Oil & Energy

Energy Conservation: Lessons For Posterity

Published

7 years ago

September 11, 2017

Kozo community, a
coastal habitation in Bodo, Gokana Local Government Area of Rivers State, once hosted over four thousand persons that earned their livelihood, predominantly from the natural treasures of the area.
The teeming inhabitants of the community were mostly fishermen and women who eased out their daily existence on the natural ambience of the area which satisfied their craving for game and stalking for survival.
This was indeed their most cherished possession and inheritance.
Today, the once thriving rural economy and communal living are almost extinct. The barest shred of human existence in the coastal settlement is gone. The inhabitants have been rendered homeless and have migrated out of their abode in search of alternative means of livelihood.
No thanks to reckless oil exploration and exportation in the area which have brought colossal damage to the natural environment and left the displaced inhabitants in a state of misery.
A visit to Kozo community recently revealed the extent of devastation of the natural environment. There was visibly no sign of life but desolation. The sprawling cracks where the fishermen launched their daily expedition was laden with thick layers of crude oil. The mangrove reserve that harboured the sea shell food was completely burnt off.
A former inhabitant of Kozo community, Peter Ledisi, who now lives in Bodo Town, in Gokana Local Government Area, of Rivers State told The Tide correspondent that he was born in Kozo community and grew up in the area until the sad experience of oil polution displaced his family.
Ledisi, who is 35 years old said his parents took care of him and his siblings through the proceeds of fishing but today life has become so difficult for the family as their means of livelihood is destroyed.
“That place you see (Kozo community) used to be our home for the past decades, we grew up there and pursued life with happiness, we were contented with what nature provided for us through fishing, every growing child enjoyed fishing there because it provided fun for us and filled our desire and passion for game and we also made money from it. Today, we have been displaced out of our home by oil pollution. Life is so difficult for us”, he lamented.
Another displaced inhabitant of Kozo community, Miss Tornubari Sakpugi disclosed that life has become very unbearable for her as a result of the environmental pollution of their natural home.
Sakpugi, a fish seller, said her business has collapsed as her customers can no longer go on their fishing expedition due to the pollution of the rivers.
“I used to buy fish in higher quality from fishermen and sell. The business helped me a lot and I was able to provide for my needs, but today, things are very hard for me. It is a terrible experience for you to move out of a place where you earn a living without any alternative means of livelihood, we want the polluted area to be cleaned so that we can return home. They are talking about UNEP report, but we are not seeing a development, the damage is too much, we are suffering”, she declared.
The story of Kozo community is similar to that of other oil bearing communities in the Niger Delta. These communities suffer wanton depletion of their natural resources through oil spillages and gas flaring. The land, plants, animals and marine life are badly impacted through the resultant pollution, making life meaningless for the inhabitants of the affected areas.
Fishermen at some major water fronts in Port Harcourt also have similar story to tell.
Iyalla, a fisherman who resides at Ibadan water front in Port Harcourt told The Tide correspondent during a visit to the area that fishing business is no longer lucrative compared to the past.
Asked the reason for the decline in the business, he said the rivers have been contaminated with spilled crude oil from bunkering.
According to Mr Iyalla, years back, fishermen did not have to go to the deep sea before they were rewarded with good catch.
But today, he said they have to paddle through hard and wander up sea amidst wreckages of boats and badges and sometimes return home with little or no catch. He explained that illegal refining of crude oil and bunkering activities smear the rivers with wasted crude, making bloated dead fishes to float on top of the rivers. He added that; “ the fishes that we catch these days are tasteless because of the polution of the rivers”.
Experts have however identified this ugly trend as an indication of the total cost of aquatic life which is the hallmark of coastal habitation.
A Chemical Engineer, Dr Ujile Uwajiogak said the burning of our natural reserves, especially through the “cooking of crude oil” put the life of the present generation and that of posterity at risk.
Speaking in an interview with The Tide, the Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering at the Rivers State University disclosed that it takes over 50 years for a polluted site to regain its lost reserves. Using the experience of the Civil war as an example, the university teacher said, the bombing of oil facilities in the Niger Delta during the war left in its wake devastating effects on the creeks and coastal channels of the region.
