The Nation Newspaper

Tag: crude

  • Troops seize 367,300 litres of stolen crude in one week

    Troops seize 367,300 litres of stolen crude in one week

    • Arrest 11 oil thieves, kill 31 terrorists

    Troops of Operation Delta Safe (OPDS), a military operation against oil thieves and other criminals in the Niger Delta region, have recovered 367,300 litres of stolen crude oil in the last one week.

    Also recovered were 11,353 litres of illegally refined diesel, 12,500 litres of kerosene and 5,000 litres of petrol.

    The troops also arrested 11 oil thieves during several operations in the region.

    The Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. Edward Buba, disclosed these in a statement yesterday.

    Buba said the troops also destroyed 14 illegal refineries, seven dugout pits, nine boats, 25 storage tanks, 39 cooking ovens and three pumping machines.

    Giving updates of troops operations in other parts of the country, the Defence spokesperson said troops killed a total of 31 terrorists and arrested 81 others in the last one week.

    He said troops also rescued 10 kidnap victims while a total of 63 Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists and their families surrendered to troops across theatres of operation. 

    Read also: Ondo kidnapped church members allegedly paid N50m as ransom

    “Additionally, troops recovered 65 assorted weapons and 391 assorted ammunition,” Buba said.

    “The breakdown is 26 AK47 rifles, four locally made rifles, six Dane guns, two locally made pistols, seven magazines and body armour among others.

    “Others are 345 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 19 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 7 rounds of 9mm ammo, 36 live cartridges, 10 rounds 7.62 x 39mm war heads, 48 motorcycles, 12 mobile phones and the sum of N327,960.00.”

    According to the Defence spokesperson, the ongoing military operations across the country have set the stage for social and economic progress with ultimate goal “to secure the country through the defeat of those threatening the safety of citizens and perpetrating insecurity.”

    “The armed forces and citizens are partners in combating a common enemy which are the terrorist and violent extremist groups.

    “Accordingly, the military through its operations, continues to prevail against the effects of insurgency and terrorism with an ultimate goal of securing the country against perpetrators of insecurity for national progress,” Buba said.

  • Crude theft not only reason for low production, says agency

    Crude theft not only reason for low production, says agency

    Contrary to popular view, oil theft is not the only reason for Nigeria’s declining crude production and foreign exchange earnings.

    Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) Simbi Wabote stated this at a meeting with reporters in Abuja yesterday.

    Wabote, at the forum with the theme: “Sustaining Nigerian content amidst divestments to indigenous oil companies: The role of the media,” listed ageing oil fields and lack of major investments in the oil and gas sector as some of the factors. 

    He added that the delay in the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act, long contracting cycle time, clamour for energy transition and the emergence of attractive oil-producing nations were also the contributors.

    The NCDMB boss explained that while the rising shift towards alternative energy sources has influenced international oil companies to cut back on new projects, the emergence of new oil producers in Africa and other parts of the world has led to intense competition for investment capital.

    Wabote, who described NCDMB  as a business enabler,  said that with recent divestments by some oil majors and acquisitions/ planned acquisitions of their key assets, the share of local firms in the oil sector could reach 30 per cent or more in a short while.

    He said: “Contrary to the popular view, the unfortunate stealing of our crude oil by vandals is not the only reason for Nigeria’s low production numbers and the decrease in our foreign exchange earnings.

    “Our nation’s production deficit is partly caused by the lack of major investments in the past decade, declining oil production from ageing oil fields, and the clamour for energy transition which caused international oil companies to cut back on new projects.

    “There is also the emergence of attractive oil-producing nations in Africa and across the globe, leading to intense competition for investment capital.

    “These challenges were worsened by the delay in the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act and of course the long contracting cycle time.”

    Wabote also noted that what has been playing out in the sector was the implementation of the oil majors’ strategic move to sell their onshore assets in Nigeria and concentrate on offshore operations, where they retain a competitive advantage and contend with minimal human interferences.

