firm was working with Citibank to create mortgage products for Nigerians in Diaspora who might want to be part of the scheme.

    First Bank Group Head, Public Sector, Port Harcourt, Mrs. Nkiruka Harris-Eze, said they were willing to give mortgage facilities to ensure that they would be performing mortgages.

    She said since banks have short term funds, it makes it difficult to support long term funding.

    Earlier, Governor Rotimi Ameachi said any economy that wants to develop must be committed to infrastructure provision , especially housing. He said the partnership between the government and the developer in golf estate would address the social and economic challenges of the people by providing affordable home ownership.

    He said: “In this project, we are not only providing homes but also creating employment opportunities for various skill sets, such as engineers, electricians, builders, construction laboureres and a whole lot of people in the whole distribution chain.”

    He urged the developer to hit the ground running and disregard land speculators who might frustrate their efforts.

    The governor warned the public against disturbing developers on site.

  • ‘Cargo will transform economy’

    The Federal Government said it plans to make Nigeria a leading exporter of agricultural produce, through the nation’s airports, in line with the transformation agenda for the aviation industry.

    Director of the Cargo Develop-ment, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mr Rowland Ofulue, stated this after a meeting with the representatives of international cargo airlines and members of the Association of Foreign Airlines Representatives.

    The airlines include Qatar Airline, Saudi Arabian Airline, Emirates, Kenya Airways, Cargolux Airline, Landover, Air France, KLM and Alitalia. Others were Base Aviation, Delta Airline, DHL and Fedex.

    He added that the creation of a new directorate of cargo development in FAAN was among several strategies adopted by the Federal Government to steer the nation from being an oil and gas dependent economy to a multi-pronged economy that will create more jobs for Nigerians.

    He said the new directorate was poised to create an enabling environment that would boost cargo development at major Nigerian airports, where more emphasis had been laid on passenger movements and other related businesses.

    Ofulue informed the group that the Federal Government had concluded plans to build new cargo terminals in 12 airports in the country and invited them to take advantage of this huge investment to contribute to the growth of the country’s economy, through increased air cargo operation.

    He also said an agro allied economy would evolve from the development of the cargo terminals being planned nationwide, adding that a lot of perishable food items that are produced in this country could be exported through our airports as it is done in neighbouring countries that rely on such export for the sustenance of their economies.

    Ofulue later called for the support of the association in checking unwholesome practices in cargo business which are against international standards and practices.

    Members of the association promised to work with FAAN to achieve the transformation of the nation’s economy through enhanced cargo operations.

  • Eland oil begins production from OML 40 in 2013

    Eland oil begins production from OML 40 in 2013

    •Targets 50,000 bpd by 2016

    The management of Eland Oil and Gas Plc has said oil production from oil mining lease (OML) 40, one of the assets divested by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), would begin in first quarter of next year.

    Its Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Les Blair who disclosed this in Lagos, said if things worked out as expected, the initial production in first quarter of 2013, would be 3,000 barrels of per day (bpd) and would be grown to 50,000 bpd in the next four years, which will be in 2016.

    Blair expressed optimism that the asset contains more oil that earlier estimated, adding that opportunities abound in the Niger Delta area. According to him, the acreage has probable reserves of about 500 million barrels. He noted that Nigerian crude is a high quality, light oil grade referred to as ‘sweet’ which trades at a premium to Brent because of its high gasoline content and relatively low processing cost.

    Blair promised that the company would help local companies to grow and train Nigerians, adding that indigenous contractors would be used in all aspects of operations, as well as employ indigenes who could be employed. He said host communities would be carried along and they would be asked of their needs before embarking on projects. The company would work mutually with stakeholders such as the government, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and contractors, among others, he added.

    He said: “In line with the company’s focus on Nigeria, the directors believe, given the importance of alignment with the Federal Government’s indigenisation programme, that there are significant benefits in working closely with a Nigerian partner, for example, indigenous companies in Nigeria will benefit from preferential treatment in the award of further licence areas.

    Therefore, the company has established a joint venture company – Elcrest Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited – in which the company holds 45 percent of the shares. The balance of the shares in Elcrest is held by a subsidiary of the Chrome Group of companies, Starcrest Nigeria Energy Limited.

    The Chrome Group was founded by Chief Emeka Offor in 1994 and is regarded by the directors as a major indigenous group. The company has agreed with Starcrest to acquire an additional four percent of the shares in Elcrest held by Starcrest. Also, the company has an option to acquire a further 10 per cent of the shares in Elcrest from Starcrest.”

    He said a substantial part of the 190 million British pounds raised from London Stock Exchange would be channelled to the development of the OML 40 asset, which has not been producing since seven years following security issues in the Niger Delta but which has been addressed through the Federal Government’s amnesty programme.

    He said: “The directors of the company believe that the acquisition of the asset represents a solid foundation on which to grow the Group in Nigeria. OML 40 has production history, booked developed and undeveloped reserves, infrastructure for production and oil export for 30,000 bpd comprising a flowstation and an export pipeline, and the directors believe that there is low risk appraisal upside and substantial exploration potential.

    “The licence area covers 498 sq km with gross lease 2P reserves of 15.5 million barrels, gross lease 3P reserves of 117 million barrels and gross lease 2C contingent resources of 15.5 million barrels, as estimated by McDaniel. In addition SPDC carried an exploration portfolio of 15 prospects and leads within OML 40 with total unrisked mean crude oil prospective resources of 356 million barrels which have not been audited by McDaniel.”

  • Oduah lists priorities of 2013 budget

    Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Oduah, has said the ministry will next year focus on improving and consolidating on going efforts at infrastructure upgrade as well as the certification of airports in the country in accordance with the standards of international civil aviation organisation (ICAO).

    Oduah, who spoke during her presentation of the 2013 budget to the senate committee on aviation, said it is unacceptable that some airports in the country are certified.

    To achieve certification for the nation’s airports, the Minister said their effort at reconstruction and remodelling of the airports would be consolidated and improved upon in the 2013 fiscal year, especially with regard to the provision of safety critical infrastructure.

    Areas that would receive priority attention include Landing instruments, security and communication infrastructure, water hydrants, fire fighting vehicles, airfield lighting and interrupted, 24-hour electricity supply.

    Others include equipment for the control and prevention of bird strikes, conveyor belts, functional air-conditioning systems for the remodelled terminals, Avio bridges, sufficient apron buses to halt the risky practice whereby passengers walk through the tarmacs to board aircraft, Welfare buses for aviation workers to alleviate their hardship in terms of transportation to and from work, amongst others.

    She stated that the infrastructure upgrade is beside the construction of five new international airport terminals and several perishable and cargo terminals in the nation’s airport.

    “The aim of all these projects is to modernise our airports, gradually phase out all obsolete equipment and infrastructure and bring our airports to international standards and best practices. This is the only way we can get our airports to be certified”, Oduah declared.

    Also Chairman, Senate Committee on Aviation, Senator Hope Uzodinma, said it is “very sad that most of our airports are not certified in accordance with ICAO standards. We must, therefore, do everything possible to get them certified.”

    He said other areas which deserve serious attention; and upon which the government must find a way to fund in the 2013 budget is capacity building and training of professionals/experts by the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), airfield lighting as well the maintenance of the runways.