The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Bayelsa

  • Bayelsa explains Dickson’s absence

    Bayelsa explains Dickson’s absence

    BAYELSA State has cleared the air on the absence of Governor Seriake Dickson in the last two weeks.

    The Special Adviser to the Governor on Political Matters, Chief Fred Agbedi, said Dickson is overseas not on account of critical health challenge but to rest.

    The governor, he also explained, is meeting with potential investors in the state.

    There have been speculations on Dickson’s absence in the state, especially how he left the country.

    Many argued the governor must have been critically ill to be away for so long, especially close to the Independence celebrations.

    But Agbedi told reporters in Yenagoa the governor is merely having a rest and not sick as widely speculated.

    According to him: “It is important to let people of Bayelsa and Nigerians know that there is no life- threatening ailment that prompted our governor going abroad.

    “He went because he needed rest and has some engagements as a way of attracting investors and development to the state.”

    He also explained Dickson has not had time to rest since the rigorous processes that led to his election this year.

    Agbedi added: “There is no law that says the governor should announce when he is going to rest.

    “He travelled because as a human being, he needed some rest to be able to regain himself after all these elections”.

    The deputy governor, Real Admiral Gboribiogha Jonah, he said, has been running the state smoothly since the governor’s absence.

    He stressed: “The governor’s absence has not in any way affected the activities of the state”.

     

  • Firm to build 107,000 bpd refinery in Bayelsa

    Firm to build 107,000 bpd refinery in Bayelsa

    An indigenous company, EPIC Refinery and Petrochemical Industries Limited, said it had concluded arrangement to build a 107,000 barrel per day refinery in Bayelsa State, which is expected to be completed in 2014.

    The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the company, Hon. Barango Matthew Wenka Jnr. stated this during a presentation on planned refinery to the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) in Lagos.

    “EPIC Refinery and Petrochemical Industry Limited will be commissioned in 2014 by President Goodluck Jonathan if the DPR will issue us the operational license without delay,” Wenka stated after the presentation.

    The refinery, which will be sited in Oporoma Community in Bayelsa State, Wenka said, is purely a private business concern that has everything ready to make the project succeed despite failures of several firms that had been issued licenses to construct in the past.

    The Coordinator of EPIC refinery, Mr. Zakari Umar, an engineer, who also led the EPIC technical team, took the DPR team led by Olumide Adeleke, the Assistant Director, Pipelines, Plants and Installation and Joseph Odiong, Manager, Hydrocarbon Processing Plant, through the plant drawings, process description and flow schematics of the refinery.

    Presenting the technical details of the refinery and petrochemical plant, Umar said the construction of the refinery would be done in close collaboration with the DPR. Umar explained the design philosophy, technology, design development and components of the refinery complex as well as the construction, stock input and output (the yield), export options and modalities, power generation and social infrastructure of the refinery.

    Umar stated that what informed the choice of Oporoma as the site for the refinery is nearness to source of crude oil. He said the refinery complex, will be configured to process 107,000 barrels of crude oil per day (Bonny Light or low sulphur blends). He listed the process units of the refinery to include crude distillation, naphtha reformers, vacuum distillation and gasoil hydro-cracking units. Others include hydro-treating units for kerosene and diesel, residual fluid catalytic cracking and merox unit.

    He explained that out of the 107,000 barrels of crude feed per day, 4,287 barrels of fuel gas and 25,320 barrels of gasoline (petrol) will be produced. For kerosene, diesel and fuel oil, he said, 10,332 barrels, 38,714 barrels and 25,897 barrels of the products will be produced on daily basis.

    On the proposed market for the products, Umar said Nigeria and other West African countries as well as the United States and Europe would be the primary markets. He also told the DPR that the company would also build a power plant that would generate over 200 megawatts (MW) of electricity to power the refinery, adding that the excess of what would be required by the refinery would be wheeled into the national grid at a reasonable price.

    Adeleke promised the EPIC team of DPR’s support but stated that in time past, other promoters had come for presentations after which nothing happened. Reacting to the statement, the EPIC chief reassured DPR that the funds for the project is not a problem as HSBC had already pooled together about $30 billion required for it. All the bank is waiting for is the approval from DPR for it to start. He said the refinery, when completed would represent a monumental legacy in the transformation agenda of the administration of President Jonathan.

