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Tag: NAPIMS

  • $16bn EGINA probe: Senate panel uncovers N500m variation

    $16bn EGINA probe: Senate panel uncovers N500m variation

    The Senate Ad-Hoc Committee investigating Local Content and cost variation on the $16 Billion Egina Deep Sea oil project yesterday said that it has discovered N500 million variation from what the Federal Government through NAPIMS approved for a component of the project and the amount Total Upstream Nigeria Limited, the main operator of the project awarded it to SAIPEM Contracting Nigeria Limited.

    The committee said that it made the discovery in continuation of its investigation of the multi-billion dollar offshore oil project that will produce 200,000 barrels per day in course of its interaction with SAIPEM Contracting Nigeria Ltd handling underwater umbilicals and all under connecting links of the Egina project.

    It said that the Managing Director of SAIPEM Contracting Limited, Mr. Guido D’ Aloisio has stated that with documentary evidence from Total Upstream that the value of its contract amounted to $3.2 billion while the approved amount from a document before the Committee by the Federal Government through NAPIMS/NNPC is $2.7billion.

    Chairman of the committee, Senator Solomon Adeola (Lagos West), and other members of the committee faulted the figure in SAIPEM document.

    He noted that for record purposes, it will rely on the figure from government agency involved in the transaction and not a private concern.

    “Between the letter of approval by NAPIMS in March, 2012 and April 2013 when Total awarded the contract to SAIPEM, there was a discrepancy that cannot be accounted for by currency fluctuations as the costing was 90% denominated in dollar with only 10% in Naira. So exchange rate fluctuations could not be responsible for the discrepancies” Senator Adeola stated.

    Adeola directed that NAPIMS and Total Upstream be invited to come and clarify the discrepancy adding that the explanation of SAIPEM Contracting Ltd amounts to cost variation through the back door after the approval of NAPIMS.

     Mr. D’ Aloiso disclosed that SAIPEM has been operating in Nigeria for the past 50 years and had been operating local content in all its projects even before the Nigeria Local Content Act of 2010 stressing that at present they have surpassed local content targets according to the NOGID Act.

  • NAPIMS GMD to appear before Senate in 24 hours

    NAPIMS GMD to appear before Senate in 24 hours

    The Senate Committee on Local Content has ordered Mr. Roland Ewubare, the Group General Manager of National Petroleum Investment and Management Service ( NAPIMS ) to appear before it in the next 24 hours or risk being slammed the sanctions of shunning Senate’s invitation.

    The Chairman of the committee, Sen. Solomon Adeola made this known in a statement by his Media Adviser, Mr Kayode Odunaro on Wednesday in Abuja.

    Ewubare was expected to appear before the committee to explain the huge variations associated with the $16 billion Egina Deep Sea Oil Project.

    Adeola decried that it was becoming a tradition in the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation ( NNPC ) and its subsidiaries to treat National Assembly invitations with levity.

    He said the committee would no longer tolerate such, adding that ” henceforth we will not deal with ‘lieutenants of these agencies without their heads or cogent reasons in advance.

    ”NAPIMS has sent three General Managers as representatives to the committee after it received an invitation three weeks ago for appearance of the Group General Manager.

    ”He was invited to throw light on submissions made by Total Exploration and Production Nigeria Ltd handling the Egina project but we have not seen him since the invitation was sent three weeks ago,”he said.

    The Vice Chairman of the Committee, Sen. Godswill Akpabio according to the statement, expressed displeasure over the inability of the GMD to appear before the committee.

    He said it was important for him to appear and answer questions on issues relating to how Nigerians were being shortchanged by foreign companies and their local collaborators.

  • Major shake-up in NNPC

    Major shake-up in NNPC

    • Roland Ewubare heads NAPIMS

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on Tuesday announced a major management shake-up that culminates in the appointments and redeployment across the value chain.

