The Nation Newspaper

Tag: export

  • ‘Govt working for fuel self-sufficiency, export’

    Nigeria requires a mixture of bigger and modular refineries to achieve self-sufficiency in crude oil processing, to become an exporter of petroleum products in Africa, Deputy Director, Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Olumide Adeleke, has said.

    According to him, the four state-owned refineries – Port Harcourt 1 &2, Warri and Kaduna refineries are operating below installed capacities of 445,000 barrels per day (bpd), adding that it was a setback to the country’s goal of providing fuel for domestic market aside making fuel available for export.

    At an industry’s forum in Lagos, Adeleke said when Dangote Petrochemical and Refinery starts production in 2019, the country would be at an advantage to distribute enough fuel in the country, and  export the product to other countries.

    He said Dangote Refinery and other refineries are bigger platforms needed to refine crude oil, noting that the bigger a platform is, the higher the profit margin that accrues to the owner of the platform.

    The decision by the Federal Government to license operators that wish to invest in modular refineries few years ago, was part of efforts to encourage processing of crude oil in the country, he said.

    He, however, said the DPR, which issued the licences on behalf of the government, was not happy that the many of the operators are yet to begin processing of crude oil.

    Adeleke said: “While the government is making crude oil refining for domestic consumption by encouraging as many firms as possible to go into it, it is worthy of note that many of the firms that were licensed are yet to  show meaningful progress in that regard. To achieve self-sufficiency in the area of crude oil refining locally, private operators need to be up and doing by processing crude oil optimally.”

    According him, finance is a major setback to operators, who want to invest in refineries, adding that many operators are finding it difficult to get a minimum of $2billion required to operate a big refinery.

    This, Adeleke said, informed the decision of the government to arrange some finances for operators.

    On issue of co-location, Adeleke said col-location is good, when firms established for that purpose are situated where refineries are. He said co-location that is going on in Port Harcourt was as a result of the refinery in that region.  In Port Harcourt alone, co-location of about 100,000 barrels of crude oil is ongoing, a development, which is good for the country.

  • 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.

  • Inadequate shipping threatens agriculture export

    Inadequate shipping is threatening the agricultural export, the  National Publicity Secretary,National Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN), Sotonye Anga, has said.

    He said though there was adequate shipping capacity to move other  goods out of the ports, it  was  not so for agricultural produce, especially cashew export.

    He reiterated that there was a misplaced belief that there is adequate shipping to meet the agriculture export.

    Out of the ports, he added that there were inadequate facilities for cashew to be stored and shipped  to avoid their contamination.

    According to him, if substandard logistics adversely affects an export product, for example, contamination by hazardous substances in the same shipment—it will likely be refused entry into abroad.

    He explained that cashew export must reach the customer in a good condition as required and it is mandatory that the produce reaches the buyer at the time needed.

    He explained that in most cases shipment out of Nigeria a does not meet those conditions.

    Despite this challenge, the  President, Cocoa Association of Nigeria(CAN), Sayina Rima, said  there have been strong performances in export  as  operators make efforts to meet shipping schedule to avoid rejection.

    He said cocoa exporters take three-month contracts to allow them enough time to ship the produce.

    He said there was  a need for more collaboration with agriculture to get more products for export.

  • Fed Govt to inaugurate yam export to Europe, U.S., China

    The Federal Government will today inaugurate export of yams to Europe, United States of America and China, Minister of Agriculture Chef Audu Ogbeh said yesterday.

    He said the Federal Executive Council (FEC) gave its approval at yesterday’s meeting.

    The minister explained that yam exportation would not increase hunger in the land.

    Rather than seeing yam export as a problem, he said Nigerians should see it as an economic opportunity.

    The minister said: “We informed council that last week we completed arrangements for the first formal export of Nigerian yams to the United Kingdom. Some people have asked whether by exporting yams, we are not going to subject Nigerians to hunger and I had to inform Council today that will certainly not arise.

    “You will remember about February or March this year some of you asked the same question, is Nigeria going to face famine? And I said it cannot happen. Apart from the crisis in the Northeast, we definitely are not short of food, although prices are high in some areas.

    “Tomorrow, we shall flag off this export in three container loads

    containing 72tonnes of Nigerian yams. Two containers went out in

    February; one arrived in New York on the 16th of this month. This is

    important because for those of you, who travel and many Nigerians out there, you go to shops where they sell African foods and you never see anything from Nigeria, it is mostly called Ghana yams.

    “Now, we account for 61 per cent of the total output of yams in the world, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation. The rest is shared between some countries in the West Africa and the West Indies.”

    He added; “For us to go abroad and not find Nigerian yams in the market, it is an embarrassment. Because Ghana is targeting $4 billion of yams in the next three years and if they can do that, we who are the masters of yam production have no business lagging behind.

    “Essentially, we are making this point because we are diversifying the economy. We are talking about economic recovery and growth and we will have to export whatever is needed from Nigeria by other countries so that we can earn more foreign exchange rather than expend everything we have on importation.