He said after 50 years of the war, nothing has grown in the impacted sites and the flourishing mangrove forest is replaced by palm that has no economic value.
“The indulgence of criminal elements in the cooking of crude oil is very destructive to our ecosystem and also has health implications. Research has shown that illegal bunkering will increase cancer in the region. What is the sense in taking a few components of the product and wasting the rest on aquatic life? Our environment was preserved and bequeathed to us by our forebears, but today we are destroying it, uninitiated to the wonders and possibilities of western technology, they lived longer and happier than the present generation, the average life span of a Niger Delta person today is 50 years, this is indeed pathetic”.
In the views of an Environmental Sociologist, Dr Steve Wodu, human insensitivity to the protection of his natural environment has worsened problems of environmental degradation. To him, some of man’s actions towards his environment are tampered insanely on ignorance or deliberate obstinacy billed to ruin existence. “Otherwise what will be the rationale behind indiscriminate burning of natural energy reserves or bad sanitation habits such as littering of wastes and lack of care of the natural surrounding,” he asked rhetorically.
Dr Wodu, postulated that a new era of prosperity can only blossom when we begin to treat our environment with the same sanctity with which we treat our very life.
In his view, the Director of the Institute of Conflict and Gender Studies, University of Port Harcourt , Prof Fidelis.
Allen, said a blighted environment portrays the nakedness of our civilisation and turns man’s dream into despair. Prof Allen, who is an environmental crusader, called for a more holistic approach towards the restoration and preservation of the natural environment.
According to him, only through such holistic approach and sound environmental awareness campaign can the ethical violation of environmental rights be curtailed and sustainable environmental growth attained.
To achieve a better objective in environmental management, he said, “the exploitation of resources, the direction of investment, the orientation of technological development and institutional change should be in harmony to enhance both present and future potentials to meet human needs and aspiration”.
He called on multinational companies operating in the Niger Delta region to carry out their activities with a sense of social responsibility by adopting international best practices and save the Niger Delta environment from destruction.
He described the Ogoni clean-up exercise as critical to the eventual remediation of other impacted sites in Niger Delta communitees and called on all affected stakeholders to expedite action to make the clean up exercise a success.
Also, a group known as the Ogoni Youth Federation frowned against what it considers the deliberate delay in the implementation of the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) Report in Ogoni land. National Coordinator of the group, Comrade Legborsi Yaamabana, who spoke with The Tide in an interview blamed Shell, for the non implementation of the UNEP report, stating that the company was rather concerned about resumption of oil exploration activities in Ogoni than the restoration of the despoiled Ogoni environment.
Comrade Yaamabana called on Shell to provide potable drinking water in Ogoni land and carry out medical programme in the area to save the people from various strange ailments associated with environmental pollution.
Comrade Yaamabana also called for a national environmental policy that would specifically address the environmental problems in the Niger Delta and other parts of the country.
He said such policy must take into consideration that solid waste management is an important aspect of environmental planning, which must be prioritised rid our society of indiscriminate dumping of industrial waste.
Realising the importance of the natural environment, the American novelist, Henry Beston warned: do not do dishonour to the earth lest you dishonor the spirit of man. The implication of Beston’s warning is that by destroying his natural environment, man sets to consume himself in an escapable catastrophe, the possibilities of which are too obvious to be ignored.
However, the production and consumption of energy is today a major indicator of modernisation process. Our modern civilisation is fuelled by the energy sector, particularly oil and gas and this involves exploratory activities with attendant pollution problems and significant local and global implication.
It is therefore suicidal to see that the very natural ingredients that nourish our lives are washed away in the name of technology or industrialisation. It is left for us therefore to heed to Beston’s warning or perish.

