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PETAN leads delegation, exhibits at Offshore Europe ACROSS AFRICA:

Kenyan's Regional Governor Calls For Region's Share Of Oil Revenue Noble Energy Makes New Equatorial Guinea Petroleum Discovery “NOG2019 Award: ...a confirmation of our tenacity, hardwork” GEORGE ONAFOWOKAN MD COLEMAN

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NEWS

NNPC, Others Welcome Sylva to Office... As NUPENG Urges him to Make Nigeria Proud

By Ikenna Omeje

T

he Nigeria National Petroleum C o r p o r at io n (N N P C), the Petroleum Training Development Fund (PTDF) and the Petroleum Equalization Fund (PEF) have welcomed the new Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva to office. In a press release issued by the NNPC Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, said Chief Sylva pledged to work with the experts at NNPC and other departments and agencies under the Ministry to move the petroleum industry sector forward. Chief Sylva stated this during a welcome ceremony organized for him at the NNPC Towers in Abuja last month. The new Minister of State for Petroleum Resources who was accompanied by his wife, Alanyingi Sylva, stated that with the caliber of workforce in the Ministry, he was sure that the nation’s oil and gas sector would move to the next level.

Earlier, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Dr. Folashade Yemi-Esan, reassured Chief Sylva of the readiness of all members of staff in the Ministry to support him to succeed in the onerous task of transforming the Nigerian oil and gas 6

Majorwaves Energy Report

sector for the good of all stakeholders.

On hand to welcome the Minister at the brief ceremony were the Group Managing director of NNPC, Mallam Mele Kyari; Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Training Development Fund (PTDF), Dr. Bello Aliyu Gusau; and the Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Equalization Fund (PEF), Alhaji Ahmed Bobboi, amongst others.

Similarly, the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has also congratulated Chief Sylva on his appointment as the new Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, urging him to be committed to his resolve to make Nigeria proud with his appointment. A statement signed by the President of the union, Comrade, Williams Akporeha and the General Secretary, Comrade Afolabi Olawale read in part: “NUPENG also extends our deep felicitation to the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, His Excellency Timipre Sylva; we have the conviction that your experience and meritorious track records as Governor of oil producing Bayelsa State and as special adviser on Petroleum to Edmund Daukoru would be brought to bear in managing this integral part of our country’s economy and to overcome challenges.”

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“NUPENG equally urge you sir, to strengthen your resolve to make Nigeria proud with this fresh milestone. Sir, please be assured that the Union remains committed to collaborate with you most sincerely and your team on the activities that will move Nigeria forward and foster symbiotic relationship in the overall interest of our country, especially Nigerian Oil and Gas workers.” Chief Sylva was born in Brass, Bayelsa (formerly Rivers State, of which Bayelsa State was split off from in 1996), and was educated there and in Lagos, the former capital of Nigeria. He was a member of the Rivers State House of Assembly in the 1990s.

As a candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Sylva won the Bayelsan gubernatorial election and was sworn-in on May 29, 2007, succeeding Goodluck Jonathan who went on to the position of Vice President. He brings on the job several years of cognate experience in the petroleum sector. The new Minister of State contributed profoundly to the institution of the Amnesty programme in the Niger Delta region which, over time, has led to restoration of peace in the oil producing areas of Nigeria.

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NEWS

Eni Makes Big Gas Discovery in Nigeria

By Ikenna Omeje

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talian oil and gas giant, Eni, owner of the subsidiary, Nigeria Agip Oil Company (NAOC) has made a significant gas and condensates discovery onshore Nigeria’s Niger Delta. The discovery was made in the deepwater sequences of the ObiafuObrikom fields, in the Oil Mining Lease (OML) 61, which the company is the operator. Eni has 20 percent investment in the OML, the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) 60 percent while Oando has 20 percent. In a statement sent to Majorwaves Energy Report, the company said that the Obiafu-41 Deep well has reached a total depth of 4.374 m encountering an important gas and condensate accumulation within the deltaic sequence of Oligocene age comprising more than 130m of high quality hydrocarbon-bearing sands.

The find amounts to about 1 trillion cubic feet of gas and 60 million barrels of associated condensate in the deep drilled sequences. The discovery has further potential that will be assessed with the next appraisal campaign.

“The well can deliver in excess of 100 million standard cubic feet/ day of gas and 3,000 barrels/day of associated condensates, and will be immediately put on-stream to increase NAOC’s gas production.

The discovery is part of a drilling campaign planned by NAOC JV and aimed at exploring near-field and deep pool opportunities as immediate time to market opportunities.” “Eni has been present in Nigeria since 1962, with operated and nonoperated production, development and exploration activities on a total of 30,049 square kilometers in the onshore and offshore areas of the Niger Delta. In 2018, Eni’s equity hydrocarbon production amounted to 100,000 boe/day,” the statement added.

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Sahara Group Restate Commitment to Developing South Sudan’s Energy Sector

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xecutive Director, Sahara Group, Tope Shonubi has said the energy conglomerate remained resolute in its decision to contribute to the growth and development of South Sudan’s economy through investment in the oil and power sectors of the world’s youngest democracy. Shonubi who made the assertion during a courtesy call on South Sudan’s President, H.E Salva Kiir Mayardit at the State House yesterday in Juba, said Sahara Group was firmly behind the administration’s policy requiring all local and foreign investors to align with the nation’s good governance protocol in all sectors of the economy.

“Sahara Group has a track record of good governance that is widely acclaimed across various markets where we operate in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

We are behind full compliance with all governance requirements in South Sudan. In fact, we are here to join hands with the good people of South Sudan under the leadership of President Kiir to ensure sustained economic development in the nation,” he said. The meeting which was chaired by President Salva Kiir also had the Presidential

advisor on Security Affairs, Tut Gatluak, Minister in the Office of the President, Mayiik Ayii Deng, Minister of Petroleum, Awuou Daniel and the Minister of energy Dr. Dhieu Mathok in attendance. The Minister of Petroleum Awuou Daniel commended Sahara Group’s partnership role in South Sudan, noting that Sahara Energy had continued to make good its interest in the energy sector and power plant projects through ongoing investments and collaboration with the ministries in charge of the sectors.

Shonubi said Sahara Group will also contribute to projects designed to enhance sustainable development in South Sudan through the Sahara Foundation which had since upgraded the Computer Centre at the University of Juba with modern equipment.

Following the intervention, the center now boasts a better learning ambience, brand new computers, central UPS and server, air conditioners, roof mounted projector and furniture. The Computer Center project has set the foundation for other development interventions that Sahara Group is exploring to drive economic empowerment in South Sudan, Shonubi stated.

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INDUSTRY EVENT

NAICE 2019: DPR, Shell Win Awards

By Ikenna Omeje

T

he Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has won an award for participating in the 2019 Nigeria Annual International Conference and Exhibition (NAICE) organised by the Society of Petroleum Engineers Nigeria Council (SPENC) while Shell Nigeria won the most coveted Best Exhibitor and eight other awards. The awards were presented to both companies by the SPE International President, Sami Alnuaim and the Nigeria Council Chairman, Debo Fagbami.

During the Conference, one of the engineers with DPR Friday Uzoigwe received laudable applaud and an award for his presentation titled, “The Impact of Reservoir Heterogeneity in the Modelling of Scale Inhibitor Squeeze Treatments.” The Exhibitor Award and other eight awards won

by Shell are coming barely a month after winning the Excellence Award, the highest industry recognition at the Nigeria Oil and Gas annual conference in Abuja on July 5. Shell had also won the Best Exhibitor award in the 2016 and 2018 editions of the SPE conference including other industry individual leadership trophies won by staff of the company.

Shell exhibition combined illustrative and educative posters with learning sessions for young and student engineers and free medical services for conference participants where hundreds

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of persons received medical checks and drugs. While presenting the award to Shell, Alnuaim and Fagbami described the company as a leading light in the oil and gas industry, providing direction and support particularly to indigenous companies in the industry. Country Chair of Shell Companies in Nigeria (SCiN) and Managing Director, The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited, Osagie Okunbor and the Managing Director, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company, Bayo Ojulari received the award on behalf of Shell companies.

Okunbor described the award as a reward for consistent excellence and diligence displayed by the hardworking staff of Shell in Nigeria adding that Shell companies would continue to invest in industry growth, new technologies and professional development and affiliation of its workforce. “We recognise that being an industry leader puts on us enormous responsibility and we have continued to rethink and reshape our strategies in a manner that brings optimal value to Nigeria, our partners and the local service industry.”

According Okunbor, Shell companies are up-to-date on the conference theme of ‘Artificial Intelligence, Big Data and Mobile Technology: Changing the Future of the Energy Industry.

“We are leaders in deploying artificial intelligence and are using it in areas ranging from seismic analysis to drilling and predictive maintenance because we

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know that digitalization has a big role in delivering all of Shell’s strategic goals.” A Shell Nigeria team of engineers led by Ogochukwu Benheogor won the Best Technical Paper award at the conference while Elisha Ezekiel-Hart won the technical award for projects, facilities and construction. Other winners were Okenufowo Ojonah (Formation Evaluation) and Erasmus John Nnanna (Regional Production and operations). Stella Egwim Ogbodu won the Regional Director’s Recognition Award while Oghogho Effiom received the Award for Regional Service. Earlier in the year, Shell companies in Nigeria emerged the international oil company with the most impactful local content initiatives in the upstream category at the 2019 edition of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Opportunity Fair organised by the country’s local content regulator, Nigeria Content Development and Monitoring Board.

The companies were also named the Local Content Operator of the Year at the 2019 Annual Oil Industry Achievement Awards by the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN).

The 2019 conference held in Lagos, which is the 43rd edition of the conference, kicked-off on Monday, August 5 with opening ceremony and ended on Wednesday, August 7, focused on the theme: “Artificial Intelligence, Big Data and Mobile Technology: Changing the Future of the Energy Industry.” NAICE 2019 examined the following questions: “Will rigs run like UBER taxis in the future? Will production analysis on producing wells and reservoirs be evaluated by high tech computers?

The opportunities of big data hold unlimited potential. Will the energy industry tag along or be left behind?

Can the energy industry harness big data for its benefits?”

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INDUSTRY EVENT

would increase its total operated gas processing capacity by 80 per cent.

This is on course to achieving our target to own and operate 1Bcfd of gas processing capacity by 2021.

Mr Anthony Agbojo; Dr Chioma Nwachuku; Mr Tunde Dodondawa

Seplat wins Outstanding Indigenous Contributor to Gas Development award

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eplat Petroleum Development Company Plc, an independent oil and gas exploration and production company incorporated and operating in Nigeria, has been honoured with the award of Outstanding Indigenous Contributor to Gas Development in Nigeria.

The oil and gas firm received the award at the recently concluded 2019 Annual Conference and Awards of the National Association of Energy Correspondents (NAEC) in Lagos.

The theme of the conference was: “Harnessing Oil & Gas Potential for National Development”. Receiving the award for Seplat Petroleum, the General Manager, External Affairs and Communications, Dr. Chioma Nwachuku, said the Company plays an active role in the Nigerian gas to power sector with its 525MMscfd gas processing capacity, stressing that the Company currently contributes about 25% - 30% of domestic gas to power supply in Nigeria. Dr. Nwachuku lauded NAEC for its

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industry-focused activities while also thanking the body for honouring Seplat Petroleum for its welldeserved recognition. The General Manager, Strategy Economics and Planning, Seplat Petroleum, Mr. Anthony Agbojo, who represented the Seplat Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Austin Avuru, on a Panel titled: “Commercial Viability in Gas to Power Value Chain”, reeled out Seplat’s huge investments in Nigeria’s gas value chain and the multiplier effects the intervention had had on the country’s economy. Agbojo said Seplat remained committed to infrastructural development across all its facilities while maintaining high standards of asset integrity; citing the over $300million invested in the Oben gas plant expansion project.

He said: “Future infrastructural investments include a 75MMscfd gas plant installation in the West (Sapele) and the Assa-North Ohaji South (ANOH) project in the East to add 300MMscfd capacity by 2021.

With both projects, Seplat

Among the personalities and industry professionals present at the event were: the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mallam Mele Kyari (represented by the Corporation’s Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Umar Ajiya); Managing Director of AITEO Group, Mr. Victor Okoronkwo; Chairman, Society of Petroleum Engineers, Nigeria Council, Mr. Debo Fagbami; representatives of the Department of Petroleum Resources, Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Niger Delta Power Holding Company, Nigeria Gas Association (NGA), Oando Plc, ExxonMobil Nigeria, Total Nigeria, Shell Nigeria, amongst others.

Seplat recently also emerged as the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board’s (NCDMB) most impactful independent upstream operating company for its local content initiatives at the Nigeria Oil and Gas Opportunity Fair (NOGOF) held at the new NCDMB headquarters in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State. In addition, Seplat, recently, was presented with the ASSP Safety Award for Excellence at the Nigeria Professional Development Conference and Exhibition in Lagos, organized by the American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP), Nigerian Chapter.

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INDUSTRY EVENT

Offshore Europe 2019: Artificial Intelligence, Energy Diversification and Workforce Transformation, Major Talking Points ...As PETAN leads Nigerian oilfied service companies to Conference, makes case for employment creation.

By Jerome Onoja

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rtificial intelligence energy diversification and the transformation of the workforce will be some of the major talking points at the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Offshore Europe 2019, which will hold in Aberdeen, United Kingdom, from 3-6 September with the theme: ‘Breakthrough to Excellence – Our license to operate’. Attending will ensure PETAN and its Nigerian delegates are brought up to date with the most significant technologies and can connect with a global network of 36,000+ attendees across four days. Sequel to the deployment of the world’s first fully automated oil and gas platform in the North Sea by Norwegian energy giant Equinor, more daring innovations are in the offing.

To this end, it is expedient for Nigeria’s service companies to be abreast with these technicalities the future brings. Speaking to Majorwaves Energy Report in a phone interview, the Chairman of PETAN, who also sits on the board of NCDMB, Bank-Anthony Okoroafor hinted, “Participating in Offshore Europe and other major industry events, globally, is one

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certain way we, as the foremost industry advocacy group in Nigeria, facilitate in-country value retention.

It’s not enough to pride ourselves in having the NOGICD Act; as private stakeholders, we should be the drivers of the Act, and not leave it to government. We need to continually improve on capacities.

He further added, “after we’ve built capacities on very technical areas, we will have the effrontery to challenge stakeholders on reasons our members should get the jobs.

We can’t sit back and watch foreign companies export work meant for our growing population. Already some PETA N companies are working as multinationals in other parts of the world because they have built capacity. We need to continue raising the bar on service delivery such that we can compete internationally”.

Earlier this year in Houston Texas, PETAN led some delegation to the 50th anniversary of Offshore Technology Conference, OTC. With more than 900+ suppliers on the exhibition floor, from international market leaders to new innovative technology companies, the Nigerian delegates aren’t just disposed to finding new technical partners, they

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have the option to compare effective competing solutions. As part of PETAN’s push for industrialisation of the nation, Offshore Europe offers meeting opportunities with Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) who the delegates intend to form alliances with in order to establish manufacturing plants locally. When such is achieved, the immediate benefit will be seen in huge cost reduction, reduced industry spend on procurement and foreign exchange.

Senior international industry figures will co-chair 12 keynote sessions which also includes late life and decommissioning, underwater i n n ov at i o n, t r a n s fo r m at i ve technologies to lower the carbon footprint, digital security, integrated tech nolog ie s, d ig ita l i sation, standardisation and finance.

