May edition 2017 by Sweetcrude reports

Nigerian content: Attempt to develop robust local supply chain â&#x20AC;&#x201C;Simbi Wabote P/19

Nigeria payout fingered in Addax corruption probe P/08

A Review Of The Nigerian Energy May, 2017

facebook.com/sweetcrudereports

VOL 03 N0. 46

Industry twitter.com/sweetcrudeRep www.sweetcrudereports.com

U P DAT E S MAR-17 MAR-17 FEB-17 JAN-17 DEC-16 NOV-16 OCT-16 SEP-16 AUG-16 JUL-16 JUN-16 JUN-16 MAY-16 APR-16 Daily | Weekly | Monthly | Yearly

51.26 50.32 53.37 52.40 51.67 43.22 47.23 42.89 43.10 42.68 44.87 45.84 43.21 37.86

51.82 U$

62 58 54 50 46 42 38 34 30 26 Apr-16 May-16 Jun-16 Jul-16 Aug-16 Sep-16 Oct-16 Nov-16 Dec-16 Jan-17 Feb-17 Mar-17 Apr-17

Govt releases new standards for imported petroleum products

MODULAR REFINING

The next big thing in Nigeria Offers investors new opportunities DPR issues guidelines Experts say it's panacea for peace in N/Delta May 3, 2017

Enhancing OEM/SME Collaboration To Grow Nigeria Content Enquiries: Enquiries: tukur70@sweetcrudereports.com, abdulmalik.halilu@ncdmb.gov.ng, linda.anukwuem@sweetcrudereports.com LOPMENT VE &

ITO

NCDMB

AR D

Conscience, Nurtured by Truth

RING BO

Crude

MIDIS ENERGY SERVICES LIMITED

CONT

www.ncif.com.ng

EN T

Where prospects meet opportunities RIAN GE NI

he Standards Organisation of Nigeria, SON, has released new approved Nigerian Industrial Standards for petroleum products as part of efforts to reduce the sulphur content of fuels imported into Nigeria and other West African countries from Europe. The development was communicated in a letter to Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice, ANEEJ, endorsed by Head of Department, Product Certification CONTINUES ON PAGE 14

Modular refinery

NCDMB

NIGERDOCK

RC 639040

2017 May, SweetcrudeReports

Editor’s note

t is the month of the Offshore Technology Conference, OTC, in Houston, Texas - an annual gathering of energy industry experts and leaders. Being the biggest oil and gas industry event, it should naturally occupy the headlines. What we are celebrating in this edition of your SweetcrudeReports, however, is the potentials of Nigeria. As you may well know, the annual Nigeria Content Investment Forum, NCIF, one of the biggest Nigerian events in the United States, also holds this month in Houston, Texas. Organised by SweetcrudeReports in conjunction with the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board and The Guardian, the third edition of the event holds on May 3 at the prestigious Houstonian Hotel with the focus, "Enhancing OEM/SME collaboration to grow Nigerian Content". It is a platform for high-level meeting of Nigerian oil and gas businesses and their American counterparts, where the potentials of Nigerian SMEs would be on showcase with American OEMs hoping to exploit those potentials; by so doing, consummating lasting fruitful partnerships to the benefit of the two countries. The significance of this event to the two countries and its contribution in promoting US-Nigeria trade and businesses in the last two year is not in doubt, which is why the City of Houston gave a citation in honour of SweetcrudeReports

4 8 19 24 27 42 45 47 50 54 56 59

last year and proclaimed the date of the event every year as the NCIF Day. Further showcasing Nigeria's potentials to the international community, our cover story for this edition highlights modular refinery as the next big thing in Nigeria. The cover story draws from the current plans by the Muhammadu Buhari government to establish modular refineries in the oilrich Niger Delta in place of the several small-scale illegal oil refineries in the region. The government is hoping through this means to tackle oil theft, pipeline vandalism and environmental pollution associated with the illegal oil refining business. This plan sure provides opportunities for both local and international investors in terms of direct ownership of refineries, funding and technical support or partnership. Just as we began gathering materials for this edition, we stumbled on Nigeria's involvement in the ongoing Addax Petroleum probe. Nigeria's Kaztec Engineering, owned by the businessman, Chief Emeka Offor, received copious mention in the probe that we had no option than to give it the attention it deserved. That's why we lead our oil section with that report.

COVER

Modular Refining: The next big thing in Nigeria

OIL

Nigeria payout fingered in Addax corruption probe

FOCUS

Nigerian content: Attempt to develop robust local supply chain –Simbi Wabote

GAS

NLNG positioned to grow into global shipping leader - Capt Okesanjo

POWER

NNPC goes into power generation, to contribute 4,000mw to national grid

FINANCE Recession: Nigerian govt touts signs of economic recovery

LABOUR

Nigeria, Morocco fertiliser deal creates 50,000 jobs - NNPC

SOLID MINERAL

Nigeria: Export of unprocessed minerals will soon become offence

FREIGHT Nigerian ports records 81% increase in gross tonnage, 41.2% vessel calls MOTORING The 20 Best Luxury SUVs

TECHNOLOGY Petroleum refining processes

COMMUNITY Chevron, Shell, other IOCs can operate from Niger Delta - PHCCIMA

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Hector IGBIKIOWUBO EDITOR Chuks ISIWU ASSISTANT EDITORS Ike AMOS Eluonye KOYEGWUAEHI

SNR. CORRESPONDENTS Oscarline ONWUEMENYI GM, Marketing Sam IKEOTUONYE Nkem IGBIKIOWUBO +234 08060249746 CORRESPONDENTS Kunle KALEJAYE Mkpoikana UDOMA

Design/Layout Frontline Concept

Printed and Published by

WEBSITE:

Sweetcrude Limited Plot 2191 Osiefa Crescent, ‘Amuwo Odofin, GRA, Lagos.

www.sweetcrudereports.com Enquiries? Call: +234 08023145252

2017 May, SweetcrudeReports

Cover Story

2017 May, SweetcrudeReports

Modular Refining: The next big thing in Nigeria Offers investors new opportunities DPR issues guidelines Experts say it's panacea for peace in N/Delta CHUKS ISIWU & OSCAR ONWUEMENYI

or the first time since the 2007 oil bid rounds, Nigeria is about to unfold a major opportunity for global investors. The opportunity is in modular oil refining. After years of destroying illegal local refineries in the oil-rich Niger Delta, and the last two years spent tackling vandals of oil and gas facilities, the President Muhammadu Buhari administration appears to have buckled under pressure, resorting to an engagement with the purveyors of chaos. The government's new plan, as disclosed recently by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, is to organise them into clusters to operate modular refineries. According to the government, this is a new vision for oilproducing communities and a strategy to perpetually check oil theft, illegal refining and the wanton destruction of major oil and gas installations to the detriment of Nigeria's crude oil production and earnings. Despite the Buhari government's perceived inability to deliver on electoral promises on several fronts, many experts say the modular refinery initiative is one the government would likely pursue to a logical conclusion given the peace it will usher in, in the Niger Delta, the expected rise in crude oil and gas production and the resultant increase in revenue to the government. Rising oil output Indeed, since the government adopted the peace option with the Niger Delta militants in November last year, leading to the modular refinery plan, Nigeria's oil output has begun to rebound. In the last one year, Nigeria has

lost about $7 billion in oil exports revenue due to production shutins and force majeure resulting from attacks on oil installations. Two attacks on the Shell Nigeriaoperated Forcados export terminal last year put it out of operation for more than 12 months. It is yet to resume oil exports. Another attack on the Qua Iboe export terminal, operated by ExxonMobil in August last year also caused extensive damage that is yet to be completely fixed. Since the talks began, Nigeria's oil output has risen to 1.68 million barrels a day from the 27year low of 1.4 million barrels a day in August last year, going by Bloomberg estimates, with the last attack reported by the main militant group in November. While that's still below the 2014-15 average of about 2 million barrels a day, it's brightened prospects that the country can emerge from its worst economic slump in a quarter-century and ease a foreign-currency crisis sparked by the lower production of oil, its main export, and falling crude prices. Shuttle diplomacy Vi c e P r e s i d e n t O s i n b a j o announced government's plan to establish the modular refineries during his tour of the nine Niger Delta states earlier this year, where he disclosed that the government has decided to work with illegal oil refiners to standardize their operations. He said that Nigeria needed to provide work for people who make a living from illegal refining of crude oil in the Niger Delta in order to achieve peace. “Our approach is that we must engage with them (illegal refiners) by establishing modular refineries so that they can participate in legal refineries. We have recognised

Osibanjo that young men must be properly engaged,” the vice president stated. He did not give details then. His Niger Delta tour was a firefighting mission aimed at dousing bottled up tension in the region after the militants laid down arms since November last y e a r, w i t h t h e F e d e r a l Government not appearing to have met their expectations after three months. Also, speaking recently in an interview with the media, the Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme and Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta Affairs, Brig-Gen. Paul Boroh, stressed that setting up of the modular refineries

job opportunities close to the people of the region, modular refineries will also bring the petroleum products to Nigerians at a competitive price. Illegal refining activities currently taking place in the creeks and environs are alarming. These have led to pipeline vandalism, river and land pollution, environmental degradation, oil theft and loss of revenue to the Federal Government. “The poorly refined products when sold and distributed will result in economic and health disasters such as vehicle breakdown and kerosene explosions, among others.” The presidential aide called on the people of the region to

Our approach is that we must engage with them (illegal refiners) by establishing modular refineries so that they can participate in legal refining would open up the sector for inclusive participation by thousands of youths who would otherwise be involved in illegal refining and oil bunkering. He explained that the development of modular refineries in the Niger Delta and across the country would lead to job creation, availability of petroleum products at affordable rates and reduction in the environmental pollution occasioned by illegal oil refining activities. Boroh said: “Besides bringing

support government's plan and take advantage of the resultant investment and job opportunities. He also called on stakeholders in the oil and gas sector to invest in the establishment of refineries as a solution to the persistent fuel scarcity bedeviling the country. According to him, “Modular refineries in Nigeria will increase local refining capacity, sustain supply and reduce the importation of petroleum products into the country. Consequently, the pressure on

our foreign reserves will be drastically reduced, while the value of the Naira will ultimately receive a huge boost.” The plan for the refineries Further details of the plan for the refineries have since emerged. Throwing light on the plan, Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum C o r p o r a t i o n , N N P C , D r. Maikanti Baru, at the 53rd International Conference and Exhibition of the Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society, NMGS, in Abuja, said the government will organise the youths now engaged in illegal refining of crude into consortia. Each consortium will refine 1,000 barrels of crude daily, he also announced. Defending the Federal Government's plan to transform illegal refineries in the Niger Delta into legal entities, he said it is for proper integration of the youths in the region. The NNPC group managing director argued that getting the youths to form consortia to set up 1,000 barrels per day modular refineries would get them off crime and create jobs. SweetcrudeReports learnt that the Presidency and the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Agency, NSIA, are collaborating in the implementation of the plan and that they are currently fashioning out the best way to realise the plan, working with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, and oil and gas industry operators, including the International Oil Companies, IOCs, marginal fields and

CONTINUES ON PAGE 5

Cover

2017 May, SweetcrudeReports

Fuel station

Modular Refining: The next big thing in Nigeria CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4 refineries operators and others. It was also learnt that they are in favour of having all the illegal refineries and the communities in the Nigeria Delta brought into the plan. They are also considering getting the illegal refiners and the communities as shareholders with the NSIA and the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, holding enough equity to make the refineries operate as truly business concerns. The government will also put in place a M e m o r a n d u m o f Understanding, MOU, that would see the communities determining their share. Government will oversee the implementation of the MOU. As part of this arrangement also, sources said, government plans to supply crude oil to the local refineries at a reasonable price as a measure to curb vandalism of oil pipelines and crude theft. The sources, who also said, the issue of pricing is still being discussed, noted that in supplying crude to the refineries at an affordable price, government hoped to arrest environment degradation caused by spills from vandalised pipelines.

It's the right step in right direction - Stakeholders Meanwhile, illegal refinery operators and some stakeholders

across the country have expressed belief that the proposed liberalisation of modular refineries by the Federal Government is a right step in the right direction, noting that it would drive development in the Niger Delta region and bring about increased revenue to the government. In an interview with our correspondent, the National Secretary of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, Alhaji Danladi Pasali, said that modular refineries would put a stop to continued fuel importation in the country and bring about a way out of fuel scarcity in Nigeria. He, however, noted that Public-Private Partnership was imperative for adequate refining as well as the distribution of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS. “Even if all the refineries in Nigeria are refining at full capacity, there will still be fuel shortage because demand is so high. So the government will always import unless there are modular refineries owned by individuals, then fuel would be surplus,” Pasali said. The IPMAN scribe called for the total decentralisation of refineries with the collaboration of the private sector for guaranteed petroleum accessibility. He further urged the Federal Government to support efforts made to

liberalise the petroleum sector for a stable petrol-economy. On his own part, an environmentalist and local refinery operator, Mr. Roland Kiente, lauded the proposed liberalisation of modular refineries. Kiente, who operates an artisanal refinery in Bayelsa State, noted that the policy if implemented would transform the economic fortunes of the oil bearing communities in the Niger Delta. “Those of us currently doing the business are pleased with the proposed plans by the federal government, we have been advocating for this for long and I have been very vocal in calling on the government to come down to our level and assist. “Our advice, however, is that government should not politicise it, they should identify those who are already in the business and leverage on their expertise as well as enhance their capacities. Those with some kind of experience will be easier to train for the pilot scheme and we shall be more than willing to work with the government to showcase our skills before now they had branded us illegal.” According to him, “What we are doing is source crude and refine, it is those who sell the crude to us that do the illegality and that has been denting the image of the vocation of local refining, we are driven by entrepreneur instinct to survive. There is a big misconception, the artisanal

As part of this arrangement also, sources said, government plans to supply crude oil to the local refineries at a reasonable price as a measure to curb vandalism of oil pipelines and crude theft refiners just like the big refineries buy crude from people who get it from illegal sources, so when the government comes in, everything will be formalised. “With the government involvement the revenue will be paid into government coffers rather than individuals who break pipelines to steal crude, it is those persons that are illegal not we that refine and sell,” Kiente said. In his own reaction, Mr. Kenedy West, Special Assistant to Bayelsa Governor on Niger Delta Youth Matters noted that the modular refinery concept was a novel concept that could transform the Niger Delta region. He noted that “It a strong answer to eliminate unsafe illegal refineries which are dangerous to our environment, to the people doing it and our economy. So the modular refinery is a perfect solution to the dangers of what our people are doing.

“Legitimising it to make room for small investors who may not have the capital to build big refineries to build smaller refineries, the benefits are enormous, amongst which is increasing the local refining capacity. It will organise the local refineries operators into companies and encourage the people of the Niger Delta to invest in the local refining according to the level of their capital under a controlled and regulated framework “It is a wonderful idea that we support but it involves a lot and we all have to work together to achieve success from it, definitely there is a role in it for various stakeholders,” West said. M r. A l a g o a M o r r i s , a n environmentalist, also applauded the Federal Government for acceding to the yearnings of the people, but, called for the establishment of standards to protect the

CONTINUES ON PAGE 6

Cover

2017 May, SweetcrudeReports

Modular refinery

The next big thing in Nigeria CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 environment. He advocated for baseline Environmental Impact Assessment studies by experts and putting in place safety measures prior to the establishment of the refineries to ensure they run in an environmentally sustainable manner. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is thumbs up to the Federal Government and we want the refineries to be driven by the Niger Delta people, they should be organised into cooperatives with ownership of shares and incorporation of real companies. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Government should set the standards and enforce it as well as establish formal channels where the operators of the refineries should buy crude officially to check the menace of oil theft, let it be run by the people. The refineries will definitely provide job opportunities and help in tackling the security challenges in the region,â&#x20AC;? Morris said. Mr. Ramsey Mukoro, an exmilitant leader, who spoke in favour of the proposed modular refineries, noted that it would provide jobs for the teeming youths in the oil communities. He said that when young minds are meaningfully engaged, they would direct their youthful energies to productive ventures. The Bayelsa State Government also expressed its support for the Federal Government's proposed liberalisation of modular refineries to drive the economic development of the Niger Delta region. The Special Adviser to Bayelsa Governor on Oil and Gas, Mr Felix Ayah, in a statement in Yenagoa, commended the move

by the Federal Government, saying it would boost the economy. He said that the decision of the government to allow indigenes of the Niger Delta region to open and operate modular refineries would boost the economic profile of the people. Ayah explained that the decision, when implemented, would ameliorate the plights and sufferings of the people who have suffered the adverse impacts of oil exploration without economic benefits in the past. Ayah urged the Niger Delta people irrespective of their political affiliation to maintain the peace, work together and play by the rules to benefit from the laudable government programmes. He noted that after about 60 years of the discovery of crude oil, the South-South region had contributed immensely to the growth and development of the country. He observed that the renewed interest of the Federal Government to harness the

resources found in the Niger Delta for the economic benefit of the people was a clear departure from the past. The special adviser expressed optimism that the planned modular refineries would empower more Niger Delta people and reduce the spate of conflicts with oil firms and i n c r e a s e o i l production.? According to him, the modular refineries will also curb the menace of pipeline vandalism and other social crimes and ills currently ravaging in the region. He added that the planned direct sale of crude to modular refineries would reduce the incessant breaking of the pipes in the region. The militant group, Niger Delta Revolutionary Crusaders, NRDC, has also come out in support of government's plan to establish modular refineries in the Niger Delta region. The group criticised the razing of 80 illegal refineries across Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers states by soldiers of the Joint Task

Private investors like billionaire Alhaji Aliko Dangote is leading the way with a 650,000 b/d complex refinery in Lagos State. Other financially-endowed Nigerians have expressed their desire to invest in the conventional, complex or modular mini-refineries

Force, despite recent assurances by the Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, that the Federal Government would establish modular refineries to engage Niger Delta youths involved in the business. The militant group, in a statement by its spokesperson, W. O. I. Izon-Ebi, said that the Joint Task Force in the Niger D e l t a , J T F, c o d e n a m e d 'Operation Restore Hope', was not helping the peace-building process in the region with its actions. Opportunities Beyond the advantages of the proposed plan for the Niger Delta region and would-be operators of the modular refineries is the opportunities it will throw up for investors outside the region. The would-be operators of the refineries will need technical partners and advisors. They will also need funding from within and outside Nigeria. The need for funding from outside Nigeria is necessary given the low capacity of local banks to handle the huge capital requirement for oil and gas projects. Evidence of the inability of local banks to handle oil and gas projects is that most projects financing in the oil and gas sector in the past had been done through loan syndication and involvement of foreign banks. "Obviously, international financiers will be required here. Apart from the fact that the capacity of local banks is not big enough to support oil and gas projects, Nigeria's current economic crisis has made any possibility of local funding very

difficult. The capital requirement for modular refineries may well be far less than that for the big refineries, but we expect that in building these refineries, international funding is a must," said an industry analyst, Mr. Maxwell Nwosu. Nwosu also maintained that apart from providing funding, international investors could come in as part owners of the refineries or as technical partners and advisors. DPR's guidelines for investors The Director, Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, Mr. Mordecai Ladan, in a telephone chat with our correspondent, hinted that the modular refineries initiative was part of President Buhari's commitment to repositioning the petroleum industry to the glorious days of petroleum products availability. According to him, the three licensing stages that must be sequentially and meticulously followed before a process plant can be commissioned for operation are a licence to establish, a licence to construct the plant, and a licence to operate the plant, whether for a p e t r o l e u m r e f i n e r y, petrochemicals and gas processing plant. The validity of the licence to establish a refinery or plant shall be for a period of two years after which the licence shall lapse, he explained What is a modular refinery? A modular refinery is a processing plant that has been constructed entirely on skid

CONTINUES ON PAGE 7

Cover

2017 May, SweetcrudeReports

The next big thing in Nigeria

Illegal refinery CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6 mounted structures. Each structure contains a portion of the entire process plant, and through interstitial piping, the components link together to form an easily manageable process. Modular refineries apply process equipment manufactured in controlled conditions, fully assembled and tested prior to overseas shipment, and installed at client's site in much less time than traditional construction requires. These may be in units from 4000 to 30,000bpd, though some are as low as 1,000 b/d capacity. Lubricating oil, waxes and asphalt may not be produced in a modular mini refinery. Mini-refineries are topping units or hydro skimming which viability depends on sites close to petroleum feedstock to reduce logistics and nearness to markets to reduce distribution costs. Government incentives and generous conditions from credit agencies are required for a profitable investment. One advantage of minirefineries is that they are skidmounted and so faster to construct from 12 to 18 months and so improves engineering quality. They are flexible to meet demand changes so more modules can easily be added. The negative is that you have more staff per Effective Distillation Capacity, EDC. Complex or conventional refineries' advantage over mini plants are the use of few staff per EDC, scale and operating efficiency is better, and has more volume and high-value products. Experts also believe that the economics of a topping unit mini refinery are not comparable to

Government should set the standards and enforce it as well as establish formal channels where the operators of the refineries should buy crude officially to check the menace of oil theft, let it be run by the people

full conversion complex refinery. Failings of existing state refineries Nigeria imports about one million tons of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, monthly. When rehabilitated, according to government, the existing four refineries owned by the NNPC could produce 926,235.7 metric tons, at optimum capacity in one month. Even at optimum capacity, the country has a reported deficit of 73,764.3 metric tons in a month. But with excess demand for gasoline and distillates in Nigeria, options for sustainable petroleum supply lie in refineries rehabilitation to meet installed capacity, upgrading existing process plants to meet the shortfall and investment in the development of more refineries. More private refineries More investments in process

plants could have been sustained since the construction of the four NNPC refineries decades ago. Unfortunately, however, the government did not do that. Private investors like billionaire Alhaji Aliko Dangote is leading the way with a 650,000 b/d complex refinery in Lagos State. Other financially-endowed Nigerians have expressed their desire to invest in the conventional, complex or modular minirefineries. Speaking in an interview with SweetcrudeReports, the Chairman, Integrated Oil and Gas Limited, Capt. Emmanuel Iheanacho said the Federal Government should provide an enabling environment for entrepreneurs to establish modular refineries apart from the initiative for the Niger Delta, so as to meet the nation's refining capacity. Iheanacho, who is a promoter of a 20,000 barrels modular

refinery located in Lagos, spoke against the backdrop of government's frequent importation of refined petroleum products into the country. The support, according to him, includes policy framework that will compel financial institutions to make funds available to indigenous players that intend to build refineries. Iheanacho appealed to government to support indigenous oil companies which are striving to grow the oil and g a s s e c t o r, a d d i n g t h a t government should also support local companies with funding. “We are in absolute support of growing indigenous capacity in every facet of our oil and gas industry. This is because the local companies are paying their taxes, reinvesting their capital and creating enormous job opportunities for the larger community,” he stated. He pointed out that with such encouragement, Nigeria's participation in the industry would rise significantly in line with government's aspirations with the Nigerian Content Act. “Financial support is one major area we need government's help if government realises that there is need to have a lot of the small scale refineries to turn around the economy. We can now start exporting refined products than we are currently importing. The government should make provision for financing because it is a key requirement to do 20,000 barrels per day. It requires an investment of over $100 million. “We need government to assist modular refinery operators. We are not asking to be given grants

and handout but to be assisted in the process of being able to secure financing from major finance institutions,” he said. Iheanacho also explained that if the government could assist the operators to secure finance, it would go a long way to assist them to realise some of the benefits that would drive the country's economic growth. According to him, his $116 million proposed refinery would be a reference point in Nigeria when completed. He added that the 20,000 barrel per day, b/d, refinery was coming at a period when stakeholders have faulted the move by the government to co-locate refineries and rather advised them to give support to holders of modular refinery licenses. According to him, the Tomaro refinery sited on a 90-hectare land in Amuwo Odofin Local Council Area was expected to begin production with Automated Gas Oil, AGO, also known as diesel; Dual Purpose Kerosene, DPK, export quality aviation fuel, Naphtha and fuel oil. He said that the plant would be upgraded to produce Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, also known as petrol, as operations progressed. According to him, the facility is designed as a one-stop shop comprising refinery plant, storage facility, flour mill, ship repair yard, a helipad for aviation operations to offshore platforms and resort centres. He said the project would also create massive employment for the teeming youths of the country.