Taneh Beemene

Oil & Energy

NSCDC’s Anti-Vandal Squad Uncovers Artisanal Refinery In Rivers Community

Published

1 week ago

April 15, 2024

The Tide

The Anti-Vandal Squad of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Rivers State Command, has uncovered yet another local refinery situated at Adobi-Akwa settlement in Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The State Commandant, Basil Igwebueze, disclosed this while speaking to journalists shortly after the tour of the Illegal site.
Represented by the Head, Anti-Vandal Squad, CSC Peters Ibiso, Igwebueze said the squad made the discovery following a tipp off, expressing regret that no arrest was made as the boys fled the site upon sighting the squad.
The cammandant’s representative took the newsmen across a tick forest of about 6-7 kilometers from the main town.
The team sighted where the pipeline vandals tapped into the Well Head of yet to be ascertained multinational company, connected their galvanised pipes to several cooking pots, heat up the crude to produce Automotive Gas Oil (AGO).
In his words, “Upon receiving a tip-off, the Anti-Vandal operatives swung into action to uncover this illegal oil bunkering site. They were in this forest for two days having cordoned the area, unfortunately, the perpetrators upon sighting our men took to their heels, but investigation is still ongoing to effect the arrests of such defiant elements”.
The Anti-Vandal Unit Head further narrated the operation techniques of the operators of local illegal refineries from the point of extraction of crude through vandalism of oil pipelines to cooking in various ovens where the content is subjected to high temperature and transmitted through pipes to reservoirs for storage and onward trans- loading to buyers.
While insisting that the command would not relent in the fight against illegal dealings in petroleum products, he urged the public to have more trust in the NSCDC by providing actionable intelligence that would enhance possible arrest of economic saboteurs in the State.
“Our commitment to continuously work in tandem with the prosecutorial mandate of the corps in order to rid the State of economic saboteurs remains unchanged. We value our informants and most especially the intelligence driven tip-off received from time to time.
“It is also our duty to ensure that our source of information are not disclosed so as to protect our informants. It is therefore our delight that the public will continue to have confidence and trust in us as we together protect the nation’s critical national assets and infrastructure from dare devil vandals”, he stated.

By: Lady Godknows Ogbulu

Oil & Energy

Oil Fund Withdrawals Suggest Extended Price Rally

Published

1 week ago

April 15, 2024

The Tide

The world’s largest crude oil exchange-traded fund has bled over $2 billion in less than a year. And it i
s not due to investors finding greener pastures elsewhere with other ETFs; it is the siren call of soaring prices that is prompting this mass exodus.
The WisdomTree Brent Crude Oil exchange-traded commodity had assets under management of some $2.5 billion last summer, according to Bloomberg. Now, the publication reports, this is down to $396 million, with withdrawals accelerating over the past few days.
In that, withdrawals seem to be following price trends. Brent earlier this month topped $90 per barrel and, after a short pause earlier this week, is back above that threshold again following the latest Israeli strike on the Gaza Strip amid reports about a possible ceasefire.
While it is true that prices are currently driven higher mainly by geopolitical events, fundamentals are also at play. A growing number of forecasters are updating their predictions for benchmarks this year on expectations of resilient demand and increasingly tighter supply. And investors are following the trend.
Even those who have not sold their ETF holdings in order to invest more directly in the rally are benefitting. That same WisdomTree Brent Crude Oil ETC generated returns of over 13 percent during the first quarter of the year as opposed to an average 8.8% gain in the S&P 500.
The WisdomTree exchange-traded commodity became the world’s largest oil fund at the beginning of last year. The fund saw inflows of over $1 billion, which poured in as the deflation in oil prices that had begun in late 2022 extended into the new year. Now, the trend has reversed and it has reversed strongly.
The WisdomTree Brent Crude Oil ETC is not the only fund seeing outflows. The U.S. Oil Fund, which used to be the world’s biggest oil fund before the WisdomTree inflows last year and is now the world’s biggest oil fund once again, also saw a flurry of investor exits as benchmarks climbed higher.
According to Bloomberg, the fund’s assets under management currently stand at $1.3 billion, down from some $5 billion during the pandemic.
In further evidence that oil makes money, the Middle East is about to become the only region in the world with three trillion-dollar sovereign wealth funds. The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority is worth $993 billion, Bloomberg reported in March, while the Saudi Public Investment Fund and the Kuwait Investment Authority are breathing down its neck.
Meanwhile, investment in transition-related stocks is on the decline, according to data reported by Reuters. The S&P Global Clean Energy Index is down by 10% since the start of the year. In comparison, the S&P 500 Energy Index, which comprises Big Oil names, has gained 16.3%.
The data shows that investors are growing wary of all the promises made by transition advocates as evidence mounts that these were not based on due diligence. Wind and solar stocks suffered a crash last year when this first became clear.
Now, we are witnessing a continued awakening among investors to the challenges and the realistic potential of transition technology and alternative energy sources.
“With conventional energy having its own bull run, I think the alternative funds will struggle for the foreseeable future, and we shall see what the election brings”, the Managing Director of capital markets at Phoenix Capital Group Holdings told Reuters.
The comment summarizes the challenging situation for alternative energy investment and highlights the rebound of interest in oil and gas, much to the chagrin of decision-makers on both sides of the Atlantic.
In both Europe and the U.S., things can get even worse for the transition after the respective elections—in June for European Parliament and in November for U.S. President. It will certainly be an interesting year in energy.
Slav writes for oilprice.