    He said: “The implication is that we should expect other majors to soon offer their onshore assets for sale, while many other Nigerian independents will have a shoo-in.

    “The ongoing and planned divestments are big accomplishments for Nigerian Content development. They are bold statements that Nigerian indigenous operating companies have come of age and have acquired the technical, managerial, and financial capabilities to play in the big league.

    Read Also: Troops seized 696,250ltrs of stolen crude, destroyed 34 illegal refineries in 2 weeks

    “We are proud that we have moved from near zero participation in the oil and gas sector to the point that our indigenous operators such as SEPLAT, AITEO, EROTON  and others are now responsible for 15 percent of our oil production and 60 percent of our domestic gas supply.”

    Wabote also said  that beyond the positives, “it must also be observed that the divestment of producing assets to indigenous players poses significant challenges for the implementation of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act.”

    The   “worries,” according to him  “are predicated on research findings and our experience in implementing the NOGICD Act in the past 13 years which indicates that indigenous firms, especially the indigenous operating companies are serial violators of the Nigerian Content Act.”

    Wabote said that it was surprising to see local companies undermine and flout the Nigerian Content Act despite being the immediate beneficiaries of the Nigerian Content policy.

    He noted that the poor attitude of local companies was responsible for flight, loss of jobs, and opportunity for technological development. 

    Wabote said the NCDMB  has been living up to its objectives of facilitating ease of doing business and setting  new standards of quality service delivery in the public and private sectors.

    These aspirations, he  said, were “even more urgent today to arrest the monumental decline in our nation’s oil production numbers and to support President Bola Tinubu in every possible way to achieve the economic policies in his Renewed Hope Agenda.”

  • Troops seized 696,250ltrs of stolen crude, destroyed 34 illegal refineries in 2 weeks

    Troops seized 696,250ltrs of stolen crude, destroyed 34 illegal refineries in 2 weeks

    • 191 terrorists killed, 184 suspected criminals held

    The Defence Headquarters has said  troops of Operations Delta Safe (OPDS) have seized 696,250 litres of stolen crude oil, 54,400 litres of illegally refined diesel  and 1,200 litres of petrol, during several operations against oil thieves in the Niger Delta, in the past two weeks.

    The military high command said the seized products were  worth N388,469,650.00.

    The Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. Edward Buba, disclosed this yesterday during a briefing at the Defence Headquarters in Abuja.

    He said the troops destroyed 34 illegl refineries, 38 dugout pits, 21 boats, 57 storage tanks and arrested 22 perpetrators of oil theft

    Buba said troops on operation in the North East, North West and North Central  killed 191 terrorists and  arrested 184 others.

    Read Also: Troops seize 696,000 stolen crude, destroy 34 illegal refineries in two weeks

    He said the troops also rescued 91 kidnap victims, while  104 Boko Haram/Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists and their families surrendered to troops at different locations in the frontline.

    The Defence spokesperson said troops of Operation UDO KA killed 11 Indigenous People of Biafra/Eastern Security Network (IPOB/ESN) fighters, arrested 20 suspected criminals and rescued 15 kidnap victims  during operations in the South East.

    He said: “Troops recovered 209 assorted weapons and 2,894 assorted ammunition in all the operations across the country, in the past two weeks.”

    According to Buba, “the breakdown are 46 AK47 rifles, eight G3 rifle, one SMG, one PKT gun, 11 locally made rifles, eight dane gun, two locally made revolvers, nine locally fabricated Ak47 rifles, one locally made SMG, two high grade military rifles, three  locally made IED launchers, three locally made pistols, one x 36 hand grenade, IEDs, 5 Ak47 rifles loaded with 113 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 837 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 289 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 275 rounds of 9mm ammo and 43 live cartridges.”