Oil

2017 May, SweetcrudeReports

Addax Petroleum facility

Nigeria payout fingered in Addax corruption probe *Deloitte LLP resigns from audit function *Kaztec Engineering received over $80m HECTOR IGBIKIOWUBO

nexplained payments in N i g e r i a exceeding $100 million are the main focus of ongoing investigations by the Switzerland authorities into allegations of corruption in the operations of Addax Petroleum. SweetcrudeReports gathered that Deloitte LLP, a firm of auditors, handed in their resignation from the audit function in December 2015 prior to having completed the audit for the year ending December 31, 2015 for Addax Petroleum United Kingdom Limited, APUK, over “a number of payments made for which we have been unable to obtain satisfactory explanations or sufficient audit evidence”. It has been established that Kaztec Engineering, an indigenous Nigerian company being promoted by Sir Emeka Offor, received over $80 million in payments from Addax Petroleum Nigeria Limited - a subsidiary of APUK - regarding construction projects for the Antan and Udele/Ofrima project

development. Other payments in excess of $20 million were recorded as legal expenses that were made to several ‘legal advisors’ in Nigeria and the United States. Checks also reveal that between 2009 and 2014, a space of 6-years, Addax Petroleum awarded Kaztec Engineering Nigeria Limited five Single Source Contracts, SSC, with a total value of $1.244 billion. In a statement of the circumstances relating to its resignation as auditors to APUK, Deloitte LLP disclosed that it could not obtain a business rationale or validity for the payments made by Addax in Nigeria. “The magnitude of these payments appears to be in excess of the demonstrable value of work performed and their purpose and timing raise issues which have not been resolved,” Deloitte LLP disclosed. Regarding the payments to ‘legal advisors’, Deloitte noted that “among other concerns, it has not been clearly established what services were delivered for the amounts paid”. “In addition, we have received a number of whistle-blowing

allegations, both from within and external to Addax, some of which allege that such payments have been made to bribe foreign government officials and that certain amounts have been embezzled by certain members of management within Addax Petroleum group,” Deloitte said. Deloitte LLP said the responses and explanations it obtained from certain directors of APUK and Addax Petroleum Holding Limited, APHL, “lacked credibility, were inconsistent and at times directly contradictory to previous documentary information

provided”. SweetcrudeReports investigation revealed that the unsatisfactory explanation for the payment to Kaztec Engineering was approved by the National Petroleum Investment Management Services, NAPIMS, a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC as Contract No. ETB3219; Contract title: EPICC(M) Contract for Ofrima Udele Project in OML-137. Further checks revealed that a total Kaztec Engineering received a total sum of $81.9 million payment under the Ofrima/Udele project scope for which Deloitte LLP said the payment appears to be in excess of the demonstrable value of work performed. Kaztec Engineering received $1.244bn in SSC award from Addax. In an unusual letter he sent to the Group General Manager of NAPIMS, dated July 24, 2014, titled, ‘Facilities Contracting for Ofrima Udele Development and Other Key Projects', the Managing Director of Addax Petroleum Development Nigeria Limited, Cornelius Zegelaar, specifically recommended Kaztec

Engineering for the job. “At this time there is no single indigenous contractor other than Kaztec that has the proven capability and track record of delivering such EPIC projects," he wrote. Zegelaar provided numerous justifications for the project to be awarded to Kaztec, proffering arguments that precluded an open competitive tender. Other SSC projects awarded by Addax Petroleum Nigeria to Kaztec Engineering include: “construction & installation of the Adanga-Calabar Gas Tr a n s m i s s i o n P i p e l i n e & Metering Station” at a cost of $191 million - 2009; “TB-1921 Installation of Subsea Pipelines and Topsides in OML 123” at a cost of $350 million - 2010; “Variation order of the TB-1921 award” at a cost of $350 million 2012; “Antan Jackets and Piling works for OML 123” at a cost of $300 million – 2011; “Njaba field OML 124, Owerri procurement of 60% of all materials” at a cost o f $ 1 2 m i l l i o n – 2 0 11 ; “Installation of the BC-2 Compressor at OML 123” at a cost of $40 million – 2014. Just over one week ago, the chief executive officer and legal director of Addax Petroleum in Geneva were both arrested and charged with suspected bribery of foreign officials, the spokesman for the canton’s prosecutor disclosed. A criminal procedure has also been opened against the company – an affiliate of China’s Sinopec, Asia’s largest oil refiner.

2017 May, SweetcrudeReports

Oil

OPEC expects sustained push to maintain output cut

Oil facility CHUKS ISIWU

he Organisation of the Petroleum E x p o r t i n g Counties, OPEC, has achieved 106 percent compliance level with regard to its decision late last year to cut production by 1.2 million barrels per day from January this year. The first such deal since 2008, the decision which brought OPEC's production down to 32.5 million per day, bpd, was aimed at stabilising the oil market. Figures published in OPEC’s latest monthly report revealed the 106 percent adherence to cuts. This was also one of the issues reviewed recently at a meeting of a six-nation monitoring committee in Vienna, Austria, where compliance numbers were evaluated by the committee comprising OPEC members Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Venezuela, Algeria and nonOPEC Russia and Oman. The 106 percent achievement by OPEC came amid reports that the 11 non-OPEC oil producers that joined a global deal to reduce output by 1.8 million barrels per day, bpd, from January 1 this year to boost prices delivered 64 percent of promised cuts in February, lagging the impressive OPEC levels.

High compliance with supply adjustments by OPEC and some non-OPEC producers supported gains" in crude oil futures in February, OPEC said

With these developments, sources at the OPEC headquarters in Vienna said the 13-nation organisation now expected sustained push to maintain the output cut. Russia, which was part of the meeting, plans to step up its adherence, saying it will cut output by the full amount it had pledged — 300,000 bpd — by the

end of April and will maintain that level until the deal expires at the end of June. "High compliance with supply adjustments by OPEC and some non-OPEC producers supported gains" in crude oil futures in February, OPEC said. OPEC, in its monthly oil market report for March, said its total production in February averaged 31.96 million bpd, a decrease of 14,000 bpd over the previous month. Output by its members that committed to cutting production under the November deal was 29.7 million barrels a day, compared with 29.9 million last month. Libya and Nigeria are exempted from the deal as they push to restore supply impacted by internal crises. OPEC, however, put crude oil production from Nigeria at 1.526 million barrels per day in February, down from 1.533 million bpd in the previous month, based on direct communication. Production from Nigeria's fellow African oil producer, Angola, stood at 1.649 million bpd in February, up from the 1.615 million bpd recorded in January. OPEC said production in Saudi Arabia, Iraq and United Arab Emirates showed the largest declines.

Africa is last true oil & gas frontier, say experts

xperts evaluating opportunities in Africa’s petroleum industry, say the continent is the last true oil and gas frontier with over 4,200 known oil and gas blocks. They said 2,900 of these blocs are in sub-Saharan Africa, and 1,300 in North Africa. Altogether, according to the experts, almost half of these blocks are open, subject to force majeure or in the application phase. Specifically, only 30 per cent of the identified oil and gas blocks in sub-Saharan Africa has been licensed, leaving a balance of 70 per cent up for grabs. In North Africa, on the other hand, 80 per cent of the oil and gas blocks has been licensed with 20 per cent yet to be awarded. Speaking on this finding ahead of the Sub-Sahara Africa Oil and Gas Summit 2017 in Lagos, Dapo Ayoola, Chief Executive Officer of Zenith Professional Training, said experts will, during the summit, further explore these findings. “Africa is the last true oil and gas frontier with more than 4,200 oil and gas blocks identified. Almost half of these blocks are open, subject to force majeure or in the application phase. “More than 80% of the 1,300 blocks in North Africa are licensed, while in sub-Saharan Africa it is estimated that only about 30% of 2,900 blocks are licensed. In the sub-Saharan regions it is evident that many new opportunities still exist, especially for the exploration and production companies that are willing to take risks”, he said.

2017 May, SweetcrudeReports

Oil

Community threatens to shut Agip operations in Nigeria MKPOIKANA UDOMA, Port Harcourt

group known as Ebocha New Base Landlords in Mbebede community in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State has threatened to shut down the facility of Nigerian Agip Oil Company, NAOC, located in the area over inability of the company to provide employment to members of the community. Briefing newsmen in Port Harcourt, the group stated that since 1980 when the community and NAOC entered into an agreement, the company was yet to extend any form of development to the area or consider its indigenes for employment. The youth chairman of the landlords' association, Prince Onyx Ijeoma, said the community had initiated several peaceful steps to draw the attention of the company to the issue to no avail. Ijeoma explained that the community had in the past, petitioned the Rivers State government the State Commissioner of Police and the National Assembly, where they were invited, but NAOC refused to honour the invitation. He explained that since the company had refused to respect the peaceful initiatives to implement their demands “they will take a radical option by mobilising the youths and women of the

community in shutting down the operations of NAOC.” The youth leader called on the Rivers State government, the Senate and privileged individuals to call the company to order before the situation will get out of hand. According to him, “Since 1980 when the community first signed an agreement with the company, no member of the community has been employed as a staff of the NAOC."

Offshore oil rig

East Africa's oil ambitions tested by pipeline machinations

Oil facility

GE Oil & Gas expands global footprint with new Sub-Saharan Africa facility

E Oil & Gas says its new service facility in Takoradi, Ghana, underlines its commitment to bring global expertise and build local capabilities in Africa. Investment will include training of Ghanaian workforce and partnerships with educational institutions. The new facility will directly support Eni’s Offshore Cape Three Points, OCTP, project and will be the primary service centre for deep-water offshore projects in Ghana. GE Oil & Gas opened a new facility in Takoradi Port, expanding its global footprint and supporting local investment. The company committed to delivering more than 45,000 training hours for Ghanaian personnel over the next five years, as it seeks to build a world-class team locally. The facility, which will be the primary service centre for deepwater offshore projects in Ghana, has a 1,600 square metres indoor test area with capability for testing three subsea trees simultaneously, and 4,000 square metres of indoor and outdoor storage.

decade after its first big oil find, East Africa’s emergence as a crude exporter has been hindered by security and cost concerns that left the region building two pipelines instead of one. According to Bloomberg report, Uganda and Kenya are developing two new basins and originally agreed to build one line to connect the landlocked discoveries to the coast. That changed last year, when Uganda chose a more southerly 1,400-kilometer (870-mile) route through Tanzania, citing lower transit prices. Kenya will go it alone with an 865-kilometer line to a port on the Indian Ocean. Two pipelines will test the economics of the developments. Both projects probably need an oil price of $50 to $55 a barrel to break even, while lower costs or taxes may be required to justify a final investment decision in Uganda, according to BMO Capital Markets. The Tanzanian route will get some funding help from France’s Total SA, which owns a stake in the Uganda reserves, but it still hasn’t secured the financing it needs. Further north, Kenya’s explorers are under pressure to improve the project’s viability by finding more resources. “The Kenyan pipeline seemed economically viable when Ugandan oil was going to flow through it,” said Jacques Nel, an economist at NKC African Economics. With separate lines each carrying less oil than planned and global prices remaining weak, the economics “will continue to cast a shadow over the development of the sector,” he said. While Africa produces more than 8.4 million barrels of crude daily from major exporters like Libya and Algeria in the north and Nigeria and Angola in the west, eastern countries weren’t on the world oil map. That changed in 2006, when Tullow Oil Plc found what may be as much as 1.7 billion barrels of recoverable reserves in landlocked Uganda’s Lake Albert region.

2017 May, SweetcrudeReports

Oil

OPL 245: Mohammed Abacha, others lay claim to Malabu Oil …Sue govt, Shell, Agip

Oil workers at a drilling site OSCARLINE ONWUEMENYI, Abuja

he Federal Government, Agip Oil Company, Shell P e t r o l e u m Development Company and seven others have again been dragged before the Federal High Court in Abuja over the ways and manners the shares of Malabu Oil and Gas Limited were said to have been unlawfully transferred to unauthorised persons. The suit is the second one in a week on the ownership of the company. Plaintiffs in the suit are Malabu Oil, Mohammed Sani Abacha and Pecos Energy Limited. They are challenging how their shares were allocated without their authority. Others joined as defendants in the suit are the Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC, Kweku Amafegha, Munamuna Seidougha, Amaran Joseph, Attorney General of the Federation, Petroleum Minister and the Department of Petroleum Resources. Mohammed Abacha, who is the son of the late Head of State, Gen. Sanu Abacha, had earlier filed a suit seeking to reclaim the OPL 245, which the Federal Government was accused of reallocating to Shell and Agip without the consent of Malabu Oil and Gas Limited, where he is

the largest shareholder. In this new suit, the plaintiffs are praying for a declaration that Amafagha and Seidougha jointly hold 70 per cent shareholding in the equity of the 1st plaintiff. They also want a declaration that the duo have not divested themselves of their respective shares in the equity of Malabu Oil and continue to be

shareholders and Directors of the oil company. In addition they are praying for a declaration that all the resolutions passed by the purported directors of Malabu Oil and all alterations made to the Malabu Oil document in its original file at the CAC office, which affected and changed the shareholding structure of the oil company from 1998 to 2010

being unauthorised, are illegal, null, void and of no effect. They want a declaration that forms CAC 2 and 7 (Statement of Shares Capital and Return of Allotment of Shares) dated June 9, 2010 prepared and filed by one Ayo Ademola purporting to transfer Abacha’s 10,000,000 shares in the equity of Malabu Oil to one Seidougha Munamuna (2nd defendant), the 6,000,000

Algeria’s Sonatrach gets new CEO

onatrach, the Algerian state oil company, has sacked Chief Executive Officer Amine Mazouzi after less than two years in the job. He has been replaced by Abdelmoumen Ould Kadour, according to a statement from the Energy Ministry, which gave no reason for the change. Ould Kadour is an engineer who graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and headed U.S.-Algerian firm Brown & Root Condor in the 1990s. Energy Minister Noureddine Boutarfa called in a statement on Ould Kadour to "act with full responsibility and confidence to put in place the qualitative changes that allow Sonatrach to evolve and prosper in a calm business climate". A source close to the new CEO said

Sonatrach headquarters

Sonatrach's priorities would be reducing production costs and resolving pending arbitration cases in an amicable way to gain the confidence of foreign partners. Total said last year it had filed a request for arbitration against Algeria for changing profitsharing terms on oil and gas contracts in the mid-2000s, and that attempts to reach a mutual agreement had failed.

shares of one Kweku Amafagha (1st defendant) to Amaran Joseph (3rd defendant) and Hindu’s 4,000,000 shares to the same Amaran Joseph is illegal, null and void same having been prepared and filled are without the consent, knowledge and authority of the 2nd and 3rd plaintiffs. They further want a declaration that the resolution dated June 9, 2010 purporting to validate the three Shares Transfer Agreements of the same date purportedly transferring the shares of the 2nd plaintiff to Seidougha Munamuna (2nd defendant), the shares of Kweku Amafagha (1st defendant) and Hassan Hindu to Joseph Amaran (3rd defendant) are all null and void, not having been authorised by the 2nd and 3rd plaintiffs. Also, the plaintiffs want a declaration that the purported surrender of Malabu Oil’s title, right and interest in Oil Prospecting Licence 245 to the Federal Government of Nigeria under the Malabu Settlement Agreement dated April 29, 2011 whereby the oil company allegedly relinquished all claims to OPL 245 and agreed to all future actions, which the Federal Government of Nigeria may take with respect to OPL 245, is null and void, the said surrender having been carried out on behalf of the 1st plaintiff by persons who had no authority to so act.

Oil

2017 May, SweetcrudeReports

Oil

2017 May, SweetcrudeReports

Chevron Nigeria decries circulation of false recruitment information

hevron Nigeria Limited, CNL, operator of the NNPC/Chevron Nigeria Limited Joint Venture, has decried false recruitment information being circulated by unscrupulous persons or organisations in the name of CNL or “Chevron Oil and Gas” in several media and online channels, advertising job positions. A statement released by the General Manager, Policy, Government and Public Affairs, Esimaje Brikinn, disclosed that additionally, fraudulent job offers have reportedly been sent through emails, text messages and phone calls by individuals purporting to be staff or representatives of Chevron Nigeria Limited with the intent to defraud their victims. "Chevron Nigeria Limited hereby dissociates itself from such false job recruitment information, and offers of employment contracts published in any newspaper, web site, email, poster, handbill or any other medium. Chevron Nigeria Limited did not make or authorise any such publication," the statement read. Mr. Brikinn explained further: “Members of the general public are hereby notified that Chevron Nigeria Limited does not, and will not require applicants to make payment towards processing any job application. Recruitment advertisements requesting candidates to pay money, at any point during the recruitment process, are not from CNL.” The general manager also explained that Chevron Nigeria Limited does not solicit job applications or initiate recruitment processes through emails, posters, handbills, text messages, social media or phone calls. According to him, Chevron Nigeria Limited also does not have any affiliate company called “Chevron Oil and Gas” in

A Saipem-operated oil platform

Saipem marks 50 years of presence in Nigeria

s part of efforts to grow the e c o n o m y, Nigeria would need to build investors confidence and attract foreign investors into the country in order to develop key infrastructures that will drive the development of the country while focusing on boosting economic growth. Mr. Guido D’Aloisio, the Managing Director of Saipem Contracting Nigeria Limited, said this at the unveiling of the 50th years anniversary logo of the company, which kick-started a series of programme aimed at celebrating the company's continuous operation in Nigeria. He said that the company is one of the EPCI contractors in the oil and gas industry in Nigeria has been responsible for the development of some of the major infrastructure in the industry in the onshore

and shallow waters and deep offshore fields. Guido D’Aloisio disclosed that the company is working to improve capability and technology to attract the right investments from organizations with good track records and potentials to develop the economy. He explained that the company has become a leader in local content, adding that over 90 percent of its workforce are Nigerians, some of whom have spent over 25 years with the organisation: “we have Nigerians working here with us for over 25 years. For us, the Local Content Act is a continuation of what we were doing for many years.” According to the Saipem managing director, the company has built a strong presence and reputation in the oil and gas industry over the years, adding that investors are willing to do business with reliable and

competent organisations. “Today, we want to reflect not only on how far we have come with our values and mission but more importantly on Saipem’s future. The industry we compete in will continue to evolve just as it has over the years, with ground-breaking innovations and new ways of doing business. We are better positioned to lead these advances. We have the resources to solve tough problems, we have invested heavily in assets, innovations and we have the deepest commitment to development in the industry. Our facility in Rumuolumei Port Harcourt represents an example of this. With one million sqm yard, and a production capacity of 27,000 tons per annum, the yard still represents the largest and the most technologically advanced yard in West Africa.”

Nigeria. Brikinn advised job seekers to always c h e c k t h e c o m p a n y ’s w e b s i t e a t : http:/www.careers. Chevron.com and the national newspapers for job advertisements from Chevron Nigeria Limited. He also warned that Chevron Nigeria Limited will not respond to enquiries about fraudulent advertisements and job offers.

Nigeria releases new standards for imported petroleum products CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Directorate, Mr. Tersoo Orngudwem, on behalf of the Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria. "The approved reduction in the sulphur content of imported petroleum products is in line with standards accepted worldwide. “I am also to inform you that recently approved Nigerian Industrial Standards for Petroleum Products, in which the specification for sulphur was reviewed downwards in line with the world trend is as follows: NIS: 116:2017 Standard for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) - Sulphur Content - 150ppm (max); NIS: 949: 2017 - Standard for Diesel Fuel (AGO) - Sulphur content - 50ppm (max) and NIS: 949:2017 - Standard for Household Kerosene (HHK) Sulphur Content - 150ppm (max)," part of the letter read. In his reaction, the Executive Director, ANEEJ, David Ugolor, described the development as a major breakthrough for Nigeria and ANEEJ, considering the allied negative implications of having one of the highest sulphur content fuels imported into the West African subregion by unscrupulous importers.