There will be 70+ technical session papers in key disciplines, including Safety & Environment, Pipelines, Drilling, Well Automation & Analytics and more. The Director of SPE’s Europe and Caspian Events, Phil Chandler said: “Led by our experienced co-chairs, there will be a strong mix of discussion of both current and future issues facing the region across all four days.

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LOCAL CONTENT

Executive Secretary, Engr. Simbi Wabote and Community Representatives

NCDMB Sets Up Community Interface Committee for Bayelsa NOGaPS

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he Ni ge r i a n C o nte nt Development and Monitoring Boa rd (NC DM B) ha s inaugurated a Community Interface Committee (CIC) for the Nigerian Oil and Gas Park Scheme NOGaPS) located at Emeyal 1 in Ogbia LGA of Bayelsa State. The committee was set up to enhance the interface between the communities, the contractors and the Board and would ensure community participation, cordial relationship and promote compliance to the Community Content elements of the project.

The Executive Secretary NCDMB, E ng r. Si m bi Ke siye Wa bote inaugurated the committee recently during a town hall meeting held to formally introduce the contractors that will execute the newly approved work scopes on the industrial park.

He explained that the committee would ensure conducive environment for the execution of the contracts awarded for the development of the site at Emeyal 1NOGaPS. “Hence, the Board deemed it fit to constitute a committee made up of representatives from the communities, the contractors and the Board”, Engr. Wabote said. Enumerating the roles and responsibilities of the committee, he announced that His Royal Highness Jephthah Ogba Wolisi will serve as the chairman. Other members include representatives of the host communities, contractors and the NCDMB, while Mr. Kelly Olaye of the NCDMB will serve as the secretary. The committee’s existence will terminate at the completion of the project or whenever the management www.majorwavesenergyreport.com

of NCDMB determines that their services is no longer required. Speaking further, the Executive Secretary commended President Muhammadu Buhari for approving the next phase of the project which entails the key infrastructure for the NOGaPS site.

He noted that the Federal Government was impressed with the harmonious manner way the contractors have been working with the community since the commencement of the project.

Introducing the contractors, he disclosed that Messrs OK Isokariari& Sons would be responsible for the road construction and capacity building centre, which when completed will be a technical skill development centre at the park, while MegaStar Construction Company Nigeria Limited is responsible for the construction of security and administrative block and hostel/mini estate. According to him, the project will be successfully completed if there is maximum cooperation between the communities, the contractors and NCDMB. Responding on behalf of the contractors, the chief executive of MegaStar Construction Company Nigeria Limited, Arc. Harcourt Adukeh commended the Executive Secretary for the initiative and stated that the NOGaPS project was the first of its kind where the Board organized a proper kick-off with the community. He appealed to the communities to stick to the terms of reference in providing workforce for the project and not short change qualified indigenes in the area.

On procurement opportunities in the project, Adukeh indicated that advertisements will be placed on local

newspapers and the company’s website for community suppliers to register within a specified window, adding that only successful suppliers who qualify will be considered and notified. He also promised that applicant suppliers that lack requisite documentations will be assisted in a bid to get the persons that will work for the community.

Healso pledged to promote cordial relationship with the communities and to visit the paramount ruler to pay due respects. In his response, the chairman of the Bayelsa NOGaPS CIC, His Royal Highness Jephthah Wolisi thanked the Executive Secretary for the opportunity and pledged the committee’s commitment to make the NOGaPS project a success. He appealed to community leaders and youths to give the project the needed support. Giving the vote of thanks, the Obhanobham III of Ogbia Kingdom, His Eminence Dumaro Charles Owaba expressed gratitude to the Board for initiating the project and thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for his commitment to the welfare of the communities in the area. He also praised the quality of contractors mobilised to site, while charging all parties to be resolute in the delivery of their duties. The royal father enjoined all concerned to work harmoniously to achieve the set goals for the overall good of the area to berth development and industrialization. He noted the first oil well in Nigeria which Ogbia is known for had no direct impact on the populace but the advent of the NOGaPS project marks the commencement of development in the area.

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LOCAL CONTENT

NCDMB‘ve laid foundations for 10-Year Roadmap-Wabote… to collaborate with N/Assembly on NC Act Amendment

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h e Ni g e r i a n C o nte nt Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) have put fundamentals in place for the attainment of the Nigerian Content 10Year Roadmap, which would enable the nation to start reaping the full benefits of its oil and gas resources, with clear linkage to other sectors of the economy. The Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote stated this recently in Abuja at the Quarter 3 Media Engagement organized to inform stakeholders about its activities and achievements. Listing the Board’s accomplishments under his two and half year tenure, Wabote stated that “one of the first framework we put resources into was in the development of Nigerian Content 10-Year Strategic Roadmap. The roadmap documents the short, medium, and long-term targets to increase Nigerian Content performance from 28% to 70% by 2027.

”

The key rewards from the implementation of the 10-year roadmap are the creation of 300,000 jobs from industry activities and the retention of US$14bn in-country

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out of the US$20bn annual industry spend.”

He noted further that ”the 10-yearroadmap has five pillars namely: Technical Capability Development, Compliance and Enforcement, Enabling Business Environment, Organisation Capability and Sectorial and Regional Market Linkage. It has four enablers, na mely F und i ng, Reg u lator y Environment, Collaboration and Stakeholders Engagement and Research and Development.” On the Technical Capability pillar, Wabote said the Board ”moved the Nigerian Oil and Gas Park Scheme (NOGAPS) from mere plans on paper to actual construction in two pilot locations – Odukpani in Cross River and Emeyal 1 in Ogbia Local Government of Bayelsa State. Each of the parks will create employment for 2000 persons when they are fully operational and will spur manufacturing of critical oil and gas equipment, tools and spare parts close to oil fields.”

He noted that the Board is spearheading the Project 100 Initiative and 60 oil and gas start-ups have been identified and the Board is sponsoring the deployment of special interventions for their incubation, maturation and

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growth into world class service companies. This intervention would include capacity building, funding and access to market, he said. He further confirmed that the Board has also commenced International Certification program for 20 marine personnel. ”The cadets are already on board foreign vessels and would stay for 12 months, which would qualify them to be awarded the Certificate of Competence (COC), with which they can work in the Nigerian waters and overseas. The program will address the deficit of trained cadets in the maritime and oil and gas industries and reduce the dependence on foreign personnel in the marine operations.” The Executive Secretary also reported the Board’s provision of equity investment to catalyze the establishment of 5,000barrels per day modular refinery by Waltersmith Refining & Petrochemical Company Limited in Ibigwe, Imo State and in the 12,000barrels per day Hydroskimming Modular refinery

by Azikel Petroleum Limited at Obunagha, Gbarain, Bayelsa State. ”The Waltersmith refinery is on track for completion in May 2020 while the Azikel Refinery would be completed in 2021. We expect about 300,000 liters of diesel daily in addition to various volumes of naphtha, kerosene, www.majorwavesenergyreport.com

LOCAL CONTENT and fuel oil from Waltersmith while Azikel will produce about 1.5million litres or 50 trucks of petrol daily, including 170,000liters of diesel, and other products,” he added.

Both modular refinery projects have huge prospects for jobs creation, value retention, petroleum products availability and the development of in-country capability and they fit perfectly with our vision to serve as a catalyst for the development of Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, he stated further.

On the second pillar, Compliance and Enforcement, the NCDMB boss said the Board had put in place seven companies to assist in carrying out specific and specialized monitoring and compliance functions in the upstream, midstream, and downstream sectors of the industry.

The Board also deployed chartered accounting firms to carry out forensic audit of Nigerian Content Development F und (NC DF) remittances. According to him, “the Forensic Audit started in November 2018 and has revealed huge amounts of non-remittances from operating and service companies. At the moment, some companies have owned up to their indebtedness and have started addressing their infractions.

On the other hand, a few companies have remained recalcitrant. We have concluded plans to hand over such companies to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for prosecution.” On the pillar for Enabling Business Environment, Wabote stated that the Service Level Agreements (SLAs) NCDMB signed with the Nigeria LNG, International Operating Companies under the aegis of the Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS) and Independent Petroleum Producers Group (IPPG) have helped to shorten the NCDMB interface on the tendering cycle in the Oil and Gas Industry from 36 months to 9 nine months. He added that ”it has also enhanced broad compliance with the requirements of the Nigerian Content Act and led to significant reduction in the unit cost of oil production in Nigeria.

“During the last review held in May this year, major operating companies, including SPDC/ SNEPCo, Chevron, Total E&P and First E&P all rated NCDMB very high on the implementation of the SLA.” Dwelling on Funding, the Executive Secretary said NCDMB have disbursed a total of US$160m out of the US$200m Nigerian Content Intervention Fund (NCI

60% NCDMB Trainees Secure Employments

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ixty percent of the participants in the Smart Electrical Engineering Training organised by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) have secured employment placements. Four of the 50 engineers secured international www.majorwavesenergyreport.com

placements with BIC Electric and now work in Europe, while other successful participants got employments in Nigeria with AOS Orwell, Daystar Power Group, Eauxwell, Jubaili Bros and PNN amongst others. The six-month classroom and on the job training

Fund) to qualified firms, as part of our efforts to provide accessible credit for Nigerian oil and gas service companies and community contractors with single digit interest rate and one year moratorium.

He indicated that the Board was working to promote relevant and reliable data and statistics and have established a collaborative framework with National Bureau of Statistics. ”We intend to shortly commission specific data collection projects to counter some of the unverifiable data being bandied around our national discourse,” he added. He also confirmed that the Board would collaborate closely with the 9th National Assembly to complete the amendment of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act, so as to extend it to key sectors like Power, Construction and Information Communication Technology. He advised against the creation of multiple regulators of Local Content in Nigeria, noting that ”NCDMB can modify its templates to suit other sectors. In our view, this is the prudent way to expand and entrench local Content regime in Nigeria.”

was conducted at the Lagos Energy Academy (LEA) by AOS Orwell, an oil and gas servicing company on behalf of the NCDMB. The second batch of 50 engineers would commence their training in September at the same location.

The beneficiaries, like all other trainees of NCDMB were selected from the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Joint Qualification System (NOGICJQS) and underwent qualifying tests and interviews.

Speaking on Wednesday in Lagos at the certificates presentation ceremony, the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote commended AOS Orwell for the success recorded with the Smart Electrical Engineering Training.

He described it as a validation of the Board’s new model for human capacity building, which emphasizes the delivery of trainings with a line of sight to employment opportunities.

He stated that the Board had now adopted a 60-20-20 model for human capital development,whereby 60 percent of the training spend and efforts gets devoted to programmes

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LOCAL CONTENT

that g uarantee jobs for the participants. ”Before we give a training contract to any company, the firm must undertake that 60 percent of the people they would train must secure employments.” He added that 20 percent of the Board’s trainings would be designed to improve the skills of persons already employed while the remaining 20 percent will cater for general and non-certificated trainings.

According to him, the Board’s new capacity building model would contribute to meeting the targets set in the Nigerian Content 10-year roadmap and achieving the drive of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to create employment for young persons from the activities of the oil and gas industry and ancillary sectors. Wabote regretted that several organizations within and outside the oil and gas industry expend huge resources and train thousands of youths, without defined strategies to get the beneficiaries engaged or employed afterwards.

He challenged other organisations to take a cue from the Board’s

training model, adding that ”we are willing to work with other oil and gas service providers with a well thought out training programmes in fulfilment of our mandate.” He also congratulated the participants, noting that 50 of them graduated without a single drop-out and reports of their performance showed that they passed their tests and now have international certification from Siemens. He charged the young engineers to utilize any opportunity they get in life and to continue to improve, acquire new knowledge and remain confident.

The Executive Secretary also challenged the incoming participants to surpass the enviable record set by the first batch and to look beyond the collection of stipends to focus more on the acquisition of practical skills under this programme. He added that “the focus area of this training on smart electrical engineering is also an area very important to the industrialization of our country Nigeria. As the nation moves towards the realization of provision of reliable power supply, it is people like you that will be required

NCDMB holds NCCF Retreat, seeks feedback on NC Implementation

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he Niger ia n C ontent Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) recently held the maiden edition of the Nigerian Content Consultative Forum (NCCF) retreat in Lagos, with a charge to the sectorial groups to provide credible feedback on the implementation of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act. The retreat with the theme ‘Consolidating the Gains of the Oil and Gas Industry; Putting Nigeria First through the NCCF’ was aimed at bringing industry stakeholders 14

Majorwaves Energy Report

together to give feedback on the journey so far, and to collaborate on policy proposals that may be relevant to the Board. Delivering the welcome address, Chairman NCCF NCDMB, Mr. Patrick Daziba Obah explained that the retreat was an offshoot of the NCCF Steering Committee Meeting held in March, and an indication that the Board takes the NCCF recommendations very seriously. He informed that NCCF was established by the NOGICD Act 2010 as a medium for the Board’s stakeholders across diverse sectors to share ideas and

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to sustain the sector. You should therefore see this training as very relevant as the skills will continually be in high demand.”

The General Manager Lagos Energy Academy (LEA), Mr. Leke Adegbola noted that the 6-month training was conducted in collaboration with Siemens and other international power companies. In addition to the engineering modules, the participants were also trained in values and social responsibility and coached to be in employability state. A total of 960 training hours was recorded in the programme, he said. The participants made glowing comments about the training, the knowledge and mentoring they received. Some of them recalled that they lacked experience and were unemployed before the programme but have now acquired highly specialized skills and begun careers in electrical engineering with reputable companies. They also thanked NCDMB and the LEA for the lifetime opportunity and promised to remain good ambassadors of the programme.

and collaborate and submit policy proposals that are relevant to Nigerian Content Development. Obah, who is also the Director, Planning, Research and Statistics in the NCDMB indicated that the retreat was organized to reflect on the achievements of the NCCF from its inception in 2014 till date, and added that the achievements would not have been possible without the inputs and collaborations of the Sectorial Working Group (SWG) members. He emphasized that one of the purposes of the retreat was to set the agenda of the next phase of the NCCF in line with the Board’s Nigerian Content 10-Year Road Map, covering short, medium and long term activities that would significantly improve value retention within the Nigerian Oil & Gas industry, create jobs and build capacity, and this is in line with the Board’s vision statement,

“

To be the catalyst for the industrialization of the Nigerian oil and gas industry and its linkage sectors”.

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Power

He encouraged the SWGs to come up with viable projects that would make big impacts on Nigerian Content development and expressed hope that NCCF “would continue to advise the Board on policy adjustments and interventions for Nigerian Content implementation and continue to deepen consultation with established sectors of the oil and gas industry”.

In his keynote address, the Executive Secretary, NCDMB, Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote stated that the NCCF was set up in accordance with section 57 and 58 of the Nigerian Content Act, and that the Forum is made up of key industry stakeholders, government and regulatory agencies and representatives from eight sectors notably Fabrication, Engineering, Finance, Legal Services and Insurance, Shipping & Logistics, Materials and Manufacturing, Information and Communication Technology, PETAN and Education and Training. He added that the Board approved the creation of the Essential Services and Multinationals groups to bring the total number of sectorial working groups to 10. ”This was also in line with the provision of the same section 58 of the Act which allows for addition of any other professional services,” he said.

He noted that NCCF has made some progress over the years but there were several areas where improvements were needed. He emphasized that the primary objective of the retreat was for the Board to take feedback. In his words, “We want to get feedback on how we have fared in achieving the objectives of the NCCF as contained in the NOGICD Act, which are to share information of upcoming projects and local capabilities as well as collaborate on policy proposals that may be relevant to Nigerian Content development”

“

We should then use this retreat to deliberate on how to re-energise the NCCF at the Steering Committee level and at the Sectorial Working Group level to deliver the purpose of setting up the NCCF”. www.majorwavesenergyreport.com

Kogi Community Lauds FG’s Solar Power Plant

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he indigenes of Upake community in the Ajaokuta Local Government Area of Kogi State have commended the Federal Government for the installation of an 80-kilowatt solar hybrid mini-grid power plant in the community. The Federal Government, through the Rural Electrification Agency, inaugurated on Monday the mini-grid, to which 496 residential and commercial buildings would be connected, according to a statement. Kogi State Governor, Mr Yahaya Bello, commended the Federal Government, the REA and the private developer for their commitment to the project.