    The Group Managing Director of the Corporation, Dr. Maikanti Baru, told NNPC staff shortly before the announcement was made public that the new appointments would not only help to position the Corporation for the challenges ahead but would help fill the gaps created due to statutory retirements of staff. A total of 55 top management staff were affected in the exercise.

    According to a statement of the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, who made the disclosure in a statement, under the new arrangement, Roland Ewubare, formerly MD of the Integrated Data Services Limited, (IDSL) moves to the National Petroleum Investment Management Services, (NAPIMS) as the new Group General Manager while Diepriye Tariah, former GGM and Senior Technical Assistant to the NNPC GMD takes over from Ewubare as MD of IDSL.

    The statement reads in part: “Malami Shehu, Executive Director Operations, of the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company, KRPC, was appointed Managing Director of the Port Harcourt Refining Company, PHRC while Adewale Ladenegan, former MD of the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company, WRPC was moved to KRPC to assume duty as MD.

    “In the same vein, Muhammed Abah, until recently, the Executive Director Operations of WRPC succeeds Ladenegan as MD of Warri Refinery.

    “With the retirement of Alh. Farouk Ahmed as the MD of the Nigerian Products Marketing Company, (NPMC), Umar
    Ajiya, former GGM incharge of Corporate Planning and Strategy, (CP&S) now assumes duty as MD of NPMC while

    “Bala Wunti, former, General Manager, Downstream, GMD’s Office takes charge as GGM CP&S.
    Other changes include: Usman Yusuf who takes over as GGM/STA to the GMD, Adeyemi Adetunji confirmed as MD NNPC Retail alongside Dr. Bola Afolabi who now functions as GGM in charge of Research and Development Division of the Corporation.

    “Also on the list is Mrs. Ahmadu-Katagum appointed GGM (Shipping) in the Downstream Autonomous Business Unit while Kallamu Abdullahi takes over as the GGM in charge of the Renewable Energy Division in the Downstream ABU.
    Dr. Shaibu Musa was promoted MD of the NNPC Medical Services Limited while Ibrahim Birma is the new GGM in charge of the Corporation’s Audit Division now renamed Governance, Risk and Compliance Division.”

  • NAPIMS okays BelemaOil’s, SEPLAT’s pact on OML 55

    Two indigenous oil and gas companies, BelemaOil Producing Limited and SEPLAT Petroleum Development Company Plc, have inaugurated an Asset Management Team (AMT) to operate OML 55.

    The 13-man committee, comprising members of management and staff of the two firms, was inaugurated in Port Harcourt,  Rivers State capital, by the Group General Manager of the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), Dafe Sejeb. He was represented by Marcel Amu.

    Speaking at the ceremony, the Chief Executive Officer/ Managing Director (CEO/MD), of SEPLAT, Austin Avuru, said the two firms were set to work together to create values for all stakeholders.

    Avuru said: “The key thing is to create value for all stakeholders. Government expects to earn his due from this asset. NNPC will earn its 60 per cent from what we generate, government of the federation will earn its tax and royalty and shareholders on both sides will earn their revenues from the value we create.”

    Avuru went on: “Ultimately, whatever we do, we just need to sit back and apply all the experience we have and all the prudence we can muster and create value. Without value there will be nothing to share. Apart from government and shareholders of the two companies, we have the communities as stakeholders.

    “The President of BelemaOil has our supports in SEPLAT. We will do our best to make sure that we stand by you. We will be very happy to see you as a truly independent Nigerian oil and gas company, pulling your weights around the World in the next few years.”

    Sejeb expressed the interest of the Federal Government in the success of the collaboration and urged them to ensure they did not disappoint the government and other stake holders.

    He said: “You have gone through the stages of sunning, numbing, forming and now you are performing. The Federal Republic of Nigeria is hopeful, they are going to generate value from this asset, by virtue of the fact that they have 60 per cent of the asset.

    “Some people are watching to see how you are going to perform, and some are watching to see how you are going to fall, and you will never fall.

    “Count always on NNPC and the Federal Government in this collaboration and we are very sure that with the capacity of people you have from different oil companies that are here, we do believe that you will succeed, you have the supports of NNPC at all times.”