By: Irina Slav

Oil & Energy

CNG Initiative: FG Targets 25,000 Jobs, $2.5bn Investment

Published

1 week ago

April 15, 2024

The Tide

The Programme Director and Chief Executive, Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiatives, Michael Oluwagbemi, has announced the Federal Government’s plan to target over 25,000 jobs and $2.5 billion worth of investment by 2027.
Oluwagbemi made this known during the Presidential CNG stakeholders’ engagement workshop held at BOVAS Auto-Gas Filling Stations, Ajibode Bus-Stop, in Ibadan, Oyo State capital, at the weekend.
He stated that the initiative, which was part of palliative measures to ease the burden of the removal of fuel subsidy, would attract enormous investment and job creation as well as impact positively on the lives of Nigerians.
Meanwhile, he called on Nigerians to embrace the new initiatives by the Federal Government as part of palliatives to cushion the effect of the removal of fuel subsidy in the country.
“On October 1, 2023, when the President gave his speech, he announced that the Presidential CNG initiatives are going to be rolled out as part of palliatives on the removal of fuel subsidy.
“One of our major concerns is to make sure that the transition for the transportation sector is a cheaper, safer, and more reliable source of energy.
“In the coming weeks, we are going to be announcing the conversion incentives programme which will enable Nigerians currently using PMS and Diesel fuel vehicles to be able to convert their vehicles at designated places across the country at a discounted price based on certain pre-qualification under the palliative programme of the Federal Government”, he said.
On the value chain of the initiative, Oluwagbemi explained that the Federal Ministry of Finance is acquiring tricycles and buses that would be assembled and manufactured in Nigeria, with more than five automobile firms being activated.
“The value chain of the programme starts with every one of us. From the point of converting your vehicle, you have created the demand for natural gas.
“If your vehicle is converted by technicians and refuelled by autogas workshops across the country, then you are creating jobs for civil engineers and technicians. You’re creating jobs for the upstream in terms of upstream activities associated with oil and gas.
“And in line with the programme, the Federal Ministry of Finance is acquiring a number of tricycles and buses that will be assembled and manufactured in Nigeria. More than five of our automobile firms have been activated. So, you can see that in terms of job creation, the opportunities for Nigerians are enormous.
“The President has said we need to convert one million vehicles by 2027. We need 1,000 conversion shops and we need over 3,000 filing stations just like this. You can imagine the level of investment required for this.
“In order to sustain one million vehicle conversions by 2027, we need 25,000 technicians. So, the job creation potential is an opportunity for job creation in addition to our gross domestic product, $2.5 billion worth of investment to be mobilised in the next four years and of course more than $25 billion added to our GDP”, he said.
Oluwagbemi further called on Nigerians to embrace the new initiatives by the Federal Government as part of palliatives to cushion the effect of the removal of fuel subsidy in the country.
The representative of BOVAS Filling Station, a private investor in the Presidential CNG Initiatives, Temitope Samson, said, “We have worked with the regulators, we are also working with the Presidential Initiatives on CNG to make sure that standard safety is adhered to. We have also worked with the Standard Organisation of Nigeria to ensure that we have a standard accepted internationally.
“Our role is to ensure that there is availability of CNG across the nation, and to also ensure we have enough kits and tanks that are converted for people to use as many as possible, and to ensure safety and to train others so that anywhere they get to, they have very safe conversion”.
Recall that last year, President Bola Tinubu approved the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas initiative(PCNG-i)
This initiative aims to not only introduce more than 11,500 new CNG-enabled vehicles and provide 55,000 CNG conversion kits for existing vehicles that depend on Premium Motor Spirit but also promote local manufacturing, assembly, and job creation.