Oil

2017 May, SweetcrudeReports

Nigerdock loads out sixth batch of Egina FPSO structures KUNLE KALEJAYE, Lagos

igerdock, an indigenous energy services company, has successfully fabricated and loaded out the sixth structures for Egina Floating Production, Storage and Offloading, FPSO, project. The sixth fabricated structures will sailed away today to Samsung Heavy Industries yard in South Korea to be integrated into the Egina FPSO vessel. Egina is a flagship project for Total, and it is above all a Nigerian project. The Egina oil field is located some 130kilometre off the coast of Nigeria at water depths of more than 1,500 metres. Speaking during the load out ceremony at the Snake Island Integrated Free Zone, SIIFZ, in Lagos, General Manager, Capacity Building Division, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, NCDMB, Engineer Ikpomosa Oviasu, who represented the Executive Secretary, NCDMB, Engr. Simbi Wabote, said the load out of the fabricated structure by Nigerdock has clearly demonstrated the competencies of Nigeriantrained workforce. He noted that the board has initiated steps to fast-track strategies to protect local capacity that has been developed by service operators through its proposed mediumterm plan that will require all stakeholders in the oil and gas industry to synergise on new projects to sustain jobs and capacity in facilities. Project Manager, Nigerdock Egina Project, Adebola Adesoye, said the Egina project is a success story because of the dedication, commitment and support of Nigerdock workforce. “Every single one of them right from the welders to the fitters, riggers, scaffolders, painters, to the marine team I could go on and on, they have contributed immensely to the success of this project. And on behalf of Nigerdock management, I will like to say a very big thank you,” he said. Director, Egina Project at Total, Jean Michael Guy, said: “The ceremony today is further proof that we are well on our way to delivering this

L-R: Project Manager, Nigerdock Egina Project, Adebola Adesoye; General Manager, Capacity Building Division, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engineer Ikpomosa Oviasu; Director, Total Egina Project, Jean Michael Guy; Group Corporate Affairs Director, Jagal, Joy Okebalama; Samsung Site Representative, Nigerdock Yard, Chinchai Chung; Manager, Nigeria Content Development, Nigerdock, Ifeanyi Chime and Egina Ventures Manager, National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), Abubakar Ahmed at the Nigerdock Egina loadout ceremony at the Snake Island Integrated Free Zone in Lagos.

important project to Nigeria and our partners. We also celebrate the re-branding of Nigerdock training centre where Egina FPSO human capacity development training have been trained and deployed to work on various aspect of the Egina FPSO fabrication. “For us in Total, our achievement is when we deliver our commitments despite prevailing challenges. What we are seeing today is that all of us together delivered our collective a s p i r a t i o n s a n d commitments. “Today we celebrate one of the major milestones of the project which is the six load out campaign from Nigerdock.” S a m s u n g S i t e Representative, Nigerdock Yard, Chinchai Chung said Nigerdock has displayed commitment, competence and safety during the period of fabrication. He noted that the Egina FPSO project has seven load out and sail away schedule, stressing that five was done in 2016. “This is the six sail away and we are almost done,” he said.

lso speaking at the l o a d o u t c e r e m o n y, Group Managing Director, Jagal Energy, Chris Bennett,

commended the management and staff of Nigerdock for their contributions towards the accomplished Project. He said the timely delivery of the fabricated structures for Egina FPSO was another significant achievement and

boost to the local content initiative in Nigeria. “Nigerdock remains the foremost local content champion, committed to the vision of building the country’s local capacity and delivering value to the economy. Our

capacity and capabilities have been reaffirmed through the success of Egina FPSO Project. It gives our clients and the government a measure of confidence, trust and reassurance that Nigerdock, can operate with global best practice. “We continuously set the highest standards. That's why we have recorded a series of f i r s t s i n t h e industry.Remarkably, these projects were executed in Nigeria without any LTI (Lost Time injury) which compares with the best in class in Europe and America,” he explained. Nigerdock has delivered a significant tonnage of the Egina Project which includes the Riser Porch, Flare Tower, Helideck Structure, Protection Structure, Access Tower, Crew Boat Berthing Structure, Crane Pedestal, Telecom Mast, Living Quarter Blocks, Laydown Area Blocks, Muster Station, Work Boat Structure, and Vertical Caissons, among others, with a combined weight of 7,336 tonnes. These were loaded out in p h a s e s a t N i g e r d o c k ’s industry facility at the Snake Island in Lagos.

Shell to sell Gabon onshore assets for $587m

oyal Dutch Shell Plc has reached an agreement with Assala Energy Holdings Ltd to sell 100 percent of its Gabon onshore interests for $587

million. As a result of the sale, which is subject to certain conditions and various approvals, around 430 local Shell employees will become part of Assala Energy. Assala will also assume debt of $285 million as part of the transaction and will make additional payments up to a maximum of $150 million, depending on production performance and commodity prices. The transaction consists of all of Shell’s onshore oil and gas operations and related infrastructure in Gabon. This includes five operated fields Rabi, Toucan/Robin, Gamba/Ivinga, Koula/Damier, and Bende/M’Bassou/Totou), a participation interest in four nonoperated fields - Atora, Avocette/M’Boukou, Coucal, and Tsiengui West), the associated infrastructure of the onshore pipeline system from Rabi to Gamba, and the Gamba Southern export terminal.

Oil rig

Oil

2017 May, SweetcrudeReports

Oil rig

15 years after, Nigeria–Sao Tome JDZ remains unproductive OSCARLINE ONWUEMENYI, Abuja

he commercial viability of over 500 million barrels of crude oil reserves stranded in the Nigeria–São Tomé and Príncipe Joint Development Zone, JDZ, remains uncertain, as the region is yet to produce its first oil 15 years after discovery. This is because big explorers that once jostled for drilling rights in the Zone have backed off after a slew of dry wells, raising questions on how commercially viable the whole arrangement is. The Joint Development Zone is an area in the region of the Nigeria – São Tomé and Príncipe boundary that is speculated to be rich in oil and gas reserves. Because neither country could have explored the resources in the zone without interfering with the maritime territory of the other, the two agreed in a treaty to create a Joint Development Authority, located in Abuja that would assist both countries in benefitting from the economic potential of the zone.

Over the years, the venture has proved to be a drainpipe, as it is said to be running a hefty yearly budget of $12 million. Already, a United States-based firm, ERHC Energy Inc., which has an interest in blocks 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 9, has invested over $500 million into exploration activities without significant result. T h e S ã o To m é a n d Príncipe’s 2014 Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, EITI, report released recently, showed that since the JDZ was established, 43 percent of all revenue from the zone had been spent on the Joint Development Agreement’s operating costs. For instance, EITI said over $129 million out of the $302.6 million revenues generated from signature bonuses, sales of seismic data, licences, transfer fees and others, were used to settle JDA operating expenses. The oil majors, which withdrew from the Zone, include Total, which pulled out from Block 1 in August 2013, which was also previously abandoned by Chevron in 2010. However,

When you ask about what is delaying production, the answer is simple – there has been no commercial discovery yet. Without a commercial discovery, there can be no production after drilling two new wells in 2013, another oil company announced in July same year that the find was too limited to justify further investment. Additionally, Sinopec and Addax were said to have also walked away from Blocks 2 and 4 for the same reasons. A source in one of the IOCs, who preferred anonymity, said: “If the IOCs pulled out of the deal, it means, the JDZ has no commercial value.” But giving an update on its activities in the zone, United States-based ERHC Energy Inc., which has working interests in six blocks in the JDZ – Blocks 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 9 - said it has drilled a number of wells, which did not yield

desired results. President/Chief Executive Officer, ERHC Energy, Peter Ntephe, in an email response, said the company last drilled some wells in the Zone about seven years ago. According to him, “from August 2009 to January 2010, ERHC and its partners drilled five exploration wells – one well in Block 2, one Block 3, and three wells in Block 4. These were the first wells ever drilled in these blocks. “Biogenic methane gas was discovered in at least three of the wells but not in sufficient quantities to be declared c o m m e r c i a l . Wi t h o u t a commercial discovery, there

can be no appraisal, field development and then production. Further exploration wells will, therefore, have to be drilled in those blocks to see if oil and gas in commercial quantities can be discovered,” he added. Ntephe noted that ERHC had to rein in on its activities, as drilling in such areas is expensive, saying: “Exploration wells in deep offshore provinces such as the JDZ are expensive and costs over $100 million each. There are also significant additional costs to the associated studies and work that goes into preparation for a well. The total cost of the drilling campaign by ERHC and its partners, as narrated above, was over half a billion dollars. “When you ask therefore about what is delaying production, the answer is simple – there has been no commercial discovery yet. As noted, without a commercial discovery, there can be no production.” On the way forward, the EITI report recommended reviewing the legal, contractual and fiscal frameworks applicable to the oil sector in the JDZ.

2017 May, SweetcrudeReports

Oil

2017 May, SweetcrudeReports

Shell says made in Nigeria products utilised for Bonga TAM

Bonga FPSO KUNLE KALEJAYE

ive weeks after Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production C o m p a n y, SNEPCo, shut down its Bonga deep water field for routine turnaround maintenance, TAM, the company says made in Nigeria products were being utilised in the exercise. The TAM on the Bonga Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessel, which commenced on March 4, involves three major components – statutory and regulatory safety checks; inspections, repairs and replacement of equipment, and upgrades – to ensure safety, optimum production, availability and reliability. The maintenance is also being carried out as part of the base case design of the FPSO to carry out TAM every 30 months. SNEPCo’ s Managing Director, Mr Bayo Ojulari, disclosed in a video conference with journalist in Lagos that nearly all the bolts and nuts as well as fabrications used for the exercise are made in Nigeria, marking a turning point in the company’s efforts to encourage Nigerian content development. “This is an operation safely

in Nigerian hands, with Nigerian engineers and companies playing leading roles and ensuring the objectives of the exercise are achieved,” Ojulari said, adding: “The plan is to successfully conclude the ramp of activities and resume production as planned in April, 2017" According to him, "It is not proper to interpret the period as production loss to Nigeria. Rather, the turnaround maintenance is a series of planned and controlled activities that are implemented in collaboration with government and other stakeholders – with the aim of ensuring the continued safety and productivity of the facility. "The planning started two years ago and safety is top priority in every stage of the activities.” The current maintenance work is the fourth since Bonga began production in 2005 as Nigeria’s first deep water development in depths of more than 1,000 metres. The facility, which won the ‘Asset of the Year’ Award 2016 in the Shell Group, is located 120 kilometres offshore Nigeria. SNEPCo operates Bonga in partnership with Esso Exploration and Production N i g e r i a ( D e e p Wa t e r )

Limited, Total E&P Nigeria Limited and Nigerian Agip Exploration Limited under a Production Sharing Contract with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC.

Opuama-7: Eland commences work -over in first half of 2017 Eland Oil and Gas Plc says it will commence work-over and side-track of the Opuama-7 well before the end of the first half of this year. The company also said it has produced over 330,000 barrels of crude oil from only one well in Oil Mining Lease, OML, 40 since the beginning of the year. It said OML 40, through the Opuama-3 well, has produced 330,000 barrels since production restarted in January after production was temporarily halted to allow maintenance on the floating production, storage and offloading vessel. Commenting on the development, Chief Executive Officer, Eland Oil, said: “The achievement of getting 120 metres ocean going oil tankers to run a continuous cycle through the Nigerian river system should not be underestimated and whilst we will continue to implement operational efficiency we could not be more delighted and excited with the way it has begun. “The success of establishing an alternative export route has considerably de-risked our crude monetisation and has ensured that we will never again have lengthy production downtime that resulted from a single route to market. “2017 brings huge opportunity for us to significantly increase production, capitalising

on our earlier success from the re-entry programmes, prior to new drilling opportunities."? The company explained that the well has been choked back so the reservoir can be optimised, with output averaging around 8,000 barrels each day. It added that since the restart, 160,000 barrels of crude oil had been delivered to the export terminal and a further 160,000 barrels is expected to be injected imminently.? It said: "The company has monetised 154,173 barrels of crude at an average price of U$52.14 per barrel, with cash receipts of over $8.0 million. The company expects to monetise the next 160,000 barrels in the coming weeks." The company explained that during the downtime of the FPSO, Eland reviewed its shipping operations, while it added that modifications of the mooring system had since been implemented to cater for the tides and increased volumes being delivered to the storage tanker. "The company expects to resume production by the end of next week. Water handling at Opuama field will commence in April through the installation of a three-phase separator, allowing the commencement of production from well Opuama-1. Production is expected to be about 11,500 barrels per day from Opuama1 and Opuama-3 following the resumption of production and optimising," Eland added.

Focus

2017 May, SweetcrudeReports

NIGERIAN CONTENT:

Attempt to develop robust local supply chain â&#x20AC;&#x201C;Simbi Wabote

r. Simbi Kesiye Wabote is the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, NCDMB, whose former roles include that of General Manager, Business and Governmnet Relations, Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria: Local Content Manager, Shell C&P Global and General Manager, Nigerian Content Development at same company. In this interview with Hector Igbikiowubo, the editor-in-chief of SweetcrudeReports, he speaks on six years of the Nigerian Content Act, the seeming disconnect between government aspirations and those of the IOCs, the utilsation of the Nigerian Content Fund, the NoGaps initiative, among other issues. Excerpts: Since the creation of the Board via the Act there's been

committee to develop the compliance manual for the

between the management of

NOGICD Act with the active

the Board and the IOCs

involvement of the IOCs.

regarding the alignment of Nigerian

Content

development and compliance by the IOC. Thankfully, you've worked with Shell, an IOC with the most extensive carbon footprint in Nigeria, for over 25 years. How do you propose to align government aspirations for NCD with that of the IOCs?

The IOCs fully understand

robust local supply chain that can meet the immediate and future needs of the Operators. In the long run local content improves the returns on investment for the Operators and creates tranquil operating Seven years into the Act most of

there is no alignment between IOCs

and

Government

(represented by NCDMB) in observing Nigerian content. While in Shell I was personally

the IOCs would attest to the fact that it has helped them in more ways than pre- Act. The policy development framework of NCDMB also involves stakeholder input

involved in the conceptualisation

including the IOCs. I recall that

and framing of the NOGICD Act.

when NCDMB introduced

When NCDMB was created the

Equipment

Component

The Fund utilisation has 2 pillars - the commercial intervention which is 70% component of the Fund and development intervention which Your question relates to the

nationalisation of the oil sector but an attempt to develop a

been deployed for big ticket projects. What is the board doing to revive interest in the fund and guarantee loans to local oil and gas services companies?

is 30% of the Fund

that Nigerian content is not a

environment.

I do not share the view that

The IOCs fully understand that Nigerian content is not a nationalisation of the oil sector but an attempt to develop a robust local supply chain that can meet the immediate and future needs of the operators

Executive Secretary set up a

the semblance of disconnect

government aspirations for

Engr. Simbi Wabote

Manufacturing Initiative to

Initiatives;

promote local assembly of

3. Collaboration in the area of

equipment, manufacture of

funding support to local supply

spares and accessories Shell

chain- leveraging IOCs funding

embraced the programme and

programme to complement

came up with its own variant of

NCDF;

the policy by supporting 5 OEMs

Involvement of the IOCs in

to set up in a space provided by

shaping the 10 year strategic

Shell in Port Harcourt.

plan of the Board.

A collaboration framework

commercial intervention where I must confess only 3 companies have benefitted. The

developmental

intervention is what we use in the Board for intervention programmes

such

establishment of the Nigerian Oil and Gas industry content joint qualification system (

that is working has been

I have already undertaken

NOGICJQS) platform, The

developed before my assumption

courtesy visits to some IOCs

Nigerian Oil and Gas Park

into office and I intend to

since my assumption all in a bid

(NOGaPS), Pipemill scheme,

sharpen such collaboration

to foster closer collaboration to

Human Capacity Building (

especially to achieve alignment

achieve Government's aspiration

HCD) programmes etc.

in the following areas:

for local content development.

Common contracting

procedure; 2.

Joint implementation of

Capacity

Development

Recently, you announced that the Nigerian Content Development Fund has hit $600m. This fund has been largely idle since it hasn't

The TSA has helped us to mop up all funds that were hitherto in 5 commercial into NCDF account in CBN, so now we have clear sight on our inflows. We have CONTINUES ON PAGE 21

Oil

2017 May, SweetcrudeReports

Focus

2017 May, SweetcrudeReports

CONTINUES FROM PAGE 19

DeltaAfrik and IESL.

also announced to the industry

o Major fabrication of production

that all 1% remittances must be

platforms including SONAM

paid into the NCDF account in

associated gas processing facility.

CBN only. Ongoing collaboration with

o The development of Valve

Bank of industry will provide

assembly plans across the

direct on lending to service

country, subsea assembly plants

companies which is an

by FMC/GE in Onne in Rivers

improvement to what existed in

State

the past.

o Pipe coating capabilities

Under the community content

ranging from 3 to 7 layer

strategy we are also working on community

polyethylene pipes coating; wide

content

range of pipe diameters.

development fund to support our community entrepreneurs in

o The fabrication of Top side

line with the philosophy of the

modules for the Egina FPSO and

Petroleum Industry Roadmap

the integration of the FPSO in

launched by Mr President.

Lagos Nigeria by Samsung, this

We have engaged consultants

is the first in Africa and has also

to take a look at the operating

created more than 1000 direct

model of Nigerian Content

jobs and 30000 indirect jobs

Intervention Fund (NCIF),

across the country and the

developed to enhance access to

retention of substantial part of

NCDF by divergent service

the project development cost in

companies who are contributing

country

to the Fund. I can therefore assure you all

o The development of Large and

that we will soon launch the

medium size world class

revised NCDF operating model

fabrication facilities across the

and the industry will see more

country in Port Harcourt, Lagos

traction in term of access to

and

NCDF by Q3 2017.

Warri.

(Intels-

Onne,`Nestoil,

Av e o n ,

Dormanlong, Nigerdock, Ladol Apart from concerns over

etc)

access to the NCDF, there is also

o The development of the most

concern that the NCDF has failed to fulfill the single digit

advance offshore logistics base in

Wabote

interest rate funding aspiration

the whole of Africa at Onne in

for industry projects. Does your administration plan to address these concerns? I would like to disagree that the fund failed to achieve single digit interest. All the 3 companies that have thus far

Rivers State Nigeria

Attempt to develop robust local supply chain â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Wabote

Other gains: o International Oil Companies have embraced Nigerian content as a philosophy in their project execution strategy.

accessed the Fund did at a single

digit because we are providing 50% interest rebate.

The institutional framework for

With competiveness as our

implementing provisions of the

driving force the NCIF, the

Act has been established with the

community

content

creation of NCDMB as a

development fund all have

regulator and various processes

single digit interest as the

and guidelines put in place by the

differentiator.

Board to drive implementation.

All the three companies that have thus far accessed the Fund did at a single digit because we are providing 50% interest rebate

Multinationals

and

international service companies believe

the

law

demonstrated by the massive inflow of investment capital- e.g. General Electric is currently establishing a $ 1 billion multipurpose facility in Calabar to carry out major value adding

However, obligors have a

The institutional requirement

responsibility to follow all the

for development of medium term

laid down rules in order to

strategic plan has also been

spares and components of

observed over the years.

equipment

benefit from accessing the fund. For instance, if you are not

Key achievements include;

activities such as manufacturing

commissioned and capabilities

expansion and Yulong pipemill

have been developed

in Lekki.

contributing your 1% you should

Asset ownership - Growth in marine vessel ownership from

o Manufacture and export of

oEngineering

would be treated over those that

less than 10% in 2011 to 38% in

protective coating paints used on

Companies have embraced the

have shown commitment, it may

2016

the NLNG tankers, Egina FPSO

concept of alliance partnership

Human capital development 78 trained in geosciences, 400

What is the level of

trained in Oil spill management,

achievement recorded by

15 trained in underwater

the Board on the five year

welding etc.

strategic plan it announced a couple of years ago?

facilities

have

been

maintenance & services of

Design

On my assumption to office I mandated that we take a holistic review of what has been achieved

and other oil and gas facilities.

to optimize capacities and

to date in terms of gains and

o Manufacture of bolts and nuts,

deliver major projects.

challenges. We were to also

flanges, machine blocks etc.

Million

o Manufacture of line pipes

Manufacturing - Several

major

rotating equipment.

not expect that your application

even not be approved at all.

and

increased from 100,000 to 670, 000 MT/annum from SCC

Eg 1.1

Man-hours

develop a 5 year strategic plan for

engineering was achieved on

the Board to chart our strategic

Egina project through alliance

intervention programmes going

formation between NETCO,

forward. However the HMSPR CONTINUES ON PAGE 22

Focus

2017 May, SweetcrudeReports

CONTINUES PAGE 21 directed that FROM we extend the

Attempt to develop robust local supply chain â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Wabote

horizon to 10 years. KPMG is already on board to develop our 10 year roadmap. Stakeholders will be actively involved in this enterprise to get their buy in and smoothen implementation. What about the proposed oil and gas park (NOGaPS) initiative? What is the Board doing to achieve this initiative?

Certificate within 100 days.

The initiative is still very much

Given the success recorded in

on course and we hope to launch

marine vessel categorization we

the first park by the turn of 2019.

are

also

expanding

Activities are currently in full

categorization scheme to include

swing, we have acquired land in

fabrication yards, engineering

Bayelsa, Imo and Cross River for

houses etc.

which EIA is ongoing. Land

Our ICT capabilities are being

clearing has also been concluded.

enhanced so that we can be

Each of the locations is close to

better positioned to do more of

gas corridor and water front to

automated

business

ease access to cheap energy and

processes than manual

reduce logistic cost. These

processing of documents.

factors

will

enhance

competitiveness of OEMs that

This will further enhance

Wabote

efficiency in contracting

set up in the parks.

cycle and overall compliance

We r e c e n t l y a d d e d n e w locations in Akwa Ibom and Delta to expand the benefits of the parks which include about 20000 jobs to be created in each location, linking community entrepreneurs to oil and gas

On HCDI, we have been training Nigerians directly and also approving project-based training to close skill gaps in the industry

monitoring oversight. There was this recent collaboration between the Board and the NIMASA regarding compliance and implementation of the Cabotage Act. Please can

supply chain and reducing start-

you throw more light on the

up cost for investors.

nature of this collaboration?

