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Amnesty: Nigeria’s Oil Earnings Hit N18bn Daily
Troops will remain in the Niger Delta to safeguard oil installations, the Joint Military Task Force (JTF) has declared, days after the end of amnesty.
And Petroleum Minister, Rilwanu Lukman, disclosed at the weekend that Nigeria now produces between 1.6 million and 1.7 million barrels per day (bpd) and is sticking to its quota allocated by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
That translates into earning N18 billion a day.
Lukman said oil output reached 1.7 million barrels when the amnesty lasted from August 5 to October 4.
A decision by OPEC on production quotas on December 22 will depend on market conditions, such as demand, he stressed.
“OPEC will only increase output if the market requires it,” Lukman explained in an interview in Abuja.
A spokesman from Chevron confirmed that the company’s Agbami platform offshore produced 250,000 bpd in August, four months ahead of schedule.
The Agbami oil and gas field, which began production in July last year, is a $7 billion project containing an estimated 900 million barrels of oil equivalent of recoverable hydrocarbons, the largest deepwater discovery to date in Nigeria.
Agbami stretches across 45,000 acres and is located some 70 miles (113 kilometres) offshore the Niger Delta.
Situated on Nigerian blocks OML 127 and 128, its water depth is 4,500 feet (1,372 metres).
The crude oil found in Agbami is light and sweet, with a 45-degree API gravity and no contaminants.
Through its major capital projects worldwide, Chevron, the second-largest American oil company, is poised to ramp up production faster than its rivals, according to Dow Jones.
Moreover, it has 40 projects for which it is investing $1 billion each, 15 of them located in Africa and Latin America.
Other operators in Agbami are Petrobras, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Famfa Oil, and StatoilHydro ASA.
Lukman’s estimate of current production is 100,000 bpd higher than a range provided by Petroleum Minister of State, Odein Ajumogobia.
Lukman, the more senior oil official, said output flows fluctuate from day to day.
The figures he and Ajumogobia released both exclude condensate production, the addition of which brings Nigeria’s output to more than two million bpd, they said.
Under the amnesty programme, thousands of militants and their commanders renounced violence and surrendered weapons. With relative peace in the Deep South, oil production is likely to increase in the coming months, Ajumogobia enthused.
However, Abuja officials have given differing production figures in recent months.
Lukman had said on August 26 that output had risen to 1.7 million bpd from 1.2 million, following an improvement in security.
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Lamido Sanusi, who said on August 4 that output had declined to one million bpd, told reporters in Istanbul last week that it has risen back to about two million bpd.
What is known for a fact is that oil production, which averaged 2.5 million bpd in 2005, according to the Petroleum Ministry, has suffered in the last three years from armed attacks on oil workers and installations by militants in the Niger Delta, the country’s oil basin.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), the main armed group in the region, has threatened to resume attacks on the oil industry as its current ceasefire ended on October 15, its Spokesman Jomo Gbomo, reiterated in a statement at the weekend.
The group has rejected the amnesty, saying it fails to address its demands for redistribution of oil wealth to Niger Deltans who are among the poorest in the country.
JTF Commander, Brigadier General Sarkin Bello, noted at the weekend that soldiers have been stationed in the Niger Delta since 2003, but they need to stay longer to protect vulnerable points and oil facilities.
“We take directives from Defence Headquarters and so far we have not received any (counter directive) since the amnesty ended,” he said.
“We are also aware a big achievement has been recorded by the government regarding the restoration of law and order in the Niger Delta. I am sure government, in its wisdom, will direct the JTF on the next line of action.
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Our Legacy’ll Leave Lasting Impression On Rivers People -Fubara
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has assured that his administration will collaborate and continue to consult widely in delivering a liberated State experiencing enduring peace.
Fubara said, in doing so, he would not operate as a dictator but as a member of a team that has the best interest of the State at heart and determined to leave a lasting legacy that can be celebrated.
The governor spoke during the formal presentation of Certificate of Recognition and Staff of Office to the Amanyanabo of Okochiri Kingdom, King Ateke Michael Tom, as first class tradition ruler, at Government House in Port Harcourt, yesterday.
Fubara stated that, during the Sixth State Executive Council meeting, N80.8billion was approved with 50 percent contract value paid already as the Government awarded the construction of the Elele-Egbeda-Omoku Road.
He said the project will be funded from the savings from Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) to underscore his administration’s prudence without also borrowing to complete the project.
“We are at a crossroad in our State where we all need to stand for what is right. It happens once in a life time. So, for now, be one of those people that will be in the course to liberate and free our dear State.
“And I know strongly that having the support of a peace-loving Amanyanabo of Okochiri Kingdom, having the support of the wonderful Council of Chiefs, having the support of the great people of Rivers State, we will bring peace in our State. We will do those things that are right to develop our State.
“We will continue to consult. We will not act as dictators. We will act as people who know that one day, we will leave, and when we leave, the way we have acted will speak for us. We will not force people to talk good about us. Our legacy will be a signature for how we led”, the governor said.