He said, “The people of Kogi State will do our best to support this project to ensure greater success and sustainability. Its impact goes beyond improving quality access to stable electricity. It has also provided a total of 32 jobs for our indigenes and will create more

during the expansion of this project.

We look forward to witnessing the Federal Government replicate similar projects that will improve the quality of life of Nigerians.”

The Senator representing Kogi Central, Mr Yakubu Oseni, said the solar project would benefit members of his constituency. He said, “Our women will be able to process their cassava in a less stressful manner and our fishermen can preserve their products now that there is reliable electricity. I believe that the quality of lives in Upake community will be improved because of this project and I look forward to seeing similar projects being installed in other communities under my leadership.” The REA is an agency of the Federal Government tasked with the electrification of unserved and underserved communities.

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Power

New investors for power sector soon – FG

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he Federal Government has said it would soon call for bid from new investors in the power generation and distribution chain following failure of the current investors to improve the nation’s electricity industry. Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, dropped the hint at the commissioning of the power substation infrastructure built by the Niger Delta Power Holding Company, NDPHC, at Abeokuta, Ogun State capital. He said that the Federal Government has already taken the decision to further open the electricity sector to new investors after realizing that the national grid system can’t meet the power demand of consumers. Government he said has approved substantial change strategies backed by various policies that will encourage more investments to the industry. According to him, the present administration has made some remarkable impact by boosting installed generation capacity to 13,437 Megawatts, MW, and available capacity to 8,342 MW, and 7,000 evacuation capacity, adding that t he i n a bi l it y of D i st r i but ion C ompa n ies, D isC os, to del iver g r id power to end users have significantly distorted the efforts of gover n ment. He noted that power d istr i bution compa n ies’ insuff icient inf ra str ucture ha s restricted distribution to about 4,0 0 0M W a nd at pea k per iods 5,40 0M W. He sa id that gover n ment ha s 16

Majorwaves Energy Report

identi f ied wea k ne s s of the DisCos which include inadequate capital to prov ide needed i n f r a s t r u c t u r e a n d m et e r i n g cha l len ge s a mon g ot her s. He stated that i n order to resolve t he s e cha l lenge s, gover n ment i nt ro duce d t he Meter A s s et P r o v i d e r, M A P, s c h e m e t o resolve the l i nger i ng meter i ng challenges in the system, adding t h at s o fa r t he D i s C o s h ave received a nd proces sed a bout 250,0 0 0 applications from customers, a nd that hopef u l ly the number would quadruple by end of the yea r. He expres sed optimism that with the implementation of the M A P, the industr y would be able to close the 5.3 m i l l ion meter i ng gap existing currently. He said other mea sures ta ken by gover nment include the Siemens Pha sed Electrification Roadmap, which w a s f l a g g e d o f f r e c e nt l y b y President Muhammadu Buhari.

He s a id t hat u nder pha s e 1, Tra nsmis sion a nd Distr i bution wou ld be a ble to deliver 7,0 0 0 M W, a n d u n d e r p h a s e 2 , 11,0 0 0 M W would be achieved wh i le 25,0 0 0M W i s ta rgeted u nder pha se 3. He expla i ned t h at gover n ment ex p e ct s t he DisCos to recapitalize and come up w ith resources to i mprove on their ser v ices, but even at t hat t he ma rket i s s et to welcome new i nvestors i n the distribution and generation sub sectors.

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In his speech, the Managing D i rector a nd C h ief E xecutive Off icer, of the N DPHC , C h iedu Ug b o, s a id t hat t he c omp a ny’s contr i bution to the Tra nsm is sion g r id system ha s tra nsfor med the hitherto radial 330Kv/132KV grid i nto a more robust g r id system w ith sig n i f ica nt prov i sion of a lter native power f low route s which no ser ve a s redunda ncies a nd which ha s resulted in a mo r e r el i a ble a nd s t a ble g r id.

He reca lled the commissioning of the 22 0 - k i lometer long 33 0 K V D ou ble C i r c u it l i ne s pr ov id i n g a lternative supply routes to A buja a nd the F C T f rom G ereg u through a new L okoja substation, a n e w Gw a g w a l a d a s u b s t at i o n into the Transmission Company of Niger ia, T C N, K ata mpe a nd Apo substations with several significant substation developments along that r oute. H e a d d e d t h at b et we e n 2 015 a nd now a b out 3 0 N I PP Tra n sm i s sion P rojects i n her ited by pre s ent ad m i n i st rat ion have b e e n c o mp l ete d w h i l e ove r 70 D i str i bution P roject s have a l so been completed acros s the 6 geopol itica l zones.

T he Manag ing Director and C h ief E xe cutive Of f icer, of t he Transmission Company of Nigeria, T C N, Us m a n M o h a m m e d , s a i d t h e c o m p a n y h a s s i g n i f i c a nt l y i mproved its ser v ices a nd is now not rega rded a s the wea kest l i n k in the industry chain. Mohammed s a id it s whe el i n g c ap a c it y h a s i mp r ove d to a b out 8 ,0 0 0 M W b ut l a m e nt e d t h at D i s C o s a r e frustrating efforts of the company by rejecti ng load. Accord i ng to him, most substations are stranded due to ina bi lity of DisC os to t a ke lo ad, add i n g t h at a l l t he su bstations put i n place i n K a no St ate to day a re id le a s D i s C o s a re not w i l l i ng to ta ke up to 3 0 p er c ent of p ower f r om t hem.

H e app e a le d to gover n ment to i nter vene by extend i ng f u nd i ng support to the DisCos but warned that the TCN may be prompted to ta ke over a ny D isco that is not willing to take load from existing stations. www.majorwavesenergyreport.com

MARITIME

Maritime Insecurity: About 40% of Global Maritime Incidents Occurred Within the Gulf of Guinea in 2018 -- Report “Maritime insecurity has economic, social, political and environmental implications globally; hence the need for GMSC conference to focus on it.”

-Dr Peterside

By Ikenna Omeje Dr Dakuku Peterside

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AGOS. Securing the Nigeria’s territorial waters has been a serious challenge to facilitate legitimate movement of goods and services between the country and other nations of the world. In recent times, maritime security issues have featured prominently on the agenda of international and national discourse on sustainable socio-economic development, particularly the use of oceans and high seas for maritime activities. But the waters have also been used for banditry and other crimes such as smuggling of illicit and dangerous goods, kidnapping, terrorism, illegal fishing and pollution.

According to the International Maritime Bureau’s (IMB) Piracy Reporting Centre (PRC), about 40 per cent of all maritime incidents reported globally in the first nine months of 2018 occurred within the Gulf of Guinea (GoG).

This is in furtherance of the fact that a nexus exists between a well secured maritime domain and seamless trade facilitation among countries. The reason for this increasing attention on maritime security is the grave threats insecurity on the seas pose to international trade, socio-economic developments, the marine milieu, human safety, freedom of navigation and peace. The potent threats also include piracy, armed robbery at sea, bunkering and trafficking of people.

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Mostly affected by these crimes on the high seas is the maritime industry which has been identified as very critical to global commerce and distribution of vital resources. About 90 percent of world trade by volume and up to 75 percent in value are carried out by sea. No doubts, the maritime industry contributes and sustains economies of both coastal and land locked countries, connecting industrial centres and markets within and beyond national borders. It is among the world’s global innovative and forward-looking industries and noted to have capacities to generate employment, value creation and spill over to other industries, making it an important driving force for sustainable economic growth and positive developments. For the industry to further develop its value chain potential and continue to facilitate legitimate movement of goods and services, providing livelihoods and necessary marine resources to accelerate developments, maritime security is imperative. Safety is of considerable importance now that the world is looking at the high seas and oceans as the new frontiers for advancing economic diversification and prosperity, technological innovations and energy generation otherwise known as the Blue Economy. It is on this premise that the Global Maritime Security Conference (GMSC) 2019, a

high-level maritime security conference to be hosted by Nigeria is a mustattend conference. The theme of the Conference is “Managing and Securing Our Waters.” The Conference holds at the prestigious International Conference Centre, Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, from October 7 to 9. The host is Dr Dakuku Peterside, the Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), the organisation responsible for regulations relating to Nigerian shipping, maritime labour and coastal waters.

The agency which has its headquarters in Apapa, Lagos, also undertakes inspections and provides rescue services.

Peterside said “maritime insecurity has economic, social, political and environmental implications globally, hence the need for the conference”.

The NIMASA boss disclosed that the conference would also feature intensive interactive sessions designed to expand, address and deliver a workable framework that would to tackle the key issues on the safety of the waterways.

This year’s conference hopes to achieve the following overarching objectives: to define the precise nature and scope of coordinated regional responses to maritime insecurity vis-à-vis intervention supports from external actors/partners; evaluate the relevance

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MARITIME

NIMASA graduated 298 surveillance officers

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Interview session with Dr Dakuku Peterside

and impacts of the various interventions initiated already to tackle maritime insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea with a view to revising and adapting them to address the current challenges. Others are: to decisively move towards policy harmonization and effective implementation through regional integration and cooperation as effective method for delivering efficient security in the region.

In addition to tackling threats to maritime security, the conference will also strategize alternative approaches to tackle cyber security attacks and other forms of emerging maritime security threats. It is also expected to proffer deeper global commitment to deployment of military resources to fight to a standstill maritime insecurity within the region.

Participants are expected from relevant government ministries and agencies as well as the Nigerian Navy and Coast Guards, maritime lawyers and professional insurance firms and banks. Others are the oil and gas sector, high-level industry practitioners, ship owners and charteres, oil companies’ Chief Executive Officers, trade executives, and classification societies. Also expected are industry stakeholders such as professional consultancy and experts, international, continental and regional bodies, shipping logistics, ship brokery, ship managers and agents, support services, foreign missions and diplomats, policy makers and research institutions as well as non-governmental organisations.

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he Niger ia n Ma r itime Ad m i n istration and Safety A gency (N I M A SA) has graduated another 298 surveillance officers in ba sic tra ining course for the implementation of the Integrated Security a n d Wa t e r w a y P r o t e c t i o n I nf ra str ucture a lso k now n a s the D eep Blue P roject.

S p e a k i n g at t he g r a du at io n ceremony held at the mi lita r y base in Elele in Rivers State, the Director-General of NIM A SA, D r. Da ku ku Peter side noted that the capacity development component of the D eep Blue pr oje ct i s on c ou r s e a s t he A g e n c y p r e p a r e s to r e c e i ve the land and maritime i n f ra st r uctu re comp onent of the P roject.

T he D G who wa s represented b y t h e E xe c u t i v e D i r e c t o r, Maritime Labour and Cabotage S er v ices of the A gency, M r.

Ga mbo A hmed stated the la nd-ba sed i nter vention force i s ex p e cte d to work clo s ely with the command and control center to effectively police the Niger ia n ma r itime doma in, t hu s e n h a n c i n g s e c u r it y i n t he Gu l f of Gu i ne a. “O u r v ision of creati ng the cr itica l force for i nter vention wh ich i s ex p e cte d to work clo s ely with the command and control center to effectively police the Niger ia n Ma r iti me D oma i n is becoming a reality as they will br i ng to bea r what they have l e a r nt h e r e,” t h e D G s a i d.

T he D G used the oppor tun ity to a s su re Niger ia ns that the project jointly implemented by the Ministry of Transportation a nd the M i n istr y of D efense will greatly curb criminality in the Nigerian maritime domain.

I n h i s w o r d s “ t h e p r e s e nt t h r e at s p o s e d by i n s e c u r it y to ou r ma r iti me economy a nd the need to suppor t economic renaissance of the nation led to the bi-ministerial collaboration of the Federa l M i n istr ies of D efen s e a nd Tr a n sp or t at ion

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under the super vision of the Of f ice of the Nationa l Security Adviser (NSA) to the P resident to develop a robust maritime security architecture c ompr i si n g a l l M i l it a r y a nd S ecur ity S er v ices that wou ld ensure conducive and enduring ma r itime env ironment for the nation”. I n his speech du r i ng t h e c e r e m o n y, M r. M i c k y Gna sh of Homela nd S ecu r ity I nter nat iona l (H L SI) who a re consu lta nts to the project gave the comp o sition of the g radua nds a s 110 off icers a nd men of the Niger ia n A r my a nd 19 8 off icers a nd men of t h e N i g e r i a n N a v y. “ T h e y wer e t r a i ne d on c om b atrelated courses, ranging from physical training, sha r pshooting techniq ues a nd a bi l ity to use the a r m f rom a ra nge, ba re ha nds f ig hti ng i n open ter ra i n, bu i lt-up a rea s a n d i n t h e b u s h”. H e a l s o added that the tra i n i ng wa s ta i lored towa rds empower i ng them for the enor mou s ta sk of sa feg ua rd i ng the Niger ia n ter r itor ia l water ways”.

With this basic training c onclude d, t he of f ic er s w i l l proceed on the advance tra i n i ng i n S eptem ber 2 019, which is expected to la st for 8 month s. P re sent at the e v e n t w e r e C o m m a n d e r 16 Brigade of the Nigerian A rmy, Br i gad ier G enera l V. Okoro who represented the C h ief of A r my Sta ff a nd C omma nder; Pathfinder Base of the Nigerian Nav y, C ommodore S. J Bu r ra w h o r e p r e s e nt e d t h e C h i e f of the Nava l Sta f f; a nd the Ma r iti me Gua rd C omma nder, NIMASA, Commodore I bok. T he C 4I I nteg rated Surveillance Systems Operation tra i n i ng is pa r t of the hu ma n capacity building towards the Integ rated National S e c u r i t y a n d Wa t e r w a y s Protection Infra str ucture, which is a Federal Government i n itiative a i me d at en su r i ng comprehensive Nigerian ma r itime doma in sur vei l la nce a nd secur ity. www.majorwavesenergyreport.com

INFRASTRUCTURE

NDDC to commence shore protection project in Bayelsa

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he Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has said it will soon start work on the reclamation and shore protection of eroded parts of Odi in Kolokuma-Opokuma Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

NDDC Acting Managing Director, Prof Nelson Brambaifa, who disclosed this at the palace of the traditional ruler of Odi Kingdom, King Shine Apre, said the Commission would not relent in its drive to provide basic infrastructure in communities across the Niger Delta region. Brambaifa assured that no effort would be spared in protecting coastal communities in the region. “In the next couple of weeks, we will start to work onshore protection. I am aware of the erosion problem in Odi and we will certainly address it. We will also take care of the internal roads in the town,” the NDDC boss said. Responding, King Apre commended the NDDC Acting Managing Director for showing concern to the plight of the people of his kingdom and called on NDDC to support Odi in promoting the course of the Ijaw nation.

He said that Odi Kingdom was holding its annual Ogori Ba Uge Festival which, among other things, was one of the avenues for taking the story of Odi beyond the shores of Nigeria. “We want to show the world our culture. We expect the NDDC boss to help us to share the Ijaw story,” he said. While taking the NDDC management to inspect the site of the landslide which destroyed many houses in April 2019, the Vice President of Odi Youth Council, Mr. Teibowei Brown, said he was relieved to learn that NDDC was intervening to save Odi from the ravages of erosion and landslide. Brown said that the erosion was one of the many environmental challenges confronting the communities especially those along the river banks, noting that the last incident at Odi, destroyed many houses located along the bank of River Nun which passes through the community.