    NAPIMS, a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Cooperation (NNPC), expressed the hope that the partnership would increase the production rate of the asset from 12,000 barrels per day.

    The President of BelemaOil, Tien Jack-Rick, saidthe partnership would cover technology, local community development, as well as human capital development.

    Jack-Rick said: “This also extends to the strategic financial collaborations. The essence is to create a module where SEPLAT and BelemaOil will come together to work as a team to create and unlock the hydro-carbon values of OML 55.

    “In line with the agreement signed by the two companies, SEPLAT personnel will lead the operating management team, while BelemaOil will deputise. However, in terms of the management team, BelemaOil MD is the head of the management team while SEPLAT MD is the deputy.

    “The arrangement is meant to showcase a wealth creation base, where the upcoming generation can learn from it, and understand that there is no common enemy, and that the only common enemy they wish to have is loss, and there is one common interest and the common interest that we should have is a medium through which wealth value can be created for the business operators, shareholders and Nigeria at large.”

    BelemaOil Managing Director  Boma Brown said the partnership had a four-to-six year timeline.

    Brown promised an inclusive system.

    “As indigenous companies, who are members of the communities, we live and work in these communities, we know and feel their pain, so in all decision making process, the communities would be part and parcel of all the discussions and decisions of the company concerning them.

    “They will always be brought to the table for discussion. Right from the initial concept stage, the communities are represented and most of us who had the experience know the limitations of the multinationals, even as indigenous persons, and we assure that we are going to interact with the community; so the uniqueness we are bringing is representation in the decision making process in the oil and gas companies,” he said.

     

  • NNPC, PPMC, NAPIMS owe NIMASA $3.78b

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC),  the Pipeline Products Marketing Company (PPMC) and the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), a subsidiary of the NNPC are jointly owing the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA)  $3.78 billion, the House of Representatives has said.

    House Committee on Maritime Safety, Education and Administration disclosed this yesterday during a one-day investigative public hearing on  revenue leakages and operational deficiencies in NIMASA.

    Meanwhile, the Reps committee has vowed to unveil owners of over 5300 defaulting companies, who it accused of depriving the country of the much needed revenue.

    The Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Mohammed Umaru Bago said while the NNPC and PPMC are jointly owing NIMASA  $3 billion, NAPIMS is owing the agency $780 million out of the alleged $10 billion owed the agency.

    The debts are defaults on sundry charges and levies meant to be paid to NIMASA over a 10- year period.

    NIMASA’s Director-General,Dakuku Peterside, while speaking before the committee gave reasons for the huge debt owed the agency.

    According to him, the defaults on the three per cent levy on gross freight earning on in and outbound cargo “ is due to double billing, disclaimed and disputed bills and actual debt.”

    He said no debts was supposed to have incurred on the two perc ent surcharge payment on contract sum on cabotage operating vessel. “ The debt under the ship- to- ship ( STS) is a deliberate attempt by companies not to pay non-remittance by international oil companies to the agency.”

    On the actual total figure owed the agency, Peterside declined to mention a figure saying he would not want to give an offhand answer, but one based on realistic calculations, which he would send to the committee.

    The Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, S. Zakari.

    Zakari said the negative and reckless image of NIMASA under the last administration disturbed the Federal Government .

    He said: “Mr. chairman, the negative image of the agency consequent upon its actions, the present administration was disturbed that necessary measures were put in place to amongst others, verify the petitions and allegations of unwholesome reckless management of financial and human resources in the agency.

    “In this regard, the first step by the Federal Government was the removal of the Director-General of the agency and to cary out full investigation into all operations of NIMASA.

    “The president has since appointed a new Director-General for the agency, with a clear mandate to reposition, restructure and reform the agency.

    “Furthermore, and arising from investigations which are ongoing, a number of the agency’s top management and senior staff are either facing trial or are being investigated by relevant agencies..