    “If they want yams, we will sell yams. If they want pepper, we will sell pepper. If they want ginger, we will sell ginger. Just like we buy so much from them, it is time for them to buy from us. I assure you this is how the economy of Nigeria we are dreaming of is going to recover.”

    He noted that the only challenges that may be faced will be the question of labour as the young men, who make yam heaps are reducing in number because they are moving to the cities for greener pastures.

    He added:”To solve that problem, we are mechanising the production of yams. We have designed a new plough that will be attached to the tractor to make the yam heap. The current ploughs we have cannot make a heap.

    “In Ilorin the Nigerian Centre for Agric Mechanisation is producing a new plough that can make the yam heaps and once that is in operation, we will mechanise the production.”

    Stressing that food exports have gone up in Nigeria in the last one year by 82 per cent, he said the government will ensure it meets the finest standard in the market.

    On other crops, he said:”But the other good news is cashew nuts. These things look small. We are in conversations with Walmart, the biggest supermarket chain in the U.S. They came here and asked us to roast cashew nuts for them. Their demand is a 130,000tonnes of cashew nuts per annum.

    “The total value is $7 billion, but what we are doing now is shipping raw cashew to Vietnam. They are the ones roasting and selling to the U.S. This year, we are going to create six cashew processing factories in Nigeria. One to be sited in Enugu,Imo,Benue,Kogi, Kwara and Oyo states. These are the cashew belt for now.

    “These things are coming because at last, Nigeria is beginning to focus on non-oil export. Once you can diversify your economy,if something goes wrong in one sector, you can hang on to the other.”

    “The Indians are asking us for beans; all categories of it in the market in India is worth $100 billion dollars. When the Indian Vice President came here, he asked me to visit so we could talk. So, the market in agric is huge, the prospects are large. It’s about improving on our strategies at home and getting all our states to get involved. Not all of them are doing what they ought to be doing now,” he said.

  • SON certifies Nigerian yam flour for export

    SON certifies Nigerian yam flour for export

    The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has certified and awarded conformity to standards certificate to PE & I Nigeria Limited,a Gboko-based, Benue State yam flour processing company.

    Director General of SON Osita Aboloma, who performed the certification award ceremony, hailed the company for its strict adherence to standards and quality productions.

    According to him, SON decided to award the company the Mandatory Conformity Assessment Programme (MANCAP)certificate after due diligence profiling and testing conducted on the company’s operations and products.

    Aboloma, who was represented by SON Benue State Coordinator Mr. Samson Makolo, said the firm represents a ray of hope for the flourishing of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) across the country.

    He added that the agency is ready and willing to assist SMEs operators in the area of standardisation and quality assurance.

    The firm’s Managing Director, Mr. Isaac Sar, expressed delight over the MANCAP Certification Award.

    He added that the company decided to work with SON in order to adopt best practices in its operations.

    He said the award would remain a motivation for the company to do more in terms of products quality.

  • Nigeria set to export certified yams to UK and US

    Nigeria is set to export its first consignment of certified yams to the United Kingdom and United States this month, the Minister  Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief  Audu Ogbeh, has said.

    This will mark a milestone in efforts to bring Nigeria back into reckoning in the agricultural export market. The minister said export of the produce will begin from  June 29.

    In a statement issued by Special Adviser to the Minister on Media, Dr  Kayode Oyeleye  said a number of initiatives  to make the  process successful have been  taken.

    According to him,  the  Nigerian Agricultural Quarantine Services (NAQS), has taken steps to ensure the  exporters fulfill   safety and phytosanitary standards  required for  food exports to forestall the national embarrassments arising from the rejections on account of quality deficiency.

  • Fed Govt approves 48hr for import, export trade deals timeline

    Fed Govt approves 48hr for import, export trade deals timeline

    The Federal Government has approved the reduction of documentation requirements and timeline for import and export trade transactions to 48 hours.

    A circular to authorised dealers, signed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Director, Trade and Exchange Department, W.D. Gotring explained that the revised documentation requirements and timeline for processing Form ‘NXP’ include the Revised Import Documentation: Bill of lading, Certificate of Origin (formerly Combined Certificate of Value of Origin), Commercial Invoice and Exit Note (formerly Exit Gate).

    Other documentations are Form ‘M’, Packing List, Single Goods Declaration and Product Certificate. Other revised export documentation include Bill of Lading, Certificate of Origin, Commercial Invoice, Single Goods Declaration, Nigerian Export Proceeds (NXP) Form, Clean Certificate of Inspection (CCI).

    The CBN said the timeline for processing Form ‘NXP’ by the authorised dealers shall be a maximum of 48 hours from the receipt of the application subject to appropriate documentation.

    “Authorised dealers shall submit returns to the CBN on compliance with the 48 hours timeline. All authorised dealers are therefore advised to note and bring the provisions of the circular to the attention of their customers,” the circular explained.

  • Fed Govt to halt export of unprocessed minerals

    Fed Govt to halt export of unprocessed minerals

    The Federal Governm is taking measures to check the export of unprocessed solid minerals,  the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr Kayode Fayemi, has said.

    Fayemi said the government is currently working with the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) and other relevant agencies to achieve this goal as part of efforts to santise the industry.