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Ajaokuta, Aladja Steel, Others to Work in 4 Years – Rep

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he long troubled Ajaokuta Steel Mill in Kogi State will commence operation within the next four years, the chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Steel Development, Abdullahi Halims, has assured. Halims also said other state-owned steel companies in the country, including the Aladja Steel Company, near Warri, Delta State, and the Katsina Steel Company will bounce back to life within the same time.

He disclosed this to journalists in Abuja, saying: “At the end of four years, I want to tell you by the grace of God, we will see the Ajaokuta Steel Company working very well.

We will see the Aladja Steel Rolling Mills, we will see the Katsina Steel rolling out mills and the entire steel sector making gains out of production.” Lamenting that the steel companies had gone under despite being established to drive the nation’s industrialisation, he said outdated laws was one of the major factors militating against the development of the steel sector. Halims said some advantages in having the industry up and running were that it would enable job creation, bring revenue to

Majorwaves Energy Report

the federal government, boost the economy and guarantee economic growth for future generations. Apart from the steel companies in Ajaokuta, Aladja and Katsina, there are also the Jos Steel Rolling Mill in Jos, the Plateau State capital; and Oshogbo Steel Rolling Mill in Oshogbo, capital of Osun State, which are also owned by the Federal Government. While Ajaokuta Steel Company is planned to produce high end products, including flat sheets, it will also produce billets, the raw material required by Aladja Steel and the rolling mills for the production of finished products – wires and rods.

Ajaokuta, in addition, will produce parts for industrial machines as well as wires and rods from its finished products section.

But, the construction of the plant, which began in the early 1980s, became enmeshed in politics with successive governments in the country making pledges about its completion that were never kept. Attempts to hand over the company to private hands have not worked as the government ended up retrieving the company from such hands due to failure of the investors to get the plant running.

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ACROSS AFRICA

Madagascar plans 35MW hydroelectric project

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he Mada ga sca n water and electricity company and an Italian partner are planning to build a hy d r o e l e c t r i c p owe r p l a nt i n A nt a n a n a r i v o . C o m b i n e d w it h t wo s ola r i n st a l lat ion s, t he fa c i l it y w i l l p r o duc e 3 5 M W of electr icity to f i l l the energ y gap in and around the c a p i t a l o f M a d a g a s c a r. T h e complaints published on social n e t w o r k s b y I nt e r n e t u s e r s a ga i n st Ji ra ma, t he nat iona l water and electricity company, a r e r e c u r r ent a nd nu mer ou s i n M ada ga s c a r. Ac c ord i n g to fig ures published by the World B a n k i n 2 018 , o n l y 15% o f t he p opu lat ion ha s acce s s to electr icity in this souther n A frican countr y.

of 35 megawatts to supply the cit y of A nta na na r ivo a nd it s surroundings.

To improve electricity supply, t he cou ntr y’s aut hor itie s a re now focu si ng on renewa ble energies. A n option for which Madagascar has great potential: 2,0 0 0 kW h/m²/year thanks to the 2,800 hours of sunshine per year, in terms of solar energ y.

H owe ve r, M a d a g a s c a r’s n e w energy project will not only rely on solar energy. It will combine both the sun and the strength of waterfalls. This includes the construction of a hydroelectric power plant in A ntananarivo, which also includes two adjacent solar installations. T he three units will have a total capacity

On the other hand, electricity production from rivers ha s b e e n d e n ou n c e d i n a r e c e nt study conducted by the L eibniz I n s t it ute o f F r e s hw ate r a n d Inland F isheries Ecolog y in G e r m a n y. T h e r e s e a r c h e r s compiled data on 126 megafauna species living in rivers and lakes around the world, as well as information on the geographical d i st r i bution of 4 4 sp e cie s i n Europe and the United States.

R e s u l t s : B e t w e e n 19 7 0 a n d 2012, the freshwater megafauna declined by 88%. T he pace at which these vertebrates decline is estimated to be twice as fast

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According to Jirama, the project will be operational by 2020. To address this issue, the national water and electricity company, which has been undergoing some renovation since August 14, 2019, has entered into a partnership with the Italian company Tozzi Green, a company specialising in solutions, ser vices and projects for the development of facilities and the production of energ y from renewable sources.

It i s importan t to pay attention to aquatic biodiversity

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a s for ter r e st r i a l or o c e a n ic a nima ls. T his mea ns that env i ron menta l i mpact stud ie s in hydroelectr ic projects w i l l have to be stepped up, g iven the large freshwater biological reser ve. R ivers and lakes cover only 1% of the world’s surface area, but they are home to one third of all vertebrate species and nearly half of all fish. It i s perhaps to compen sate for t h i s a s p e c t t h at M ad a g a s c a r relies much more on solar energy a m o n g a l l r e n ew a b l e e n e r g y resources. All the regions benefit from more than 2,80 0 hours of sunshine per year, making the Bi g I sla nd t he ide a l site for developing solar energ y, which could represent a capacity of 2,000 kWh/m²/year. A potential that the State is counting on to meet its objective: to provide acc e s s to energ y for 70% of Malagasy households by 2030.

To help achieve this objective, t h e S c a l i n g S o l a r i n i t i at i v e launched by the International F inance C orporation (IFC), a subsidiar y of the World Bank Group, signed an agreement with the government of Madagascar i n M a r c h 2 016 t o d e s i g n a power plant of about 25 M W connected to the A ntananarivo g r id. T he project includes requirements for storing solar energ y by connecting the plant with batteries.

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ACROSS AFRICA

Noble Energy Makes New Equatorial Guinea Petroleum Discovery

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q u a t o r i a l G u i n e a’s Ministry of Mines and Hydrocarbons (MMH) is pleased to announce that U.S. oil and gas company Noble Energ y has made a discover y in offshore Block I M A L A BO, Equatorial Guinea, A u g u s t 2 7, 2 019/ - - Noble Energ y makes oil discover y in Block I, located in Equatorial Guinea’s offshore sector; T he wel l wa s d r i l le d to a tot a l depth of 4,417 meters and is expected to produce first oil in October 2019; A s a champion of oil and gas development in A frica, Minister of Mines and Hyd r o c a rb on s H . E . G a br iel Mbaga Obiang Lima will lead the conversation on the future of natural gas on the continent at t he A f r ic a O i l & Power event in Cape Town on October 9-11 2019.

Equatorial Guinea’s Ministr y of M i ne s a nd Hyd ro c a rb on s (MMH) is pleased to announce that U.S. oil and gas company Noble Energ y has made a d i s c over y i n of fshor e Blo ck I . T h e A s e n g 6 P we l l w a s drilled to a total depth of 4,417 meters. Noble is currently in the process of completing the 40 0 -meter horizontal section of the well and, using existing A seng field infrastructure, is expected to produce oil from

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October 2019. “We are excited to a n n ou n c e t h i s d i s c ove r y wh ich c ou ld not have c ome at a m o r e o p p o r t u n e t i m e.

We h ave b e en de d ic ate d to developi ng ou r re s ou rc e s to bu i ld a b etter economy a nd create oppor tu n ities for ou r people and, it seems we a r e g a i n i n g m o m e n t u m ,” s a id M i n i ster of M i ne s a nd Hyd r o c a rb on s H . E . G a br iel Mbaga Obiang Lima. He added t hat: “It’s a lway s b e en ou r firm belief that our countr y i s r el at ively u nder ex plor e d.

When companies drill offshore E quatoria l Guinea, their l i kel i hood for a d i scover y is real. Noble Energ y and partners are longtime friends of Equatorial Guinea and it is only fitting that we should build on our oil and gas development efforts with them right by our side. T his is great news for our economy, jobs creation and lo c a l c ontent development.”

T he A s en g f ield c on si st s of f ive su b s e a wel l s con ne cte d to a F PSO vessel. With a 40 percent interest, Noble Energy i s op erator. O t her p a r t ner s include Atla s Petroleum (29 percent), Glencore Exploration (25 percent) and Gunvor (6 percent).

become Africa’s premier gas hub with the signing of definitive agreements with the Alen field p a r t ner s a nd P u nt a Eu rop a Pla nt ow ner s to moneti ze ga s f rom the Noble Energ yoperated Alen field – a project known as the Gas Megahub.

A s t he cou nt r y develop s it s gas resources, Minister Obiang Lima said earlier this year that it was also targeting a final agreement on its 20 07 joint deal with Cameroon to develop gas condensate discoveries Yoyo and Yolanda on their maritime border.

T his year, Equatorial Guinea k i c ke d o f f i t s e n d e a v o r t o

Source: A PO G roup

Minister Obiang Lima alongside A ntonio Obur u, G enera l Director of Equatorial Guinea’s national oil company GEPetrol, w i l l lead a delegation of companies active in Equatorial Guinea to the A fr ica Oil & Power C onference and Exhibition in Cape Town, South A frica on October 9-11 2019.

Joining the minister will be BANGE, Centurion Law Group, Noble Energ y, Marathon Oil, Golden Swan, Baker Hughes, K o s m o s E n e r g y, Tr i d e n t E n e r g y, Tu l l o w O i l , E l i t e Construcciones, Schlumberger, NAHSCO, Hexagon and NALCO Champion.

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NOG CONFERENCE

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NOG CONFERENCE

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INTERVIEW coast has been a lot bigger and more forward thinking and long term, that’s what really differentiates us.

“

We are investing and pushing finances in an area where nobody wants to go into and that’s what has been our distinction in the market”.

Yo ur market p enetra tion strategy has been superb, and I know this impact on the bottom line, but aren’t you perturbed about fake products? How do you manage this threat?

Engr Ernest Nwapa (fmr E.S NCDMB) presents award to Mr George Onofowokan at NOG 2019

“NOG 2019 Awards: ...a confirmation of our tenacity, hardwork” - Onafowokan, MD Coleman Cables

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oleman Wires and Cables is an ISO 9 0 01:2 015 certif ied , indi genous company, committed to manufacturing consistent quality wires and cables locally. Part of its strategy to maintain and increase its market share has been a continual improvement of its processes and services delivery through staff development, motivation and creation of a conducive work environment. In this interview with Majorwaves Energy Report, Mr George Onofowokan explains why Coleman emerged as the Best Indigenous Company of Year; he also touched on a couple of other innovative activities ongoing at the company. Excerpts.

Congratulations on the award as NOG 2019 Indigenous Company of the Year. What do you have to say about this recognition?

Thanks.

I’m very excited about this award. It’s been a long time coming. It goes to say hardwork pays. Our investments over the years is being recognised. We’ve been tested, but we are still here; this is a confirmation of our tenacity, grit and hardwork.

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What do you do differently to set your business apart from the other players in this industry?

For Coleman, what we do differently is that, we have actually invested a lot more. We have looked at the long term and decided to invest in the cable industry, surpassing others in the industry; and our investments have gone into pioneering products. Pioneering products like the High Voltage (HV) Cable which we did in 2014, like CAT5 and CAT6 Cable which we did in 2015; Instrumentation pressure Cable which we also did in 2015 and currently, we’re also investing in backward integration, in copper and aluminium production in-country, and also looking at the oil and gas industry. For the oil and gas, we are also moving into marine vessel cables. By the time we finish that project, we will only be the second country of production in Africa.

All the projects we have made were pioneers in the whole of West Africa, which is what makes us innovative and totally different and exceptional in the Industry, because we are making cables that nobody is actually doing. On the normal cables, in terms of capacity and size, we are actually equivalent to the whole industry in West Africa multiplied by two. So our own vision for the country and the West African

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We are always perturbed about fake, adulterated and substandard cables because that has been the bone of the industry for years and it will continue to be. But our philosophy in fighting fake and adulterated is a bit different - by building capacity because one thing we realised is you do not fight what is too available.

Basically, what is “pure water” (sachet water)? Nobody adulterates it. In my philosophy, you won’t see anybody adulterating pure water, it’s damn too cheap and available and there are so many players. Now, what we need to do and the industry has never done, which Coleman is doing, is to make product available and cheap and of good value too. So when you have good value and good pricing; and you have the capacity to back that good pricing, you actually drop the substandard and faking of your cables because you’re matching, if not beating, the price of the fake of the cables; and that has been our focus in the last two years. “We now use our capacity to build availability to fight substandard cables’’ and we fought it with SON, and fought it with government agencies. But we found out it wasn’t working. Some of the government’s agencies seem not to do the work they are supposed to do enough. Nevertheless, we need to sustain and survive and the way we have done it is to change the dynamics.

“

Why not make these cables to be available and viable for people to want to buy it and then at those levels?”

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INTERVIEW And so far in our two years strategy, it’s been working. The amount of faking of our cables has drastically reduced, especially in our one year plus. When you make these cables affordable and available to people, it makes the faking difficult to achieve and the substandard prices difficult to compete; so that has been our own strategy for now, pending when the government agencies meant to stop all these, would stop them.

What are some landmark projects we can associate Coleman cables with, one you would say you’re proud of?

We are very proud of

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ou r h ig h volta ge factory; that is the plant in Shagamu, in 2014 when it was c om m i s s ione d. It became the first of its kind in the whole of West Africa”.

It made Nigeria only 6th country in the continent making it. And it made us the first to actually pass the oil and gas NOGIC Act under high voltage, and we were very proud of that. Until we did it, for more than 30 years, everybody in the industry actually believed it was impossible making high voltage cable in Nigeria, in-country.Manufacturers thought it was not viable, and could not be done in Nigeria. We broke all barriers, broke all rules and delivered the product to the Nigerian market.

And for us as Nigerians, it was a thing of pride because it wasn’t a foreign company that delivered it first, and it was Nigerians that made that possible. For us at Coleman, that’s our pride, to have achieved that level of impact without being behind a foreign companies. It should be noted that till date, we still remain the only in country producer of High Voltage Cables. So, after that we have seen ourselves being able to move the industry forward, pioneering a lot of things in the Industry. As a result, we are the only industry where everybody says, “Buy made in Nigeria because it’s the best.” But then, we need to be capable of servicing the whole country, the same way the brand of beverages are served round the whole country. We see ourselves as a company servicing the whole country; that’s where we are and what we are proud of.

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Are there component parts of your product or operations that you presently outsource or would want to domesticate in-country? Which would you need an enabler or incentive from the government for?

One of the key things which we are currently building now is the backward integration of our copper and aluminium plant; the design of the factory is unique and rare in this part of the world. And in terms of capacity and size, it would be the biggest in copper and aluminium factory available within this part of the world, and the whole of West Africa. So for us, we want to see that the backward integration is that type of business which government supports. Yes, we have gotten some support from the Bank of Industry in recent times. We need to also get quality support in that line because there is no point if we don’t make this backward integration work. It enables us to import raw materials, while we export the finished products. We need to change the dynamics, where we move from user-processing country to where we see ourselves exporting; that is what we believe the factory can do. It has the capacity, not only for Nigeria but to West Africa and other parts of Africa.

So what’s the multiplier effect, if you perfect this backward integration in respect to the numbers and the people it would employ?

In terms of employment, it would have an impact generation of at least 200 workers and later on, about 600 workers. But the impact in the industry would be greater in numbers, because we would be able to reduce cost of raw materials, which means the cable itself would be cheaper to buy at a point in time.

Secondly, we can look at creating sources for our raw materials locally; the impact of that is when you reduce your import elements, you reduce your expenses on import and Forex; and you increase workforce. So, take into account the long term effect of that added to the creation of jobs, not only for that; the sustenance of the other parts of the industry, and other players of the Industry outside our country.

including the up country places? And are you thinking about export in the immediate?