    “It is also noteworthy that Mr, President has since approved performance audit of the whole maritime agencies. This will holistically address most of these issues and help to block most of the leakages.”

     

  • NNPC owes JV partners $7b, says NAPIMS

    NNPC owes JV partners $7b, says NAPIMS

    International Oil Companies (IOCs) in the Joint Ventures production are being owed $7 billion by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the  upstream investment arm of the state oil firm, Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), has said.

    NAPIMS Group General Manager, Dafe Fejebor , made the revelation before the House of Representatives committees on Petroleum (Upstream) and Public Procurement which began investigation into the alleged $260 million “illegal” contract by NAPIMS.The Nation had exclusively reported that the huge debts were  owed over a period of five years.

    The Nation had exclusively reported that the huge debts were  owed over a period of five years.

    The contract in contention was for four single source contracts for projects in Exxonmobil’s Usan Deepwater Project, at a total value of $260 million without any form of tendering process.

    He said: “In the last five years, things really started going bad and we are really trying our very best to get them resolved.

    “We’ve gone to arbitration and they are trying to find aways of resolving them offline. The Minister has stepped in to see how he can mitigate our exposure.

    “In short we are at crossroads because when we approached the IOCs, they simply told us that we have to operate a base case budget before they can continue with us.

    “And from my understanding of business, a case base budget is doing business without growth and we have to resort to cut cost on services to survive, but some guys providing us services totally refused.”

    This, he said, has necessitated the organisation’s move to cut costs.”We wrote to them to go renegotiate all services, whether ongoing or the one that they’re out to put in place, they should knock them down by 30 to 40 per cent cost reduction.

    “They went to town with some,  they were successful as some gave up to fifty percent of their services,” he said, lamenting that the rig providers especially the drill ships refused to budge.

    The NAPIMS chief said the move was necessary as “our cost outlay per day was $600, 000 spread, bringing our production cost per barrel to about $57 to $60 per barrel. There was no way we could continue with that.“

    The joint committees headed by Hon. Victor Nwokolo and Public Procurement, headed by Hon. Wole Oke, while considering a memorandum brought before it by Tilone Subsea, directed that ExxonMobil, represented by Rotimi Olubeko, a General Manager, to rescind all decisions related to the four single source contracts for projects in Exxonmobil’s Usan Deepwater Project, that was taken after March, this year when the advert for the public hearing was placed.

    Rotimi said he was not aware of the $260 million, adding that there were different contracts awarded by ExxonMobil and none was of that amount.

    But the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara said its imperative that the contract be investigated.

    He said: “The operations of USAN field, the subject of this hearing, is a joint venture between NNPC and Chevron. The NAPIMS is a Directorate of the NNPC charged with the responsibility of managing Nigeria government’s investment in the upstream sector of the oil and gas industry.

    “It is set up to maximise return on  government’s investments through effective supervision of the JV, PSC (production sharing contract) and SC (service contract) companies, using best industry practices. Since NNPC is wholly owned by the Federal Government, the National Assembly has unquestionable legal impetus to act on this matter.

  • Bristow slams NAPIMS over helicopter ditch

    Bristow slams NAPIMS over helicopter ditch

    Bristow Helicopters has slammed the de-marketing of its operations by the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS).

    NAPIMS at the weekend requested clients to terminate their contracts with Bristow.

    The order was not unconnected with the ditching of one of its Sirkorsky C 76 ++ helicopter into the Atlantic Ocean on February 3, 2016.

    The airline, which believes such measures by NAPIMS is uncalled for, said it has engaged the authorities and other government officials to resolve the matter.

    Bristow said it is complying with the regulatory body, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the accident investigation Bureau (AIB) on issues that led to the controlled ditch of its helicopter into the Atlantic.

    “A comprehensive audit has been performed by the NCAA. We are also conducting series of additional safety assurance checks on the Sikorsky S-76 fleet as a precautionary measure prior to returning the aircraft to service,” the firm said.

    Bristow also said it has engaged an independent third party to conduct an additional review of its operations in Nigeria to ensure that best practices can be shared laterally across all operators to further enhance safety.