    Stressing the need for the construction of the refinery, Wenka said the downstream subsector of Nigeria’s oil and gas industry is under-invested. The sector he said, lacks adequate productive capacity, which accounts for the reason refined products are largely imported. The opportunities of profit and technology transfer are being lost to other developing countries, making petroleum products to be perennially in short supply with demand always high.

    In view of these, refining of crude oil is attractive to local and foreign investors and above all, government needs to extricate itself from the stronghold of products importation and subsidy scandal.

    He said EPIC is ready to commence work if the DPR issues it the license, adding that the company’s technical partner, the Sino Asian Energy (SAE) Group Limited has cutting edge technology and vast experience in the construction of refineries worldwide. The EPIC boss cited other projects undertaken by SAE Group to include the ultra-modern 348,000 barrel per day capacity refinery recently completed in Indonesia.

    He said that EPIC and SAE Group are in a joint venture. The SAE Group is to Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) the refinery to EPIC by 2016. According to the BOT schedule, the construction is to take 24 months while the operate period is to last for 48 months. The pre-start activities of site acquisition, surveys, assessment, compensation, clearing, fencing and similar issues had been sorted out already, he added.

    He also told the DPR that a memorandum of understanding (MoU) has been signed with the Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment, which has promised to fast-track the processes and incentives. The project will cost about $30 billion and would be fully funded by foreign financiers. He noted that there is a proof of funds made available by HSBC.

  • Bayelsa to turn Glory Castle to hotel

    Bayelsa to turn Glory Castle to hotel

    The Bayelsa State government has decided to  convert the multi-billion  naira edifice,  Glory Castle, to a six-star hotel as it also expressed its wish to bring back the hitherto much criticized African Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) ceremony to the state.
    The idea of the castle, which is currently used as a lodge, was initiated and built by the administration of Governor D.S.P. Alamieyeseigha, but subsequent administrations, including those of Goodluck Jonathan and Chief Timipre Sylva completed the edifice which   is of international standard and could accommodate many top government officials, including governors and presidents at the same time.
    Governor Dickson’s move to convert it to a six-star hotel is aimed at further boosting the tourism potential in the state, it was learnt.
    Considering its magnificent nature, it will be the first of its kind in the country when completed.
    Criticisms had trailed the birth of the multi-billion naira edifice because it has nothing to do with the common man in the state as it was seen as a waste of resources.
    Governor Dickson, who dropped the hint of converting the building to a hotel when he hosted some Nollywood stars who were in the state for a symposium on the prospects of indigenous films in Nigeria to a state dinner, also mentioned of the state government’s desire to build a film village as part of government’s drive to project the state’s vast potential to the outside world.
    Governor Dickson also expressed his administration’s intention to collaborate with the  AMAA to actualize the project to enable the academy hold its activities annually in the state.
    It would be recalled that the award ceremony attracted a plethora of criticisms, following the huge sum of money expended on it without corresponding positive effect on the state.

  • Bayelsa to build film village

    Bayelsa State Government is to build a film village as part of efforts to project its vast potentials to the outside world.  Governor Seriake Dickson has said. He spoke at a state dinner for some Nollywood stars who were in the state for a symposium on the prospects of indigenous films in Nigeria at Government House, Yenagoa .
    Dickson spoke of his administration’s intention to collaborate with the African Movie Academy Awards (AMAA), to enable the academy hold its activities annually in the state.
    According to him, aside from the film village, government is putting in place the necessary infrastructure such as good road network , a boat club, golf course and other recreational facilities, that could facilitate as well as enrich film production in Bayelsa State.
    Governor Dickson remarked that the Glory land Castle in Government House has been converted to a six- star hotel, which he noted will be the first of its kind in the country when completed.
    Re-affirming his administration’s commitment to make Bayelsa State a centre of excellence in the Arts and Culture, the Governor urged actors, actresses and film producers to take advantage of the peaceful and alluring scenery of the state for their film production.

    In her remarks, one of the Nollywood stars, Miss Hilda Dokubo lauded Governor Dickson for his developmental strides as well as enthroning a governance culture through the institutionalization of transparency and accountability.
    Miss Dokubo thanked the Governor for organizing the symposium and urged other state Governors to emulate the gesture.