Yes, we are thinking about export, but the first phase of our business is to expand in-country first. We are looking at West Africa sometime in Q4 this year; we are already working on some parts of West Africa. In Nigeria, our first aim is being able to expand to some parts. We have opened in Kaduna, with branches in Kano, Abuja, in Port Harcourt, in Warri, Owerri, and Onitsha; of course the Lagos, Ibadan and Southwest has been a strong point for us. So

“

our focus is to try and open distributorship in all parts of the country and have availability in every space of the country within this year”;

and we are already making that possible for now, so that you can buy Coleman wires literarily everywhere.

That has been a positive sign because our capacity has allowed us to sustain it and to grow. We would be the first in the history of the country in being able to sustain a national front, a national distributorship of its products in cables. That’s not all, of the cable companies operating in Nigeria, Coleman is the only one that has been able to have a national presence, and it’s because we have the ability to sustain that national outlook of distribution, having built our capacity and capability. We are always pushing the product everywhere we go because we believe we have the capacity to sustain the country’s need, and that is where we stand out.

Is Coleman 10 0 per cent Nigerian owned? What’s the level of expatriates’ participation in the company? Do you have expatriates here and what’s the number?

If we look at it today, Coleman is a 100 per cent Nigerian company.

It’s an indigenous company. We have been indigenous since 1996 and to make it more indigenous than anything else, it’s being run by indigenous people and all its

How are you doing in supplying the entire Nigerian market,

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INTERVIEW pride is pushing all the jobs, that same pride is why we won the award and that same pride is why we push for our “Nigerianess” in this cable business as much as we can, to show that we can be proud of Nigerian products and proud as Nigerians.

Our products can be seen everywhere with such belief and such pride that makes us exceptionally different in this industry and I believe it would continue to stand for us over the years coming.

What would you say about NCDMB and its activities?

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board has been fantastic,even this award, if you notice,

Mr George Onafowokan and Engr Simbi Wabote

management board is indigenous. I will say 99 percent of our workforce is indigenous, and the management. Even with the expatriate, I believe today out of over 350 workers there is only one expatriate. We have managed to keep that by allowing the expatriates to train and go. I believe in our own people and that belief has been sustained in our history from the management team over the last 20 years. Coleman has never been a company that believes in majority foreign technical partnership, because foreign technical partnership is only useful for training purposes, which we do. They come into Nigeria, train us for 30 or 60 days and go back to their country. Nigerians can continue the job, because we need to continue to believe in ourselves and if we don’t train and retrain our people, making them believe in their abilities, you can’t sustain a business in this country. It would be too dependent on the expatriate. And for us, we pride ourselves in seeing people come into our company, looking for the expatriate management staff; only to find out we have none, but Nigerians everywhere.

Then, they start asking, “Where is your technical partner?” They are all Nigerians. The technical crew are all Nigerians; the designs are made and built by Nigerians. If we are not proud of ourselves and we don’t take pride in pushing our own knowledge, there is no way we can grow our own knowledge, which is fundamental to all industries.

We need to grow know-how in-country; know-how without training cannot take us anywhere; because they won’t teach us everything. Let them teach us what we want to know and we would continue to grow it and as long as we

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show the sign that we are not interested in being dependent on expatriates, they would be forced to teach you.

What’s the next big thing for Coleman?

“

The next big thing is for us to deliver the next marine cable production incountry”

and once that is done, we would be the only second producer in Africa to do so. We expect to be producing in-country by Q1 or Q2 of 2020; that would be a game changer for us, a game changer for the whole country and the continent.

We can only continue to strive for bigger, better, capacity production and technical know-how, because that’s our belief; “we are passionate about ‘made in Nigeria.’ You cannot remove that from us and there is no one that can actually say to anyone of us or to Coleman that we are not proudly made in Nigeria. Our business has grown from the foundation. It should only be made in Nigeria and not imported and that’s why we have grown so well.

We don’t believe in importing finished products, we believe in striving to make it possible locally. And that has been the pride of every Nigerian. Even expatriate say they can’t believe it. I can’t count how many expatriates who have walked into Coleman for audit, and they say, “We can’t believe this is happening in Nigeria, that this level of know-how or technology is available in-country.”

And that same pride is getting us all the work we desire, today; that same

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“

we dedicated it to them, we dedicated the award to the NCDMB because seriously the NCDMB under Engr.

Simbi Wabote has been a driver for Nigerians”,

made in Nigeria and in-country production. The impact this man has made since I met him in 2017 January and since the visit in 2017 February has been a massive, massive, massive impact to our industry, to Coleman as a company and even to our faith in what we’re doing in-country; and to believe in the projects we are putting our money into; and even borrowing to do what we can. If NCDMB is not doing its job, believe me, I won’t be where I am today. One of the things that brought us into oil and gas was the NOGIC Act of 2010, and we are passionate about that project, we believe in it. Leadership is key; when the leadership directs aright, like the current ES, Simbi Wabote, it changes things. We can all see the amount of impact that NCDMB has made, the amount of local content impact they have made in the industry. A lot of people participating in the oil and gas industry have tried several years, but have made no impact, because they were not being pushed, seen or heard; or did not have enough belief that if we push, someone will support it. NCDMB is doing a fantastic job for Nigerians, not only for Nigerians but for Nigerian companies, and in the words of the ES, CONT on pg 31

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INTERVIEW

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Nigeria’s Race for Sustainable Energy Sufficiency: Installs Africa’s Largest Hybrid Solar Plant

E

nergy suff iciency, had over the years, remained a mirage in Nigeria, as reports had stated that over 40 per cent of Nigerians did not have access to electricity; while based on total installed capacity, only 0.06 megawatts of electricity was available for 1,000 Nigerians.

This article explores the country’s quest for energy sufficiency, the challenges and measures put in place by the Federal Government, multilateral institutions and private sector players to surmount the country’s energy challenges.

Energy is critical to human development and realizing its importance, it was 28

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made a cornerstone of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), signed in 2015 by 193 member states of the United Nations. Nearly every one of the 17 goals under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) is anchored directly or indirectly on the availability of energy – be it reduction in poverty, improvement in education outcomes, health, safe water, quality of air, and other important SDG outcomes. Under the SDG, an important area of focus is the SDG 7.1, which is ensuring access to affordable, reliable and modern energy for all by 2030, by providing universal access to electricity and clean cooking. International Energy Agency (IEA), in its World Energy Outlook for 2017, stated that achieving SDG 7.1 would require bringing electricity to the remaining 1.1 billion who are still without electricity and reaching

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the 2.8 billion currently without access to clean cooking facilities.

However, with the political will, right policy mix, and sustained investment, the IEA noted that achieving modern energy for all by 2030 is possible and brings with it big benefits for minimal expenditure. It had been stated that energy is a vital factor of production in any economy and an affordable access to sustainable energy is one of the key drivers of a global economic system that is sustainable.

In addition, it had been agreed that energy efficiency and access are imperative to mitigate climate change, improve energy and grow economies while delivering environmental and social benefits.

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COVER STORY drives the country’s electricity sector, the fuels for our vehicles, and generators, as well as the fuels to meet the cooking needs of many Nigerians. It noted that the power sector contributes substantially to the energy needs of the residential, industrial and commercial sectors, explaining that much of the infrastructure in the country today were built from the proceeds of the petroleum sector. “In fact, we can safely say that Nigeria’s modern history is inextricably linked to the story of the petroleum sector,” NAEE noted. NAEE further stated that globally, the world is entering into a new energy transition that will relegate fossil fuel to the background.

According to the group,

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the com bi nation of breakthrough in technology, improved batteries, huge private investments in energy efficiency and modern energy technology, international energy and climate change protocols and agreements as well as increasing concerns about the future of the earth, is forcing a new consensus among energy users and producers”.

Time and again, it has been proven that energy efficiency and access are also relevant in achieving the sustainable development goals to meet energy needs, from the perspective of affordability, reliability and sustainability. Coming home, it is a known fact that energy had played a very critical role to Nigeria’s economic development and in the country’s development process. The petroleum sector provided the fiscal backbone of the country since 1970s, accounting for over 70 per cent of government revenue, and over 95 per cent of export and foreign exchange earnings.

Between 1960 and 2015, the Nigerian Association for Energy Economics (NAEE) disclosed that Nigeria earned over $1.25 trillion from petroleum exports, adding that the petroleum sector supplies the natural gas that www.majorwavesenergyreport.com

It stated that Nigeria should not see the impending new energy world as a threat but that it should position itself to be an important player.Many oil rich countries, NAEE noted, are already planning for the post-oil era, including Saudi Arabia and Norway, adding that in fact, no one country, no matter how powerful can reverse the trend of the impending energy transition. However, in 2017, it was reported that over 60 per cent of the 1.3 billion people who lacked access to electricity globally are resident in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where six out of 10 people lack access to electricity. A World Bank report noted that Nigeria, being the most populous nation in Africa, accounting for nearly 20 per cent of the sub-region’s population and boasting of having the largest reserves of energy resources, regrettably, lags behind several SSA countries in terms of electricity access.

Additionally, Nigeria’s population compares relatively with those of Brazil, Pakistan and Indonesia. However, within the same period, data from the World Bank shows that Nigeria is least amongst these nations in terms of electricity access. Furthermore, in 2017, according to data from the Trading Economics, over 40 per cent of Nigerians do not have access to electricity. Comparatively, the data shows only 20 per cent for Brazil, less than one per cent for Pakistan and 10 per cent for Indonesia.

Prof Wumi Iledare, Director, Emerald Energy Institute

“

According to the United Nations standard, a nation is developed if it meets at least, one gigawatt of electricity, which is 1,000 megawatts, of electricity generation and consumption for every one million heads of population, about one megawatts per 1,000 people”.

It was reported that based on total installed capacity, only 0.06 megawatts of electricity is available for 1,000 Nigerians, leaving much to be desired when compared with those of Angola (0.21MW/1000 people); Algeria (0.45MW/1000 people) and 0.82MW/1000 people for South Africa. Former President of NAEE and Chairman, Oil and Gas Economics and Management, University of Cape Coast, Ghana, Professor Wumi Iledare, maintained that Nigeria is seriously challenged by the inability or obvious lack of capacity to turn its huge energy potentials both renewable and nonrenewable into realized energy to support rapid economic growth, job creation and poverty reduction. He noted that energy security is a serious problem, especially as Nigeria remained a net importer of refined products and suffers from significant power supply deficit. He said, “Nearly fifteen years after electricity sector reforms began and in spite of the various institutional changes, regulatory and policy reforms that have taken place, as well as the billions of dollars of public and private investment that went into the power sector, electricity sector remains seriously challenged in Nigeria.

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COVER STORY “The entire segments of the value chain are bedevilled with one problem or the other. Both the formal and the informal sectors continue to run on private generators, with attendant avoidable huge economic and non-economic costs. “The energy investment-GDP ratio is too low and inefficiently allocated to support the energy infrastructure that the country requires to drive sustained economic growth. Hence, the fall back solution that we have adopted cannot even be ranked as second best solution, because it is totally unacceptable and incompatible with global energy transition.

“The recourse by energy consumers in the industrial, commercial and residential sector to fossil fuel fired private generators, many of which are old, energy inefficient and major sources of noise and air pollution must be phased out in timely manner as reliable, affordable and modern energy sources become available.” He explained that for an emerging economy like Nigeria, access to affordable energy and economic diversification had become intertwined as a matter of urgency in the national energy policy debate. He added that limited access to electricity is inextricably linked with diminished social and economic status of a nation.

He said, “For instance, studies have shown that countries with low access to energy tend to have low access to modern energy services. Additionally, lack of access to modern energy services tends to limit household purchasing power potential from income generating opportunities. “Thus, without access to adequate electricity and modern forms of energy services, it may be difficult to evolve out of low income economy, promote economic growth and employment as well as support human development.” It has been estimated that between 2017 and 2020, Nigeria will need over $1.6 billion to develop or complete critical infrastructure in generation, transmission and distribution of power and another $14 billion to start and complete critical projects in the oil and gas sectors. Unfortunately, the country is faced with paucity of funds, as currently, multilateral institutions and Development Finance Institutions are shying away from funding fossil fuel exploration and other key energy projects.

However, experts are unanimous in their view that with the right incentives and policies, implementation of pro-market policies, the private sector can take a large chunk of these investments off the government.

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However, the issue of credibility and seriousness of government is very important. Perhaps also is the political will to let go some decrepit downstream assets. A number of challenges have been identified by stakeholders in Nigeria’s quest to attain energy sufficiency, some of which include infrastructure cost and inadequate provision for capital expenditure; difficulties experienced in the conduct of business in the country; lack of respect for the sanctity of contract and absence of critical professionals and requisite skill set. To guarantee energy sufficiency, former Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Dr. Maikanti Baru, stated that stakeholders need to at certain times, junk their old appliances and procure newer, energy efficient ones; install smart metres that offer opportunity to appropriately monitor a building’s energy use for necessary assessment.

He further stated that stakeholders should support the construction of intelligent buildings that incorporate renewable energy technologies; design neighbourhoods in a manner that offer accessible options of walking, biking and public transportation. “Use energy efficient means of moving products, such as pipelines and rail services; and we also need to have a behavioural change to use energy efficiently,” he noted. On his part, Professor Iledare declared that

“

the cou ntr y mu st develop energy policies and programmes that state clearly that the country would reduce its dependence on fossil fuel not just as a source of economic diversification, but as a new economic and energy strategy for development”.

He added that the country must develop or leverage on new technology to drive the transition, noting that this is where efforts would be needed to retool Nigeria’s education system, and give opportunities to non-government actors to invest in innovative technologies that can meet the need of Nigerians, especially those outside the national grid He said, “We should establish strong institutional and infrastructure system to support budding entrepreneurs and others who are willing to invest in the new technology. This includes finance, technical assistance, government patronage, market based incentives, and supportive institutional and legal framework. “We must revise our housing codes to promote energy efficiency, develop intermodal transportation system for highly populated cities in the country, expand access to cooking gas, improved cooking stoves, and modern energy practices, among others.

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Damilola Ogunbiyi, MD, REAN

“We must utilize our rivers as sources of small hydro power and irrigation solutions to support agriculture in the rural areas where over 40 per cent of Nigerians continue to live. This will provide so much multiplier effects on socio-economic living standards of the people. “The government must mainstream modern energy and energy transition into its development agenda. Energy mix of the country must give adequate prominence of non-fossil energy sources including solar, wind, hydro, biogas, and other forms of renewable energy available in the country.” However, the Federal Government is taking the quest toward ensuring energy sufficiency to new heights, especially with the commissioning of the largest off-grid solar hybrid power plant in Africa at Bayero University, Kano (BUK) under the Energizing Education Programme (EEP).

With the project, 55,815 students and 3,077 staff now have access to electricity supply from the university’s 7.1 megawatts (MW) solar hybrid power plant. The Bayero University commissioning included the launch of 11.41 kilometres of solar powered street lights as well as a world class renewables training centre.

