Oil & Energy
Why Gas Flaring Deadline Is Hardly Met -Don
When at last, the
Federal Government set the current deadline for the stoppage of gas flaring by oil exploration and development companies in the country, most Nigerians heaved a sigh of relief that the disturbing issue of gas flaring would soon be a thing of the past, but surprisingly, many years after the Federal Government’s deadline, gas flames still dot oil-producing areas of the Niger Delta.
The Acting Director of Pollution Studies (IPS) of the Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Port Harcourt, Dr. Tubonimi Joseph Ideriah, identified some factors as being responsible for the deadlines not being adhered to.
He said, “There are many factors that contribute to why it is so. One, the operators find it difficult because when you stop the flaring, where do you channel the gas to? That arrangement or provision has not been made or put in place for them to divert the gas to such areas.”
“Again, like every other area in our system where laws are made and people flout the laws as good enforcement is lacking to follow up defaulters of these laws,” he said, noting that the laws are made but that people go behind to receive gratifications, they mellow down and allow unacceptable practices to continue unabated.
Dr. Ideriah expressed the belief that if properly followed up, the operators could definitely look for alternative ways of channeling the gas being flared such that it could be utilized.
The IPS director, who is an expert in Environmental Analytical Chemistry said that though he could not give the value of the nation’s wealth being wasted through gas flare figure-wise but that the nation is losing so much.
He advised that the new power companies that bought over Power Holding Companies of Nigeria (PHCN) could benefit if the gas being flared is channeled to them to solve the problem of gas shortage which they often complain about.
The expert regretted that apart from the huge wealth being wasted in flaring the gas, the environment is being polluted by the activities of unpatriotic Nigerians who sabotage the nation by vandalizing gas pipelines because of survival or agitations.
He advised that sabotaging the effort of government through vandalism of gas pipes should stop and Nigerians should be patriotic while to the agitators, the environmentalist advised them to channel their request to the appropriate quarters and give sometime for the government to attend to such requests. “But when you go the other way round to sabotage, you create problems for the community on behalf of whom may be you think you are fighting for because the environmental effects for such activities could be disastrous as the pollutants emitted into the air may linger for decades and children yet unborn could come to meet them.
The Niger Delta region, he said, is comparatively polluted basically because of the oil exploration and exploitation activities heavily going on in the area as there is no way such activities could be carried on in the area without the pollution associated with such economic activities.
“Since the advent of these oil companies in the Niger Delta, we began to see serious changes in the environment. For instance, houses that are in communities where you have oil exploration activities taking place, farmers and fishermen who managed to buy a bundle of zinc to build house, hoping that the house could be for life, but we have started experiencing fast decay of roofing sheets in most communities especially the riverine area”.
“The gases are mixed with the air that we breathe, so you can see that the air we breathe is polluted, the water we use from the River that we fish as Niger Deltans whose major occupation is fishing as we depend on it and once the river is polluted, whatever we get from the River is contaminated and once you take a contaminated seafood, definitely it gets to the food chain,” he explained.
Ideriah urged the Federal Government through the National Assembly to not only put in place necessary laws but to effectively implement such laws to the latter.
“It is a thing of development and therefore no well-meaning person will contest that these oil activities should stop,” he said but emphasised the need for adoption of international best practices.
These international best practices should be put in practice here also. What is obtained to make other developed places who are also oil exploiting and exploration countries live environmentally clean life should also be applied here,” he advised and wondered why a particular law could effectively work in such countries and not work here where they are operating similar activity.
“If a law is put in place, that law should also be implemented to the latter. There should be no question of short cuts because there are certain things you can’t caught corners without it telling on the system”, he continued.
Noting that we have some good laws because some of them were adopted from some countries that have similar operations going on there and remarked that inefficiency in their implementations make them look as if they were different laws.
The IPS director accepted that quick passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) is desirable for the nation and urged the National Assembly to pass the bill without further delay.
“There could be definitely a lot of proposals that were being made that would sanitise the sector, but we don’t know how effective these proposals that have been made could be implemented. The first stage is for the bill to be passed because without passing it you cannot get to the stage of how effective the implementation would be”, he stated, stressing that whether they were playing politics with it would be know later.
The National Assembly, he said has committees to monitor its implementations but expressed hope that it would contain proposals geared towards sanitizing the industry.
Commenting on the institute, the Acting Director said, “IPS as the pioneer Institute for Environmental Studies in Nigeria, has done so much towards raising the standard and quality of environmental research in the region since its inception in 1982.
