Oil & Energy

Akwa Ibom Fishermen And Oil Spillage

Published

14 years ago

January 14, 2013

Fishermen in Akwa Ibom in February 2011, held a prayer session to seek God’s intervention to stop oil spillage in the area.

Their prayer appeared answered as there was no case of spillage in the Qua Iboe oil fields for 10 months.

However, the December 20 Bonga oil spillage in the same year, in which 40,000 barrels of crude oil were discharged into the Atlantic Ocean, took industry watchers by surprise.

The spillage which emanated from the Bonga deep-sea oil facility operated by Shell Nigeria Production and Exploration Company (SNEPCO), ExxonMobil, Eni and Total as joint venture partners with NNPC, is located about 120 kilometres from the coastline and accounts for 200,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

The oil fields are named after a local fish species, Bonga. The fish is notable for its resilience and unique taste and suitable for most dishes along the West African coastline.

The Director-General, National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), Dr Peter Idabor, says the spill covers approximately 950 squre-kilometres in the ocean surface.

Seven months after the spill, the agency imposed a $5 billion administrative fine on Shell.

Idabor says the fine is for impact of the spill on the sea and aquatic lives.

“Looking into the sea, the 40,000 barrels oil spill impacted about 950 squre-kilometres. beneath the sea bed. So as we speak, there is still a lot of oil at the bottom of the ocean which has not been cleaned up,” Idabo says.

“Let me note here that this administrative fine is different from compensation, because investigations are ongoing, and Shell may also pay compensation if we determine more damage.”

The NOSDRA boss notes that as a result of the spill, the livelihood of the people in the communities along 120 kilometres to Bonga has been affected.

“Due to contamination of the open water, there are job losses as the people are mainly fishermen, and this has also led to high incidence of migration of the people from these communities in search of fresh water.”

The people of the area were not so lucky in 2012, as three spill incidents have occurred within the year, on August 13, August 24 and November 9 at the Qua Iboe oil fields.

Chairman, Esit Eket Local Government Council, Chief Ibanga Etang, says the November 9 spill impacted negatively on fishing communities in southern Akwa Ibom.

“The spill contaminated the water, causing fish drought and distorting the marine food chain.

“Whenever a spill occurs, fishermen are thrown out of business because when the waters become toxic, fishes migrate from the reach of fishermen.

“The recurring spills put to question the claims by Mobil management that it has replaced aged pipeline network,’’ Etang notes..

Mrs Udual Eyo-Sunday, a fish seller, says that they were adversely affected by the oil spill.

“Whenever there is oil spill, the fishermen do not bring fish back from the waters and when we cannot buy fresh fish, we have nothing to dry and sell.

“We find it difficult to feed our children and the situation will continue for a long time.

“That is why we need relief materials and compensation for the damage to our source of livelihood,’’ Eyo-Sunday says.

A community leader in Ibeno Local Government, Chief John Etim, describes the latest spill as the worst in recent times.

He says that frequent spills have impoverished the fishing population on the coastline.

“Oil spills have been a major obstacle to our fishermen and it is worsened by the insensitivity of Mobil in the past. But we have seen signs that they are turning a new leaf.

“The way Mobil Producing Nigeria (MPN) has communicated with the communities gives us hope amidst disappointment. We, however, urge them to be reasonable and compensate every one that was impacted,’’ Etim says.

The fishermen, who operate under the aegis of Artisan Fishermen Association of Nigeria (ARFAN), say a safe operational environment at the oil fields will support fishing activities and ensure food security in the country.

Chairman of ARFAN in the state, Rev. Samuel Ayadi, says that the fishermen have suffered untold hardship since 2010 due to frequent oil spills.

“Many fishermen were forced out of business for the greater part of the year due to pollution of the Atlantic by oil and gas companies operating within our territorial waters, he says.

Ayadi explains that although 2011 was spill-free from January till December, fishermen in the state were yet to receive any compensation for the previous incidents.

The association’s chairman also notes that due to the rigorous oil spill compensation process, fishermen are always at the losing side whenever a spill occurred.

“Our existing laws on oil spill compensation favour the international oil companies to the detriment of fishermen who lack the resources to pursue their claims.

“We have oil spill compensation claims that have been pending for more than 10 years and even the cases we won in court, the companies refuse to comply with such judgment.’’

Ayadi stresses the need for a harmonious relationship between the host communities and oil companies.

“The Atlantic Ocean where the oil companies operate is our ‘farm’. We are there day and night and whenever there is an oil spill or any interference with oil installations, we are the first to know and report to the security agencies.

“The companies should see us as their neighbours,” Ayadi adds.