Fubara explained that he acted within the ambit of the law to upgrade the traditional stool upon which King Ateke Tom sits in recognition of his efforts in promoting peace in Okrika, and indeed, the State, and urged him to continue to do justice to everyone.
In his speech, Commissioner for Chieftaincy and Community Affairs, Hon Charles Amadi, congratulated King Ateke Tom for being formally presented with the Certificate of Recognition and Staff of Office as first class traditional ruler.
Also speaking, former Transport Minister, Chief Abiye Sekibo, thanked the governor for fulfilling his promise of upgrading the traditional stool of Okochiri Kingdom, and pledged the support of Kirike Se people to his administration.
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We’re Determined To Leave Legacy Of Quality Education -Fubara
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has promised to give the best attention to the education sector so that standard and quality learning will never be compromised in the State.
The governor emphasised that in achieving such legacy, schools in the State will be driven with a curriculum that will equip school-aged children to become competitive, innovative and self-reliant.
Governor Fubara made the assertion while inaugurating the Governing Council of Rivers State University at Government House in Port Harcourt on Wednesday.
He said: “There is a lot of noise everywhere: people asking what we are doing; that we are not focused, and that we don’t have direction.
”But I want to tell the world that we are focused and aware that we cannot grow if our energies are not channeled to education. Not just education, but purposeful education.
”Education that is creative. Education that gives you independence. We have left the era in the world when you speak too much grammar. We are in such times when it is what you can do with your hands.
”Our purpose for education is that we should bring back our academic programmes to where, at the end of your studies, you don’t need a job but you create jobs. When one creates a job, you automatically employ others. That is what I want this council to see as their task.”
Governor Fubara noted the non-existence of public secondary schools for the male child in the Diobu axis of Port Harcourt.
He said such negligence leaves children in that area who have completed primary education, and whose parents cannot afford sending them to far away secondary schools, to roam the streets, and therefore becoming willing tools for criminality.
Governor Fubara assured that such fundamental problem will be addressed by his administration as a measure to curb the negative impression associated with Diobu axis of Port Harcourt.
The governor said he trusts in the capacity of the members of the Governing Council of Rivers State University to bring about positive change in the institution while also contributing their quota to improving the general education standard in the State.
”I charge you, not just in terms of administering the affairs of the university, but let us add something different from the normal things that we already have to see new things.”
In her response, on behalf of the other members, the Pro-Chancellor of the Governing Council of Rivers State University, Justice Mary Odili (rtd), thanked the governor for finding them worthy to serve in such capacity.
Justice Odili assured they will work assiduously as a team to solve the problems that agitate the mind of the governor and ensure their contributions form part of the legacy that will be bequeathed by his administration.
The members included Justice Mary Odili (rtd) as the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council with Barrister Mela Oforibika and Chukwuma Chinwo, Esq.
Others were Adata Bio-Briggs, Esq., Dr. Jonathan Nimi Hart, Ngo Martins-Yellowe, Dr. Nancy Nwankwo, Dr. Igoni William-Park, and Mr. Ogbugbu Barisua.
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Fubara, Others Eulogise Rivers First Lady’s Mother
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, his Deputy, Prof Ngozi Odu, and key stakeholders of the State on Wednesday paid glowing tributes at the Service of Songs held in honour of late Mrs Adeline Jaja, mother of the wife of the Governor, Lady Valerie Fubara, at St. Andrew’s Anglican Church, Mile 1, Diobu, Port Harcourt.
Speaking at the event, Governor Fubara described his late mother-in-law as a great and visionary woman who lived on truth and conviction in what she believes.
“Mama was a great woman. She wasn’t a materialistic person. When she believes in you, she’ll be all out for you. She stood for me. I feel pained that, like my own mother, she left at this moment.
”Mama believed so much in God, and the wonders of God. I thank everyone, particularly the Church. On behalf of the bereaved family, we will support the Church to immortalise her name,” the Governor said.
In his homily, Vicar of the Church, Ven. A. A. Ijon-Ama, who spoke on the gains of death, said physical departure from earth was not an ultimate end but an opening for higher and permanent gain and perfection.
He pointed out that when a man has a good relationship with God, he stands to gain more in death.
Ven. Ijon-Ama described late Mrs. Adeline Jaja as a devout Christian, who exuded deep sense of hospitality, and endowed with accommodating spirit, noting that she will be greatly missed by all.
The Vicar, who prayed for the repose of the soul of Mrs Adeline Jaja, also solicited for Divine fortitude for the family to bear the great loss, and called for the immortalisation of the deceased to keep her good legacies alive.
Some family members, who spoke at the Service of Songs, extolled the virtues of the deceased, describing her as “a great community leader, counsellor, peace maker, and caring mother, who provided for the needy, and participated actively in Church activities.
Highlights of the event were special prayers for the bereaved family, conducted by the Anglican Bishop of Evo Diocese, Rt. Rev. Innocent Ordu; remarks by key family members, choir ministration, among others.
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