We are currently in the process of awarding contract for sand

no investment inflow has been

common knowledge that

That collaboration is a typical

made.

landmarks can only be recorded

example of interagency synergy

where you'll like to see improvement? From my assessment during the tours, the state of the industry has recorded significant growth. Nigerian service providers and multinationals have enormous confidence in the current leadership headed by President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR. This explains why I am able to commission 1 project per month since I fully assumed office in November 2016. From Solewant pipecoating plant, K Global fire resistant coverall plant, Yulong HSAW pipemill, Coleman cable plant expansion, Synergy trend international oil dispersant plant etc I see hope that Nigerian content is indeed the instrument for industrialization of the Nigerian economy. However more can be achieved and we are committed to working with industry to establish other high end facilities such as pumps assembly, heat exchangers, shipyards and a host of other value adding facilities.

Our strategy to move the

via sustained projects award to

to achieve the common good of

project forward is to expand the

local FEED contractors and

economic development.

What is the state of the

search for serious investors that

fabrication yards. Perhaps this is

Polaku Pipe mill Project and

will provide needed funding and

the reason why you talked about

NIMASA the responsibility to

the

technology for the development

streamlining the projects award

develop local capacity for

Short term is for me to win the

and operation of the Pipemill.

cycle in-country. What exactly

shipbuilding while section 105 of

minds of my staff on the side of

have you been able to put in place

the NOGICD Act mandates the

public service value creation

Board to collaborate with

where each staff embrace high

filling and fencing.

human

capital

development programmes of The NCDMB?

On HCDI, we have been

The Polaku Pipemill scheme

training Nigerians directly and

in this regard?

evolved after an industry study

also approving project based

You have to understand that

that showed a supply gap of

training to close skill gaps in the

about 1 Million Metric tons,

Cabotage Act confers on

Basically, what are your short, medium and long-term developmental plans for the board and the industry?

NIMASA in enforcing sections of

p r o d u c t i v i t y, p a t r i o t i s m ,

other sister agencies are also

the Cabotage Act that relates to

professionalism, integrity,

industry. Our intervention has

involved in contract award cycle.

Nigerian content development.

given that only one pipemill

been in geosciences, oil spill

However, on our part we have

Our collaboration therefore

(SCC) existed in Nigeria when

management, underwater

adopted a 15 days' time cap

seeks to operationalize these

the study was conducted in 2012

welding, machinist training,

within which if a project

provisions with the ultimate

entrepreneurial development

promoter does not get a response

objective of achieving the

galvanize the industry into

training etc.

from us on a request for approval

following:

adopting and owning the 10 year

The Board then set a medium term target to promote establishment of at least four

Other initiatives include the

such operator can consider their

pipemills needed to close the

domiciliation of innovations

request as approved. This may be

gap. NCDMB conceived the

through the establishment of

ambitious but we are going to be

Polaku Pipemill project to

R&D Centres of Excellence and

professional about it and see it

demonstrate the viability of a

establishment of training

through. However, we would

o Stimulate investment in ship yards o Increase ownership of vessels by Nigerians

creativity and team spirit. These core values mean a lot in our change agenda. Medium term is for me to

road map that I am championing on behalf of the industry, to take local content practice to the next level. I am also committed to youth empowerment through the

centers of excellence for career

expect that such project

3 party investors to set up their

development

covering

promoters submit complete

o Train Nigerian cadets

own mill.

instrumentation & control,

documents otherwise the rule

o Encourage vessel owners to

empowerment. Long term is to

subsea engineering, HSE,

does not apply.

leave my footprints as a major

oil and gas operations with

contributor

NIMASA

development through completion

Recently, you toured some of Nigeria's leading oil and gas services companies and expressed some level of satisfaction with their services and facilities. Are there areas

of five oil and gas parks, seeing

Pipemill and also to encourage rd

10 Ha land has been acquired, land stabilisation has reached

Project Management and

55% completion and road access

Geosciences

Through our deliberate internal process re-engineering we can confidently start and

is ongoing. EIA is at final stage of Whereas Nigerian Content

complete contracting process

Our biggest challenge is the

aspirations can be pursued by

from approval of Nigerian

investors. We have had to deal

the Board via monitoring of

Content Plan to the sign off of

maintenance contracts, it is

Nigerian Content Compliance

approval.

with 2 investor groups so far yet

60:20:20 HCD frame work where we train people for life-long

national

four pipemills operating in Nigeria, seeing NCDMB, PTDF and PTI working collaboratively to close skills gaps.

2017 May, SweetcrudeReports

Gas

2017 May, SweetcrudeReports

NLNG vessel

NLNG positioned to grow into global shipping leader - Capt Okesanjo

he Nigeria LNG L i m i t e d , N L N G ' s , s h i p p i n g operation is relying on the strategic deployment of skills and technology to power its transformation into a global maritime industry leader, according to Captain Temilola Okesanjo, the company’s General Manager Shipping. He made the assertion while delivering a paper titled, "NLNG - Global player in the Chartering Market" in Lagos at the Multimodal (Logistics) West Africa Conference, the largest transport and logistics exhibition in West Africa. According to Okesanjo, Nigeria LNG Limited has since commencement of operations in 1999, chartered-in 45 vessels including LNG, liquefied petroleum gas, LPG, and condensate carriers - for shipment of its products to buyers across the globe and chartered-out five of its vessels to other operators in the market. “NLNG currently operates

the largest fleet of LNG carriers in the country and has within its operations portfolio, a total of 23 vessels, three different ship owners and four fleet managers, making the company a formidable player in the chartering market, even as it continues to deploy skilled manpower and cutting edge technology for sustainable growth,” he said. Okesanjo referenced how NLNG’s shipping operations have had to adapt quickly and cost-effectively to a progressively more challenging and competitive global maritime market, especially in the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear incident in Japan in 2011. “One of the primary impacts of Fukushima was the need for cargo diversions, sometimes away from traditional routes and an increase of voyage distances to discharge ports in the Far and Middle East as well as adjustments to operating capacity requirements as a whole. All this in our endeavour to find profitable takers for the 22 million tonnes per annum

capacity of our six-train production plant at Bonny (Island in Nigeria),” he said, He added: “Today, the shipping aspect of our business is being positioned for emerging market opportunities through a revamped chartering structure designed to optimise available shipping capacity. “The evolving market conditions demand flexible shipping portfolios as conventional shipping structures are being challenged. “With eleven buyers on 16 contracts to base destinations in Europe and North America, including Spain, France, Portugal, USA, the company has realised considerable revenue from opportunistic diversions and sub-charters”. According to Okesanjo, NLNG’s operational modality involves the provision of adequate shipping capacity to lift contractual volumes from NLNG terminal at Bonny in Rivers State, f a c i l i t a t i n g t h e implementation of diversion requests to longer distances

being proposed by buyers, and enabling the sub-charter of surplus capacity when applicable to ensure full utilisation of capacity and competitiveness.

Aiteo expects OML29 gas to transform N'Delta into power generation hub

ntegrated energy group Aiteo says its significant gas resources at Oil Mining Lease, OML, 29 will transform Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta region into a power generation hub. The company, which is developing a gas pipeline for power generation projects across Nigeria, disclosed this as it recounted its achievement with the OML 29 asset. The company’s main subsidiary, Aiteo Eastern E&P, is a major infrastructure provider for Nigeria’s oil industry as the operator of the 97-kilometre Nembe Creek trunk line, an industry-wide evacuation pipeline for produced fluids covering much of the country’s Eastern Delta region. Aiteo acquired OML 29 in September 2015 when oil major Shell Petroleum Development Company exited the facility. Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the company, Benedict Peters, said the company upon takeover of OPL 29 grew production from 23,000 to a peak of 90,000 barrels per day, bd, in one year. He said existing and developing projects could potentially grow Aiteo’s asset production to over 150,000b/d of crude oil and 200 million standard cubic feet per day, mmscf/d, of gas.

Gas

2017 May, SweetcrudeReports

Nigeria: Level of gas flaring drops to 10% - NNPC

Gas flaring KUNLE KALEJAYE Lagos

he level of gas flaring in Nigeria has dropped to 10 p e r c e n t , according to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC. The drop came in the last 10 years, during which the level of flaring moved by 26 percent from the 36 percent level as at 2006. With the development, Nigeria also moved from number two to the number 6 position in the global gas flaring chart. It is an indication that the country was making progress towards extinguishing routine gas flaring in its oil fields even though experts claim the movement was rather slow. Explaining the gas flare reduction trend in Abuja, NNPC Chief Operating Officer, COO, Upstream, Mallam Bello Rabiu, noted that as at 2006 Nigeria was flaring 2.5 billion standard cubic feet, scf, of gas, while consuming only 300mscf of gas per day. Rabiu, who stated that technology had helped the industry record a drastic flare down, said the drastic reduction in flares was also achieved through aggressive gas commercialisation anchored on the Federal Government's Gas Master Plan. “The Gas Master Plan was

geared towards addressing four key critical issues of gas availability, infrastructure, commercialisation framework and gas affordability,” he said. He explained that though the implementation of the plan was driven by NNPC, it was sponsored by all the oil and gas companies operating in the country and that it has helped in addressing some of the issues that were confronting the gas sector. The COO stated that in order to ensure gas affordability, the

The COO stated that in order to ensure gas affordability, the plan stipulates a lower price for gas to the power sector which is the most important segment while other sectors of industries and manufacturing get gas at a commercial rate

NLNG capital investment appreciates to $881m

igeria Liquefied Natural Gas, NLNG's, capital investment appreciated slightly by 1.98 per cent to $881.84 million from $864.76 million in 2016. The NLNG, in its unaudited financial statement for the year ended, December 31, 2016, also reported significant decline in its earnings for 2016, as its revenue dipped by 30.98 percent from $6.84 billion recorded in 2015 to $4.72 billion in 2016. The drop in revenue negatively affected its dividends payout, as it paid $737.086 million in dividends to its shareholders — the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC; Shell, Total and Eni — in 2016. The amount paid as dividends in 2016 represented a 65.89 percent decline when compared to total dividends of $2.161 billion paid to shareholders in 2015. In addition, the report pointed out that $717.72 million was expended by the NLNG to purchase gas from the NNPC in 2016, compared to $1.18 billion in the previous year, while

$593.16 million worth of gas was LNG terminal purchased by the NLN G from Shell, Total, Agip and Conoco Philip in 2016, compared to $961.97 million in 2015. The NLNG, according to the report, also paid local contractors $565.64 million for goods and services, dropping by 7.4 percent from $610.82 million paid out to local contractors in 2015. To this end, the report stated that the NLNG had from 1999 to December 31, 2016, recorded total revenue of $95.09 billion; total capital investment of $16.57 billion; total dividends paid to the NNPC stood at $15.7 billion; while Shell, Total and Eni received $16.45 billion as total dividends in the 18-year period. Also, NLNG’s total gas purchases from the NNPC from 1999 to 2016 stood at $12.588 billion; gas purchases from Shell, Total, Agip and Conoco Philip stood at $10.29 billion over the same period.

plan stipulates a lower price for gas to the power sector which is the most important segment while other sectors of industries and manufacturing get gas at a commercial rate. This measure, according to him, was to ensure that gas producers get value for the gas they produce for sale. On other actions to end gas flaring in the country, Mallam Rabiu said government had designed a National Gas Policy, which seeks, among others, to end gas flaring by 2020. He explained that the National Gas Policy had been circulated to all industry operators to guide them on the direction of the Federal Government with regard to how it wants the nation’s abundant gas resources deployed. He said the policy document was being studied by all stakeholders in order to put them on the same page with the government. The COO also informed that the Federal Government provided a guarantee of payment to gas suppliers through the Central Bank of Nigeria and the World Bank three weeks ago as part of incentives to get the oil and gas companies to commercialise more of their gas. “This is a very important step that the NNPC has been working on since 2008”, he enthused.

Gas

2017 May, SweetcrudeReports

NLNG plant on Bonny Island

NLNG trains 1-3 out of contract from 2022

ome of Nigeria LNG Limited's existing gas contracts will expire by 2022 at which time buyers of the liquefied Natural Gas, LNG, from Nigeria would no longer take deliveries of the product. Specifically, trains 1, 2 and 3 of the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas, NLNG, plant on Bonny Island, Rivers State, which commenced operation in 1999, would be out of contract in five years time. This has, consequently, prompted fresh efforts by the company to seek new buyers for the trains 1-3 products across the world to replace some of the existing customers whose contracts will expire by 2022. The contracts that will expire by 2022 take gas supplies from Trains 1, 2 and 3, which collectively produce nine million tonnes of LNG a year. The Bonny Island plant of NLNG has six trains – 1, 2,3,4,5 and 6 – producing a total of 22 million tonnes per year. Reuters quoted a senior official of the company as saying late on Wednesday at

“There are some who are guaranteed to buy,” the official said, though he provided no further details. Trains are units that freeze natural gas into liquid form for export on ships.

the Gastech trade conference in Chiba outside Tokyo, Japan that initial responses from buyers have been positive. “Trains 1-3 are coming back to the market as they are out of contract by 2022. We started to remarket today,” he said. “There are some who are guaranteed to buy,” the official said, though he provided no further details.? Trains are units that freeze natural gas into liquid form for export on ships.

Trains 1 and 2, which are referred to as its base projects were financed by its shareholders with $3.6 billion, while Train 3 referred to as expansion project was financed with $1.8 billion. The company has a six-train complex of 22 metric tonnes per annum, mtpa, LNG nameplate production capacity, and 5mtpa Natural Gas Liquids, NGLs, production capacity, and has delivered over 3,000 cargoes of LNG to customers across the world.

ONGC sees gas output hitting 5-year high in fiscal 2018

ndia's Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, ONGC, expects its natural gas production to reach a five-year high in the current fiscal year following the start-up in coming weeks of a long-delayed project in the Arabian Sea, two senior company executives said. State-owned ONGC, which accounts for about two-thirds of India's total natural gas production, is likely to produce close to 25 billion cubic metres, bcm, of gas in fiscal 2018, the executives told Reuters. The forecast compares with 23.5 bcm in

the fiscal year to end March 2017, one of the executives said, representing expected growth of about six percent. The two asked not to be named as the figures have not been released by the company. Higher output from India's top producer would help the country meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi's target of reducing hydrocarbon imports by 10 percent by 2022. India currently imports 70-75 percent of its energy needs. While gas makes up only 8 percent of the total

energy consumed, almost 40 percent of it is imported. India prices its gas almost 60 percent below imported natural gas, so more cheap domestic gas could also bring down the cost of running stranded power plants and ailing steel mills that account for the biggest chunk of India's soured loans. "The Daman project is back on track ... The gas from the phase I of Daman will be out by April end or the first week of May," O N G C ' s D i r e c t o r, O f f s h o r e , T K Sengupta, told media.

Power

2017 May, SweetcrudeReports

NNPC goes into power generation, to contribute 4,000mw to national grid ...Seeks $15bn to build power plants

NNPC Towers, Abuja; and power generation plant CHUKS ISIWU, Lagos

he Nigerian N a t i o n a l P e t r o l e u m Corporation has announced plans to go into power generation, saying its effort would go to boost power supply to the national grid. NNPC said it will spend about $15 billion to build gas-based independent power plants, which will, over the next 10 years, generate 4,000 megawatts, mw, of power. According to the corporation, three of the power plants with a combined output of 3,100mw would be built in Abuja, Kaduna and Kano, along the route of the Nigerian Gas Company, NGC's, AbujaKaduna-Kano gas pipeline now under construction and which will supply the plants with gas. Chief Operating Officer, Gas a n d P o w e r, M r S a i d u Mohammed, disclosed the plan, according to a statement rom the NNPC. The statement quoted Mohammed as saying: “Power generation is a big business. As at today, NNPC has interests in two power plants, one in Okpai, Delta State and the other in Afam, Rivers State.

“Both were built by joint ventures with Nigerian Agip Oil Company and Shell Petroleum Development Company. “These two power plants collectively generate up to 1,000 megawatts and they are the most reliable and cheapest source of power to the national grid in Nigeria today.” As part of plans to attain the targeted 4,000 megawatts, Mohammed said NNPC, working with joint venture companies, international power companies and Nigerian investors, will construct Okpai phase 2 as well as Obite and Agura power plants. He said the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas, NLNG, business model would be adopted in the building and operations of the power plants. “The partnership will involve players who will bring in their various capacities as operators, builders of power plants and as investors. “NNPC will also bring its strength of being a dominant player in the Nigerian gas value chain.”? He maintained that the corporation as a stakeholder in the gas value chain, has developed the capabilities in processing, transporting and marketing of

gas for export and domestic utilisation and the nation’s gas resources have the potential of changing the economy for the better. NNPC, according to him, would require about $15 billion to realise its ambition with the power plants. Discussions are currently on with investors worldwide towards achieving the plan, he said.

On the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano gas pipeline, Mohammed said that work was progressing as planned and that “the main base-loads to justify such infrastructure are power plants that would consume the gas and for that, we are planning to build about 2,000 to 3,100MW combined in these three cities.” “If you generate enough power, the multiplier effect will

revive most of the moribund industries across the country. “NNPC intends to capture 50 per cent of the gas market in Nigeria by growing the Nigerian Gas Marketing Company (NGMC) from the 500 million standard cubic feet/day of gas that it is doing today to about 3 to 4 billion standard cubic feet/day in the next 10 years,” he explained.

Govt votes N2.3bn for rural electrification, approves power recovery programme

he Nigerian government has approved the Power Sector Recovery Programme, PSRP, to enhance electricity supply to consumers across the country. The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, said the PSRP would also assist in processing debts owed by Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs, and how to improve sector governance. Meanwhile, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Louis

Edozien, said the Federal Government has concluded plans to launch more than N2.3 billion rural electrification fund, subject to the approval of the National Assembly. Edozien made the disclosure at the Power For All campaign geared towards acceleration of decentralised Distributable Renewable Energy, DRE. Power For All is a global campaign to promote distributed renewable energy as the fastest, most cost-effective and sustainable way to achieve universal energy access.

2017 May, SweetcrudeReports

Power

Power generation plant; and transmission line

Electricity generation rises to 4,303mw - TCN OSCARLINE ONWUEMENYI, Abuja

l e c t r i c i t y generation in Nigeria recently rose to 4,232.6 megawatts, mw an appreciable improvement from the 3,500mw recorded in the last two months, according to the electricity generation report from the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN. Government’s efforts to fix the electricity crisis in Nigeria have not yielded significant result due to gas pipeline vandalism, which has left many homes and businesses still experiencing constant blackout. According to the operational report from the TCN, this can be regarded as significant improvement; although still far below the country’s peak demand forecast of 19,100mw. Also, analysis from the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry, NESI, statistics showed that the power sector lost an estimated N1.2 billion on March 20, due to gas constraints. Specifically, the agency put power output loss to gas constraints at 2,105mw. The agency stated: “The power sector is plagued with structural issues in all key

areas – generation, gas supply, transmission and distribution. To name a few of these challenges, the operational capacity of the country’s power plants is less than a third of their installed capacity. “Chronic vandalism has crippled oil and gas pipelines,

creating gas shortages at p o w e r p l a n t s . Underinvestment in m a i n t e n a n c e a n d infrastructure has constrained our transmission grid. Finally, high collection and commercial losses have impacted the financial viability of the

privatised distribution companies.” Despite the output improvement in, many customers under the Ikeja Electric Plc, complain that there is no corresponding increase in supply. Responding to the irregular

Work on Kashimbila hydropower plant to start this year

inister of Works, Power, and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, has said that work would begin this year on the 40megawatts Kashimbila Hydro Power Plant in Taraba State. Fashola said the government was equally making efforts to complete the Mambilla Power Station, also in Taraba. “As for the Mambilla plant, the contractor is back to site after he was mobilised. But he has lots of challenges; he has to open a letter of credit and import equipment, among other things. “For Kashimbilla project, we have made progress in terms of project planning. We are in the final stage of pricing and we expect that we will start

work this year,” Fashola said. According to him, preparatory work is going on and the ministry is considering the best route to move the equipment to the site. “This is part of project planning that makes for efficient project execution,” the minister said. Fashola said that estate valuers had been engaged to prepare ground for easy compensation of the natives. “We already have estate valuers who are valuing the whole site where the plant will be constructed so that when compensation is paid, there will be no problem when work construction begins. “Zungeru project had problems relating to compensation as no prior work was done like this

Hydropower plant under construction

one,” Fashola said. He lauded the National Assembly for its planned amendment of the Public Procurement Act to provide for more mobilisation fee to contractors, especially those handling road projects.

supply under its jurisdiction, spokesperson for the company, Olusola Ayeni, attributed this to line damage, saying: “The current outage is due to the destruction of our Abule Tailor 33kv line, Ipaja 11kv line and Amikanle 11kv line by the heavy rain last night. “The affected areas include Ikola, Amikanle, Command Road Ipaja, Olota, Ekoro Road, Abule Tailor and environs. Power supply to the affected areas will be restored shortly as maintenance teams are already effecting repairs.” Dwelling on TCN’s efforts to boost power supply in Lagos, the Company General Manager, Public Affairs, Seun Olagunju, said power supply in Lagos and Ogun states is set to improve with the inauguration of some power equipment at the 330kV Transmission Substation in Ayobo, Lagos State. She said: “The power transmission equipment to be installed include transformers, protective devices, metering circuits as well as state-of- the- art control panels, which will facilitate the wheeling of more reliable power to the distribution companies and the people.”