    The minister said the rate at which foreigners are moving into the nation’s mining sector is alarming and needs to be checked. He said the issue of influx of foreigners into the sector is disturbing, adding that the government would ensure such expatriates are legal players and if otherwise, would be sanctioned.

    He said the number of expatriates that are mining solid minerals is shocking, adding that the local players and traditional rulers have petitioned the ministry in order to know who and what is required to engage in mining  in their areas of jurisdiction.

    Speaking on  the sideline of a town hall meeting with players in the industry in Lagos, which was organised by the ministry,  Fayemi said the influx of foreigners into the mining sector has its advantage and disadvantage.

    He said: “Mining is an international business. One of the things we have done is not to discourage foreigners. We cannot on the one hand be asking for foreign direct investment and encouraging ease of doing business because we want others who have expertise to be part of our economy, and on the other hand becoming xenophobic about the importance of those who have the resources or the technical expertise to be involved.

    “However, we cannot afford to have foreigners’ involvement to the detriment of our local engagement, so for jobs that our people have the capacity to do, we don’t allow in our ministry and we have a responsibility for anything happening in the mining industry. The Ministry of Interior sends us the citizenship of the expatriate application in order to comment on. And if you send us application in which you want to bring in drivers, machinists and operators from China or India, obviously we should not support or allow that.

    “If it is for a rare technical responsibility that we have no local expertise in, we do not have a choice than to allow such people to come in and do the work but we have a caveat that they must train other people in the sector who are the local in order to deliver on that.”

    He said henceforth, government would make it difficult for people to export unprocessed minerals out of the country. ‘’We would not ban such operators. But we would make it difficult for them to operate because export of unprocessed minerals is export of jobs, value and skills development.

    “In the roadmap for the industry growth, the ministry made clear the methods or processes of operating in the sector clear.  The roadmap aims at improving the operation of the industry to contribute to the economy. For this to happen, things must be done in the right way,” he added.

    He said there would be a comprehensive list of names and data of miners with a view to ascertaining their credibility. He said through the list, the government would be able to monitor and sort out the genuine ones from the fake ones in the country.

    According to him, the process of certifying miners starts from obtaining the Cadastral from the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, adding that and any firm approved by the ministry has the right to operate in the industry.

    He said the government would not sanction or shut down any firm that is able to present its approval document to the mining officers at the ministry, adding that strengthening partnership between the communities where minerals are located, the miners and the ministry are  vital to the growth of the industry. Without fostering a strong partnership among the stakeholders, achieving development in the mining value chain would not easier.

  • Nigeria to ‘export processed cashew nuts by 2019’

    The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, has said the country will start processing cashew nuts for export by 2019.

    Ogbeh spoke at the maiden edition of FirstBank Agric Expo in Lagos.

    The expo was tagged: Reinventing agriculture for sustainable national development.

    According to him, the current worth of a tonne of roasted or processed cashew nut for export is $10,000 while the raw cashew nut is sold for $1,200. He said it would be better to process the nuts for export.

    “So, in the next two years, we will no longer export raw cashew nuts, but roast the cashew nuts for export. If we produce a tonne of roasted cashew it will be sold at the international price of $10,000, whereas a tone of raw cashew nuts sells for $1,200,” he said.

    Ogbeh also said that Nigeria shipped a total of $600,000 worth of raw cashew nuts to Vietnam alone last year.

  • ‘Increase vegetables export to EU’

    Nigerians have been urged to increase their vegetables exports to reap  from the reported shortage of vegetables in Europe.

    According to a February 8 story in The Wall Street Journal, consumers in northern Europe are seeing extremely limited availability of a number of vegetables. The shortages started in December, when severe flooding and snow hit Spain’s Murcia region along the Mediterranean Sea, damaging crops and preventing farmers from planting. Spain is the primary source of vegetables for the continent during the winter.

    Agriculture and Rural Management Training Institute’s (ARMTI’s) Acting Executive Director Dr. Olufemi Oladunni has urged farmers to take advantage of the situation and export vegetables to Europe.

    He advised them to address quality certification issues that have been a major hindrance food exporters have been facing in the European Union (EU) market.

    He stressed the need to strengthen food export policy with clearly-defined safety standards, traceability norms, soil certification guidelines and good agricultural practices, saying this would boost exports of agricultural products and processed food from the country.

    To avoid rejection, he said vegetables exports should be carried out only by complying with the guidelines issued by the 28-member EU bloc, adding that there should be strict monitoring and in-house certification for the export of perishable goods, and that government officials should inspect farms.

    Oladunni urged the government to support every efforts to increase exports’ competitiveness. To attain an improved export growth trajectory, he urged the government to maximise its strengths and reduce structural bottlenecks to enhance the nation’s competitiveness

    Meanwhile, the Nigerian Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS) is striving to get the EU to lift its ban on the export of beans from Nigeria to member-countries. The agency’s Coordinating Director, Dr. Vincent Isegbe, said all hands were on deck to ensure that the EU lifts the ban before 2019.

    He said the EU ban on Nigerian beans had affected the economy, adding thats there was a need to avoid future rejection of Nigeria’s agricultural commodities.