To ensure a cordial relationship between Mobil and host communities, Akwa Ibom Government in October, 2011 set up a committee to produce a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

The stakeholders at the meeting regretted the deteriorating relationship and promised to work together for the common good of all.

They also pledged to hold regular dialogue and consultations to build a cordial relationship that would ensure peaceful operations at the Qua Iboe oil fields.

Stakeholders have therefore, suggested that oil companies should hold regular consultations with oil producing communities, to reduce frictions.

They also stress the need for the companies to maintain their facilities to check avoidable oil spillage.

Nwakamma writes for News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)

Nathan Nwakamma

Oil & Energy

Can Cheap Batteries Deliver COP31’s 35% Electrification Goal?

Published

17 hours ago

November 9, 2026

The Tide

Electrification will be the major focus of the COP31 United Nations climate conference, to hold in Antalya, Türkiye, from today, November 9 to 20, 2026. The host country will invite the attending nations to sign onto a voluntary pledge to reach 35 percent electrification on a global level by 2035. J

ust a year ago, this target may have seemed overly ambitious, but now, experts say that a number of factors, including volatile oil and gas markets stemming from the war in Iran, paired with enormous advances in clean energy technologies, have put that goal within “striking distance.”

The months-long closure of the Strait of Hormuz has catalyzed the clean energy transition and the rate of electrification around the world. Before the United States and Israel began their military offensive in Iran back in February of this year, one fifth of the world’s oil and gas trade flowed through the Strait of Hormuz. Its abrupt closure therefore sent global oil and gas markets into turmoil and sent energy-importing countries around the world scrambling for alternatives, especially ones that they could produce and control on their home soil. And, just like that, renewable energy became the new face of energy security.

“Wind and solar cannot be embargoed, blockaded, or shut off by a foreign power,” David Frykman, General Partner at Stockholm-based venture capital group Norrsken, wrote in an op-ed for Fortune earlier this year. “Every terawatt-hour of domestic renewable generation is a terawatt-hour that no adversary can weaponize.”

But there is another, quieter force that has made this rapid global pivot toward renewable energies possible – the energy storage boom. Energy storage is critical to ensure grid stability in the face of rapid electrification and the increasing representation of intermittent energy sources like wind and solar power in national energy mixes. Major advances in the sector in recent years have made battery storage more affordable and more scalable than ever before – just in time for the world’s most recent bout of ‘fossilflation.’

“What’s really become a game-changer in the past two years is the rapid deployment of large-scale batteries that can hang onto ever larger amounts of power to be used throughout the day to smooth out demand and avoid overtaxing the grid,” Forbes wrote in a Monday report.

The second quarter of this year saw the United States’ largest-ever energy storage expansion, at 20.2 gigawatt-hours of additional capacity, according to a report by the Solar Energy Industries Association and Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. That puts this year’s total additions at 30.8 GWh – and counting.

“Although President Trump is no fan of renewable energy or batteries, utility-scale energy storage capacity still nearly doubled to 165 GWh from 88 GWh in the first 18 months of his administration,” the Forbes article goes on to detail. “Grid operators, utilities and data center developers are all buying batteries as fast as they can to meet power demand and improve grid reliability. As a result, battery energy storage systems supplied more electricity to the grid in the year’s first eight months than in all of 2025.”

Ironically, despite his best efforts, Donald Trump is overseeing one of the United States’ most significant clean energy booms in the nation’s history as solar and wind have simply become too cheap to fail. And the United States is not alone. Buoyed by a flood of cheap solar panels and battery storage systems coming out of China, even the world’s poorest countries are experiencing clean energy revolutions.

“Some countries are pulling off stunningly fast energy transitions, adding solar so rapidly, it’s become a major source of electricity over the course of years — not decades,” reports CNN.

Pakistan has become the surprise poster child of this trend as residents install rooftop solar and batteries faster than any other market on Earth, as these systems provide electricity more cheaply and reliably than the country’s own beleaguered energy infrastructure. In addition, emerging economies including Brazil, Chile, El Salvador, Morocco, Kenya, and Namibia have all overtaken the United States – the world’s largest economy – in their clean energy transitions.

By Haley Zaremba

Oil & Energy

MAN, Ministry Tackle High Electricity Costs, Erratic Supply

Published

17 hours ago

November 9, 2026

The Tide

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria has said it is working with the Federal Ministry of Power to address high electricity tariffs, unreliable grid supply and rising energy costs that are undermining industrial production and competitiveness in the country.

The association said the collaboration would focus on developing sustainable energy solutions for manufacturers, including renewable energy, battery storage, captive power generation and improved electricity distribution.