2017 May, SweetcrudeReports

Where prospects meet opportunities www.ncif.com.ng

Houston, Texas May 3, 2017

VENUE: The Houstonian Hotel 111 N. Post Oak Ln. Houston, TX 77024 Time: 3pm DATE: May 3, 2017 www.ncif.com.ng

Enhancing OEM/SME Collaboration To Grow Nigeria Content Enquiries:

LOPMENT VE &

NCDMB

Conscience, Nurtured by Truth

MIDIS ENERGY SERVICES LIMITED

M RING BO AR ITO D

Crude

IAN CONTE ER NT IG

Enquiries: tukur70@sweetcrudereports.com, abdulmalik.halilu@ncdmb.gov.ng, linda.anukwuem@sweetcrudereports.com

NCDMB

NIGERDOCK

RC 639040

Power

2017 May, SweetcrudeReports

Only 6% Nigerians enjoyed 20-hour power supply in 2016 – Report

Nigerian street at night

a t e s t s u r v e y report by the Independent E n e r g y Wa t c h Initiative, I-WIN, has revealed that power supply in Nigeria had been on a consistent decline, month-onmonth. According to the report, between January and June last year, only an average of about six percent of Nigerians enjoyed over 20 hours of supply availability daily. The survey which was anchored on the feedback from electricity customers in Nigeria was aimed at assessing the overall performance of the Electricity Distribution Companies, also known as Discos. The survey evaluation was based on the following indices: Customer service, value for money, hours of supply availability, quality of power, communication and customer engagement and quality of electricity supply infrastructure. According to the results of its Aggregated Power Sector poll, I-WIN stated that a major outcome of the survey is the fact that most Nigerians (average of 79 percent) have suffered a transformer failure or other forms of electricity supply infrastructure failure. The findings revealed that a nation-wide average of 62 percent of the affected customers are compelled to make contributions to replace

From our findings, about 56 percent of electricity customers in Nigeria experience less than eight hours of power supply availability daily the components of failed infrastructure to the extent it affects them. It added that “From our findings, about 56 percent of electricity customers in Nigeria experience less than eight hours of power supply availability daily. “This low level of service delivery has been highlighted in previous studies to be a major contributing cause of increasing deviant customer behavior in Nigeria. Not surprisingly, only an average of about 6 percent of Nigerians enjoys over twenty hours (20hrs) of supply availability daily.” The survey further revealed

that the bulk of Nigerian electricity customers insist that they get little or no value for money as regards the quality of power supply, as it also indicates a heightened level of frustration by electricity consumers nationwide over the poor quality of power supply amidst high bills/charges for same. “Overall, the services of the distribution companies were rated poorly by Nigerians, and the operators are enjoined to review the results of this survey critically with a view to discerning the issues highlighted.” Speaking on the state of electricity supply in the c o u n t r y, S e n i o r V i c e President, Centre for Values in Leadership, CVL, Rasheed Adegbenro, argued that Nigeria couldn’t be industrialised without regular electricity supply, and as such, cannot be competitive even in the next 20 years with the level of electricity supply in the country.

Why Gencos should cut power generation – TCN

ue to high system frequency of more than 50HZ in Nigeria’s electricity energy mix, which distribution companies or Discos are unable to absorb due to some reasons, the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, has urged generation companies or Gencos to cut generation to ensure grid stability. The directive to Gencos to reduce generation, according to TCN, is imperative to maintain the integrity of the grid, as frequency higher than 50HZ could result in system disturbance. “It is important to note that the directives are issued with a high sense of duty and responsibility to the nation and the entire electricity industry. “The System Operators’ decision is based on the fact that at normal operating frequency of 50Hz, the active power generated is equal to the active load consumed and losses,” TCN said in a statement. It said it is the duty of the System Operator to monitor the power flow on the national grid to ensure optimal operating conditions, this will ensure the system is operated at a frequency close to 50HZ, and at voltages within tolerable limits. “However, if the generated power is more than the load connected, the frequency rises higher than 50Hz, which can result in system disturbance. "To correct this imbalance, the syste m operator whose duty it is to maintain system stability has no choice than to ask the generating stations to drop the load to sustain the network integrity. This is the practice all over the world. “On the contrary, if the load connected is higher than the generated power, the frequency drops below 50Hz and can also lead to system collapse. “This year, the highest generation level has not exceeded 4,650mw, while the wheeling capacity of TCN is 6,500mw. It is therefore not a wheeling capacity challenge but a demand side management problem from some Discos rejecting available power," TCN said..

Power line

2017 May, SweetcrudeReports

TOTALSUPPORT ENERGY GROUP Using Cleaner Natural Gas To Fuel & Power The Nation Changes We Can See Within 12 Months UNIPORT 2MW CLEAN ENERGY PROJECT

Where We Are Today As A Nation Gas • Incoherent Gas Pricing Policy • Less Than 1% Of Desired Natural Gas Pipeline Footprint • Less Than 50% Of Contracted Gas Available For Use • Gas Flaring Active And Ongoing … • Gas Flaring Creates Unacceptable Wastage & Polution • Few & Small Virtual Pipeline Infrastructure • Near-zero Use Of Natural Gas As Vehicular Fuel Power • Inadequate Generation Capacity • Weak & Inadequate Transmission Network, Capacity And Reach • Weak & Inadequate Distribution Network • One Of The World’s Biggest Diesel Generator Markets Liquid Fuels • Critical Lack Of Local Refining Capacity • Petrol & Diesel Imports Represents A Significant Line Item In Fgn Expense Bills Revenue • Significant Reduction In Govt Revenue From Crude Oil What We Should Be Doing Gas • Immediate Cap On Gas Flaring …. And Subsequent Ban Of Same • Accelerated Gas Distribution Pipelines For Domestic Use • Accelerated Vehicular Use Of Natural Gas • Accelerated Virtual Pipeline Infrastructure

2. Take All Armed-forces Barracks/offices Off-grid. 3. Take All Flare-gas Communities Off-grid. 4. Nationwide Use Of Natural Gas As Vehicular Fuel. This Will Give Nigerians A Cleaner And Cheaper Alternative Fuel 5. Captive Power For Industries & Blue-chips; & Embedded Generation For Discos 6. Solutions Mix Must Include Renewables (solar/smallhydro/hybrid/wind)

• Delivery Of Natural Gas Nation-wide

Immediate Benefits Within 24 Months Petrol & Diesel Substitution • Significant Substitution Of Petrol & Diesel With Natural Gas Fuels • Significant Reduction In Petrol & Diesel Importation Bills • Creation Of Thousands Of New & Sustainable Skilled Jobs • Creation Of New & Viable NGV(Natural Gas Vehicles) Vehicle Assembly Plants • Creation Of New Multiplier Downstream NGV Business • Significant Reduction In Vehicular Emissions • Elimination Of Panic Buying & Storage Of Petrol • Significant Reduction In Hazards Of Improper Petrol Storage

Funding • If Properly Structured, FGN May Only Need To Provide Guarantees To Enable Private Industry Deliver All Above Pricing.

Power • Significant Increase In Viable & Cleaner Captive Power Clusters • Above Clusters Will Provide Significant Relief To National Power Grid • This Means Rest Of Populace Outside Clusters Will Now Have More Power

Choices & Decisions We Have Two Stark Choices/decisions: 1. Do Nothing & Wait For Government To Address All The Known Challenges 2. Do Something Positive Within Our Abilities We Have Chosen To Do Something Positive Gas

• Make Cheaper & Environmentaly Friendly Natural-gas Fuels Widely Available To Viable Clusters Including Clusters In The Niger-delta, Abuja & Lagos • Accelerated Deployment Of Virtual Pipelines(cng & Lng) To Deliver Gas Nation-wide Power • Provide 24/7 Captive Power To Key Demand Clusters • Provide 24/7 Embedded Power To Complement Disco Supply Transportation • Accelerated Vehicular Use Of Natural-gas As Primary Fuel • Use Of Natural-gas-vehicles(ngv) Will Drive Massive Employment Generation Deliverables Timeline • Power Infrastructure : 4-9 Months • Green Transportation : 6-24 Months • Cng Infrastructure : 6-12 Months • Lng Infrastructure : 9-30 Months Transportation Widespread Use Of Ngvs(natural Gas-fueled Vehicles) With Attendant Support Infrastructure Will Be The Largest Employment Generator STOTALSUPPORT & CRYOSYS MINI-LNG PLANT

Power • Accelerated Optimization Of Existing Ipps Using Ppp Arrangements • With Virtual Pipelines(lng/cng) Ramp Up Distributed Generation Using Natural Gas In Place Of Diesel • Solutions Mix Will Include Renewables(solar/smallhydro/hybrid/wind) Liquid Fuels • Sort Out All Policy Issues WRT Local Refining Capacity, & Create Enabling Environment To Build More Modular Refineries Within 24 Months

GTM TRUCKS AT DUFIL DAUGHTER STATION

SCHLUMBERGER 1MW CLEAN ENERGY PROJECT

16,000-GALLON TRANSPORT & STORAGE TRAILER

CELL-SITE LNG STORAGE(1000-LITERS)

New Funding Mechanism • Govt Should Focus On Creating Enabling Environment For Private Industry To Drive All Above Infrastructure Development. These May Include CBN/banks-backed Guarantees To Credible & Performing Nigerian Companies What We Can Deliver Within 12-24 Months Areas Come To Mind Easily That We Can Quickly Deliver Reference Projects Within The Next 12-24 Months. We Will Be Happy To Deliver Some Of These … & Supervise Replication Of These Reference Projects. 1. Take All Federal Universities & Tertiary Institutions Offgrid.

12,500 GALLON ISO-CONTAINER STORAGE & TRANSPORT TANKS

CELL-SITE LNG TANKS 2000-LITERS

CUSTOM ATLAS-COPCO COMPRESSORS AT ELEME-PHT MOTHER STATION

4MW AT INTELS CAMP - PORTHARCOURT

TOTALSUPPORT ENERGY GROUP Using Cleaner Natural Gas To Fuel & Power The Nation Changes We Can See Within 12 Months UNIPORT 2MW CLEAN ENERGY PROJECT

• Delivery Of Natural Gas Nation-wide

Funding • If Properly Structured, FGN May Only Need To Provide Guarantees To Enable Private Industry Deliver All Above Pricing.

GTM TRUCKS AT DUFIL DAUGHTER STATION

SCHLUMBERGER 1MW CLEAN ENERGY PROJECT

16,000-GALLON TRANSPORT & STORAGE TRAILER

CELL-SITE LNG STORAGE(1000-LITERS)

12,500 GALLON ISO-CONTAINER STORAGE & TRANSPORT TANKS

CELL-SITE LNG TANKS 2000-LITERS

CUSTOM ATLAS-COPCO COMPRESSORS AT ELEME-PHT MOTHER STATION

4MW AT INTELS CAMP - PORTHARCOURT

2017 May, SweetcrudeReports

MISSION STATEMENT To promote the development and utilization of in-country capacities for the industrialization of Nigeria through the effective implementation of the Nigerian Content Act.

2017 May, SweetcrudeReports

S/N Investor Name 1.

Type of Pipes/Capacity

Status

Technova pipe mill, Ologbo, LSAW/200,000 MT/Annum

Physical Construction

Edo State

Ongoing

SCCPipe Mill, Abuja

HSAW/270,000MT/Annum

Yard

Expansion

Completed 3

Rheingold Nig. Ltd; Port 200,000MT/Annum

Project

Harcourt

Complete

Integrated SupplyChain Pipe

Seamless/100,000MT/Annum EIAOngoing

Mill, Onne, Port-Harcourt. 5

Brentex Nigeria Limited, Calabar

LSAW/300,000MT/Annum

Design

2017 May, SweetcrudeReports

Expatriate Quota Utilization and Succession data Marine Vessels data Equipment Ownership Skill Base Tracking Training and Employment data Nigerian Content Plans and reports repository

2017 May, SweetcrudeReports

Finance

2017 May, SweetcrudeReports

Recession: Nigerian govt touts signs of economic recovery

CBN head office, Abuja; and President Buhari OSCARLINE ONWUEMENYI, Abuja

he Nigerian government says the country has started seeing positive signs that the economy which slipped into recession in the third quarter of last year has started recovering. The Minister for Budget and National Planning, Sen. Udoma Udo Udoma, gave

some of the signs that the economy was on its way out of recession as marginal reduction in inflation rate which is the first in 15 months, relative stability in the foreign exchange market, steady increase in the foreign exchange reserves and renewed investor confidence which resulted into the oversubscription of the country’s $1 billion Eurobond by eight times. According to him, despite the

positive signs, the government w a s s t i l l optimistic that the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan which was unveiled several weeks ago would quicken the recovery process. He said that the government would need the massive cooperation of all stakeholders in the economy for the successful

implementation of the recovery and growth plan. Udoma expressed optimism that the synergy between the private and public would provide the needed impetus for the recovery drive. A statement from the ministry explained that the

Govt insists disbursement of Paris Club refund transparent

mid allegations of misuse of Paris Club refunds by some state governors in Nigeria and the refusal of the Federal Government to provide explanation on the disbursement of the funds, the Ministry of Finance has said the disbursement process is transparent and targeted at specific objectives. The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, in a statement made available to our correspondent in Abuja, insisted that, “The Federal government’s disbursement process is transparent and targeted at the attainment of specific economic objectives.” The funds were released to the various state governments following the inability of some sub-national governments to meet salary and other obligations was considered in consonant with the federal government’s economic stimulus programme.

Disbursement was subject to an agreement by State Governments that 50% of any amount received would be earmarked for the payment of salaries and pensions. In addition, each governor gave an undertaking that excess payments would be recovered from the Federal Accounts Allocation Committee, FAAC, if the final reconciliation found that the amount paid under the anticipatory approval exceeded that due. 25% of claims, being N522.7 billion of the total money was released to the state governments in December 2016 under the first tranche of the programme. Adeosun also said the overriding consideration for any further releases of the funds will be the current and projected cash flows of the Federation as well as the outcome of the independent monitoring of the compliance with terms and conditions attached to the previous releases.

minister called on the NIPC to step up efforts in ensuring that more investments are attracted into infrastructure from the private sector. It read in part: “Senator Udoma said the recovery task calls for maximum cooperation and understanding between Ministries, Departments, and Agencies on one hand, and sustained synergy between the public and private sectors. “Senator Udoma noted that the strong, resourceful, energetic and hardworking qualities of the NIPC leadership will provide the necessary impetus to the recovery drive. “One of the key elements of the recovery plan is hinged on the speedy development of critical infrastructures such as roads, rail, and energy, and the minister charged the NIPC to urgently mobilize the private sector to invest heavily in these areas.”

2017 May, SweetcrudeReports

Finance

he Nigerian government is targeting an e s t i m a t e d revenue of $1 billion from the proposed Nigeria Voluntary Asset and Income Declaration Scheme, VAIDS. The scheme takes off May 1 for up to six months, and will offer a window for those who, before now, have not complied with extant tax regulations to remedy their positions by the provision of limited amnesty to enable voluntary declaration and payment of liabilities. The scheme will also have incentives in place to encourage early participation. Under the scheme, taxpayers will be allowed up to three years to settle their liabilities. The National Economic Council, NEC, approved the scheme following a briefing by the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, at the meeting where she stated that the underpayment of tax via the use of tax havens and other evasion strategies, have not been helpful to Nigeria. The Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, Mr. Babatunde Fowler, disclosed that the FIRS was targeting an increase in tax contribution to the Gross Domestic Product, GDP, to 18 per cent by 2020. He said this would be done through the VAIDS, which is expected to simultaneously generate revenue and encourage investment and economic activity as only 214 individuals in the entire country pay N20 million or more in tax annually. He said: “VAIDS scheme targets to increase the tax to GDP ratios to 18 per cent from just six per cent by 2020,” adding that the FIRS can surpass NEC’s projected 15 per cent. The FIRS boss said only 14 million Nigerians out of 40 million eligible taxpayers currently pay tax. He stated that a conservative revenue of $1 billion is expected to be generated from the scheme, adding that the VAIDS will embrace all federal and states’ taxes including companies income tax, personal income tax, petroleum profits tax, capital gains tax, stamp duties, tertiary education tax and technology tax. “It is anticipated that at least 50 per cent of the funds recovered will belong to states that are the ultimate collectors of personal income taxes. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will be gazetted and signed with each state government,” Fowler said. According to him, underpayment of tax has been principally perpetrated by

Mrs Kemi Adeosun, Minister of Finance

Nigeria targets $1bn from voluntary asset and income declaration scheme multinational companies and high net worth individuals, keeping Nigeria as a country with the lowest non-oil tax to GDP at six per cent. “The proposed VAIDS will capitalise on the international goodwill built by President

Muhammadu Buhari in his mission to rebuild Nigeria,” he said. The scheme is also expected to capitalise on the current global movement against tax evasion and illicit financial

flows and offer a window for those who have not complied with extant tax regulations to remedy their position by the provision of limited amnesty to enable voluntary declaration and payment of liabilities.

Electricity distributors caution govt on N701bn intervention fund

lectricity distribution companies in the country under the umbrella of the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors, ANED, say the N701 billion Power Assurance Guarantee Fund approved by the Federal Government for the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc, NBET, was only a a partial solution to the liquidity challenges of the power sector. Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, recently announced the approval of the fund for the NBET to make payments to generating companies and gas suppliers for energy supplied and future supplies. But, Mr. Sunday Oduntan, ANED's Executive Director, Research and Advocacy, said that though the fund would

be able to solve the N300 billion energy supply liabilities, ensure the rehabilitation and replacement of faulty and old turbines, and pay for the supply of gas, these were not the only problems confronting the sector. "As commendable as this intervention is, we believe that it is a partial solution to the liquidity challenges of the sector. “More so, it holds the potential of exacerbating the revenue shortfalls that the market is currently suffering from. While an increase in electricity supply is the desired objective of everyone, such an increase without the requisite full recovery of cost via the appropriate pricing of power means a resultant worsening of the market revenue gap,” he said

2017 May, SweetcrudeReports

Finance

CBN sees monetary policy as solution to economic woes

Godwin Emefiele, CBN Governor

OSCARLINE ONWUEMENYI, Rate at 14 per cent, Cash Abuja Reserve Ratio at 22.5 per cent

he Monetary P o l i c y Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has retained all monetary policy rates, saying the solution to current stunted economic growth and unemployment was with the fiscal authorities. The CBN governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, who said this in Abuja while addressing newsmen on the outcome of the second MPC meeting for the year, noted that nine of the 10 committee members voted to retain Monetary Policy

and Liquidity Ratio at 30 per cent. Also, the Asymmetric corridor was retained at +200 and -500 basis points around the MPR. Since July 2016, there has been no major monetary policy change. Emefiele said the recent appreciation of the Naira, the release of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan also impacted the decisions of the committee. The CBN governor called for speedy implementation of the plan with clear timelines and deliverables. He said that the committee was optimistic that the newly released Economic Recovery

and Growth Plan, ERGP, coupled with innovative, growth-stimulating sectorbased policies, would help fast track economic r e c o v e r y, i f p r o p e r l y implemented. E m e f i e l e s a i d : “Nevertheless, the Committee noted the arguments for tightening policy which remained strong and persuasive. These include the real policy rate which remains negative, upper reference band for inflation which remains substantially breached and the elevated demand pressure in the foreign exchange market. “The reality of sustained pressures on consumer

prices and the naira exchange rate cannot be ignored, given the bank’s primary mandate of price stability.” Emefiele noted that the moderation in inflation in February was due to base effect as other parameters, particularly month-on-month consumer price index, continued to rise. H e s a i d : “ H o w e v e r, tightening at this time would portray the bank as being insensitive to growth.” Emefiele said the committee also considered the argument that loose monetary policy was capable of delivering cheaper credit. He said this would likely make it more attractive for Nigerians to acquire assets,

World Bank approves $57bn support for Nigeria, rest of sub-Saharan Africa

he World Bank Group says it has approved $57 billion for Nigeria and other sub-Saharan African countries to shore up investment and accelerate growth for the next three years. The Bank said in statement in Abuja that the group's president, Jim Yong Kim, announced the approval on Monday before leaving for a trip to Rwanda and Tanzania, saying the amount was aimed at emphasising the Bank's support for the entire region. The announcement followed a meeting with G20 finance ministers and central bank governors. Specifically, it said the fund will go to scale up investments and de-risk private sector participation for accelerated growth and development in the region.

It was learnt that $45 billion of the approved sum will come from the International Development Association, IDA - the World Bank’s special fund for the world's poorest nations while about $8 billion from the International Finance Corporation, IFC - the private sector arm of the bank. About $4 billion would come from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development - the World Bank Group's non-concessional public sector arm. Sixty per cent of the IDA financing is expected to go to sub-Saharan Africa, home to more than half of the countries eligible for the financing. This funding is available for the period known as IDA18, which runs from July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2020.

thus increasing wealth and stimulating aggregate spending and confidence by economic agents. He added that, “ H o w e v e r, t h e counterfactual argument against loosening was anchored on the upward trending month-on-month inflation and its impact on the exchange rate. Loosening would thus worsen the already negative real interest rate, widen the interest rate spread and reverse the positive outlook for the current account position.” On outlook for financial stability, the committee noted that the banking sector was becoming less resilient due to adverse macroeconomic environment. The Committee, therefore, enjoined the CBN to work with banks to promptly address rising nonperforming loans, declining asset quality, credit concentration and high foreign exchange exposures.