    “Others are one unserviceable FN rifle, 22 rounds of 7.62 x 54mm ammo, 4 rounds of 7.62mm special (refilled), 32 magazines, 3 G3 magazines, 45 empty cases of 7.62mm NATO ammo, daggers, 15 cutlasses, 14 vehicles, 9 motorcycles, 7 bicycles, 4 fragmental jackets, one tripod, 2 boafeng radios, 24 mobile phones and the sum of N55,798,105.00.”

  • ‘Nigeria has highest capex on crude’

    Nigeria accounts for more than 34 per cent of the proposed capital expenditure (capex) on planned and announced crude and natural gas projects in sub-Saharan Africa over the period 2018–2025, according to GlobalData, a data and analytics company.

    The company’s report: ‘H2 2018 Production and Capital Expenditure Outlook for Key Planned Upstream Projects in Sub-Saharan Africa–Royal Dutch Shell Dominates Production and Capex Outlook’ reveals that Nigeria leads in sub-Saharan Africa with a capex of US$59bn on 28 planned and announced projects during the 2018–2025 forecast period. Of the total count, eight are planned and 20 are announced projects.

    Soorya Tejomoortula, oil and gas analyst at GlobalData, said: “Nigeria is investing heavily in new oil and gas projects to further boost its oil and gas production. Majority of production from these projects is for exports, generating significant revenues for the country.”

    In total, 67 crude and natural gas projects are expected to start operations in sub-Saharan Africa during the forecast period.

  • JP Morgan: brent crude to hit $78

    Price of Brent crude will hit $78 per barrel in the next few months, on account of the dynamics in the global oil market, a global investment banking institution, JP Morgan report has said.

    It said the price is expected to hit $78 per barrel within months, as new productions and supplies kicks off among the members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non- OPEC members.

    It said the price may fall to $64 and later rise to $67 per barrel, before rising to $78 in the second half of the year.

    The report’s projection aligns with that of Bank of America (BoA) and other banks, in respect to the growing prices of crude over the next half of this year.

    It said the projection by the crude price projection of $64 by the  BoA would increase later in the year.

    “The global economy will continue to expand, relative to the growth in the demand and supply prices of crude. The dynamics will also drive the WTI prices higher with the average for the year seen at $65.63 a barrel,” according to J.P. Morgan’s oil analysts.

    The report said despite the upbeat, the investment bank’s analysts recognised the danger of growing U.S. and other non-OPEC production.

    So, while their price forecasts are for the average level of Brent and WTI this year, the bank’s senior oil analyst Abhishek Deshpande noted in an interview with CNBC that “2018 is going to be a year of two halves.

  • NNPC: crude-for-product arrangement on course

    NNPC: crude-for-product arrangement on course

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has said it will go ahead with its crude-for-product plans.

    Its Group Public Affairs Manager, Ndu Ugbamadu, in an interview with The Nation at the weekend, said Federal Government has never contemplated dropping the idea or substituting it with another as of efforts to make fuel available in the country.

    He said the delay in fast-tracking the growth of the initiative does not mean that the government has abandoned the idea.

    He said the Federal Government through NNPC, is in talks with prospective bidders for crude locally and internationally in order to ensure that the scheme enjoy a seamless run.

    Ugbamadu said: ‘’To underscore the fact that the crude-for-fuel arrangement is on-going, the government recently ran a programme on the national television station, through which stakeholders in the oil and gas value chain engaged in cross-fertilisatiion of ideas on the issue and further provided solutions to difficulties or bottlenecks the government might face in the course of implementing the scheme.

    ‘’The Direct-Sale Direct-Purchase Import model, through which the government planned to get fuel proportionate to the crude supplied to the refiners abroad is broad, and made of processes.

    “The fact that the process is long, made the government to be careful about its implementation. The programme is still in place, and whenever the government is through with its plans on the issue, it would definitely inform Nigerians about it.”

  • Why Nigeria needs to optimise use of crude in-country

    There is urgent need for Nigeria to begin to think of how it will optimise value from its crude by refining a chunk of its production locally for domestic use and export products especially now that demand for oil is declining and use of petrol and diesel becoming unfashionable.