  • Senate committee demands audited accounts of NNPC, others

    Senate committee demands audited accounts of NNPC, others

    The Senate Committee on Gas Resources Wednesday asked the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, (NNPC) and its subsidiaries to submit all their detailed audited accounts in the past three years.

    The committee also blamed Federal Government agencies for the worsening gas flaring in the country.

    The committee noted that inability of relevant enforce payment of stipulated penalties on erring International Oil Companies, OICs, was mainly responsible for increased gas flaring.

    Apart from the NNPC, others mandated to submit their audited accounts are the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, NPDC, Nigerian Petroleum Investment and Management Service, NAPIMS, Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas, NLNG.

    Chairman of the committee, Senator Albert Akpan, gave the directive during the committee’s engagement with the agencies in Abuja.

    Akpan said the directive was in line with the mandate of the committee in its ongoing investigation into the activities of the agencies.

    He said that details of the accounts must be submitted as soon as possible to enable his committee meet its deadline given by the Senate.

    The audited account, he said, would afford the committee the opportunity to know the joint venture funding and cost determination of the oil companies and government agencies.

    He said, “From the audited account, we will know also who approves projects and how are the projects monitored and the mechanism for cost recovery and monitoring of the projects.”

    Akpan also asked the agencies to present the data of the quality of gas flared by the oil companies in the past two years.

    He said, “Give us the submission of the gas that you have flared and each of your operators involved. The quality of gas flared, the operators, the terminal and the related penalties paid.”

    The panel chairman frowned at the 2016 budget of the Department of Petroleum Resources, saying that N3 billion only earmarked by the agency on penalties for gas flaring, was grossly inadequate.

    Group General Manager, NAPIMS /NNPC, Dafe Sajebor and the Managing Director of National Petroleum Development Corporation, Sadler Mai-Bornu, assured that the organizations were working assiduously to end gas flaring in the country between 2018 and 2020.

    “The percentage of gas flared in the country is of average, seven percent and we are still working on a number of projects to flare out; we are targeting 2018 for us to have a total flare out.

    “Those evolutions have  been translated and proposed for better fiscal regime in the Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, and that is why we are praying and hoping that the PIB should be passed so that Nigerians can derive better benefits from the oil and gas investment, ” the NAPIMS boss said.

     

  • Court bars Attorney-General NAPIMS, Total, others from implementing oil field contract

    Court bars Attorney-General NAPIMS, Total, others from implementing oil field contract

    A Federal High Court  in Lagos has restrained  Attorney-General of the Federation, National Petroleum Investment Management Services, (NAPIMS) Nigeria Content Development Monitoring Board, (NCDMB),  Samsung Heavy Industries Nigeria Limited (SHINL), and Total Upstream Nigeria Ltd, and their agents from implementing the  Floating Production Storage and Offloading Unit (FPSO) contract. The FPSO is in the Egina Field within OML130. The order will subsist  pending the determination of the substantive suit.

    The court also restrained the defendants and their agents from implementing the  contract either

    Justice Okon Abang gave the order after listening to the opposing counsel.

    In an affidavit sworn to by the plaintiff, Mr John Iyene Owubokiri, had averred that the scope of Egina FPSO oil field which is expected to produce 200,000 barrels of oil per day as stated by SHINL is expected to create 50,000 jobs, saying this is strategic to the future.

    Owubokiri averred  that there are established guidelines by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for tendering and awarding of fabrication projects in the oil and gas industry. These guidelines were not complied with in the award of the Egina FPSO to Samsung,he alleged, adding that there were breaches of extant laws in the contract award.  The defendants breached provisions of the Nigeria Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD)Act 2010 and relevant laws guiding the fiscal regime of the oil and gas industry.

    The NOGICD Act stipulates that NCAMB should supervice, coordinate, monitor and implement  the local content plan in the oil and gas industry. It shall also approves advertisement, qualification criteria, technical bid document, technical evaluation criteria and the proposed bidders list in bids for project in excess of $1 million. The Egina FPSO contract is worth $3,143,499,498.