Labour

2017 May, SweetcrudeReports

Nigeria, Morocco fertiliser deal creates 50,000 jobs —NNPC

Fertiliser OSCARLINE ONWUEMENYI, Baru, disclosed this while receiving the National Abuja

bout 50,000 jobs have been created in the c o u n t r y following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, on the supply of phosphate between the Nigerian government and its Moroccan counterpart. Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Dr. Maikanti Kacalla

Coordinator of The New Partnership for African D e v e l o p m e n t , N E PA D Nigeria, Princess Gloria Akobundu, at the NNPC Towers in Abuja. Dr. Baru, who noted that the MoU between the two countries was for the supply of phosphate to rejuvenate agriculture by making fertiliser available and affordable, confirmed that the deal has started yielding positive results in the country. He said: “The Moroccans

have already supplied a cargo of phosphate which has been delivered to various blending plants across the country. Already, eleven blending plants have come into production because of the supply. “I am happy to inform you that this development has translated to the creation of about 50,000 jobs and led to the production of about 1.3 million tonnes of fertiliser in the country”. Following the arrival of the first consignment, the Moroccans have also given

Nigeria a generous credit term of 90 days and they are planning to bring in more cargoes that will fit the various blending plants in the country, Baru added. According to the NNPC boss, aside being a huge boost to the Nigerian agricultural sector and the economy, this partnership is expected to boost bilateral relationship between the two countries in line with NEPAD’s objective of championing regional economic partnerships and integration. The group managing director observed that the

Oil workers call for mass action over PIB MKPOIKANA UDOMA, Port Harcourt

abour unions in the Nigerian petroleum industry the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, and the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG - have called for mass action over the muchawaited Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, which appears trapped in the national legislature. The unions said that without an organised and sustained fight by the Nigerian citizens, the Petroleum Industry Bill will never be passed. Chairman, NUPENG/PENGASSAN Joint Committee on the PIB, Mr. Chika Onuegbu, stated this at an event

organised by the Rivers State Council of the Trade Union Congress, TUC, in Port Harcourt. He called on the labour movement and the civil society to come together and mobilise the Nigerian people to force the government to pass the bill. In speech titled, "Petroleum Industry Bill: Dynamics, Controversies and Way forward", Onuegbu said it was painful especially for a country with high unemployment, low foreign direct investment, poor infrastructure and in great recession, to lose some $200 billion investment as a result of the non-passage of the bill. Appealing to Nigerians to pay special attention to the development around the PIB to ensure that there were no surprises and that the right thing was done in the best interest of Nigeria.

N E PA D ’s v i s i t coincided with NNPC’s journey towards b e c o m i n g commercially-viable world-class oil and gas company hinged on the p r i n c i p l e o f t r a n s p a r e n c y, openness and accountability. He further noted that the NNPC under the administration of P r e s i d e n t Muhammadu Buhari has taken some farreaching measures to address some of its challenges, created largely due to low commodity prices. Baru also assured the delegation that the Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline Project (TSGP), on which NNPC has had engagement with NEPAD in the past, is still on track and the Corporation would ensure continued collaboration towards the success of the project. Earlier in her r e m a r k s , N E PA D Nigeria's National Coordinator, Princess Akobundu stated that they were at the NNPC to seek for areas of collaboration with the Corporation especially in their quest to promote regional integration on the continent. “As NEPAD, we are mandated to identify and work with strategic partners to facilitate, monitor and p r o m o t e t h e implementation of developmental projects across the continent,” she stated.

Labour

2017 May, SweetcrudeReports

Nigerdock ranked among Nigeria’s best 100 companies to work Nigerdock yard at Snake Island, Lagos

KUNLE KALEJAYE

l e a d i n g indigenous energy services c o m p a n y, Nigerdock, has emerged the only one in its market to be listed among the best 100 companies to work for in Nigeria, according to Jobberman’s latest ranking. Nigerdock was ranked 87th on the recently-released list of companies adjudged and recognised as best employers of labour in Nigeria. In the Jobberman ranking, oil and gas companies such as Shell, Chevron, ExxonMobil and Total emerged in the fifth, 16th, 21st and 36th positions respectively. The 3rd Annual Jobberman ‘Best 100 companies To Work For ’ focused on identifying, recognising and celebrating top employers in Nigeria, as rated by employees and professionals. C o m m e n t i n g o n Jobberman’s ranking, Joy Okebalama, the Group Corporate Affairs Director, Jagal (the parent company of Nigerdock), noted that the

company earned the recognition due to its core values of leadership, excellence, accountability and dynamism and an unparalleled focus on its employees and their capacity development. She said: “While we are positioned to deliver world class services at our state-ofthe-art facility, within a fully integrated industrial free zone, we always give priority to safety, well-being and continual development of our

workforce. We are, above all, committed to their h e a l t h , s a f e t y, l i v i n g environment and developing their capacity. “In terms of building capacity for our workers, Nigerdock’s Training and Development Academy provides the highest quality needs-based training that impacts on our service delivery and contributes to local content development. "Sometimes our trainees

arrive barely educated, but we transform them through our training programme which equips them to become qualified and accredited professionals with exposure to world class standards. “Nigerdock is committed to ensure the highest levels of international competencies are achieved and hence is accredited to City and Guilds, Nigerian Institute of Welders and several other comparable vocational education

Govt committed to raising committee on new minimum wage —Minister

he Federal Government has refuted the accusation by the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, that it was not interested in the constitution of the tripartite committee which is expected to deliberate on the proposed N56,000 minimum wage for workers in the country. Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, noted in a statement signed by the Deputy Director of Press in the ministry, Mr. Samuel Olowookere, that the

Federal government was committed to setting up the committee to resolve the issues surrounding the new minimum wage situation. Ngige said his attention had been drawn to publications in some section of the media, alleging the Federal Government of intentionally stalling the process of constituting a tripartite committee for the minimum wage. “The statement (by the labour leaders) is false and misleading, as the Federal

accreditation bodies,” she explained. To date, the Nigerdock training academy has trained over 6,000 personnel in a range of skills including project m a n a g e m e n t , q u a l i t y, occupational health and safety, welding, fitting, painting and coating, machining, lifting and rigging and scaffolding, and when they graduate they become highly-sought after.

Government has demonstrated its commitment to improving the welfare of the Nigerian workforce by holding series of meetings with stakeholders on the subject matter.” He added that “The final meeting of the technical committee on new minimum wage was slated for 23rd February 2017 but could not hold as scheduled.

Solid Mineral

2017 May, SweetcrudeReports

Nigeria: Export of unprocessed minerals will soon become offence SAM IKEOTUONYE, Lagos

he Nigerian government says it will soon become an offence for anyone to take unprocessed minerals out of the country. Speaking in Abuja at a town hall meeting with stakeholders in the mining sector, Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, said the Federal Government was working towards ensuring that those who take unprocessed minerals through illegal routes out of Nigeria would be punished. He said the activities of some foreigners who take out unprocessed minerals had robbed the youth of the country of massive job opportunities in addition to denying the nation valuable income that ought to come from the sector. “Government is taking the security of mines more seriously, and a special task force has been put in place to check nefarious activities in mining sites and also to ensure compliance with environmental and security regulations,” the minister said. Unauthorised export of unprocessed minerals is injurious to the economic plan of the government, he also said, disclosing that his ministry was focusing on ensuring that operators set up plants in the country, process the minerals and then export the finished product. H e s a i d : “ Ta k i n g o u t unprocessed minerals under any guise is unacceptable and we have taken a firm position on this. We will make it

Mining site

We will support and encourage operators to set up plants, process the minerals here and you can then export it. The economic diversification and employment generation can only be realised with operators cooperating with government on the mining policy

Over 1,000 illegal mining sites in Nigeria – NMGS

here are over 1,000 illegal mining sites across Nigeria, president of the Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society, NMGS, Prof. Gbenga Okunlola, has said. He spoke at a press conference to announce the 2017 national conference of the NMGS in Abuja, saying the conference would focus on how to take advantage of the potentials of the mining sector to create wealth and job opportunities in the country. National President of the Miners Association of Nigeria, Alhaji Sani Shehu, also recently lamented illegal mining activities across the country. He said the Nigeria Security and Civil

Defence Corps recently closed about 27 illegal mining sites in Lagos, Edo, Taraba, Imo and Plateau states, but that the problem was still persisting.

illegal miners

difficult for anybody to take out unprocessed minerals. We are working with the Customs and other relevant security agencies to put an end to this. “We will support and encourage operators to set up plants, process the minerals here and you can then export it. The economic diversification and employment generation can only be realised with operators cooperating with government on the mining policy”. The minister maintained that Nigeria had one of the best set of mining laws, but noted that enforcement had been a challenge and that criminally-minded individuals had taken advantage of poor enforcement to enrich themselves at the detriment of the nation. To help address issue of security in the sector, he said the Nigerian Police has started setting up Mines Division in all its state

commands. Fayemi also disclosed that mining activities would soon witness a boost in the country through value addition and greater level of involvement by state governments. We are also working with states in providing the technical and financial support so that they can enter the mainstream of mining rather than operating illegally. But, he noted that "the duty we owe to our people is to also enlighten them on the need to engage in formal and organised mining practice. If you do this in a formal and organised manner, you will make more money; you will not be cheated by middlemen who took advantage of the unorganised system.”

2017 May, SweetcrudeReports

Solid Mineral

Ajaokuta Steel plant

Functional Ajaokuta Steel will assist Nigeria’s developmental drives —Fayemi OSCARLINE ONWUEMENYI, privatise the Ajaokuta Steel Abuja Company, which is managing

functional Ajaokuta Steel plant would greatly assist N i g e r i a ’s developmental drives, according to Minister of M i n e s a n d S t e e l Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, who has pledged government's commitment to ensuring that the 28-year old project works. Fayemi stated this during a facility tour of Abuja Steel Mill, a subsidiary of African Steel Company, along AbujaKaduna Road, adding that government was putting a lot in place to ensure that the moribund project gets back to life. He also said government was concluding plans to

the project and that under that arrangement, the steel complex would function as a purely private entity. He said experts with proven track records and required

financial capability would be encouraged to key into the scheme through a competitive bidding process that would be transparent. The Minister said government is committed

to ensuring Ajaokuta works, because it believes that a functional Ajaokuta Steel complex would greatly assist the country’s developmental drives. He identified the most crucial needs of the country

now as energy and power and advised that since government is putting the necessary infrastructures in place to address these needs, steel companies operating in the country should continue to maintain high product quality and put them out at reasonable prices for consumers, especially now that the pressure on the dollar is reducing. The minister pledged the support of government to the companies that are manufacturing locally and urged them to develop training programmes that would empower and g r o o m y o u n g graduates, indigenous engineers and artisans. “It is important that you come up with training schemes for young graduates and artisans. As you train more of these young indigenous engineers and artisans and absorb them, you will also gradually reduce the number of your expatriates. And this will help us as a country and also help your business.” The Group Executive Director of the company, Mr. Richpal Singh, accompanied by another director, Dr John Akanya, solicited g o v e r n m e n t ' s assistance to access coal energy which, he pointed out, would enable them to locally produce the raw materials. He explained that the high cost of steel products was not due to high dollar demand but the cost of procuring scrap iron which he said is among the items being taken out of the country.

Community petitions Senate over Ajaokuta Steel Company

he people of Kogi Central Senatorial District in Kogi State has petitioned the Nigerian Senate over the resuscitation of National IronOre Mining Company, NIOMCO, in Itakpe and Ajaokuta Steel Company. The Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public petitions was expected to hear the petitions made against the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development. SweetcrudeReports gathered that 15 written petitions have been made against the ministry by the people of the Senatorial District and concerned professional bodies. One of the petitions, submitted on November 28,

2016, was facilitated by Senator Ahmed Ogembe, representing Kogi Central Senatorial District. In a letter addressed to Secretary General of Africa Iron and Steel Association, AISA, the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public said issues hovering the resuscitation of NIOMCO Itakpe and Ajaokuta Steel Company have been referred to them for legislative investigation. Beside AISA, it was gathered professional stakeholders such as Nigerian Metallurgical Society, Iron and Steel Senior Staff Association, Miners Association of Nigeria, Society of Engineers and host communities will appear for Senate hearing on the matter.

2017 May, SweetcrudeReports

Solid Mineral

Minister sanctions 313 mining operators over breach of environmental regulations

Mining site

he Nigerian government has announced s a n c t i o n s against no fewer than 313 mining companies operating in the country over non-fulfilment of environmental obligations. T h e D i r e c t o r, M i n e s Environmental Compliance Department, Ministry of M i n e s a n d S t e e l Development, Mr Salim Salaam, disclosed this in Abuja, saying the mining operators were issued sanction letters on March 20

for failing to conduct Environmental Impact Assessment, EIA; Environmental Protection and Rehabilitation Programme, EPRP; and the Community Development Agreement, CDA. He said that four of the mining companies affected were given ‘stop work’ order, adding that the ministry had warned them severally but they refused to comply with the environmental obligations. He stated that five companies’ licences were

outrightly revoked over total failure to comply with t h e m i n i s t r y ’ s environmental obligations in spite of incessant notices issued by the ministry. “One out of the five companies is a foreign mining company located in Bauchi, three in Cross River and one in Oyo State. All their licences have been revoked completely,” he said. According to him, 20 mining companies were issued warning letters as consideration to comply

with the mining act to avoid revocation. He said that the ministry had decided not to renew licences of the remaining 284 mining companies, except the minister decides to give them another chance to fulfil all environmental requirements. He further disclosed that some of the defaulters did not conduct Environmental Impact Assessment, EIA, before commencing operations and that this could be dangerous to the host communities’ health and cause environmental degradations.

Govt plans equipment-leasing arrangement for miners

he government is working on an equipment-leasing scheme for the Nigeria Miners Association, NMA, in order to ensure that its members scale up their mining operations. The equipment-leasing arrangement, according to Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, is in addition to financial support in the form of access to financing through some commercial banks and the Bank of Industry, which the ministry is partnering with. Dr. Fayemi, who addressed stakeholders in the minerals and mining sector at town hall meetings in Lagos and Abeokuta, Ogun State capital, assured the miners that they would also benefit from the N30 billion intervention fund approved by the Federal government. Stressing that mining remained a capital intensive

project, the minister said the Nigerian mining sector was currently dominated by artisanal miners, adding that it was important for government to support them to increase their capacity and productivity. He noted that while many of the artisanal miners rely on crude implement for their operations, availability of modern equipment would made their operations more profitable. “Government is committed to the scheme. Our miners cannot achieve much as long as they rely on shovel and digger for their work. We also know that modern equipment are quite costly. So, government would make arrangements with financial institutions and some operators to make the equipment available for leasing,” he said.

EIA is a study conducted by mining operators to ascertain in advance the impact of the project on the environment and on the lives of the host communities. He also explained that some conducted EIA but refused to fulfil the CDA of the host communities and the EPRP. “Mining operators are mandated to conduct EPRP, according to Section 119 of the Nigerian Mining Act. “The CDA is also mandatory under Section 116 of the act for mining operators to sign an agreement with host communities on what to do to improve their livelihoods. The idea of conducting EIA is to proffer mitigation measures against mining impacts before commencing operation,” he said. According to Salaam, the problems experienced in the Niger Delta region with oil and gas companies were as a result of CDA, as the communities were complaining that oil companies were conducting exploration and extraction but refused to meet their needs.

Freight

2017 May, SweetcrudeReports

Apapa port

Nigerian ports record 81% increase in gross tonnage, 41.2 % vessel calls

igeria has recorded an increase of 81 percent in the number of Gross Registered Tonnage, GRT, of the vessels that sailed into the ports between 2015 and 2016. Disclosing this in Lagos, Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, Dakuku Peterside, said that while 262 vessels called at ports across the country in 2015, 370 vessels called in 2016, showing a difference of 108. While 232 Gross Registered Tonnage was recorded in 2015, 370 GRT was recorded in 2016 indicating a difference of 188 which also represented a percentage of 81.?Besides, Peterside also said that a lot of progress has been made in the area of Cabotage implementation as less than 12 percent of Nigerians were engaged in Cabotage Trade. He said: “Before the Cabotage regime came into being, less than 12% of Nigerians were on board vessels operating in Nigerian

waters, today. “The figures have changed significantly as over 60% of workers onboard vessels operating under the Cabotage regime are now Nigerians". He added: “It may also interest you to note that before 2003, less than 3% of vessels operating on our waters were flagged Nigerian. “However, today, we have over 60% vessels doing business in Nigerian waters, flying the Nigerian Flag. Another good news about the Cabotage regime is the fact

Today, we have over 60% vessels doing business in Nigerian waters, flying the Nigerian Flag. Another good news about the Cabotage regime is the fact that we have been able to achieve 20% in building Cabotage vessels from a completely foreign dominated era

that we have been able to achieve 20% in building Cabotage vessels from a completely foreign dominated era. “Our aim is to target 100% Cabotage compliance in the nearest future. The issue of t h e C a b o t a g e Ve s s e l Financing Fund is one we have taken a critical look at and I can categorically say that we are addressing the issues militating against the fund being fully operational and accessible".

Nigeria to increase SAR personnel to 1,000

igeria is to increase the number of its search and rescue marshals on sea from 100 to 1,000, according to the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA. Dr. Dakuku Peterside, Director General of the agency, said the move to increase the number follows approval to that effect by the Federal Ministry of Transportation, adding that the increase became necessary because the agency realised the need to enhance the safety of boat users. He spoke at a conference in Lagos, where he also announced that his agency would soon take

delivery of the 5th largest modular floating dockyard in Africa. Peterside maintained that the Regional Search And Rescue Committee which is made up of nine membercountries under the Nigerian SAR Region has collaborated to enhance safety in the region after years of idleness. Member countries include Nigeria, Benin, Cameroon, Congo, DR Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Sao Tome & Principe and Togo. “Since this new management came on board, the agency has successfully hosted two Sub-Regional Technical Committee meetings to build a formidable regional network.

2017 May, SweetcrudeReports

Freight

i g e r i a ' s maritime a s s e t s currently stand at about $200 billion (about N90 trillion), according to government officials. Disclosing this at a meeting of the Port Facility Security Officer, PFSO, Forum of the Lagos Maritime Security Zone, secretary of the group, Mr. Ignatius Uche, also said that 3 percent freight levy at the ports has generated more than N900 billion (about $2 billion). Uche said the nation's maritime assets include investment in ports development, ships, and on/off oil terminals, amongst others. He said that Nigeria had about 165 port facilities across the country under the supervision of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA as he emphasised the need for the introduction of a national maritime security policy for the country. Uche in his presentation, titled “Establishing the relevance of the International Ship a nd Port Fa cilit y Security (ISPS) Code within a sound national security framework”, noted that there was a convergence between t h e I S P S C o d e implementation, maritime security and national security. He was of the opinion that the ports, being the gateway into the country, needed to be secured and safe from any external and internal security infraction. He said: “ISPS Code implementation is a critical component of any maritime nation’s maritime security arrangement and must, therefore, connect with the overall maritime security architecture. “Currently, the nation has no defined national maritime security strategy nor is there an articulated policy to govern the overall maritime

Nigeria: Maritime assets hit $200bn activities. “This has led to gaps and inefficient maritime security and policing effort. “Most maritime nations have adopted a layered approach in instituting their maritime security architecture. “This clearly delineates responsibilities and ensures levels of failsafe/safety nets that help achieve defence indepth”.

He lamented the lack of c a p a c i t y a n d professionalism for some port security facility officers as well as managements' neglect of security matters as some of the challenges facing the group. The PFSO Forum top officer also said that Nigeria cannot afford to misplace the desired priority on security of its

maritime environment given the vast living and non-living resources available within it. He further disclosed that from economic standpoint, about 70 percent of Nigeria's resources, including oil, are within its maritime environment. He suggested the development and adoption of a national maritime security policy and strategy as a

measure at ensuring a secured port industry. He explained that the Port Facility Security Officer, PFSO, is the focal p e r s o n i n t h e implementation of the ISPS Code, adding that the PFSO is charged with the management of the facilities and security resources.

Lagos port

African maritime nations mull security strategy

continental maritime security strategy is being contemplated by African maritime nations to adopt a common platform aimed at checkmating sea piracy and illegal fishing on the continent. Maritime nations on the continent are also putting their various strategies together for presentation to the African Union for adoption. Nigeria has also set up a Committee made up of representatives from various government agencies with relevance to the maritime businesses. It was gathered that the Nigerian Navy and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, are leading other government agencies to drive the process of churning out the country’s maritime security strategy. A ranking official at the security department of the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, disclosed that other members of the Committee includes the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, NSC, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,

which is the anchor agency, the Ministry of Agriculture for the issue of illegal fishing and the National Inland Waterways Authority, NIWA. It was also gathered that the move will streamline all issues including legal that have stunted efforts in the fight against sea piracy, illegal fish and poaching. The last time the Committee met was at the Ministry of Defence in November 2016 where the Minister of State for Defence chaired a meeting on behalf of the Minister. The ranking official at the NPA has drafted the Nigeria Maritime security strategy which will be submitted to President Muhammadu Buhari in due course. The President will in turn present a draft bill to the National Assembly for legislation, after which it will be presented to the African Union Commission as Nigeria’s contribution to the African Maritime security strategy. While speaking on the development, Lucky Aghomi, the Chief Executive Officer of Diddan Consulting said that the

issue of a continental maritime security strategy was discussed at the just concluded Security exhibition held in Lagos earlier in the week. Speaking in a similar vein, retired Navy Captain Abel Memuduaghan said that he has mixed feeling about the development noting that the Gulf of Guinea Commission had failed to address the maritime security challenge in Africa.