Under implementation by the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), the Energizing Education Programme (EEP) is a federal government intervention focused on developing off-grid dedicated independent power plants, rehabilitating existing distribution infrastructure to supply clean, safe and reliable power to 37 federal universities and seven affiliated university teaching hospitals. www.majorwavesenergyreport.com

COVER STORY

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The BUK project is the second to be commissioned under Phase 1 of the Energizing Education Programme that would deliver clean and sustainable energy to nine federal universities and one university teaching hospital” in the next four years, using solar hybrid and/or gas-fired captive power plants. Speaking on the project, Managing Director of the Rural Electrification Agency, Mrs. Damilola Ogunbiyi, stated that the project is the largest off-grid solar hybrid power plant in Africa, adding that with it, students and staff of Bayero University, Kano can now experience learning and teaching in a safer, cleaner and more conducive academic environment. Also speaking on the impact of the BUK solar hybrid installations, Mr. Evangelos Kamaris, Managing Director, METKA West Africa Limited, the EPC contractor, stated that the state-of-the-art solar hybrid power plant would result in carbon dioxide savings of 108,875,120 pounds.

Commenting on the EEP programme, Engr. Sale Mamman, Minister of Power, said, “The Ministry’s power policy specifically targets education to ensure that all federal universities, to begin with, have access to reliable electricity. Notably, the Energizing Education Programme was designed to involve students from project inception for project sustainability.” On his part, Governor of Kano state, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje stated that “Kano State is committed to fostering technical and practical training; therefore, this programme is strategically aligned to our state level job creation and capacity building objectives. Furthermore, as one of Nigeria’s commercial centres, Kano state prides itself in nurturing private sector engagements.”

In his own speech, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, noted that the programme aligns to the administration’s Next Level Roadmap and upholds the Federal Government’s adherence to global best practice in the provision of cleaner sources of energy. He said, “The Energizing Education Programme is strategic to fulfilling Nigeria’s commitment to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change as we aim to reduce Nigeria’s carbon footprint using renewable energy technologies, in line with the Federal Government’s mandate and unwavering efforts to increase renewable energy.”

Apart from the efforts of the REA,

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United States Agency for International Development, USAID-funded Power Africa, had assisted the Federal Government with agreements to move the Qua Iboe gas project closer to financial close. Power Africa is also assisting with agreements on several solar projects that would help Nigeria diversify its energy mix. It helped Nigeria’s first private Independent Power Project, IPP, the Azura Edo Project, reach financial close in 2015, including a $50 million investment by the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC).

The Azura plant became operational in 2018.

In addition, through Power Africa, the USAID and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) disclosed plans to improve commercial operations and reduce losses at five electricity distribution companies — Abuja, Benin, Eko, Ibadan, and Ikeja.

The programme also supports off-grid options as noted in the $15 million OPIC loan, via which Lumos Incorporated is deploying rooftop solar panel kits to approximately 70,000 residential and small commercial customers in Nigeria, using a lease-to-own business model. Furthermore, in partnership with General Electric, the U.S. African Development Foundation (USADF) and others, it has awarded nine $100,000 grants to entrepreneurs for innovative, off-grid energy projects in Nigeria.

Providing support to the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) through a partnership with the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC), it avails guidance on regulatory practices and tariff setting.

Power Africa also provides planning support to the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) in trying to attract new investments into Nigeria’s transmission network.

It is also assisting the Ministry of Petroleum Resources to structure and implement a program that will attract competent third-party off-takers to invest in the capture and utilization of gas flares using tested technologies.

This work in support of the Nigeria Gas Flare Commercialization Program (NGFCP) will improve access to finance for gas flare projects to achieve quicker financial close through incentives to investors and strengthen capacity of regulatory agencies to monitor and sustain the implementation, as well as subsequent bid rounds.

These, among other measures, are expected to impact Nigeria’s energy

sufficiency positively, helping it pursue its industrialization programme and economic growth.

cont from pg 26

“

It’s not about ‘Nigerianising’ local content, it’s about ‘Nigerianising’ in-country production of oil and gas.It doesn’t matter where you come from, please, bring this investment, make it in-country, employ Nigerians and we would give you the chance”. – Simbi Wabote, E.S, NCDMB And we are seeing that it’s true, so why would we not invest or bring in investors? Why would we not take the bull by the horns and take these loans or take these facilities and believe by the end of the day, we would be patronised as a Nigerian company? It is not just because we are Nigerians, but that we are capable of delivering in-country production with a standard consistent with best practice found anywhere in the world. Those are the key ones we are able to do, such that everybody would continue to be proud of the NCDMB. I am absolutely proud of his achievements, his management team, and his Board.

He is doing a fantastic job. Basically, we are pushing the limit because we believe NCDMB is doing a fantastic job and I do not mind taking any test on proving in-country production to prove anything the NCDMB supports; and that is the amount of faith I have for that team. I recall the Executive Secretary asking for when to inspect our facility, and I simply told him to come in 24 hours. By Feb 22, 2017 he visited our facility and after inspection said, and I quote: “Based on what I have seen at Coleman and other cable manufacturing yards in Nigeria, today we make a policy statement: there will be no more importation of cables by IOCs into this country!”

He recognised that exceptional investments have been done by Nigerians. Since then, they have fought the fight for cable with a lot of passion! The E.S fights for you as a Nigerian, and believes everyone should be given a chance. People only need that assurance that there’s an institution at the helm of affairs, which will fight for them if they did the right thing, without having to go begging. That’s all we need, and he’s made that available to us.

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ENERGY WOMAN

“Let’s debunk the prototype or paradigm that says, the woman should only be seen, not heard; I went to Mayflower School...hardwork is part of our DNA”.

- ‘Toyin Aina

O

l u w a to y i n A i n a i s the Group Head , Energy covering D ownstream and I n te r n a ti o n a l O i l Tr a d i n g w i th i n C o r p o ra te B a n k i n g D irec tora te - Firs t B an k o f Ni geria L im i ted . Wi th 18 years professional experience within the Banking/ Finance in d us tr y, s he presen tly ha s concurren t oversi ght for D o w n s t r e a m / O i l Tr a d i n g b u s i n ess wi th i n th e B a n k’s C ommercial and Retail segments across Nigeria while fosterin g b usiness synergies across the UK and A frican subsidiaries ( G hana, Guinea, Gambia, DRC, S en ega l a n d S i erra L eon e) u n d e r th e G l o b a l A c c o u n t Mana gem en t s truc ture.

In this interview with Jerome Onoja, she bares her thoughts on a couple of topical issues th a t p e r ta i n s to f i n a n c i n g t h e o i l i n d u s t r y, a n d t h e place of a woman in the mi x.

E x cerp ts .

You moderated a panel at the

32

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la s t NO G con ference. Wha t a r e th e h i g h l i g h ts o f y o u r d eli b era tion s?

My s e s s i o n h a d to d o wi th the Ni gerian C on ten t F un d and how much of it was available and accessible.

T hankfully the E x ecutive S e c r e ta r y o f th e N i g e r i a n C o n te n t D e v e l o p m e n t a n d Monitoring Board ( NCDMB), E n g r S i m b i Wa b o t e w a s aro un d an d he p u t forward the a genc y’s p osi tion on i t.

Some felt it takes a long time to access the fund. They said, the condi tions for accessin g it were too stringent; as Bank o f In d us tr y ( BOI) , which happ en s to b e the cus to dian o f th e f u n d , w o u l d n e e d a Bank Guarantee ( BG) from the commercial banks. Accessing th e f u n d s w o n’ t h a p p e n i f th e c o n tra c to r d i d n’ t h av e a credi t faci li ty or B G lin e wi th any com m ercial b an k .

S e c o n d l y, th e b a n k s d o n’ t f in d the margin s a ttrac tive enough for their investment, hence thi s could accoun t for the low up ta k e o f these

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tran sac tion s .

T he E x ec u tive S ecre tar y p r o m i s e d to l o o k i n to t h e processes, to see how BOI and the C en tral B ank of Ni geria ( C B N) can colla b ora te to en s ure b etter incen tives are p u t in place to mo tiva te the commercial banks to respond in the affirmative. Yes, some p eople a ttes ted to havi n g benefitted from the fund , but a larger number were having i ss ues accessin g i t.

We a l s o d e l i b e r a t e d o n l e v e r a g i n g th e p r o v i s i o n s/ incen tives o f tra din g wi thin the free trade zones and how i t helps the ease of doin g business in Nigeria from a tax an d d u ty - free p ersp ec tive.

Do you have a special p a c k a ge e i th e r d i r e c tl y o r as a syndica te of b ank s wi th a pool of funds by which you support indigenous companies who work for in terna tional oil companies ( IO C s) ? www.majorwavesenergyreport.com

ENERGY WOMAN Yes we have approved cred it products for the contractors of most of the IOCs to support thei r contracts. We pa r tner w ith the likes of Shell, Chevron, ExxonMobil, NLNG, To t a l E & P, e t c . U s u a l l y, we work with their top c o nt r a c to r s o n t h e v a r i ou s projects they ha ndle. It ranges from Engineering, P ro cu rement, C on st r uct ion, I n st a l lat ion, C om m i s sion i n g to other ser v ice s. We of fer comp etitive f i na nci ng ter m s to these contractors because they ba n k w ith us a nd thei r counter pa r ties (the IO C s), a re A L SO cred i ble busi nes s partners with good risk prof i les/cred it rati ng.

W hat do we do? We g ra nt Invoice Discounting, Receiva bles Discounting, Overdraft, contract Financing Faci l ities, a nd more to these contractors. E ach contractor is appra ised on his/ her ow n merit and must meet our Risk A ssessment Criteria to qualify for the va r ious schemes.

“

T hen we work w ith the IO C s to con f i r m invoices, ensur ing they a re genu i ne, a nd not sta le; we also confirm the level of work done/ achieved per time before we honour req uests”.

W here req u i red, we employ the services of subject m at t e r e x p e r t s fo r p r o j e c t appraisal. As part of the IOC’s compliance with the NOGICD (Nigeria Oil and Gas Industry C o nte nt D evelop me nt) A c t, they need these Nigerian compa n ies to ca r r y out some fraction of their contracts and to del iver on them; but they wou ld n’t wa nt to r isk losi ng money a s a re su lt, s o t hey work closely w ith the ba n k s.

L icen ses to a co uple o f f i e l d s were revo k e d from th e i r i n d i g e n o u s o w n e r s in recen t tim es for no t d e v e l o p i n g th e a s s e ts . A huge number had issues wi th f i na n ci n g. B ei n g o n e o f th e b i gge s t b a n k s in Nigeria , do you see o ur b an k s ri sin g to the occasion any tim e soon?

A re the y well capi tali sed www.majorwavesenergyreport.com

for s uc h?

va r iety of cond itions a nd it’s not a s simplistic a s f ina ncing contracts or availing working capita l for trade/Opex.

Quite a num ber of Niger ia n ba n k s, including ourselves f i n a nc e d suc c e s s f u l bidder s in the last marginal field bidding round and direct d ivestment by some IO C s at various levels. It’s worthy to note however that, Niger ia n E &P companies are becoming better-str uctured i n ter ms of techn ica l sk i l l set, cor porate governance and credit wor thi nes s. S o it’s a g radua l p r o c e s s . C o m me r c i a l b a n k s wou ld lend on t he b ack of p r o du c i n g vo lu m e s b e c au s e cr ude oi l is a g loba l ly-traded commodity. Hence, a few banks pa r ticipated i n sy nd icated Reserve-Based Lending (RBL) alongside international banks for indigenous E&P companies prior to the 2014 global crash.

“

The fall in oil prices is a global phenomenon but its impact would be felt more where hedge s a re not i n place”.

Hedging is a major requirement for most ReserveBa sed L end i ng f i na nci ng a s it prov ides a buffer to fa lling prices. Commercial Banks genera l ly a re not positioned to ta ke exploration r isk due to the natu re of our foreig n cur rency capita l which isn’t long term. Our long term financing are usually in lo c a l c u r r enc y. For for ei g n currencies, banks borrow the funds at an expensive cost and the tenure is usua l ly shor t.

So, E &P companies are encouraged to partner w i t h D e v e l o p m e nt F i n a n c e I nstitutions l i ke World Ba n k - IFC, AFC, AFREXIM and other multilateral organisations that have che ap er a nd lon ger-tenor e d funds/ capital to support field development and exploration.

T he picture is different for a s s et s t hat a re a l re ady produci ng a nd that wa nts to ra mp up production. On such occa sions, com mercia l ba n k s can easily come in, and hinge the lending on producing and p r ove n r e s e r ve s; n ot w h e n s t i l l ex p l o r i n g. L e n d i n g to E &P compa nies depends on a

Sustainability: how would you rate yourself?

First Bank currently partners with Lagos Business School on various sustainability initiatives as we are in constant touch with the faculty in charge of sustainability; so, we are big on that. It’s important to note that CBN has well-established regulations and corporate process on sustainability with which it governs the banks.

So, we apply the Environmental Sustainability Guidance Manual (ESGM) template in checking companies in the extractive industry, as well as others whose activities impact on the environment. We also rely on the Environmental Impact A ssessment (EI A) report from registered consultants, while still considering community engagement and waste management processes before we finance such businesses. These are established measures put in place. It is one of our core values to operate sustainably.

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ENERGY WOMAN I nter na l ly, we a l s o have t he “SPA R K” i n itiative; this is a p r o g r a m m e w h i c h s p e a k s to Corporate Social Responsibility.

Various groups within the bank have come up w ith i n novative projects on C SR which i mpact l ive s a nd the env i ron ment positively. T he Ma rketi ng a nd C or porate C ommunications dep a r t ment w it h i n t he b a n k a nchors these i n itiatives.

What is your take on gender pari ty?

I bel ieve i n it.

A s a ba n k, we a lso have the F i r st Women Net work wh ich wa s i naug urated i n May this yea r, a s pa r t of the Women’s Day celebration, to a ff i r m ou r commitment to gender equality a nd eq uity. Globa l ly, statistics put the ratio of men to women at 5 0 :5 0, b ut u n fo r t u n ate l y t h e r at i o o f c o nt r i b ut i o n o f each gender to globa l GDP i s more skewe d i n favou r of m e n . H e n c e , w e a r e s h o r tcha ng i ng the g loba l economy.

S o, the F i rst Women Network i s b u i lt o n 6 p i l l a r s , w h i c h include Financial Empowerment a nd Pla n n i ng; Mentor sh ip, C a reer D evelopment, Persona l Branding, Networking & Wel fa re. I happ en to b e t he Tea m L ead for the F i na ncia l P l a n n i n g a n d E m p o w e r m e nt p i l l a r. S o , w e P u b l i s h newsletters reg ularly; organize v i r tua l a nd physica l semi na rs and workshops where we invite i nter na l a nd exter na l resource persons to spea k to women.

I am a part of the initiative and I say we a re ver y pa s sionate a b out gender pa r ity/eq ua l ity.

I bel ieve we shou ld ra ise the woman’s level of education and financial literacy. There should be no gender restriction on any kind of job or role. I say: g ive women a platfor m!

“ 34

L et’s debunk the prototy pe or pa rad ig m that says, “ T he woma n should on ly be seen, not hea rd”.

Majorwaves Energy Report

That’s why I advise every woman that, when the oppor tu n ity presents itsel f, spea k up a nd spea k q ua l itatively; leave the best impression of yourself and your offer i ngs so you ca n stay competitive a nd releva nt.

What’s your personal p hi losop hy to li fe an d how did growin g up s hap e i t?

I bel ieve you ca n be whatever you wa nt to be, a nd nothi ng, I mea n no - one ca n stop you.

“

My mom singleha nded ly ra ised me a n d m y s i s t e r. S o I g rew up seeing a working and productive mother”.

G od forbid one loses a spouse or h a s a fa i le d r el at ion sh ip, how would the woma n respond to it? You ver y well k now that l i fe happens. W hen it throws lemons at you, what do you do?

D o you conver t it to lemonade o r w a l l ow i n s el f-p it y? O n e n e e d s to b e p r e p a r e d at a l l ti mes a nd ta ke l i fe i n str ides.