“The institute since its inception in 1982 has been living up to expectations especially in the Niger Delta. For example, the document that is being used in the whole of Nigeria by the Federal Ministry of Environment. In 1991, the institute was part of the team that worked to put those standards that guide operations”, he said.
Some of the major goals of IPS, he said, are to raise the standard and quality of environmental research in the region and to ensure utilization of such research findings in sustainable environmental management and development.
According to him, IPS has achieved those goals through the delivery of world class environmental research studies and reports and cited instances with Environmental Baseline Studies for Establishments of Control Criteria and Standards against Petroleum related Pollution in Nigeria (RPI) report of 1985 and the Niger Delta Environmental Survey (NDES) report of 2000.
He said while RPI covers all spectrum of the environment, Air, Aquatic and Terrestrial, NDES is a regional survey covering the nine states of the Niger Delta and noted that both reports were world class by every standard and were widely referenced document.
He, however, regretted that inspite of the fact that it was the foremost in Nigeria some of the companies and establishments that were beneficiaries of our studies have changed their policies to what you could describe as lowest bidder kind of thing so that the lowest bidder is given the study job,” he said, remarking that before it was not like that as it was based on recognition and capability.
Ideriah
Christ Oluoh
Traders have not been this bearish on oil in months or so bullish on United States natural gas in years.
The latest data on money managers’ positioning in the WTI and Brent crude and U.S. natural gas futures showed two contrasting trends—speculators are betting that oil prices would remain low or go even lower while increasing the bets that natural gas prices would continue marching higher.
So far this year, geopolitical and supply and demand factors have been increasingly bearish for the oil price outlook and increasingly bullish for natural gas prices.
In the oil market, hedge funds and other portfolio managers have been slashing their bullish bets since the end of January, when the U.S. sanctions on Russia’s oil trade were the primary bullish driver of managed money to bet on a tightening market.
With U.S. President, Donald Trump, now in office, the sentiment has quickly soured amid the president’s insistence on lower oil prices, his efforts to broker an end to the war in Ukraine, and – most of all – the enormous uncertainty about on-and-off tariffs and tariff threats and their potential impact on the American economy.
As a result, market participants are preparing for lower oil prices, even amid expectations of declining oil supply from Iran and Venezuela due to President Trump’s hawkish policy toward these OPEC producers.
Speaking of OPEC, the wider OPEC+ group has just said it would begin increasing supply as of April, adding further downward pressure on prices.
Faced with all these bearish drivers, money managers have been reducing their bullish bets on crude oil futures, with the U.S. WTI Crude hitting the lowest net long position – the difference between bullish and bearish bets – in 15 years at the end of February.
In the week to March 4, the latest reporting week with data released on March 7, speculators bought WTI amid a major selloff in all other commodities except for U.S. natural gas.
The net long in WTI rebounded from the 15-year low, but it wasn’t because the market suddenly started betting on higher prices going forward. The rise in WTI buying and the net long was the result of short covering in the U.S. crude futures contract.
In Brent, hedge funds cut their bullish-only bets in the week to March 4 for the biggest decline in longs since July 2024.
Unlike in crude oil, money managers have become increasingly bullish on U.S. natural gas after inventories dipped this winter to below the five-year average as demand surged in the coldest winter for six years.
The net long in natural gas further swelled in the week to March 4, as the number of new bullish bets was four times higher than the new short positions.
“Natural gas continues to benefit from rising demand, both domestically in the US and towards exports via LNG,” Ole Hansen, Head of Commodity Strategy at Saxo Bank, said, commenting on the latest Commitment of Traders report.
At the start of the winter heating season in November, U.S. natural gas inventories were higher than average for the time of the year as America entered the season with stocks at their highest level since 2016.
These stocks, however, were quickly depleted during the coldest winter for six years, with demand for space heating and power generation soaring. A month before the end of the winter heating season, U.S. natural gas inventories have now slumped to below the five-year average and well below the levels from the same time in 2024, at the end of a mild winter.
The lower inventories and the higher demand – both for domestic consumption and LNG exports – have pushed prices higher, encouraging producers to boost gas output this year. Traders bet that prices will go even higher as demand from LNG plants is set to accelerate with the ramp-up of new U.S. export plants.
Paraskova writes for Oilprice.com.
By: Tsvetana Paraskova
Renaissance Africa Energy Holdings says it has successfully completed the acquisition of 100 percent equity holding in the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC).
Spokesperson of the company, Tony Okonedo, who disclosed this in a Press Release, Last Thursday, said Renaissance has completed all processes for the full transfer of ownership of SPDC to the consortium, adding that it will now operate as Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited.
“Renaissance Africa Energy Holdings today announced that it has successfully completed the landmark transaction between itself and Shell for the acquisition of the entire (100%) equity holding in the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC).