2017 May, SweetcrudeReports

Freight

NPA appoints new spokesman

Seafarers

SEAFARERS SCHEME:

130 Nigerians graduate from Egypt Science Academy KUNLE KALEJAYE Lagos

ne hundred and thirty Nigerian cadets enlisted in the Nigerian Seafarers Development Programme, NSDP, have graduated from the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and M a r i t i m e Tr a n s p o r t i n Alexandria, Egypt. The NSDP, an initiative of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety A g e n c y, N I M A S A , w a s launched in 2008 to curb the dearth of trained and certified seafarers in the country, which has been identified as an impediment to Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s robust participation in the global shipping business. Their graduation has further increased the pool of local seafarers in the maritime sector as it brings the total number of graduates

from the NSDP project to 1,045, representing 42 percent graduates of the over 2,500 NIMASA-sponsored beneficiaries. Disclosing this at the graduation ceremony in Egypt, the Director General of N I M A S A , D r. D a k u k u Peterside, noted that NIMASA sponsored over 2,500 aspiring cadets to the best maritime institutions around the world, including Egypt, Romania, The Philippines, United Kingdom as well as India. Giving a breakdown, he said 226 graduated from the Arab Academy in Egypt, 76 from South Tyneside, Newcastle in England while 743 graduated from various partner universities in the Philippines. The director general, who was represented at the event by the Executive Director, Maritime Labour and Cabotage Services of the agency, Mr. Gambo Ahmed,

congratulated the graduates who had their degrees in various maritime related disciplines ranging from marine transport and logistics, nautical engineering and enjoined them to bring to bear the knowledge acquired to improve on the fortunes of the Nigerian maritime industry. He disclosed that the school has offered to partner with NIMASA in providing sea time training for the graduating students and other NSDP graduates from other schools, which has hitherto been a challenge. This, he noted, will further complement the agencyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s other efforts in getting sea time training for graduate cadets. Dakuku added that NIMASA was also exploring other avenues to enrich the NSDP

programme and reiterated that the impact of the programme would be felt world over, as Nigeria would soon start exporting seafarers like the Philippines and other reputable maritime nations. This, according to him, will reduce unemployment in the country and attract the much needed foreign exchange. The graduates were full of appreciation for the opportunity granted them to excel by NIMASA and pledged to use the knowledge acquired to enhance the Nigerian maritime sector. Speaking with the coordinator of NSDP scheme, Barr. Victor Egejuru, Deputy Director, Maritime Labour in NIMASA, the youths thanked the Federal government and the management of NIMASA for the opportunity given them to progress in their chosen career and in growing capacity in the maritime sector.

he newlyappointed G e n e r a l M a n a g e r, P u b l i c Affairs, of the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, Elder Effiong Etim Nduonofit, has assumed office. He took over from Chief Michael Kayode Ajayi, who handed over the mantle to him at the C o r p o r a t e Headquarters of the organisation in Marina, Lagos. During the event, Mr. Nduonofit enlisted support from all personnel, sections and units of the Public Affairs Division in his quest to contribute to the image appreciation and publicity mileage of the company. Nduonofit urged the public affairs officers in the organisation to key into the vision of the management of the authority. He stated that the duty of promoting the i m a g e o f t h e organisation was paramount and should be upheld by the entire Public Affairs team. Before now, Nduonofit was Assistant General Manager, Audit, at the company. H e h o l d s a Postgraduate Diploma and a Masters degree in B u s i n e s s Administration both from the University of Calabar (1996-1998) and (1999-2001) respectively.

Effiong Etim Nduonofit

2017 May, SweetcrudeReports

Freight

We're positioned for greater efficiency —Hadiza Usman

he Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, Ms Hadiza Bala Usman, has pledged to work towards effective implementation of the Nigerian Ports Master Plan and to ensure it becomes a reference point in all matters concerning operational efficiency in the industry. She promised that NPA would prioritise the utilisation of railway networks in the efficient distribution of cargo across the seaports in line with best practices. The managing director, who spoke when a team from the Oxford Business Group UK visited the NPA headquarters in Lagos, stated that the maritime industry has embraced intermodal dictates, assuring that the NPA would "key into that most efficiently”. Concerning transshipment, she stated that through synergy with the private sector, NPA was geared towards actualisation of deep seaports across the country, which, according to her, would help position Nigeria for greater economic growth. Usman also stated that the competitive tariff regime being put in place by the authority would “place us on a better platform in the subregion”. On the perennial gridlock hampering efficient service delivery at the Lagos ports, the NPA boss said there was

L-R: Oxford Business Group Editorial Manager, Davide Rasconi; Regional Manager (Africa), Elise Postigo; Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority, Hadiza Bala Usman; Country Director; and Diana Rus, also of the Oxford Business Group when the group visited the NPA corporate headquarters in Marina, Lagos. already a robust approach amongst stakeholders to tackle the problem and the success of the effort would reflect soon on the affected access roads. She reiterated that the NPA management was focusing on the rehabilitation of infrastructure at the ports to optimise operations, which,

NPA would prioritise the utilisation of railway networks in the efficient distribution of cargo across the seaports in line with best practices

she said, would bring in more revenue for the country at this time of need. The team from the Oxford Business Group comprised Regional Manager, Africa Elise Postigo; Country Director, Nigeria, Diana Rus and Editorial Manager, Davide Rasconi.

ISPS code: NIMASA certain of full compliance

Dakuku

n spite of the success recorded so far in the implementation of the International Ship and Port Facility Security, ISPS, Code in Nigeria, the DirectorGeneral of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, has stated that the agency would not rest until the full implementation of the code is attained. Dr. Peterside, who gave this assurance during the opening of the ISPS Code auditors’ training conducted by the International Maritime Organisation, IMO, in conjunction with NIMASA in Lagos, noted that the agency being the Designated Authority, DA, for the implementation of the code in Nigeria, has embraced relevant training to acquaint its operational staff member with the rudiments of ensuring that Nigerian ports and jetties remain safe for economic growth and development. He stated that the training was a follow up to

the previous Ports Facilities Security Officers, PFSO’s, training conducted by the IMO and NIMASA in August, 2016. According to him, “this training is a continuation of the series of training highlighted for technical support by the IMO for enhancement of Nigeria’s maritime security to sustain the high standard of the implementation in line with global best practices. The training will equip participants with in-depth skills of carrying out audits, which will further reflect high-level compliance by stakeholders.” While commending other sister parastatals of the agency, especially the Nigerian Ports Authority, for their cooperation and dedication towards achieving a safe maritime environment, Peterside hinted that the Federal Government has approved a unified biometric identity card system for operatives and workers that would be accessing any port facility in Nigeria to further boost

Motoring

2017 May, SweetcrudeReports

The 20 Best Luxury SUVs Porsche Cayenne The Porsche Cayenne is one of the top luxury SUVs on the market. The auto features sports-car performance and high-end off-road capability. The stock engine in the SUV is a V-6 rated at 300 horsepower. The S model is rated at 420 horsepower, and the GTS sees 440 horsepower out of a twin-turbo six-cylinder engine. All versions of the SUV come with all-wheel drive and an eightspeed automatic transmission. The gas mileage rating of the SUV is 17 MPG (city) and 24 MPG (highway). The SUV can go from zero to 60 MPH in 4.1 seconds with a top overall speed of 176 MPH.

Range Rover Sport The Range Rover Sport is one of the best luxury SUVs on the market today. The automobile handles similar to a sports-car, and the vehicle has above average offroad capability. The stock engine for the Sport is a supercharged 3.0 liter six-cylinder rated at 340 horsepower coupled to an eight-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive. Consumers can also choose to change the drivetrain to a 3.0 liter turbodiesel six-cylinder rated at 440 lb-ft of torque and 254 horsepower when buying the auto new. The SUV can eat up to seven passengers, and allows the driver to reconfigure the seating in the vehicle to maximize cargo stowage. The overall gas mileage of the auto is 22 MPG (city) and 28 MPG (highway). The Sport has a top overall speed of 130 MPH, and the vehicle can go from zero to 60 MPH in 7.1 seconds.

BMW X5 The BMW X5 is one of the top luxury SUVs sold. The automobile handles similar to a high-end sports car, and the auto is sold with an optional third row depending on the needs of the buyer. The stock engine in the SUV is a turbocharged inlinesix cylinder rated at 300 horsepower. Additional drivetrains for the SUV include a twin-turbo eightcylinder rated at 445 horsepower, a turbodiesel inline-six cylinder rated at 255 horsepower, and a plug-in hybrid with a turbo-four cylinder engine

Volvo XC90 The Volvo XC90 is one of the best and most popular luxury SUVs sold today. The Swedish automobile features some of the best safety features of all SUVs, and the stock engine is a 2.0 liter turbo-four cylinder rated at 316 horsepower driving all-wheel drive with an eightspeed automatic transmission. Volvo also sells a hybrid version of the car that adds an electric motor that gives an 80 HP boost to the engine, and the interior of the vehicle delivers above average space. The overall gas mileage of the XC90 is 20 MPG (city) and 25 MPG (highway). The SUV can go from zero to 60 MPH in 6.4 seconds with a top overall speed of 132 MPH.

and electric motor rated at 308 horsepower. The overall gas mileage rating of the auto is 23 MPG (city) and 31 MPG (highway). The top overall speed of the X5 is 128 MPH, and the SUV can go from zero to 60 MPH in 7.3 seconds.

Mercedes-Benz GL Class The Mercedes-Benz GL Class is one of the top luxury SUVs on the roads. The automobile features three rows of seats that can comfortably seat up to seven passengers, a leather interior, and the option to upgrade to an air ionization system. The stock engine in the GL Class is a twin-turbo V-6 rated at 362 horsepower, and if upgrading to the GLS 550, the base engine is a twin-turbo V-8 rated at 449 horsepower. All drivetrain options for the vehicle include a nine-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive. The top speed of the SUV ranges between 130155 MPH depending on the drive train, and the auto can go from zero to 60 MPH between 4.7 and 7.4 seconds. The overall fuel efficiency rating of the SUV is 13-19 MPG (City) and 17-27 MPG (highway).

Cadillac Escalade The Cadillac Escalade is one of the best luxury SUVs sold today. The automobile features one of the best interiors of all autos in the class, and the stock engine in the vehicle is a 6.2 liter eight-cylinder rated at 420 horsepower. The auto comes with rear-wheel drive and an eight-speed automatic transmission, and consumers can choose to upgrade to allwheel drive when buying the auto new. The overall ride quality is extremely smooth; however, the handling capability of the auto is average. The Escaladeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gas mileage rating is 15 MPG (city) and 21 MPG (highway). The auto can go from zero to 60 MPH in 5.6 seconds, and the vehicleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s top overall speed is 113 MPH

Audi Q5 Acura MDX The Acura MDX is one of the top luxury SUVs on the market today. The auto is one of the most enjoyable SUVs to drive on the market, and the stock engine for the vehicle is a V-6 rated at 290 horsepower coupled to a nine-speed automatic transmission and front-wheel drive. Acura also offers a dealer upgrade to all-wheel drive (branded by the company as Super Handling All-Wheel Drive). The overall gas mileage rating of the auto is 19 MPG (city) and 26 MPG (highway). The MDX has a top overall speed of 113 MPH, and the auto can go from zero to 60 MPH in just 5.9 seconds.

The Audi Q5 is one of the best SUVs sold on the market today. The luxury SUV delivers an above average all-weather capability, and the stock engine in the vehicle is a turbocharged V-4 rated at 220 horsepower. Additional drivetrains available for consumers to buy at purchase are a supercharged V-6 rated at 272 horsepower, and a very fuel efficient hybrid. All-wheel drive and an eightspeed automatic transmission are standard equipment on the SUV, and the top overall speed of the SUV is 128 MPH. The auto can go from zero to 60 MPH in 5.8 seconds, and the Q5 has a gas mileage rating of 24 MPG (city) and 31 MPG (highway).

Lexus RX The Lexus RX is one of the top luxury SUVs on the market. The SUV features high-end design features, aboveaverage interior space, and a very comfortable ride. The hybrid model offers the best gas mileage with a 30 MPG (city) and 28 MPG (highway) overall rating. The stock transmission for the vehicle is a CVT, and consumers can choose between either front or allwheel drive when buying the R new. All-wheel drive comes standard on the hybrid. The top overall speed of the SUV is 115 MPH, and the RX can go from zero to 60 MPH in just 6.8 seconds. CONTINUES ON PAGE 55

2017 May, SweetcrudeReports

Motoring CONTINUED FROM PAGE 54

The 20 Best Luxury SUVs

Lincoln MKC The Lincoln MKC is one of the best luxury SUVs on the market today. The MKC uses a Ford Escape base, and the auto manufacturer goes on to deliver an upgraded auto body and grille for the vehicle to help differentiate the auto. Standard features for the SUV include heated seats, a longer auto body, and xenon lights. The stock engine for the auto is a 2.0 liter turbo four-cylinder rated at 2480 horsepower. Consumers can choose to upgrade to a 2.3 liter turbo-four rated at 285 horsepower when buying the SUV new. All drivetrain options come standard with frontwheel drive and a sixspeed automatic. The gas mileage rating for the vehicle is 18 MPG (city) and 26 MPG (highway). The MKC has a top overall speed of 130 MPH, and the auto can go from zero to 60 MPH in 6.6 seconds.

Land Rover LR4 The Land Rover LR4 is one of the top luxury SUVs on the roads today. The automobile is extremely capable off-road, and the stock engine for the SUV is a 3.0 liter six-cylinder rated at 340 horsepower. All-wheel drive comes standard on the vehicle, and Land Rover includes a number of off-road options with the auto to include an adjustable air suspension, a Terrain Response system, and hill descent control. The SUV can comfortably seat seven passengers, and includes a luxury-lined interior. The top speed of the LR4 is 123 MPH, and the auto can go from zero to 60 MPH in just 6.7 seconds. The gas mileage rating of the auto is 15 MPG (city) and 19 MPG (highway).

Volkswagen Touareg Infiniti QX70 The Infiniti QX70 is one of the highest-rated luxury SUVs on the market. The SUV is extremely stylish, and the stock engine for the auto is a 3.7 liter six-cylinder rated at 330 horsepower. Consumers can also choose to upgrade to the 5.6 liter V-8 rated at 420 horsepower when buying the auto new. Rear-wheel drive and a seven-speed automatic transmission come stock on the SUV, and all-wheel drive is available as a dealer option. Infiniti also sells a hybrid version of the SUV that is powered by a 3.5 liter V-6 combined with an electric motor rated at 360 horsepower. The overall gas mileage rating of the auto is 18 MPG (city) and 24 MPG (highway), and the auto can go from zero to 60 MPH in just 5.6 seconds.

Cadillac SRX The Cadillac SRX is one of the top luxury SUVs found on the roads today. The stock engine in the automobile is a 3.6 liter sixcylinder rated at 308 horsepower, and consumers can choose to upgrade from front to all-wheel drive when buying the auto new. A six-speed automatic transmission comes standard with the auto, and the SUV can be a bit noisy when accelerating on the highway. The overall gas mileage rating of the SUV is 16 MPG (city) and 23 MPG (highway). The maximum speed of the SRX is 131 MPH, and the auto can go from zero to 60 MPH in 7.2 seconds.

Infiniti QX60 The Infiniti QX60 is one of the top-rated luxury SUVs sold on the market. The auto features three rows of seating, and a second row that slides forward to provide easy access to the rear seats. The stock engine for the QX60 is a V-6 rated at 265 horsepower combined with front-wheel drive. Consumers can choose to upgrade to all-wheel drive when buying the auto new, and there is a hybrid version of the SUV available that delivers 26 MPG (combined) gas mileage. The QX60 is sold with a CVT automatic transmission, and the overall fuel efficiency rating of the gas powered edition of the auto is rated at 21 MPG (city) and 27 M P G (highway).

The Volkswagen Touareg is one of the top luxury SUVs sold on the market today. The SUV offers one of the most comfortable rides of all equivalent models, and the stock engine for the auto is a VR6 rated at 280 horsepower. Consumers can also choose to upgrade to a turbodiesel V-6 rated at 406 lb-ft of torque and 240 horsepower. All drivetrains come standard with an eight-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive. The top overall speed of the Touareg is 125 MPH, and the SUV can go from zero to 60 MPH in just 6.9 seconds. The overall gas mileage rating of the auto is 20 MPG (city) and 29 MPG (highway).

suspension to tailor the ride for either handling or increased comfort. The interior of the SUV is rated above average when compared to equivalent SUVs of the same class. The gas mileage rating of the Q7 is 17 MPG (city) and 25 MPG (highway). The top overall speed of the auto is 126 MPH, and the SUV can go from zero to 60 MPH in 8.9 seconds.

Lincoln Navigator The Lincoln Navigator is one of the best luxury SUVs sold today. The SUV features a leather interior and an improved engine with the new 3.5 liter twin-turbo six-cylinder rated at 460 lb-ft of torque and 380 horsepower. When buying the auto new, consumers can choose between rear or all-wheel drive. When upgrading to the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Reserveâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; package, the auto gets premium leather seats, power-retracting running boards, and 22 inch wheels. The top overall speed of the vehicle is 113 MPH, and the auto can go from zero to 60 MPH in just 6.2 seconds. The gas mileage rating of the Navigator is 15 MPG (city) and 20 MPG (highway).

Lexus GX The Lexus GX is one of the best luxury SUVs sold today, and the auto is one of the few that are based on a truck-frame. As a result, the SUV is one of the top SUVs when it comes to handling itself off-road, and the GX features a locking center differential and four-wheel drive. The vehicle also includes three rows that seat up to seven passengers comfortably. The stock engine in the auto is a 4.6 liter eight-cylinder rated at 301 horsepower coupled to a six-speed automatic transmission. The overall gas mileage rating of the GX is 15 MPG (city) and 20 MPG (highway).

Toyota Land Cruiser The Toyota Land Cruiser is one of the top and best-known luxury SUVs world-wide. The SUV has one of the sturdiest body and frame designs, and the vehicle is powered by a 5.7 liter V-8 engine rated at 381 horsepower coupled to an eightspeed automatic transmission and four-wheel drive. The auto is rated above average for off-road capability, and includes three rows that seat up to eight passengers. The top overall speed of the Land Cruiser is 129 MPH, and the auto can go from zero to 60 MPH in just 6.5 seconds.

Audi Q7 The Audi Q7 is an extremely spacious and top-rated SUV. The three-row automobile is one of the most stylish sold on the market today, and the only powertrain sold with the Q7 is a 3.0 liter six-cylinder engine rated at 333 horsepower coupled to an eight-speed automatic transmission with all-wheel drive. Consumers can choose when buying the SUV new to add an air

Jeep Grand Cherokee The Jeep Grand Cherokee is one of the top luxury SUVs on the market today. One of the most-established SUV brands, the Cherokee is make for owners who love to drive their SUV off-road. Consumers have the choice of four different four-wheel drive systems for the Grand Cherokee, and there is also an optional Quadra-Lift air suspension available when buying the auto new. The stock engine for the vehicle is a 3.6 liter six-cylinder rated at 295 horsepower. Alternative drivetrains for the SUV include a 5.7 liter V-8 rated at 360 horsepower, or a 3.0 liter V-6 turbodiesel. The top overall speed of the SUV is 121 MPH, and the Grand Cherokee can go from zero to 60 MPH in just 6.5 seconds. The gas mileage rating of the auto is 14 MPG (city) and 20 MPG (highway).

Technology

2017 May, SweetcrudeReports

Petroleum refining processes

e t r o l e u m r e f i n i n g processes are the c h e m i c a l engineering processes and other facilities used in petroleum refineries (also referred to as oil refineries) to transform crude oil into useful products such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), gasoline or petrol, kerosene, jet fuel, diesel oil and fuel oils. Petroleum refineries are very large industrial complexes that involve many different processing units and auxiliary facilities such as utility units and storage tanks. Each refinery has its own unique arrangement and combination of refining processes largely determined by the refinery location, desired products and economic considerations. Some modern petroleum refineries process as much as 800,000 to 900,000 barrels (127,000 to 143,000 cubic meters) per day of crude oil.

History Prior to the nineteenth century, petroleum was known and utilized in various

fashions in Babylon, Egypt, China, Phillippines, Rome and Azerbaijan. However, the modern history of the petroleum industry is said to have begun in 1846 when Abraham Gessner of Nova Scotia, Canada devised a process to produce kerosene from coal. Shortly thereafter, in 1854, Ignacy Lukasiewicz began producing kerosene from hand-dug oil wells near the town of Krosno, Poland. The first large petroleum refinery was built in Ploesti, Romania in 1856 using the abundant oil available in Romania. In North America, the first oil well was drilled in 1858 by James Miller Williams in Ontario, Canada. In the United States, the petroleum industry began in 1859 when Edwin Drake found oil near Titusville, Pennsylvania. The industry grew slowly in the 1800s, primarily producing kerosene for oil lamps. In the early twentieth century, the introduction of the internal combustion engine and its use in automobiles created a market for gasoline that was the impetus for fairly rapid growth of the petroleum [6]

industry. The early finds of petroleum like those in Ontario and Pennsylvania were soon outstripped by large oil â&#x20AC;&#x153;boomsâ&#x20AC;? in Oklahoma, Te xas and California. Prior to World War II in the early 1940s, most petroleum refineries in the United States consisted simply of crude oil distillation units (often referred to as atmospheric crude oil distillation units). Some refineries also had vacuum distillation units as

Petroleum refinery

well as thermal cracking units such as visbreakers (viscosity breakers, units to lower the viscosity of the oil). All of the many other refining processes discussed below were developed during the war or within a few years after the war. They became commercially available within 5 to 10 years after the war ended and the worldwide petroleum industry experienced very rapid growth. The driving force for that growth in technology and in the number and size of

Petroleum refineries are very large industrial complexes that involve many different processing units and auxiliary facilities such as utility units and storage tanks. Each refinery has its own unique arrangement and combination of refining processes largely determined by the refinery location

refineries worldwide was the growing demand for automotive gasoline and aircraft fuel. In the United States, for various complex economic and political reasons, the construction of new refineries came to a virtual stop in about the 1980s. However, many of the existing refineries in the United States have revamped many of their units and/or constructed add-on units in order to: increase their crude oil p r o c e s s i n g c a p a c i t y, increase the octane rating of their product gasoline, lower the sulfur content of their diesel fuel and home heating fuels to comply with environmental regulations and comply with environmental air pollution and water pollution requirements.

