Oil & Energy

Egbin’ll Function To Installed Capacity After Repairs – CEO

Published

12 years ago

August 26, 2013

The Chief Executive Officer
of Egbin Thermal Plant, Mr Mike Uzoigwe, says the repairs of its sixth turbine unit (ST-06), will add 220 Megawatts (MW) to the national grid.
Uzoigwe said this when he inspected the ongoing repairs of the turbine in Lagos recently.
According to him, the plant may have waved over, its installed capacity generation challenges barely seven years down the line.
He said the power plant, which had an installed capacity of 1,320 MW, had suffered setback for some years due to ageing parts and paucity of funds to upgrade the facility.
The Tide source, however, reports that the plant was generating about 700 MW before it experienced a system collapse.
Uzoigwe, who confirmed the system collapse, added that power would be restored in a short while due to its new black-starting mechanism.
“Before now, system collapse takes power plants in Nigeria about five days to restore electricity, but the black-starting technology would make it possible within hours.’’
Uzoigwe, who conducted journalists round the plant, expressed joy that the plant would be operating at full capacity after about seven years of partial operation.
He said the plant was constructed about 30-years ago to operate on six turbine units at 220 MW each, until 2006 when the sixth unit exploded due to some water tube challenges.
The chief executive officer said the contract for repair was awarded to the Original Equipment Manufacturer, Hitachi of Japan.
According to him, the company has spent so much money to secure some parts of the plant.
He said between 2011 and 2012, it ordered and replaced all the cannibalised spares and also awarded contract for the final repairs at approximately N1 billion.
“Unit six job will last for 90 days after which the unit should be handed over completely repaired and ready for operation.
“Work effectively started on July 1, 2013, and still going on. This will lay to rest the rumours that money meant for ST-06 repairs was diverted some times in the past,” he said.
He explained that the delay in commencing the job was because it did not get the nod of the Bureau for Public Procurement (BPP) early enough to award the contract.
This, he explained, was due to BPP’s exhaustive procedure of making sure the contract price was right.
“We have started anyway and it is hoped we will deliver on time. We are in the interim discovering everyday some other parts we need to replace.
“This will cost some more money and we will soon take it up with the Minister of Power to source for more funds,” he said.
Uzoigwe welcomed the privatisation exercise, adding that although the takeover of the assets would soon happen.
According to him, the management has a philosophy of continuation with all what it is suppose to be doing until the day the new investors takeover.
Reports say that works were ongoing at the plant as experts handling different parts of the turbine were seen laying some of the new parts strategically around the affected turbine.
Uzoigwe, who gave estimates of parts of the plant, accordingly, said repair of damaged boiler was awarded to KEPCO at 17.95 million dollars which was almost 100 per cent completed.
According to him, the dry storage part was awarded to Igodi at N9.8 million, while the emergency repairs of generator rotor and BFP motor rotors were awarded to Maurubeni at 6.79 million dollars.
He said the total replacement of the damaged reheater outlet coils and comprehensive inspection of reheater inlet coils were awarded to KEPCO at 4.94 million dollars and N74. 61 million, respectively.
He added that the supply of new AVR cubicle for thyristor excitation system was awarded to Marubeni at 117.9 million Yen, while the repair of LP turbine rotor journals was awarded to G.E at 1.52 million dollars.
According to Uzoigwe, all the listed parts are almost 100 per cent completed, except for the supply of cannibalised items which are at 80 per cent completion.

Oil & Energy

No Subsidy In Oil, Gas Sector — NMDPRA

Published

1 week ago

September 8, 2025

The Tide

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has said there are no subsidies in the oil and gas sector as Nigeria operates a completely deregulated market.

The Director, Public Affairs Department, NMDPRA, George Ene-Italy, made this known in an interview with newsmen, in Abuja, at the Weekend.

Reacting to the recent reports that the Federal Government has removed subsidies or increased the price of Compressed Natural Gas (CBG), Ene-Italy said, “What we have is a baseline price for our gas resources, including CNG as dictated by the Petroleum Industry Act”.

He insisted that as long as the prevailing CNG market price conforms to the baseline, then the pricing is legitimate.

Furthermore, the Presidential – Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (P-CNGI) had said that no directive or policy had been issued by the Federal Government to alter CNG pump prices.

The P-CNGI boss, Michael Oluwagbemi, emphasised that the recent pump price adjustments announced by certain operators were purely private-sector decisions and not the outcome of any government directive or policy.

For absolute clarity, it said that while pricing matters fell under the purview of the appropriate regulatory agencies, no directive or policy had been issued by the Federal Government to alter CNG pump prices.

The P-CNGI said its mandate, as directed by President Bola Tinubu, was to catalyse the development of the CNG mobility market and ensure the adoption of a cheaper, cleaner, and more sustainable alternative fuel and diesel nationwide.