Speaking during the second edition of the Manufacturers Energy Security and Energy Efficiency Summit in Lagos, the President, MAN, Dr. Ifeanyi Okoye, regretted that high electricity tariffs, unreliable grid supply and heavy dependence on fossil fuels had made industrial production exceptionally difficult.

Okoye said energy expenses consumed nearly half of some factories’ operating budgets, weakening their competitiveness, increasing product prices and threatening jobs.

He said manufacturers had continued to operate their own power infrastructure despite paying for electricity from the national grid.

“When energy expenses claim nearly half of a factory’s operating budget, competitiveness evaporates, retail prices skyrocket, and jobs are placed on the line,” he said.

Okoye said the association was moving beyond advocacy to implement practical solutions through its Industrial Energy Cost Reduction and Energy Support Programme, as key partners in delivering the initiative.

According to him, the programme would promote factory-roof solar installations, battery energy storage systems, captive natural gas generation and smart energy management networks to reduce production costs and protect manufacturers from global fuel price shocks.

He, however, stressed that manufacturers needed affordable, long-term financing to undertake the energy transition.

“We cannot finance 21st-century industrial transitions with 30-day commercial bank loans at cut-throat interest rates,” Okoye said.

He said the summit would bring financial institutions, climate funds and green investors together to develop long-tenured, low-interest financing instruments, carbon credit opportunities and asset-financing

Also speaking, the Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, warned industrial customers against unauthorised electricity connections.

He disclosed that investigations had uncovered about 14 industrial customers along a particular corridor who owed more than N400m in unpaid electricity charges over several years.

Tegbe said such practices deprived the electricity sector of revenue needed to sustain power supply and unfairly burdened consumers who paid their bills.

“Such conduct deprives the sector of revenue that we need to sustain the supply, and unfairly burdens consumers who pay honestly,” Tegbe said.

The minister vowed to recover the outstanding charges and hold those responsible accountable, urging MAN to encourage its members to maintain lawful electricity connections and comply with applicable regulations.

Tegbe acknowledged that manufacturers continued to struggle with electricity interruptions, poor power quality, vandalism and electricity theft, adding that the government was directing investments towards addressing the underlying problems.

Speaking on behalf of manufacturers, the MAN South-East Chairman, Ada Chukwudozie, said energy had become a question of survival and competitiveness for Nigerian manufacturers.

She said manufacturers were increasingly financing and managing their own electricity infrastructure while struggling with rising production costs and limited access to capital.

“We are effectively running a second power system paid for by ourselves, besides the grid we also pay for. And that is why for the Nigerian manufacturer, energy is no longer simply an operational issue. It is a question of survival and competitiveness,” Chukwudozie said.

She explained that unreliable electricity supply forced manufacturers to make difficult choices between purchasing energy and raw materials, maintaining equipment and paying workers.

The regulator added that manufacturers could strengthen their competitiveness by adopting cleaner energy sources as international markets increasingly imposed environmental and carbon-related requirements on products and supply chains.

Oil & Energy

Reps Panel Dismisses Petition Against NIPCO gas Licence

Published

17 hours ago

November 9, 2026

The Tide

The House of Representatives has dismissed a petition seeking the cancellation of gas distribution licences awarded to NIPCO Plc, ruling that the petitioners failed to provide credible evidence to substantiate their allegations.

The decision followed a review by the House Sub-Committee on the Petition concerning NIPCO Plc, which rejected the complaint filed by the Nigerian Energy Security Watch Group (NESWG) for lacking substance and evidential support.

The petition had called for an investigation into, and the suspension and cancellation of, gas distribution licences issued by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to NIPCO for Lagos, Ogun, Oyo and Osun states, as well as the Lagos and Lekki Free Trade Zones.

Announcing the decision last Thursday, the Chairman of the Sub-Committee, Peter Aniekwe, said the petitioners relied on hearsay and failed to establish any wrongdoing in the licensing process.

“At its sitting today, the Sub-Committee resolved not to proceed with the investigation, and the petition is accordingly dismissed,” Aniekwe said.

The committee, which also includes Dahaltu Shehu, was constituted in October to examine the petition. It was granted an additional 14 days on October 26 to conclude its assignment.

Aniekwe said the issuance and regulation of gas distribution licences were statutory responsibilities of the NMDPRA under the Petroleum Industry Act, while stressing that the National Assembly would continue to exercise oversight over the process.

He disclosed that the regulator had committed to completing and rolling out gas distribution licensing in the fourth quarter of 2026, adding that the committee would monitor the implementation.

“Nigerians deserve a gas market that is open, competitive and safe, and investors deserve rules that are clear and stable,” he said.

The lawmaker reaffirmed the House’s commitment to considering petitions from individuals and organisations with genuine concerns about the petroleum sector, saying “each complaint would be assessed on its merits”.