I went to M ay f lower S cho ol Ikenne and Tai Solarin was the proprietor: It was inculcated in us to thr ive i n d i ff icu lty a nd s t r i v e fo r e xc e l l e n c e . H a r d work wa s p a r t of ou r DNA .

W i t h t h e vo l u m e o f wo r k I have on my plate, even a f ter a n M B A , I ’m s t i l l w r i t i n g profe s siona l exa m s, 19 ye a r s a f ter g raduation. I bel ieve i n re-sk i l l i ng a nd up -sk i l l i ng to keep up w ith cha ng i ng trends and to stay relevant. With hard work, deter mi nation a nd most i mpor ta ntly the favour of god, noth i ng is i mpos si ble!!

work wh i le hav i ng f un”.

I believe in hav ing a mix at all times. But I a lso have a n open mi nd. T he d ichotomy between both isn’t ver y clear. However, I cre ate t i me for fa m i ly a nd ta ke my vacations.

Wha t’s the major challen ge in yo ur in d us tr y?

Regulating the banking industry i s n’ t t h e s a m e w i t h w h a t happens oversea s. Yes, there’s competition every where but the system d i ffers. We need some st a nda rd i s at ion a s it obt a i n s abroad. We should have “ethical competition” a nd not the sor t of pr ice wa rs we face here. It ca n be better.

Wha t’s the Ni geria o f yo ur dream s?

F i rst, I a m ver y patr iotic. But t he level of i n s e cu r it y to day wor r ies me. T he q ua l ity of education is bad. Infrastructure is at its worst ebb. Niger ia ns a re sma r t a nd ha rdwork i ng but we need a system that suppor ts work. I d id my M BA in Ma nchester Business S chool U K w ith over 40 Nationa l ities r e p r e s e nte d i n my c l a s s . A s the Vice P resident of E xter na l A ffairs, I can attest to the fact that we are one of the smartest people i n the world, but th is ha s to tra nslate to someth i ng m e a n i n g f u l d o w n h e r e . L e t’s h ave a Ni g e r i a w h e r e m e r it cou nt s. L et’s have a Ni ger ia where ethnicity a nd relig ion is dow nplayed. L et’s have a sa fe Niger ia w ith good education, quality healthcare and working i n f ra str ucture.

Yo u o b v i o u s l y w o r k l o n g ho urs a t thi s level o f yo ur career. How do you manage work - li fe b alance?

A s bankers, we aren’t the ver y best at it. But again, it’s about perspective. I believe work doesn’t stop, neither does l i fe actua l ly stop.

“

I weave work i nto l i fe a nd l i fe i nto work. You can have fun while work ing a nd you ca n

SEPTEMBER 2019, Vol 2 No 6

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SEPTEMBER 2019, Vol 2 No 6 35

SOCIAL INVESTMENT

By Ikenna Omeje

World Humanitarian Day: Sahara Group Calls for More Action

I

n commemoration of 2019 World Humanitarian Day, Sa hara Foundation, the humanitarian arm of Nigeria’s Energy giant, Sahara Group, has joined the world in calling for more action towards humanitarian support, especially for millions of people who have been displaced from their homes and communities.

The world is currently witnessing an unprecedented level of humanitarian crisis that requires global attention and action. According to the United Nations Refugee Council, more than 70 million people have been forced from their homes globally, usually as a result of armed conflict, disease, natural disasters and violent persecutions. Altogether, more than two thirds (67 per cent) of all refugees worldwide came from just five countries: Syria, South Sudan, Afghanistan, Myanmar and Somalia. In addition, 60 per cent of preventable maternal deaths happen in settings of conflict, displacement 36

Majorwaves Energy Report

and natural disasters. From every indication, the tipping point has been surpassed and what the world needs now is a reaction by way of collaborative interventions involving global leaders, PublicPrivate-Partnerships, Development Agencies, Multilateral Organisations and the Civil Society.

According to the company, “Sahara Group has through the Sahara Foundation, invested in education, vocational skills development and healthcare for people who have been displaced from their communities. “In Nigeria, Sahara Foundation currently supports pupils and students in the NorthEast of Nigeria with an all-round educational scholarship that covers educational materials, medical care, housing, feeding and clothing. The scholarship recipients are victims of the insurgence. The intervention seeks to create learning opportunities

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for young Nigerians towards human capacity development. In 2019, Sahara Foundation plans to double the number of scholarships for primary school pupils while also creating a new programme that will target tertiary institution students in North- East, Nigeria. “In the same vein, Sahara Foundation has also provided humanitarian support in Zambia through the construction of an outdoor kitchen for displaced young girls who are housed by the Vision of Hope (VoH), Lusaka. VoH is a care home for young girls who are victims of violence in their home countries. Currently about forty six young girls from neighboring countries are housed in the home and the intervention provides the girls with the skills and tool to get better, develop vocational skills in etiquette, catering, hoteling, and hospitality management which will in-turn drive self- reliance.”

www.majorwavesenergyreport.com

MIDSTREAM

In 2018, Sahara Foundation’s humanitarian interventions in Ghana directly benefitted twenty (20) men and women in Temale. The beneficiaries were trained in entrepreneurship and construction of rain catchment which is used to trap water runoff. The trapped rain water can be stored for use in homes, schools and community health centres especially when there is no readily available source of water.

As a Frontline sustainable development d r iver, t he Foundation has remained committed to collaborating with regional and global stakeholders to restore hope and help millions of people get another shot at realising their dreams.

World Humanitarian Day is an international day dedicated to recognize humanitarian personnel and those who have lost their lives working for humanitarian causes. It was designated by the United Nations General Assembly as part of a Swedish-sponsored GA Resolution A/63/L.49 on the Strengthening of the Coordination of Emergency Assistance of the United Nations, and set as 19 August. It marks the day on which the then Special Representative of the SecretaryGeneral to Iraq, Sérgio Vieira de Mello and 21 of his colleagues were killed in the bombing of the UN Headquarters in Baghdad.

The theme of the 2019 World Humanitarian Day is “Women Humanitarians.” The 2019 campaign aims to celebrate the unsung women humanitarians who have been working on the front lines for the survival, well-being and dignity of people affected by crises in their own communities in some of the most difficult regions including Afghanistan, Central African Republic, South Sudan, Syria and Yemen and hundreds of those who lost their lives while serving humanity.

www.majorwavesenergyreport.com

Dangote Refinery’s heat recovery steam generator arrives Lagos

A

f r i c a’s r i c h e s t m a n , A l i ko Da ngote ha s purcha sed a ‘Heat Recovery Steam G e n e r ato r’ a l l e g e d l y wo r t h $13 b i l l io n fo r h i s new o i l company. The huge machine has already arrived at the shores of Nigeria ready to be installed for business to begin. Dangote’s friend and rich business partner, Femi Otedola, made t he a n nou nc ement on s o cia l media thus:

“Vi siti ng t he A l i ko D a ngote Wonderland today. Witness the arrival of the Heat Recover y Steam G enerator for my brother’s refiner y. $13billion well spent. I nspir ing @ dangotegcon”. On completion, the refinery is expected to have a c apacit y to pro c e s s a b out 6 5 0,0 0 0 b a r rel s p er day of crude oil.

Source: Report G hana

Kenyan regional Governor calls for region’s share of oil revenue

W

est Pokot Governor, Prof John Lonyangapuo, on Monday left President Uhuru Kenyatta and other guests in stitches when he said his county deserved to get a handsome share of the revenue from the oil export by the Kenyan Government.

Speaking during the the flaggingoff of the inaugural shipment of Kenyan crude oil from the port of Mombasa, Governor Lonyangapuo told the president that his people had ensured a top notch security for the oil consignment.

hakusema kwamba wale wametupea security ya kutosha kwa hiyo trucks ni watu ya West Pokot. Kwa hivyo sisi tunaongoja mbavu, wewe kata mguu, wengine waende na kichwa na ngozi lakini sisi mbavu,” Lonyangapuo said amid laughter. Kenya has now entered the league of oil exporting nations with 200,000 barrels expected to be exported. The crude oil was harvested from Turkana oil fields by Tullow Oil. A report from the government intimated that a Chinese company known as Chemchina bought the first batch of the Kenyan crude oil at Sh 1.2 billion.

“By the way vile ndungu yangu kutoka Turkana ameongea hapa

Source: Nairobi News

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SEPTEMBER 2019, Vol 2 No 6 37

SPOTLIGHT Part of the responsibilities was also to come up with the issue of correct pricing to give the correct market signal for private sector to come and invest. So, we set about setting up new tariffs, new rules for the market for private sector to intervene.

Why is the price regime not working? Would you say that the Distribution Companies (DisCos) have failed?

“...for over 5 years, 10 NIPP have been unable to go to financial close due to market liquidity issues”

D

r. Ransome Owan is the Group Managing D i r e c to r o f A i te o Power, Infrastructure and Real Estate. Aiteo, a vertical integrated energy company plays in the upstream, midstream and downstream energy space. Prior to his present appointment, Dr Owan was the pioneer Chairman and CEO of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission. He s tarted the commi ssion in November of 2005, after the law was passed on March 15, 2005 of the same year. He and his commissioners were responsible for putting together all the rules and regulations that are now currently guiding the growth of the power sector in Nigeria. Today, he’s a practitioner of electricity regulation and reforms in the US, having done so in the state of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia and District of Columbia.

He holds an MBA in Management from Hofstra University in Long Island, New York, and Master of Science and Ph.D in Energy Management and Policy from the Ivy League University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, USA. He has been in the energy business for over 30 years, having worked in electric companies and in consulting companies.

38

Majorwaves Energy Report

In this interview with Majorwaves Energy Report, he speaks on a number of issues plaguing Nigeria’s energy sector, proffering solutions.

What was the blueprint you came up with while heading the NERC and how did it pan out?

The Power Sector Reform Act was the genesis for the reform process on how to transition the Power Holding Company of Nigeria from a governmentowned monopoly into a private sector led business. Our goal was to create market conditions that will attract the private sector to intervene in the market place. So, we set about how to break up the monopoly from 1 company, 18 companies were produced. The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), which is still a monopoly and a government-owned entity and the distribution business was broken up into eleven Distribution Companies and five generating companies. And that’s how we licensed and transitioned PHCN into 18 limited liability companies.

The companies were restructured and prepared for privatization.

“

Part of the blueprint was to ensure capital inflow in the Nigerian power sector and overtime, ease government out of providing electricity for its citizens”.

SEPTEMBER 2019, Vol 2 No 6

I think one of the issues that happened is a disconnect and interference in the marketplace by the so-called Invisible Hand.

We set up a price mechanism that would recognize what the true cost of electricity should be. And in other to prevent rate shock, we offered some subsidies into the marketplace.

“

But the goal was to work with TCN and generation side to ensure that generation, while it was increasing, the price would also be going up gradually” that was gradualism of price increase. And in the course of time, we should come into equilibrium, the intersection of supply, demand and correct pricing and customers would see value for it. However, it hasn’t worked well quite like that.

Why hasn’t it worked? Because some of the scheduled 6-moth tariff reviews were missed by the regulator. Therefore, the minor adjustments that were meant to keep - a couple of them have been missed in intervening years. Also, the major reviews were also not done on time and haven’t been done. You can imagine that if every 6 months you are supposed to tariffs and that is not done, then market operators will have difficulty of cost recovering. You cannot recover what the regulator has not approved. Then, sometime around 2015, there was a national rate freeze of R1 (life line rates) and R2 customers.

These are residential and small customers. The national rate freeze was during a hot political season and the rates were not allowed to be changed. That also created a gap in the revenue of the Discos and other market operators. www.majorwavesenergyreport.com

SPOTLIGHT In addition, the expected generation increases have also not kept up with expectations. So you have a large suppressed demand and a shortage of supply to the load demand centers around the country. It is an issue that has to be looked into very carefully for us to balance the two sides of supply and demand. Indeed make clear the problem, generators today can produce about 7,000 MW of power daily but the Disco can only receive about 3,000 MW of daily power. Both TCN and Discos have a technical problem to solve. It is absurd that one can say that Nigeria has excess grid power of 4,000 MW daily when the nation could take over 20-30 MW if grid electricity can be supplied in a reliable manner. It does not make sense, but it is true.

Do you think the DisCos failed?

The DisCos were privatized about five years ago. They bought the 11 distribution assets of PHCN. Part of the problem was that when they bought the assets, nobody knew the true state of the losses. It was simply a sale that was not based on price competition. It was the person who promised to reduce the losses the lowest that won the bid.

Government had already determined what each DisCo was worth. So, there was no need to negotiate the price. You now needed to bid on how much over 5 years you would reduce the losses. Most of them were either set by the government at 40 per cent losses or 30 per cent losses, the 11 sold assets. But the labour situation did not allow you to do real due diligence and run a good analysis of was sold. So definitely, you just bought a black box. But buyers were given one year to go back and do a correct assessment and re-establish the losses. So because of that, they found out that the losses were far more than what was sold.

The average were 50 per cent to 60 per cent losses.

The losses; was it that the values of these properties were over bloated?

No! Government did did an estimate.

They did not have firm and accurate data. The technical and commercial losses where simply too high. In other words, if you bought electricity, you could only collect 30-40 per cent. So, if you are going to collect only 40 percent, you are already in the hole. Also, because the systems www.majorwavesenergyreport.com

were antiquated, you needed a lot of capital expenditure. So if your collection level is very low, you don’t have funds for capital expenditure (capex) and your balance sheet is not strong to borrow from commercial banks. Therefore, cannot borrow money to buy meters and re-balance your network. So, it became an issue of Cash 22. You bought an asset that was not performing, but now you don’t have money to inject in it and improve on it; because the banks will not give you any loans. Your cash flow is bad. This is a conundrum we find ourselves.

In addition to this, the promise that were made to the Distribution Companies (DisCos) were not kept by the government, including the regulator, in terms of price adjustment and other incentives.

So both the seller (government) and the buyer (private sector) have some work to do to correct the situation How would you assess the transmission company?

The Transmission Company of Nigeria operates the super highway for power. TCN needs to have a highway of about 6 lanes – 3 going and 3 coming. Unfortunately, it has a single lane road. Therefore, there is a lot of congestion. It cannot move all the power when it needs to go.

Think of a rush hour when the whole thing road is congested.

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The transmission company does not have the technical ability or a robust network that can allow it the flexibility to move the power where it needs to go.”

transmission company dumps more power to you, in places you do not need, and later gives you a bill, it increases your losses. At times you are given a window to act but it is often not where you want excess power to be delivered. I give you an example. If you go to a bakery and you ordered only a thousand loaves of bread, the truck arrives and says you must take ten thousand loaves of bread because the truck cannot reach the next destination, instead of telling me please ‘can you help me to sell this bread? What is leftover is my loss. ‘So that you will now know that at the end of the month, he not give you a bill for that excess bread which you did not order. Where you take on excess power where you cannot sell that amount much less collect that much that adds to the problem of the Distribution Companies. So it is the Dumping of Power not the rejection of load that is the problem. If the transmission company is properly funded, it can have the technical solution to make the system more flexible. So what I mean by flexibility – if the power cannot go to Onitsha, you can divert the power to Port Harcourt. You can send it to somewhere else in Nigeria, so that the system does not collapse. But if you don’t have that ability, that’s why we have a lot of system collapses in Nigeria.

Check the records for yourself. The system collapses in the whole country have not gone down and it is a mess because of inability to respond effectively to load emergencies by TCN.

So what is happening now in the transmission company of power is what we call Dumping of Power.