Oil & Energy

‘Nigeria’s GDP’ll Hit $357bn, If Power Supply Gets To 8,000MW’

Published

1 week ago

September 8, 2025

The Tide

The Managing Director, Financial Derivatives Company Limited (FDC), Bismarck Rewane, has said that Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) could rise to $357b if electricity supply would increase from the present 4.500MW to 8,000MW.

Rewane also noted that Nigeria has spent not less than $30 billion in the power sector in 26 years only to increase the country’s power generation by mere 500MW, from 4,500 MW in 1999 to 5,000MW in 2025 though the sector has installed capacity to generate 13,000 MW.

In his presentation at the Lagos Business School (LBS) Executive Breakfast Session, titled “Nigeria Bailout or Lights Out: The Power Sector in a Free Fall”, Rewane insisted that the way out for the power sector that has N4.3 trillion indebtedness to banks would be either a bailout or lights out for Nigeria with its attendant consequences.

He said, “According to the World Bank, a 1.0 per cent increase in electricity consumption is associated with a 0.5 to 0.6 per cent rise in GDP.

“If power supply rises to 8000MW, from current 4500MW, the bailout shifts money from government into investment, raising consumption and productivity. And, due to multiplier effects, GDP could rise to $357 billion.”

The FDC’s Chief Executive said “in the last 30 years, Nigeria has invested not less than $30 billon to solve an intractable power supply problem.

“The initiatives, which started in 1999 when the power generated from the grid was as low as 4,500MW, have proved to be a failure at best.

“Twenty-six years later, and after five presidential administrations, the country is still generating 5,000MW. Nigeria is ranked as being in the lowest percentile of electricity per capita in the world.

“The way out is a bailout, or it is lights out for Nigeria”, he warned.

He traced the origin of the huge debts of the power sector to its privatisation under President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, when many of the investors thought they had hit a jackpot, only to find out to their consternation that they had bought a poisoned chalice.

Rewane, who defined a bailout as “injection of money into a business or institution that would otherwise face an imminent collapse”, noted that the bailout may be injected as loans, subsidies, guarantees or equity for the purpose of stabilising markets, protect jobs and restore confidence.

He said, “The President has promised to consider a financial bailout for the Gencos and Discos. With a total indebtedness of N4.3 trillion to the banking system, the debt has shackled growth in the sector.”

Rewane warned that without implementing the bailouts for the power sector, the GENCOs and DISCOs would shut down at the risk of nationwide blackout.

Rewane, however, noted that implementing a bailout for the power sector could have a positive effect on the country’s economy if Nigeria’s actual power generation could rise from today’s 4,500 MW to around 8,000 and 10,000 MW.

The immediate gains, according to him, would include improved power generation and distribution capacity, more reliable electricity supply to homes and businesses as well as cost reflective tariffs.

Oil & Energy

NEITI Blames Oil, Gas Sector Theft On Mass Layoff

Published

1 week ago

September 8, 2025

The Tide

The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has blamed the increasing crude oil theft across the nation on the persistent layoff of skilled workers in the oil and gas sector.

The Executive Secretary, NEITI, Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, stated this during an interview with newsmen in Abuja.

Orji said from investigations, many of the retrenched workers, who possess rare technical skills in pipeline management and welding, often turn to illicit networks that steal crude from pipelines and offshore facilities.

In his words, “You can’t steal oil without skill. The pipelines are sometimes deep underwater. Nigerians trained in welding and pipeline management get laid off, and when they are jobless, they become available to those who want to steal crude”.

He explained that oil theft requires extraordinary expertise and is not the work of “ordinary people in the creeks”, stressing that most of those involved were once trained by the same industry they now undermine.

According to him, many retrenched workers have formed consortia and offer their services to oil thieves, further complicating efforts to secure production facilities.

“This is why we told the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) to take this seriously. The laying off of skilled labour in oil and gas must stop”, he added.

While noting that oil theft has reduced in recent times due to tighter security coordination, Orji warned, however, that the failure to address its root causes, including unemployment among technically trained oil workers would continue to expose the country to losses.

According to him, between 2021 and 2023, Nigeria lost 687.65 million barrels of crude to theft, according to NEITI’s latest report. Orji said though theft dropped by 73 per cent in 2023, with 7.6 million barrels stolen compared to 36.6 million barrels in 2022, the figure still translates to billions of dollars in lost revenues.

Orji emphasised that beyond revenue, crude oil theft also undermines national security, as proceeds are used to finance terrorism and money laundering.

“It’s more expensive to keep losing crude than to build the kind of monitoring infrastructure Saudi Arabia has. Nigeria has what it takes to do the same”, he stated.