    The Chairman, Nigerian Council of Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), Saka Matemilola, said the development has become imperative in view the current global trend. He said the country needs to begin to think how achieve maximum refining in-country, adding that sale of refined products will earn more foreign exchange for Nigeria from the resource. He also noted that such decision becomes necessary considering the plan to ban use of petrol and diesel vehicles in the near future by some countries of the world including France, United Kingdom, India and Scandinavia.

    Matemilola also stated that the United States that used to be a major importer and consumer of Nigeria’s crude oil is now a net exporter of crude oil and net exporter of gas buttressing the need for Nigeria to do something about her oil.

    He recalled that the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources had during one of the energy forums in Lagos said there were a lot of cargoes of Nigerian crude grades that couldn’t be easily sold for lack of buyers, provoking further fears that soon the Nigerian crude may not have a market at the global scene.

    The SPE chief said despite government’s efforts to boost refining through revamping the refineries through turnaround maintenance and encouraging construction of modular refineries, there was need to provide enabling environment for investors to invest in refineries in the country.

    He said there were investors who were willing to invest in the country but the environment is not conducive for that to happen, adding that there are investors who are contemplating whether they should or should not invest in the country because of lack of favourable environment.

    He said: “If you don’t provide the enabling environment in the different areas of the oil and gas value chain, the investment will not come. We need to begin to think along that way.”

    Matemilola told The Nation in Lagos that it was vital for the government to provide the right environment for investors to invest and not just about talking of doing more refineries.

    He said it is important that government guarantee investors in the refineries that their investments will be safe and not to go down the drain as well as assurance that there would be returns on their investment. These factors are important to encourage private investments because it is the private sector investors that would really drive the oil and gas sector to government’s aspiration.

    He said if the environment is favourable for investment, investors will be willing to invest because they would make more money from such investments. He advised the government to fully deregulate the downstream oil sector, as it would encourage investors to invest in the sector. It is important to all of us as Nigerians, he added.

    According to him, investment in refinery is the way to go if Nigeria must become self-sufficient in petroleum products. He cited the Ogbele marginal oil field operated by the Niger Delta Petroleum Resources Limited (NDPR), which refines 1000 barrels of crude per day from its production, adding that although it produces diesel alone, it adds value to its investment.

    Matemilola also urged marginal producers to come together, form clusters and establish refineries, adding that locating such refineries close to source of crude supply will ensure security of crude supply and enhance profitability. “If they come together as a group, the government can support them in establishing refineries, he added.

  • Pan Ocean’s pipeline ‘ll boost crude export by 160,000bpd

    Pan Ocean Oil Corporation (POOC), an indigenous exploration and production company and operator of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)/Pan Ocean Joint Venture, has awarded a pipeline contract to a local firm to create an alternative export line to avoid attacks by Niger Delta militants. EMEKA UGWUANYI reports.

    The agitation for resource control by the Niger Delta militants made the creeks of the region dangerous for expatriate oil workers. This led to shutdowns of operations by oil companies.

    Until recently, following several  interventions by the Federal Government, major pipelines, including the Nembe Creek Trunk Line (NCTL) and Trans-Forcados Crude Export Pipeline, have been under attacks. When such blow outs occur, it takes weeks, months or sometimes a year to get the pipelines back on stream.

    The Federal Government, however, has been able to check some of the militants through peace talks. Despite these, there is the need for a safer way of evacuating crude oil.

    Driven by the urgent need to encourage alternate field production potential of exploration and production companies, as well as infrastructure development in Nigeria, Pan Ocean Oil Corporation, operator of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation/Pan Ocean Joint Venture, began to seek alternative line to evacuate crude from the fields to export terminals.

    Pan Ocean has awarded a contract for the construction of Amukpe-Escravos Pipelines Project (AEPP) to Fenog Nigeria Limited, an indigenous company in 2011.