Processing units used in a refinery Crude Oil Distillation unit: Distills the incoming crude oil into various fractions for further processing in other units. Vacuum distillation unit: Further distills the residue oil from the bottom of the crude oil distillation unit. The vacuum distillation is performed at a pressure well below atmospheric pressure. CONTINUES ON PAGE 57

2017 May, SweetcrudeReports

Technology

Refinery CONTINUED FROM PAGE 56

NaphthaUses hydrogen to desulfurize the naphtha fraction from the crude oil distillation or other units within the refinery. Catalytic reforming unit: Converts the desulfurized naphtha molecules into higher-octane molecules to produce reformate, which is a component of the end-product gasoline or petrol. Alkylation unit: Converts isobutane and butylenes into alkylate, which is a very highoctane component of the endproduct gasoline or petrol. Isomerization unit: Converts linear molecules such as normal pentane into h i g h e r- o c t a n e b r a n c h e d molecules for blending into the end-product gasoline. Also used to convert linear normal butane into isobutane for use in the alkylation unit. Distillate Uses hydrogen to desulfurize some of the other distilled fractions from the crude oil distillation unit (such as diesel oil). Merox (mercaptan oxidizer) or similar units: Desulfurize LPG, kerosene or jet fuel by

Petroleum refining processes oxidizing undesired mercaptans to organic disulfides. Amine gas Claus unit, and tail gas treatment for converting hydrogen sulfide gas from the hydrotreaters into end-product elemental sulfur. The large majority of the 64,000,000 metric tons of sulfur produced worldwide in 2005 was byproduct sulfur from petroleum refining and natural gas processing plants. Fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit: Upgrades the heavier, higher-boiling fractions from the crude oil distillation by converting them into lighter and lower boiling, more valuable products. Hydrocracker unit: Uses hydrogen to upgrade heavier

fractions from the crude oil distillation and the vacuum distillation units into lighter, more valuable products. Visbreaker unit upgrades heavy residual oils from the vacuum distillation unit by thermally cracking them into lighter, more valuable reduced viscosity products. Delayed coking and fluid Convert very heavy residual oils into endproduct petroleum coke as well as naphtha and diesel oil by-products.

Auxiliary facilities required in a refinery Steam reforming unit: Converts natural gas into

hydrogen for the hydrotreaters and/or the hydrocracker. Sour water stripper unit: Uses steam to remove hydrogen sulfide gas from various wastewater streams for subsequent conversion into end-product sulfur in the Claus unit Utility units such as cooling towers for furnishing circulating cooling water, steam generators, instrument air systems for pneumatically operated control valves and an electrical substation. Wastewater collection and treating systems consisting of API separators, dissolved air flotation (DAF) units and some type of further treatment (such as an

activated sludge biotreater) to make the wastewaters suitable for reuse or for disposal Liquified gas (LPG) storage vessels for propane and similar gaseous fuels at a pressure sufficient to maintain them in liquid form. These are usually spherical vessels or bullets (horizontal vessels with rounded ends). Storage tanks for crude oil and finished products, usually vertical, cylindrical vessels with some sort of vapour emission control and surrounded by an earthen berm to contain liquid spills. CONTINUES ON PAGE 58

2017 May, SweetcrudeReports

Technology

Petroleum refining processes CONTINUED FROM PAGE 57

The crude oil distillation unit The crude oil distillation unit (CDU) is the first processing unit in virtually all petroleum refineries. The CDU distills the incoming crude oil into various fractions of different boiling ranges, each of which are then processed further in the other refinery processing units. The CDU is often referred to as the atmospheric distillation unit because it operates at slightly above atmospheric pressure. Below is a schematic flow diagram of a typical crude oil distillation unit. The incoming crude oil is preheated by exchanging heat with some of the hot, distilled fractions and other streams. It is then desalted to remove inorganic salts (primarily sodium chloride). Following the desalter, the crude oil is further heated by

exchanging heat with some of the hot, distilled fractions and other streams. It is then heated in a fuel-fired furnace (fired heater) to a temperature of about 398 °C and routed into the bottom of the distillation unit. The cooling and condensing of the distillation tower overhead is provided partially by exchanging heat with the

incoming crude oil and partially by either an aircooled or water-cooled condenser. Additional heat is removed from the distillation column by a pumparound system as shown in the diagram below. As shown in the flow diagram, the overhead distillate fraction from the

distillation column is naphtha. The fractions removed from the side of the distillation column at various points between the column top and bottom are called sidecuts. Each of the sidecuts (i.e., the kerosene, light gas oil and heavy gas oil) is cooled by exchanging heat with the incoming crude oil. All of the fractions (i.e., the overhead naphtha, the sidecuts and the bottom residue) are sent to intermediate storage tanks before being processed further.

Flow diagram of a typical petroleum refinery The image below is a schematic flow diagram of a typical petroleum refinery that depicts the various refining processes and the flow of intermediate product streams that occurs between the inlet crude oil feedstock and the final end-products. The diagram depicts only one of the literally hundreds of different oil refinery configurations. The diagram also does not include any of

the usual refinery facilities providing utilities such as steam, cooling water, and electric power as well as storage tanks for crude oil feedstock and for intermediate products and end products. The primary endproducts produced in petroleum refining may be grouped into four categories: light distillates, middle distillates, heavy distillates and others. Light distillates · Liquid petroleum gas (LPG) · Gasoline (petrol). · Heavy Naphtha. Middle distillates · Kerosene · Automotive and railroad diesel fuels · Residential heating fuel · Other light fuel oils Heavy distillates · Heavy fuel oils Others · Asphalt · Wax · Lubricating oil · other products

Community

2017 May, SweetcrudeReports

Shell Petroleum workers

Chevron, Shell, other IOCs can operate from Niger Delta â&#x20AC;&#x201D;PHCCIMA MKPOIKANA UDOMA, Port Harcourt

he Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, PHCCIMA, has added its voice to the call by the vice p r e s i d e n t , P r o f . Ye m i Osinbajo, for oil companies operating in the country to relocate their headquarters to their areas of

operation. PHCCIMA said the relocation would be a major step in arresting underdevelopment, poverty and associated social vices of militancy and insecurity in the Niger Delta region, explaining that doing otherwise would amount to playing the ostrich game. A statement signed by the president of PHCCIMA, Dr. Emi Membere-Otaji, explained that the safest way

to curb insecurity and tension in the Niger Delta was for the multinational oil companies to site their headquarters in the region and join hands with the state governments as obtainable in other wartorn OPEC countries like Iraq and Libya, amongst others. According to him, "Just as the management of international oil companies like Shell, Chevron, Total,

etc. reside in war-torn oil producing countries like Iraq and Libya to work and produce their oil instead of running to safe havens, the fastest way to curbing the insecurity in the oilproducing Niger Delta is for these oil companies' management to take the bull by the horn and reside in their areas of operations. "That way they will lobby and support the government to show strong political will in

Nobody will disrupt Bonny jetty construction â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Gov. Wike

ivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, has said that nobody will be allowed to stop the progress of construction work at the Bille/Bonny

jetty. The governor made the assurance while addressing youths at the project site in the backdrop of their refusal to be employed by the contractor, preferring to act as stumbling block to the smooth execution of the project. Wike explained that the project was for the overall benefit of the residents of the area and the riverine communities of Bonny Island, Bille and Nembe in neighbouring Bayelsa State. Stating that further efforts would be made to ensure that the youths bought-into the project, Wike noted that if such efforts failed, his administration would take stronger

measures to protect the contractor to deliver the project on schedule. "This project is crucial to our improvement of marine transport to Bonny, Bille and other adjoining riverine communities. "We are determined to complete the project on schedule. Therefore, we will not tolerate any youth disrupting work at the Bille/Bonny jetty under construction. We will take measures to protect the contractor to deliver on this project". The governor expressed satisfaction with the quality of work done so far by the contractor, assuring of regular payment for milestones achieved and the protection of the workforce.

not only churning out good policies, but in developing the area, especially in the area of infrastructure, education, health, entrepreneurial skills and maintaining security. "Then, there will be increased economic activities and the youths will be gainfully engaged instead of doing unlawful and illegal things." The PHCCIMA boss, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of an oil servicing firm, Elschon Nigeria Limited, reiterated the need to resuscitate seaports in the Niger Delta region and make it at par with Lagos ports. He lamented that the Eastern ports were moribund due to decrepit infrastructures and undredged channels. He said reviving the Eastern ports would reactivate the economy of the oil-producing states as well as create employment and curb criminality in the region.

2017 May, SweetcrudeReports

Community OSCARLINE ONWUEMENYI, Abuja

igeria's Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has asked contractors handling various projects in the Niger Delta region to return to site within 30 days or face prosecution. Also included are contractors handling projects for the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC. Osinbajo specifically directed that the list of all contractors who did not comply with the directive within the stipulated period be compiled and submitted to the Ministry of Justice and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for investigation and prosecution. The 30-day ultimatum, which was given at a recent inter-ministerial working group followed the renewed Niger Delta interactive engagements of the Muhammadu Buhari administration. It will be recalled that there have been series of consultative meetings between the Federal Government and stakeholders in the Niger Delta region initiated by the Pan-Niger Delta Forum, PANDEF. The membership of the Niger Delta interministerial group comprises officials from the Presidency, all relevant ministries including the Petroleum Resources, Niger Delta Affairs, E n v i r o n m e n t , P o w e r, Works and Housing and Office of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, among other MDAs. A statement from the Office of the Vice President, stated that “A concerted implementation work plan that would respond to the developmental issues and projects proposed by PANDEF is also being prepared, while fresh mandates are also being issued to all relevant MDAs as appropriate.” According to the statement, other decisions reached at the meeting i n c l u d e g o v e r n m e n t ’s "directive to the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, NDDC, the Ministries of Niger Delta Affairs, E n v i r o n m e n t , P o w e r, Works and Housing to proceed with the design and implementation of work plans in line with the

Govt gives NDDC contractors 30 days to complete projects or face prosecution

Road construction administration’s new vision for the region". “Ministries and agencies of government involved in f u r t h e r i n g t h e establishment of the Maritime University at Okerenkoko in Gbaramatu Kingdom, Delta State, have also been directed to come

A concerted implementation work plan that would respond to the developmental issues and projects proposed by PANDEF is also being prepared, while fresh mandates are also being issued to all relevant MDAs as appropriate

up with a clear path to t h e e v e n t u a l actualisation of the objective including consideration for a possible and timely takeoff grant for the u n i v e r s i t y, ” t h e statement added.

Blame oil theft on poverty, says university Don

lecturer with the University of Port Harcourt, Prof. Ben Naanen, says illegal refineries would be difficult to eradicate from Niger Delta, except the government deals with poverty, rehabilitation and empowerment of youths in the region. Naanen, a former Provisional Council Chairman of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People, MOSOP, also blamed the increase in illegal refineries and oil theft in the Niger Delta on the economic difficulties and poverty faced by the people in the area. In a keynote address at the National Conference on Oil Theft and Illegal Artisanal Refineries in Nigeria, organised by a group, Social Action, in Port Harcourt, the renowned professor said oil theft and illegal refining of petroleum products were done not only by the poor, but

also by some rich politicians who could afford to manage the business with their resources and political strength. According to him, "The fundamental issue in the problem of illegal refinery and oil theft is rooted in economy difficulties of the Niger Delta. And so without the government addressing the social economic challenge of the youth and generally, that of the region, it is going to be difficult to control it. "You have to address that issue of unemployment and poverty, the lack of economic opportunities in the Niger Delta and also deal with the perception that they are not having ownership of the resources that comes from their land, that they have to become a part of the ownership of resources of their land and that is where resource control comes in.”

2017 May, SweetcrudeReports

Community

Rivers community drags PHEDC to court over prepaid meters

Prepaid meter (Insert: Mr. Jay McCoskey, PHEDC CEO) MKPOIKANA UDOMA, Port Harcourt

esidents of Graceland community in Oyigbo Local Government Area of Rivers State has dragged the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company, PHEDC, before the

Port Harcourt High Court over failure of the company to provide them with prepaid meters. One of the claimants, Mr. Prince Onukwugha, said residents of the community were not happy that the distribution company had denied them the right to use public power supply.

Onukwugha prayed the court to force PHEDC to pay damages for failing to honour the agreement reached with the community months ago. When called up in the court, the case was however stalled as there was no representative of the distribution company in

court. Presiding judge, Justice Emmanuel Ogbuji, adjourned the case to May 30, 2017 for mention. When contacted, the spokesperson of PHEDC, Mr. John Onyi, said the company was not aware of the court case, as it has not been served any summons.

Belema Oil pledges to work with host communities

ndigenous oil firm, Belema Oil Producing Limited, has pledged to work with its host communities. It is the operator of Oil Mining Lease, OML, 55 joint venture with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC. The Managing Director of the company, Mr. Boma Brown, also says government can only find a lasting solution to the agitation in the Niger Delta region when it addresses the problems in the region as a socio-economic issue. He made this remark when he led a management team of the company on a visit to the Amayanabo of Kula Kingdom in Akuku Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State, His Royal Highness Kroma Amabibi, at his Port Harcourt residence. "We are here to tell you that we are operating in your

kingdom. The company is owned and operated by your son (Jackreich Tein) and we all should be proud of that. "The Niger Delta agitation has always been about resource control, that we the resource owners should be allowed to operate and benefit from the resources so that we can be real partakers of the Nigerian project and pay royalty to the government," he said during the visit. According to him, "Agitation is a socio-economic problem and for the Nigerian state to resolve that problem we need to address it as a socio-economic issue. The people are not asking for handout, they are asking to be economic players. They really want to take their destiny and provide hope for their people.”

Meanwhile, the Chief Executive Officer of P H E D C , M r. J a y McCoskey, said the company was expecting a total of 120,000 prepaid meters by July this year. M c C o s k e y, w h i l e appearing before the Rivers State House of Assembly Committee on Power, said the 120,000 meters was for consumers in Rivers State. “We have a total of 120,000 prepaid meters coming in for our customers in Rivers State this year. As for blackout, we have a problem because we d o n ’t g e n e r a t e t h e electricity. We only distribute it. We produce about 700 megawatts of power in Rivers State a l o n e , b u t , u n f o r t u n a t e l y, o n l y about 200 megawatts is all that is available to us to supply,” McCoskey said.

2017 May, SweetcrudeReports

Community

MKPOIKANA UDOMA, Port Harcourt

he Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Mr. Nsima Ekere, has announced that the commission would soon set up a Niger Delta Development Bank for people of the region to access funds. Ekere, who stated this at NDDC's corporate headquarters in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, while meeting with exagitators and youth leaders from the nine states of the Niger Delta, led by Isreal Eshanekpe, also known as General Akpodoro, assured that terms of the bank would be friendly. He disclosed that investors were considering Niger Delta as unsafe, thereby relocating from the region, and admonished the youths to give peace a chance, avoid hostilities and shun criminality. The managing director called on the youths and other stakeholders in the region to protect assets of the Federal Government and oil companies in their communities, to supporting Nigeria's economy and put an end to recession. He assured that NDDC was committed to the economic empowerment of the youths and other people of the Niger Delta, while reiterating that the modular refineries to be established in the Delta would go a long way to better the lives of the youths and other stakeholders. "The major reason for the meeting with the youths is to rub minds and agree on a

Mr. Ndoma-Egba

NDDC to establish Niger Delta Development Bank sustainable economic empowerment for youths of the Niger Delta. When w e t a l k a b o u t empowerment, it is not about giving money. We will not give you fish but we will teach you how to fish. "The NDDC has been mandated by the Federal Government to work out the framework with the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources, so

that youths of communities in the Niger Delta will be empowered through the establishment of modular refineries." Ekere called on Niger Delta youths to emulate the Pan-Niger Delta Forum, PANDEF, and have a similar body with a c c e p t a b l e a n d recognisable leadership in order to be taken seriously. He said: "The major problem that we have had

since we came on board is how to address and talk to youths of the Niger Delta region. Many 'generals' have been calling me on this and that, and it has been difficult to know who government should talk to on issues concerning the youths. "Why can't we in the Niger Delta agree on a proper youth structure that government can always talk to, when matters on youths of the region come up? Even armed

...To pay outstanding scholarship fees

anaging Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Mr. Nsima Ekere, has directed the immediate payment of all outstanding scholarship fees to beneficiaries of the 2016 NDDC Overseas Post Graduate Scholarship. Ekere expressed dissatisfaction that beneficiaries of the scheme were facing hardship due to delays in remitting both the tuition fees and upkeep allowances, and called on them to submit their bank details to the NDDC immediately. A statement by the Head, Corporate Affairs Department of NDDC, Mr. Chijioke Amu-Nnadi, said the Managing Director disclosed that only 32 out of 200 beneficiaries have so far submitted their personal international bank information and promised to pay them immediately.

"I am very unhappy about this needless delays and the untold hardship our scholars are going through right now; This is not acceptable. They are our children. They represent the future manpower and professionals that we are building to help transform the Niger Delta region and we cannot afford to allow them go through this kind of suffering,â&#x20AC;? he said. Mr. Ekere

robbers have leaders. Why can't we have an acceptable structure through which we can engage the youths? "PANDEF has provided the acceptable structure and platform for elders in the Niger Delta region to be organised and we commend them for that. The youths should borrow a leaf from the elders." Responding on behalf of the youths, Chief Fred Obe, from Delta State, lauded NDDC's managing director for the initiative, while admitting that lack of acceptable platform was the greatest problem facing the youths of the Niger Delta. Obe disclosed that Niger Delta youths had agreed to operate on the platform of Coalition of Niger Delta ExAgitators and Youth Leaders' Parliament, while assuring that the youths would give peace a chance in the region.

Community

2017 May, SweetcrudeReports

CSR: Total trains 800 women on capacity building

E-mail: johniyene@yahoo.com

Govt's new vision for Niger Delta to transform illegal refiners

Women vocational training

otal Exploration and Producing Company of Nigeria, TEPNG, has trained over 800 women from its host communities in Rivers and Akwa Ibom states on capacity development. The training which was aimed at repositioning the women to achieve their quest for gender parity, according to t h e c o m p a n y, w a s i n commemoration of this year’s International Women’s Day celebration, tagged; ‘Be Bold for Change.' The Deputy Managing Director, Port Harcourt District Total, Mr. Francois Le Cocq, said the essence of the workshop was for women to be able to surmount myriad of problems confronting them in the society and to be able to maintain peace in their respective communities. Le Cocq said that TEPNG had taken up the vision of fasttracking gender parity in the society, noting that women have vital roles in the development of any society. “To us in TEPNG we have deliberately decided to align ourselves to the fast track in gender parity. In the past one year women development activities have been elevated to heights never seen before in the company with the dedication of part of our job to

women development. “For those of you who are keen watchers of TEPNG activities you will notice that women development programmes have received a boost never seen before. “To this end TEPNG as a company is committed to policies that stand out against gender-based discrimination, marginalised, violence, human rights abuses and unequal access to education and healthcare. TEPNG provides equal opportunities in leadership and participation for both genders”, he said. Also speaking, the Commissioner of Women Affairs in Rivers State, Mrs. Ukel Oyaghiri, commended Total for organising the workshop for women in their communities of operation, describing it as a right step in the right direction. Oyaghiri who charged

women to be bold in their dealings to be able to effect the need change in their environment and in the society at large, also charged women to take quest for knowledge seriously. “A woman who is not properly trained with the requisite skills cannot be bold enough for change. It is when the woman is trained that she can compete favourably to effect the needed change. “This programme is organised to give women the needed knowledge and understanding that will pur them to take bold actions and steps in politics, business, education etc. in order to close the gender gap and gradually ensure that attainment of vision 2030,” the commissioner said.

A woman who is not properly trained with the requisite skills cannot be bold enough for change. It is when the woman is trained that she can compete favourably to effect the needed change

etails of the President Muhammadu Buhari's New Vision for oil-producing communities in the Niger Delta, is emerging as an idea is now being worked out to explore how some of the illegal refiners and the local communities in the region can become shareholders in the proposed Modular refineries concept of the Federal Government, presidency sources have disclosed. The consideration going on now is subsequent to the promises made by the Federal Government during the presidential interactive engagements in several oilproducing States led by the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to integrate the illegal refiners, rather than a scorched-earth policy that seeks to eliminate the operations of such refiners. But sources explain that there are a number of significant hurdles to be crossed especially issues around the engineering and technical ramifications of such a conversion, besides figuring out the financial models that would be workable and profitable. However, specific consideration on how to integrate local “illegal” refiners in the oil-producing communities into the Federal Government’s proposed modular refinery concept is now in progress with the Presidency and the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Agency, NSIA, spear-heading efforts. At a meeting late last week at the Presidential Villa, issues around technical and engineering implications of how to integrate the refiners were discussed with industry experts and practitioners making presentations on how to implement the Buhari presidency modular refinery initiative said to have been first proposed by Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources. At the meeting the experts reported that they have worked closely with the NNPC, Oil & Gas operators, owners of marginal fields, operators of refineries and various technical services providers “to develop a workable system to develop this initiative,” a presidency source disclosed. A modular refinery is a refinery made up of smaller and mobile parts- (skid-mounted)- that are more easily fabricated and can be more quickly transported to site. They come in different sizes with varying capacities normally lower capacity than conventional refineries with more elaborate and complication set-up. Under the plan being considered in the presidency, the Federal Government could supply crude to the local refineries at a reasonably considered price, as an incentive to stop the current practice whereby the illegal refiners vandalise and steal the crude. This concept would also prevent the environment degradation that the spills and damaging the trunklines have been causing. Also, marginal field operators can also supply crude to the new modular refineries that would have the illegal refiners integrated. Another important component of the plan under consideration is to involve the current illegal refiners and their communities as shareholders while the NDDC and the NSIA will also hold substantial holdings/equity sufficient to make the smaller refineries operational as a business and a going concern. To facilitate effective community engagements, an MOU would be established under the plan with the affected communities determining the communities share, while the FG would supervise the implementation, which would be driven largely by industry operators and the communities. Mr. Laolu Akande, Senior Special Assistant to the President, Media & Publicity, Office of the Vice President confirmed that a meeting was held last week on the issue adding that the Buhari presidency is actively working on all fronts to speedily deliver on its promise of a ‘new vision,’ in the Niger Delta.

2017 May, SweetcrudeReports