It’s like when an aircraft is flying and there is an emergency landing, it has to dump a lot of the fuel in order to make the plane lighter, so that it can land safely. That’s what happens. If the transmission company sees that there is too much power in the network, to prevent a system collapse, it will open the wires and whichever DisCo it sees close by , it will dump the power there; whether you want it or not.

Otherwise, the 11 DisCos, every day they nominate a day ahead the amount of power they need to come to their networks. But if the

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SPOTLIGHT This is due to infrastructural gap, right?

Yes, because it’s not just in one area. The business module has 3 parts – generation, transmission and distribution. These 3 business parts must work in consonance.

If anyone is not working well, the system will fail. Power production and consumption is like building a bridge.

If you build a bridge halfway to the river and stop, no vehicles are going to pass. That’s what is happening. So generation is inadequate; transmission is inadequate; distribution is also inadequate. Therefore, there is little benefit to the people as you can see, stranded investment, stranded assets and stranded benefits.

How much of infrastructure do you think that the transmission company needs to bounce back?

I think the Transmission Company of Nigeria because it’s still owned by the government is a very sympathetic entity in my view; because it gets budget allocation for it to do its own projects. What has happened in the past is any time the transmission company goes to the National Assembly and say, ‘I need N20 billion to do this amount of project,’ they may only approve N3 or N5 billion. Then, if that project is going to last for 2 years or 3 years and it takes you 10 years and you haven’t even gotten N20 billion, then the project will never end. It is a very sympathetic entity in my view because of this budgetary allocation problem. I am urging other market participants like generators and distribution companies that next time that the transmission company goes to the National Assembly to make a budget defense, we should all go there and be in the Amen corner and say please give them the money; because they are the super highway of power. To repeat the transmission company can produce 7,000 megawatts daily and that’s available capacity, but the distribution side can deliver a maximum of 3,000 megawatts resulting in a gap of 4,000 megawatts! TCN does not have the high tension lines to connect that power to the factories and industries that can consume large amount of power.

Do you subscribe to TCN being privatized?

Yes! The transmission can also be privatized, but in Nigeria we don’t have to do it all at once. Leave the 40

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transmission where it belongs to – the government. Leave that one alone.

But in cases where people want to construct extensions to factories and others, allow them to intervene in that sector with new transmission lines. Just like you build a power plant and wait for the tariff to be given to you to make your money so too should it be that if you build a transmission line, you also collect your tariff, because you are flowing electricity on those wires. It’s like the highway where you pay your toll. If you travel a distance, you pay per a km/distance. That is called Postage Stamp and Free Wheeling pricing.

That revenue now goes to recover the investment. We don’t need only the government to build the transmission.

Transmission today around the world is also subject to private investment.

We don’t need to worry about privatizing government assets now; just private sector additionalities.

With the bottlenecks there, they should open it to commercial entities to build. Transmission in Nigeria can be privatized, but there is no need to force the issue to privatize government-owned asset-TCN. Instead, government should allow a commercial space for new investors to come and invest and extend/expand the lines to where they are needed.

What’s your take on MYTO? MYTO stands for Multi Year Tariff Order. I am the architect of this tariff.

Before then in 2005, Nigeria, NEPA or PHCN was the one that decided the tariff and so on and so forth. The Multi Year Tariff Oder is the key price signal to add new generation into the country. It was clearly designed to increase power generation. Why? We took a model that if you want to build a 250 megawatts gas plant in Nigeria, how much will it cost you?

We calculated everything and we allowed for profit. Actually, a good head room was provided so that investors could see that if they too up power generation in Nigeria, they would be making a profit that was guaranteed. So that was a good price signal to allow for new generation to come in. Because we thought that Nigeria will be generating more with gas than anything else. That’s the main background. It allowed us to look at all of the components that it will take to run a proper industry.

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The reason we chose a MultiYear Tariff Order was that we did not have detailed firm-level or micro-economic information to look at one single company – PHCN”.

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You could not do any marginal cost analysis to come up with good and correct tariff. You could not do embedded cost of service analysis, because you didn’t have the information. Therefore, we opted for an efficient technology model for generation, which was the gas power engine. Now, MYTO has developed overtime. They have added new functionalities to create tariff for all the 11 Distribution Companies. In terms of innovation, the regulator has used MYTO to set baselines that says if a company can perform better it gets extra economic rent or profit.

The more efficient you are, the more you will recover, because each step, you are allowed a good head room to make a profit. So, MYTO is still a good tool as a signal to how the market should behave if all the actors are on the same page.

What’s the difference between MYTO 1 and MYTO 2?

MYTO 2 has added innovations.

When we began, there was only 1 company – PHCN. At that that time it wasn’t privatized. Now you have 11 companies; all have different cost structures. So the tariff can’t be the same. The tariff in Lagos should not be the same with the tariff in Kano or Calabar or Port Harcourt, because the cost now creates an efficient opportunity for companies to maximize their profit. If generators operate better, they get a profit; if DisCos operate better, they get a better profit. So that’s the main use of MYTO as a signal in the market place – how everybody should behave well.

Do you think MYTO has achieved its purpose?

Yes! MYTO has achieved its purpose because before that, there was nothing in place. As a forerunner, it’s a very good tool. However, the law says that the regulator can propose one or more methodologies to determine prices for electricity. So, it is not a forever thing. That’s what the law says. If MYTO is the tariff today, certainly we can look at others; but for now I think it still serves its value and purpose. Gencos and Discos can also propose new tariffs that would be best suited to their assts and convince the regulator for adoption. The burden of proof would lie with them.

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SPOTLIGHT Let’s look at initiatives from Western world in the area of power in Africa. How have those initiatives fared locally?

I think one of the significant problems we face in Nigeria in the power space is that we are all thinking in silos. Everybody just looks at their own commercial space without deference to what is happening elsewhere. Generation people are worrying why they are not selling the power, transmission is worrying about money to extend its power lines, and the Distribution companies are in the same quagmire of poor collection thing. Even the donor agencies and internationals don’t look at it as a holistic issue. That is the basic problem. I think for the power problem in Nigeria, its past five years now. We need a true reset.

What I mean by reset is that all the actors have to come together – government, National Assembly, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Power, NERC; the regulator, the bulk trader of electricity and all the intervening actors, including the consumers to say okay , five years had gone bye, let us review where we are and reset the clock. It has to be done holistically. What I mean by that is there is something called a Systemic Risk Problem. In a systemic risk problem, different from a systematic risk problem, one thing that causes a problem but entity cannot cure the problem by itself. If you say the DisCos are the problem, they cannot solve it on their own. It means that the totality of that sector must come together and solve it holistically. So, thinking in silos is keeping us back and so far I think we are singing discordant tunes and talking across each other. We need to come to the table and solve the problem holistically.

history from the central bulk trader of Nigeria from 3, or 4 years can be seen on the internet. They can see that generators tender invoices, they are only get paid about 30 per cent, 20 per cent whatever it is. So it means that if you are coming as a generator, from day one if you tender your invoices, you can never be paid in full. And to make matters worse, at the generation side they have said that you can only be paid for energy only and not capacity. Foreign investors will not come to that market; the market is not yet mature for that.

It means that if a power plant has like 5 turbines and it is called to generate only two turbines, the other 3 turbines get no capacity charges.

It is a liquidity trap. The reason they are doing that is that the Distribution Companies also are not collecting enough money to pay everybody in the value chain, meaning that there is a liquidity problem in the sector.

Why is there too much gap in power generation, transmission a n d d i s tri b u ti on b e twe en Nigeria and other A frican countries?

Can we say that’s what is hindering agencies or donors from bringing in funds?

With a country of about 190 million people, even if on a good day we are getting 3,000 megawatts, it’s not enough. Even if we are getting 7,000 megawatts, you can’t run a 30 watts bulb. So the comparison is not far off. However, Nigeria is a very peculiar country. Nigeria is not South Africa. Nigeria is not Ghana. Nigeria is not Morocco. For whatever reason and I say this without any fear of contradiction, whatever international modules that work, if they come to Nigeria, they fail. I have been in this country since 2005 – that is 14 years and I have not left. Every module you think that will work out there outside of Nigeria, for some reason it does not work very well in Nigeria. It means we have to customize our solutions.

Power is a made in Nigeria problem: It needs a made-in-Nigeria solution.

It’s not just foreign donors. Nigeria is a great destination for power.

What’s your take on metering and local content?

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Nigeria’s problem is not money in the power sector. It is the lack of clarity and exit if Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) should come to Nigeria”.

If they invest in Nigeria, there is no way for them to see returns. This is the problem. And right now, there is no symmetry for information- that is all the trading and poor payment www.majorwavesenergyreport.com

I think to give the consumer confidence, we need to engage in meter roll out – MAP metering, electronics metering.

Unfortunately, there is high incidence of power theft in Nigeria by all classes of customers – from the rich and the poor, we are doing it. So, the power problem is us. We are the man in the mirror. There is high theft of power at meter bypassing by the same people who can afford to pay, they are also

bypassing. So, it is not limited to power theft in poor neighborhoods.

Metering is one of the key solutions to our power problem, but we have to be smart about it. So instead of just putting smart meters, we have to move to split meters where the customer cannot tamper with those meters. A simple household meter can cost about N30,000 to N50,000. So it is not cheap. You can see that if you need 2 million meters multiplied by 50,000, you are talking billions. But the consumer who has 1 or 2 light bulbs, if he has to pay for a N30,000 meter, for the next 5-10 years he would be getting free electricity.

Electric companies have to divide their customer classes very carefully and do what we call Customer Stratification. Not all customers are the same. Those who can really pay are there, the industrial customers are there, those who less able to pay are different. Electric companies need to have good customer segmentation and plan how to serve and target those customers. Those that have the ability to pay certain tariff, they will pay. Those that have less ability, they have a blended rate. But I must emphasize that electric companies must in all intensity determine their cost of service. From their cost of service, they can now determine their revenue requirements. When they determine their revenue requirement, they can now go to the regulator to approve tariff.

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The industry rule: first, know your cost of service, determine your revenue requirement, how you are going to distribute among your customers, then go and ask for a rate change”.

Don’t always wait for the regulator to tell you what tariff you need, you tell it what you need and back it up.

How does this fit into solving the problem of crazy billing?

When I was in office, I ordered the stoppage of crazy billing. In my home state in Calabar one morning, I saw a news flash on television announcing to some areas that if you don’t come and pay on this day, we are going to do mass disconnection and I said that thing should stop. The issue of crazy billing also has to do with estimated billing. If a customer does not have a meter, the electric company is forced to give him/her an estimate. In other countries where there is summer and winter and data for weather, there is a way to quickly calculate it based

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SPOTLIGHT on heating or cooling degree days and other factors. If it’s too hot, you know how much of air conditioner you will be using. If it too cold, you know how much heat you will be using. They use weather data to calculate and get approval. But here in Nigeria we don’t have that information. Therefore, in other not to go sell goods that cannot be collected, electric companies are forced to give estimate billing. The solution to that is to provide meters for everybody.

There seems to be issues with these prepaid meters. First, it is looking like the meters are not there. Second, it’s looking like the electricity companies are not willing to give them out?

No! It is because it is very expensive to buy. It is about N30,000 to N50,000 for 1. Even if you want to do 3,000,000, you still have to pay billions and if your collection rate is not up to 40 per cent or 50 per cent, you cannot collect enough to service the loan. Banks know that so they cannot even give you a loan to buy the meters. So now, there is a Meter Asset Provider (MAP) that the regulator has introduced; whereby the private sector can come in with the meters and they will be guaranteed how to recover their money overtime. I think it’s about 10 years or 15 years. In that case, the banks can give loans for that. I think that overtime, even the old meters need to be swapped out, because they are too old and anachronistic for the times. Once we have good penetration of metering in Nigeria, I think the issue of crazy billing will go away.

This metering thing, don’t you think that Nigerians can produce smart meters?

I think that Nigerians can produce smart meters and they do produce smart meters. There are modern meter producing firms putting with state-of-the-art meters. Some companies are buying and assembling in Nigeria. The Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has approved metering standards. The regulator has also approved standard for meters and meter supply companies. So, the protocol has been established and people have been certified who can actually bring meters in the commercial space. That should not be an issue.

Regarding power theft, what does the law say about those that are caught in the act? Why are we not seeing prosecutions?

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There has been minimal prosecution in this area. The problem is the law in Nigeria tends to lack enforcement.

There may be laws in the book, but the enforcement is weak. So even if there is a law against power theft, the enforcement may be challenging.

They may come up with roving court.

When you are caught, you will be prosecuted immediately or may pay on the spot. But again, the legal system is challenging. It’s not the failure of law. It is the failure of enforcement; because the legal system and the enforcement community are not that strong. In addition, judges are also not well informed of electric utility practice and law so interpretation can pose a problem as well.

Considering the plethora of problems in this sector, why is Aiteo venturing into power?

What are you doing to salvage the situation?

We believe that electricity and power are the main trajectory to our economic growth. Power has a direct correlation to the GDP growth of the country.

Without power, we cannot succeed at industrialization; our medical area, our agriculture, our educational system and our advancement are tied to power supply. So, we see it as a critical backbone to the economy.

And that is the commercial space we want to play; because if you do not have adequate power, all the indices including our lifespans are weak. You can see the comparative statistics with other nations with steady power. So we believe strongly that the issue of power must be solved and we have to do it as a country not as individuals with narrow interest. The nation is a single economic module. The electricity flowing to the consumer must be equal to the revenue flowing back to the sector. It is the failure of this equation that we have the problem the revenue flowing back to the producers and the service providers is inadequate to support the power sector as a whole. The DisCos don’t collect enough to keep for themselves. They cannot pay the transmission company. The generators cannot pay the gas producers, then, the system has failed. For you to have equilibrium, electricity production must be equal to the revenue to support the sector. You cannot shy away from it.

So, what role is Aiteo playing now?

Right now, we are playing in the space in two areas. We bid and won some power like the Alaoji power for Aiteo. The power plants won by SEPTEMBER 2019, Vol 2 No 6

other bidders cannot go to financial close for over 5 years now. You heard about the 10 NIPP power plant that were privatized about 5 years ago.

Not a single plant has gone to a financial close, because of gas and market liquidity issues. So even though the country jumpstarted the NIPP power plants in 2004 with excess crude funds, up until now, not a single power plant has been sold for a variety of reasons which can’t be adequately addressed here.

There are liquidity problems; there are transmission problems; there are generation problems; there are distribution problems. So, all the parts of the power sector are circumspect.

So, the only solution is let us all come back as a country and all players to work together to solve it and stop working in silos.

In the next 2 to 3 years, what should we be hoping to hear from Aiteo Power?

Our portfolio is going to be mixed. Not just in gas power, but also in green energy. We are going to move into solar energy and other renewables. In addition to that, we want to also use our own gas in OML 29 to generate electricity directly among other uses, including our own end-use solutions.

How many megawatts are you planning to produce in the next 2 to 5 years from now?

On Aiteo’s gas fields are looking at about 250 to 300 megawatts from associated gas production. From the assets that we have in the privatization of NIPP process, Alaoji power plant alone we can produce up to 1,131 megawatts – in combined cycle.

What megawatts are you producing currently?

We are not producing any power now due to market constraints. But like I said, in our OML 29, we have the gas that we can pipe and l generate power that would bring the factories, commercial and residential users.

This is going to be capital intensive.

How do you plan to finance the project? Third party financing?

Third party financing with the appropriate gearing of debt and equity from the open market. Once a project is bankable, money will come. The investor just wants to see, ‘What is my exit if I bring finance?’ Right now, there is opacity in the system and no clarity, money will go elsewhere. We know how to look for big money and are deep and experienced in project finance.

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