    Owubokiri  claimed that Total Upstream covert launch by  its call tender without approval of technical stage and commercial template broke the law, standard practice and the established process for tendering in the oil and gas industry.

    The establishment of a fabrication yard in Bayelsa State was part of the local content plan  by Samsung to get the award  contract,  he averred, adding  that this could have created thousands of job, enhanced transfer of technology and skill acquisition for Nigerians.

    But, after the contract award,  Samsung, he claimed, abandoned the establishment of the fabrication yard  and now plans to carry out in South Korea the fabrication work meant to be done in Bayelsa  to the detriment of the economy.

    In a counter-affidavit,  a lawyer, Mr Olajide Oyewole, on behalf of Samsung  while denying some of the plaintiff’s averments  deposed that Owobokiri’s  rights have not been infringed.  ‘’He has not shown that he has suffered any special damage peculiar to himself apart from the public,’’ Oye-wole claimed, urging  the court not to grant the plaintiff’s application.

    Total Upstream,  in an affidavit sworn to by its lawyer, Chidiebere Ejiofor, urged the court to dismiss the plaintiff’s application because his client is challenging the court’s jurisdiction to hear  the suit.  The court ought to hear and determine the preliminary objection first, before entertaining any further motion of the plaintiff, he said.

    Attorney General of the Federation, NAPIMS and MCDMB did not file any response.

    Justice  Abang, in his ruling  adjourning till Thursday, and restrained  the defendants and their agents from implementing the  contract.

  • Lagos seeks NAPIMS’ partnership in oil and gas

    The Lagos State government is prepared to enhance its oil and gas sector by seeking partnership with the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS) to exploit the enormous opportunities in the sector.

    The state Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Taofiq Tijani, disclosed this during a visit to the management of NAPIMS.

    He said the state had made effort, through its numerous development policies to make its lofty oil and gas aspirations a reality.

    Tijani noted that the state believes that with the collaboration of stakeholders such as NAPIMS, it would be possible for Lagos to realise its vision of becoming a global economic and financial hub through the development of a sustainable energy strategy and safe exploitation of its hydrocarbon resources.

    The partnership, according to him, is to boost such areas as the power project, especially the NNPC/Chevron Agura IPP, gas delivery to power plants, possible marginal oil and gas field development as well as the corporate social responsibility by the NNPC subsidiary.

    He said the state through the ministry was prepared to encourage and support the development and production of oil and gas fields within onshore and offshore as indicated by the various exploratory works being carried out by some operators.

    While disclosing plans by the state to establish an oil and gas corporation to represent the interest of the state in all the industry opportunities, Tijani noted that effort would be intensified toward ensuring that the bill for the establishment of the corporation now before the legislature receives approval on time.

    Responding, the Group General Manager, Morris Fiddi said the company is impressed by the state’s exploits in oil and gas development promising to ensure that the partnership works so that achievements made in that sector can be boosted.

    He described the visit as home coming for the commissioner who had spent 15 years out of his 30 years meritorious service in NAPIMS. He added that being a thorough bred professional transforming the state’s oil and gas sector with his wealth of experience would definitely be within the realm of possibility.

    He promised that NAPIMS would continue to do much more than what it is currentlydoing in its corporate responsibility drive to ensure that communities get what is due to them in return for exploitation activities.

    “What most people dont realise is that we have been doing a lot in terms of corporate social responsibility. In fact, a lot of people do not know that anytime any of our joint venture partners carry out any CSR activities we play a major part in this exercise. The truth is that we contribute 60 per cent while the joint venture partner contributes 40 per cent. But it is the effort of our joint venture partners that is always feasible. This notwithstanding, we would continue to do our part and support whatever is going to make the society better. As for the state’s energy project, we promise we would there as expected,” he added.

    He said the company was also ready to provide clues on curbing the menace of cable theft that has become the lot of power infrastructure in the state.