Oil & Energy

IPMAN Moves To Shutdown Operations In Anambra Moves To Shutdown Operations In Anambra

Published

5 years ago

August 17, 2020

Following last minute intervention by the Anambra State Government, members of the Independent Petroleum Marketers of Nigeria (IPMAN) in the state, will now shutdown operations on August 25, across the state.
The impending strike is in solidarity with Siluch Oil and Gas Limited, an IPMAN member, being owed N13.6 million for petroleum products it supplied to Transport Company of Anambra State (TRACAS), since 2017.
IPMAN had on August 4, issued a 21-day ultimatum to the state government, to pay off the debt and also address other issues raised by the association.
Speaking to newsmen yesterday in Awka, Mr Chinedu Anayaso, Chairman of IPMAN, Enugu Depot, said that the shutdown would be total until all conditions were met.
Anayaso said apart from the debt payment, his members were resisting any form of tax/levy increase by the government, as the economy did not currently support such additional burden on businesses.
“We are counting days, we have not seen anything that shows that the state government is treating our letter to them with the seriousness it deserves.
“We expect that they pay the young man his money, withdraw all cases against our members for refusing to pay the levies we did not agree on and revert to the annual unified levy we reached an agreement on,” he said.
He said that the action would be total because IPMAN, NUPENG and Petrol Tanker Drivers were together in the plan, adding that anyone who violated the order would pay a fine of N500, 000.
He also said within the period of shutdown, no product destined for Anambra State would be loaded, adding sadly however, other states like Enugu and Ebonyi under the zone would be affected.
Also speaking, Managing Director of Siluch Oil and Gas, Uche Okoye, said his company was having smooth business relationship with TRACAS until the second term campaign of Governor Willie Obiano, when they could not pay for four months.
Okoye said he had written and visited TRACAS and the transport ministry several times over the debt, but regretted that they had refused to pay him.
He noted with regrets that the money owed him was a loan secured from the bank for which he had been paying interests without making use of.
“The debt is seriously affecting me because it is a loan I obtained from bank.
“I have more than 30 workers and things are getting more difficult by the day due to TRACAS’ indebtedness to my company.
“Initially, I had no plans of laying off workers even with the current economic hardship in the country, but as it is, I am somehow working on a very tight rope.
The Managing Director of TRACAS, Mrs Edith Madukasi, told journalists that she was informed on assumption of duties in the company that Siluch was owed some money by the company.
“I was told that TRACAS is owing Siluch for the product it supplied to us, but I cannot speak on the matter, it is my commissioner that will speak on that,” Madukasi said.
Reacting, Commissioner for Transport in Anambra State, Mr Afam Mbanefo, said he had been briefed on the debt and that he was already working on it.
Mbanefo said that government would ensure that every stakeholder got what was due to them.
“I have looked at the transactions of this office since I assumed office and this debt amounting to N13.57 million was presented, and IPMAN leadership had also visited me on the same matter,” he said.

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.