Tuesday, March 15, 2011
THISDAY, Vol. 16 No. 5804, Page 29
RAT E S OVERDRAFt
As AT
LOAN
• Prinie
16.9773%~ • PriIDe
Nonnal Lending
195217%
11 , 2011
MARCH
DEPOSrr-/LENDlNG-· 16.9762% ·Savings Aaxlunt 195238% : ·Strict Call
I
:
i
-Source: FMDA ·7 Days
EXCHANGE
2.4635% ·60 Days
6.0734% !
2.4565% ·90 Days
6.4052%1
2.8102% ·180 Days
6.2697% I ,
I
RATE (Official)
N150.791$1 as alla>1 Friday
New Gas Prices: PHCN ,Indebted to Suppliers
T
he Power Holding Company of Nigeria (pHCN) is yelto commence payment of the new gas prices announced by the Federal Government eight months ago. The delay, indusuy sources say, may hinder supply of adequate gas for power generation. I The price of gas to power was two cents ($02) per million British themtal unit (mmbtu) of gas, but was increased to $l/mmbtu with !effect from the end of2010. Announcing, the new gas prices in June last year, Minister of Perroleum Resources, Mrl;. Diezani A1ison-Madueke said prices ' increase from$l/mmbtu 10$1.50/mmbtu by 2011 and $2Immbtu by the end of2013, and would increase fwther by 2014 based on in/la-
!
.rion rate.
Specifically, the minister directed that the new gas price would take off within four weeks of the review, as according to him, the focus was to ensure expeditious implement:ation of the Nigerian Gas 'Master Plan to alLain clear-eut sbon-term and some medium term gas supply objectives particularly the delivering of enough gas to tlle power plants for adequate power supply in the counuy. Country Chair of Shell Companies in Nigeria cum Managing Djrector, Shell Perroleum Development Company (SPDC) Limited, Mr. Mutiu Sunmonu confirmed that the utility company had not commenced paying gas suppliers the revised prices. He said majority of current supplies were not backed by firm contracts and warned that this may disrup! the supply of reliable gas for pOwer generation. The SOOC boss also noted !hat the ex.isting gas supply infrastructure needed to be expanded with inbuih nex.ibility to now gas across the counuy, adding thaI existing natural gas deliverability is severely threatened by infrastructure limitation between the western and eastern pans of the counuy. He said the Nigeria Gas Masler Plan (NGMP) estimated power sector demand of up to 3.7billion cubic feet per day (bef/d) by 2015,
I
where the counuy is today and where we aspire to be by 2015 and 2020".
ENERGY
He continued: "As contained in the power roadmap. Nigeria wiU
Stories by Cilika Amame-Nwaclmku requiring about $3.8billion in upstream movement and SI.8biliion in gas delivery pipelioe investment. He added !hat funding this infrastructure gas remained a major task for the govenunent.
Sunmonu also nGled tl,at ullcenainties around the regulatory framework remained a key concern to investors, as the Nigerian Gas Supply and Pricing Regulatory, which was signed in 2008 giving impetus to the current NGMP markel model will need to fully align within the yet-to-be passed Petroleum Industry Bill . Besides, he said the regulatory environment wi ll need to guarantee contract sanctity, submitting that with these challenges, meeting the electricity generotion targets ''will be quite a stretch, looking at
need to add 3600megawaus (mw) per annum continuously to year 2020 to achieve the aspirntion of 4O,(XX)mw. This in rum will require building I bcf/d of natural,gas cap.1city every year! A formidable tru.k! Apan from the requirement for front end bankable agreement, which also takes time, the project will require significant amount of money and efficient integmted projecl management effons. "I believe that the imperatives for providing reliable gas supply in Nigeria will depend on how these challenges are tackled. Some of these key ingredients have commenced under the Nigerian Gas Master Plan but at different stages of completion. However, the commercial aspect is the most advanced. The market resuucrunng
staned with the setting up of the StrategIc Aggregator and a gaining traction. Several batlkable agreements are under negotiation.