“This follows the signing of a sale and purchase agreement with Shell in January 2024 and obtaining all regulatory approvals required for the transaction. Going forward, SPDC will be renamed as ‘Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited.
“Going forward, SPDC will be renamed as ‘Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited’.
“Renaissance Africa Energy Holdings is a consortium consisting of four successful Nigerian independent oil and gas companies: ND Western Limited, Aradel Holdings Plc. FIRST Exploration and Petroleum Development Company Limited and the Waltersmith Group, each with considerable operations experience in the Niger Delta, and Petrolin, an international energy company with global trading experience and a pan African outlook”, the statement reads.
Speaking on the acquisition, the Managing Director/CEO, Renaissance Africa Energy Holding,Tony Attah, said Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited has a vision to be the leading oil and gas producer in Africa and to help the continent achieve energy security.
Attah expressed gratitude to the Federal Government for its support and pledged the company’s commitment to the Petroleum Industry Act.
“We are extremely proud to have completed this strategic acquisition. The Renaissance vision is to be ‘Africa’s leading oil and gas company, enabling energy security and industrialization in a sustainable manner’.
“We and our shareholder companies are therefore pleased that the Federal Government has given the green light for this milestone acquisition in line with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act”, he said.
The CEO acknowledged the contributions of Nigeria’s Minister of Petroleum Resources, the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) in facilitating the deal.
He said, “we extend our appreciation to the Honourable Minister of Petroleum Resources, the CEO of the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), and the CEO of Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) for their foresight and belief, paving the way for the rapid development of Nigeria’s vast oil and gas resources as strategic accelerator for the country’s industrial development”.
The Statement further revealed that Renaissance partner companies collectively have an asset base of more than $3 billion and currently safely produce approximately 100,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) from 12 oil mining leases and operate two functioning modular refineries in Nigeria’s Niger Delta.
The Federal Government has cautioned oil-rich communities against infighting and disruption of oil production, saying it could hinder their access to the Host Community Development Fund.
Minister of State for Petroleum (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, made the appeal while speaking at the KEFFESO Stakeholders Forum, in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
Lokpobiri noted that the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) was enacted to bring stability to the oil sector and address longstanding grievances about underdevelopment in host communities.
He lamented, however, that internal disputes among stakeholders have made it difficult for these communities to access and utilize the funds meant for their development.
Lokpobiri insisted that host communities must overcome internal conflicts that hinder their access to the funds.
“This KEFFESO Stakeholders Forum is to see how host communities can maximize the benefits from the Host Communities Trust Funds as prescribed by the PIA.
“If oil production is disrupted, everyone loses — the Federal Government, oil companies, and the host communities themselves. That is why host communities must collaborate with the government and oil companies to ensure smooth operations” Lokpobiri stated.
The Minister called on Host Community Development Trusts (HCDTs) in the Niger Delta to effectively utilize the 3% operational funds allocated to them under the PIA 2021 to drive sustainable development.
He further called that oil-producing communities should take ownership of the oil and gas facilities within their domains and work with relevant stakeholders to ensure sustainable benefits.
“As stakeholders who have their respective stakes in oil and gas operations in the country, we should work together to ensure that we maximize the benefits of oil and gas.”
The minister also emphasized the global push for cleaner energy, warning that the relevance of fossil fuels depends on their extraction and marketability.
“Don’t forget there is a global campaign against the continuation of production of fossil fuel.
“Fossil fuel will never go away. Fossil fuel will not have any value unless you bring it out of the ground or from the sea to the market, that is why we need this collaboration,” he said.
In his remarks, the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Omotsola Ogbe, reaffirmed the board’s commitment to leveraging the provisions of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act.
Represented by the Board’s Director of Legal Services, Naboth Onyesoh, Ogbe noted that the NCDMB’s Community Content Guidelines were designed to ensure sustained community engagement as local content is prioritized throughout the oil and gas value chain.
Ogbe praised the KEFFESO Host Community Development Trust for its efforts in ensuring that oil revenues benefit local communities.
Also speaking, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, First E & P, Ademola Adeyemi-Bero, described the KEFFESO Stakeholders Forum as a crucial platform for discussing and strategizing solutions to the challenges facing marginalized communities in the Niger Delta.
He reiterated the company’s commitment to fostering meaningful and sustainable development in the region.
The forum, themed “Envisioning Sustainable Community Development in Niger Delta Host Communities: Identifying Challenges and Actualising The PIA Paradigm Shift,” brought together key stakeholders to discuss strategies for maximising the benefits of the Petroleum Industry Act(PIA).