15 OIL & GAS
TECHNOLOGY
Ebok oil field lifts Afren's bottom-line ... Witnesses steep 173 Percent rise in profits BIOOU HCOKER ren a London listed company, with sU'onK presence N"J4;eria's all ector, bas re ported a 1~ rise In afterlax profiu on cOlltinulng operalions. Management of h" company revealed that, It has earned profit aftn-tu of $125 million in 201 1 despite major delly5 10 il~ operationsln Nigeria. According 10 ",Inagemenl. the coml);:my s IIhares were hil earlier this rear. due to a prolonged delay In the full StarlUP of Its ~'!y Ebok offshore 011 field, which got underway in thesec1Jnd half of the year addtngSOtne 5m mllJlon 10 Afren's lumove,_ A 3~ me In realised aU prices to 51.09 also helped hike turn~ to I ctJmpany record flf $597 miUlun from 2:010'5 $319 milUon. While nel worldng inter· est production ro·e by a third to 19, 154 barn Is of 011 equlvalenl per d:Jy (>vt'r the year; oUlpuls1iU canl(' U, well short of the orlgln.,1 2011
A
forecaSI for 25,000 barrels thanks to the Ebokdelays. ACrensays It bnowln po""Sition to significantly ramp up OUIPUllo betwee.n42.000 and 46,000 equivalent barrels this year.
Chief execulive Osman Shahenshah said Ihe resullS reflected the ~growtng maturllf of the seven-year listed company,'pointlng OUI proven and probable reserve5~Up 132 pelUm
during 2011 10 185 million barrels of 011 equlvalenL Alren's, acqUiSitiOn or a 6U percenl Interest In two producllon sbaring contracts in KunllsL1n were behind much of this increase.
Shahensha also disclosed thai Afren'suploratJon programme ror thls~arwas al· ready offlo a good Slart w1th January'soll find atilSQkoro EaSI 011 neld in Nigeria.
AGRIC
Melinda & Bill Gates support yam production with $12m grant SIAKA MOMOH
m. a popular staple In Nigerian ~ol1les, received. robI.\S:': ~p pori of 512 "II lion (Nl.8 bU50n) on MonUa." In Ibadan from the Melinda Ie BW Gales Foundatlon.i In one of the most ambitious effons e\"CI'" un~n on behalf of a ClOp ~yam. the Inlemationallnstl ute of Tropical Agrkulture UTA) and a hosl of penn an nounced I landml.Ik uew Initiative by the ioundallon, 10 dramatically boost 1 am production and douhle the Incomes of] million yam Iiurnen in West Afrlca.. The btltialM!. the Yam m-
Y
pmvemenl for Income and r'OOd Seaui!y in We5I AfrIca (YlIFSWA) project. which it supported bya US512 million grant &om the BiU Ie Melinda Gates Foundation. will be k!d by UTA in collaboraoon with the governments of Ghana Nigeria. the UK's Natural Re:soura!:!i instirute (NRI). the Alliaoce for a Green Revolution in Altica (AGRA), and
.m.
cathoIIcRdlef"""'=(CRS). TheVDfSWAprofect ....iUix1Is on increasing yields through better seed rube!" supply and imprvvlng markeu'- for this underground, edible rubersome 0( which are as smaU as a ~ olhen as taIIu a man.. Yams were first domesdcaiedbyAfrkanfartnefl7,OOO
)UISago. Today. 48.1 million lOruofy.uns are produced an-
nuaUyacross4.4 mUllOD hea-
ares of land in West AfrIca's "Vam Belt" -which extends from Cote D'h'Oire to NIgeria. "'P .....Ung.,.,. 90 ....,.., of the gkIbaI. production.. Yarns provide the mosl lmponanl source of dietary calories in N"Jgerl.a and Ghana. And for many people in the region. they rank above meat as a source of protein. Yams aredeeply tied to the lives. IhoeIihoods and cullUJeS in West Africa and among Afiicans in the dlaspora. ~ the crop's fate han~ In the balan~ as a variety of peru and diseases have now depressed yields 10 a mere 14 pen::enl or potential harvests. Bul yamsdenthts allrYo. and the national researcheD ~ already developing a bosl of
new yam varieties that can address these challenges and are confidenl that with ad ditional investments. there Is tremendous I)Olentla' 10 rapidly boost production and income from yam. -Right now, mOSI fann ers wJtivate )'ilf1U mainly fot household collSUl11pl:ion. 001
If_can increase Y'eIds. whDe
also ImprOving marketing
rondI'-_monyo'''''''
farmerssbouldbeabletoeam a steady \na)me fromgrowing yams; said IITA's DlreclorGeneral Nteranya Sanglnga. prices have been rising in reu:nl)'l!llfS because there Isa stror18demand btheaup in Africa, and even In places like Europe and the United States, where rapidty growulg West Mrlcan immigrant
-vam
communities still have a big appetite for their traditionally prefened Staple.. The YlIFSWA project Is an ambitious. multJface.led five-.year effon with a vision of doubling the Incomes of three mlllion small-bolder famlIng families. lhe lnlt1al focus of the project Is on 200,000 smallholder farm families In Ghana and NIgma-90 percent of wbom cuJttvau: less than IWO ams. A key priority is 10 ensure that Iffordable pesl- and disease· free seed yams are avallabie to ranne.I"J. along with storage and handling t~hnolog:ies that can rmuce post-harvest loss. Yam breederswiU dIM!Iop and widdydisseminatenew,hlg:her-yiekJlng. dlsease-resistanl
-
Apple shares to soar to $1,001, says analyst Ple Inc shares are .set to rocket to 51.001 within the ext 12 months as It branches into new markelS and expands Its footprint In China. predicted Topeka Capital Markets analyst Brian While. "Driven by an ever expanding portfolio of Innovative products. a growing Integrated digital grid, un malched aesthetics and a brand that Is able to touch the soul of consumers of all backgrounds, Apple fever Is spreading like a wildfire around the world and we see no end In sight to this trend; I+J the momenl, Europe. Asia. AlJ"ica and tbe America's bave being caught by the bug already, as majorily of customers In countries like United Stales of America, UK , Nigeria, China and Asia flodtapple shops to pun:base the lalest versions of Apple sman phones ror business and plea5ure. White wrote In an Aprll 2 note, initiating coverage of Apple. Shares of Apple are md Ing up about 1.5 percent 10 5628.20 in early trade on Thesday. Many observe:n had once cast doublS thai Apple could even hit S500 and S600 price large IS. TOday, the median price target on its shares slands slightly below $700, aaording to Thomson Re utendala. Apple just set compa· ny records for net Income (513.06 billion) and n"YelIue (546.33 billion), thanlt5 In large part to scUing as mallY iPhones as there are people in California. ne arly half as manylPads, too.All of whkh conoibuted nicely 10 the S97 bi.llJon or cash and securities the company's sitting OIL The 37 miillOD lPbones are more than twice as many as tbey sold In the same quaner lasl ~ar. ditto the 15 million lPads (what Klndte FIrer). Maes hung in there at 5.2 million units sold (a 2ti'li Inaeao;e over lasl year), while iPodI continued their slowdedlne, down 21"" 10 a still impressive 15.4 mil· lion Shuffles, Nanos, and Touches. Now Apple Is the world's mosl valuable company with an amJ)'or products lhathave shaken up the music. media and tedmology industries..
jlJ