    The contract, which involves installation of 20-inch pipeline on the 67-kilometre route, will have the capacity to handle 160,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) with capacity to accommodate third parties on crude oil evacuation to the Escravos Tank farm.

    The Amukpe-Escravos Pipeline Project (AEPP), a joint venture (JV) of the NNPC and Pan Ocean, The Nation learnt, is scheduled to begin operation before the end of third quarter of the year. It will offer an option to the “much-troubled” Trans Forcados Pipeline (TFP) for crude export from mid-western oil producers in the Niger Delta.

    “The primary objective of AEPP is to ensure that there is no disruption to crude oil export like the scenario we experienced on the TFP over the past 16 months where there was a total collapse of crude export. Nigeria’s experience and history has shown that it is not wise to be highly dependent on a particular source that is why we have AEPP as alternative to TFP which has been our major means of exporting crude oil as a joint venture (JV) partner,” John Okusolubo, senior pipeline engineer and Project Lead, AEPP, said.

    According to him, the construction of the AEPP entails the use of Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) to install the pipelines  to secure them from vandalism. The project’s objective is to provide Pan Ocean JV and other Niger Delta mid-western producers, such as Seplat, Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), Conoil, Sahara and other oil producers in the area an alternative export pipeline route to the TFP that has been a casualty of many militant attacks.

    Nigeria’s crude export dwindled in the past two years because of the massive vandalism. The TFP has a daily capacity of 240,000 bpd, with average daily flows ranging from 200,000 bpd and 240,000 bpd. Amid its shutdown, Nigeria’s crude oil production fell from two million bpd to as low as 1.27 million bpd, losing its position as Africa’s number one crude oil producer and falling behind Angola several times over the past year.

    The AEPP will be a major export line. It will give opportunity for other injectors who may be stalled by the erratic vandalism of the TFP to join in transporting crude to Escravos. This achievement means Pan Ocean has an alternative line to export its crude and has also created an opportunity for others who have been using TFP to also export their crude without disruption.

    This project will help the country to continue to flow their crude and keep the economy alive. It is also imperative that other indigenous firms individually or collaboratively find ways to make the oil and industry uninhibited to boost the economy.

  • ‘Nigeria’s crude production hits 2.2mb/d’

    Nigeria’s crude oil production has risen to 2.2million barrel per day, the Group Managing Director (GMD), Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru, has said.

    Baru, who made this known at the sixth Sustainability in the Extractive Industries’ (SITEI) conference in Abuja, yesterday, said, Nigeria intends building  the country’s oil reserve to about 2.5mb/d and its subsidiary; the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), has already transformed from 15,000mb/d to 210,000mb/d.

    He said NNPC has identified seven critical gas projects in order to enhance power supply and stimulate industrial growth.

    Represented by the Corporation’s Chief Operating Officer, Oil and Power, Mr. Mohammed Saidu, Baru, attributed the increase in production to the peace in the Niger Delta.

    He said the calmness in the Niger Delta, and renewed efforts in the Northeast, are indications that the oil firm has renewed its strength for building oil reserves.

    Baru said: “Current production is building up, we are doing about 2.2 million barrels per day today, but of course, the intension is to build on that, sustain production and grow it up to about three million barrels per day in the next few years.

    “We have to grow the reserves; we have had little or zero exploration for the past years, but thank God we are now renewing that. With the calmness in the Niger Delta and some of the efforts in the Northeastern region, we have now renewed our vigor towards building the reserves.

    “And so in that way, we have gone back to the Benue Trough and the Chad Basin. Although the Chad Basin is slightly behind, in the sense that we were about to go back when security challenges erupted, we are just waiting for the final green light for us to go back there.

    “Again all these are towards building the reserves, for is you build up the production to about 2.3 or 2.5 million barrels per day, you need the reserves to sustain that volume. The NPDC has grown production from a mere 15,000 barrels per day to about 210,000 barrels per day as at today.”