~'OPEC Pumps 29.8mbpd
of Oil in February
C
rude oil production of the 12-nlember Organisation of the Petroleum Exponing Countries (OPEC) jumped to an average 29.8 million barrels per day (bid) in February, as Saudi Arabia continued 10 boost production. Plaits survey of OPEC and oil industry officials and analysts released last week showed that the figure was up 230,(XX) bid from an estim:1red 2957 million bid in January. The swvey noted !hat the increase more than offset the drop in Libyan supplies,estimated to have averoged 190,(XX) bid over the month, as the deepening conflict hit the North African country's oil production and
expons '" the final week of February. Ex,luding Iraq, which does not partiCIpate in OPEC output agreements, the II OPEC members bound by quocas pumped an 3\erage 27.1 million bid in February, 190,(XX) bid more than January's 26.91 million bid, tlJe survey showed. Libyatl output was estimated to have dropped to around 139 million bid from January's 158 million bid following the withdmwal of foreign oil company staIT and consequent production shut-ins. The lmemational Energy Agency recently estimated that the volume of shut-in production had now reached I miUion bid. "The key questions now center on how much more production loss we'll see from Libya fOt' M'l"'h - likely to be at least one
ENERGY million barrels per day, if not more - and OPECs response to that," said Plans Global Dire tor of News, John Kingston. "All
signs point to there being a onefor-<>ne substitution so far in terms of barrels, but even so, that doesn't take into account the market impact from a reduction in the quality of those substiruted barrels, as well as a fear premium." Saudi Arabia boosted production by 3OO,(XX) bid to 8.7 million bid, nearly 700,(XX) bid more than its assumed OPEC qUOla. Saudi Oil Minister, Ali Nairni told the official Saudi Press Agency recently !hat tllO kingdom had mel all incremental demand from its customers and WdS Storing addiuonai quantities of crude at v-rlrious locations to meet any funher call on it:. pr0duction. Naimi said the kingdom currently had 3.5 million bid of spare crude production capacity readily available that could help offset any supply shortfall. His remarks suggested that Saudi Ambia, which S.1YS it has total production capacity of 125 million bid, had boosted production to around 9 million bid. Platts reponed last Thesday that Saudi Arabia had staned to shift barrels of mainly lighter grades from its eastern pons to the Red Sea to position itself for additional shipments into Europe, where most Libyan crude is sold.
' LoR: COllntry Presidem, Marcel Hocltel, Sellior Viet Presitknt, Power, (EMEAS) Gllillallme Scltocbel alld Depllly Vice Presidelll (Energy Ullil) all of Schneider Electric, Diu OdlllYo durillg a media parley ill Lagos recently.
FG Audits Strategic Food Reserves across Nigeria
T
he Federal Government has
begun
inspection and of the nation's strategIC grain reserves, in order to hedge the counuy against the hunger crisis currently sweeping across the globe. The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and other global food bodies have cried out over a persistent general rise in the prioes of food item" resulting from scrucity of global sLaples in the intemationai marl<et. Minister of State for Agriculture, Alhaji Najeem AdewaIe, told TIUSDAY in an I exclusive chat that thC Fedeqt{ ; Government is aware of the global crisis and is currently putting measures in place to ensure that there is no food emergency whatsoever in ~ment
il HUNGER CRISIS i By Crusoe Osagie Nigena. 'That is why pan of what we are doing is to actually inspect our silos across the COWltry. We have inspected the silos in lkene, Ekiti, Akure, Kogi and Desha. We ara also going to other silos in the various geopolitical zones across tlle counoy because we know that grains are some of our staple food in the country", he flisc)osed. - .... The Minister said the food
resaves are the governmem's strategy to tackle food shortage any tinJe it surfaces in the country. ..It is because of situations like
this that we IlOJrnally have groin FAO, In tl", latest ediuon of Its reserves and what we are doing food outlook repon, issued a in the ministry now is th:~ we are w.uning to the mtermuonal combuying grains as reserve because munity to prepare for harder tllere is what we call guaranteed times ahead unless production of major food crops increases sigmuiimum pnce. W~ cjo not W'rlIll ourfanners to sufferunnecessary nificantly in 20 11. . • loss, so, we buy ar9.price thm .~ Impon bIlls for the they will not lose SO 1.liaJ they will )"or1<1 s poorest COlInmes are be encoumge<j to do inOIefann- ..~-JJedlcted to nse II per cent and ing. We ~and then sCuii the" ', Py 20 per (:~nt fpr 1<;>W-l/lCOlIle public when we experierx:<;' a food-deficII , <;ountn'?S: 1111S shortage in the""..xet, resulting me:"lS, by pas!!U!g a trilhon dolin "scarcity 3nd inflation;' Iar.;, the gk!Qallll1IJ911 food btll Adewale said wllll.ikeb' n~ tq ~ li"."11lOI seen ''The c~ over the rising Slhce food pnces peaked at poi<i: of food acioss the world is ~ It:,vels,J)! 2OOlI'.• <.' 7 • ..ob"'-''''~ Wub.~. ~lln world not an eJ(lIg~"'duon '-'" we Ildve prices of most commodities nut ~ what we have currently abating, the international comaiJd we or Stoking up to aven any munity must remain vigilant form of . ~ency. We have against funher supply shocks in gam, matZe nullet, cowpea and 2011 and be prepared," FAO so on in these silos", he added. said.
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