Oil & Energy
Harnessing Nigeria’s Hydro-Electricity Sources
On many occasions,
economists have stressed that the energy sector is cardinal to Nigeria’s efforts to actualise its vision of becoming one of the top 20 economies of the world by 2020.
They note that the erratic power supply across the country has stifled the economic growth of the country and made the citizens’ livelihoods somewhat difficult. They also raise concerns that Nigeria currently generates approximately 4,500 megawatts of electricity, while it needs about 200,000 megawatts to efficiently meet the energy needs of its population.
The experts, however, commend the Federal Government’s efforts to construct and inaugurate nine dams in line with its Transformation Agenda, underscoring the need for the optimal utilisation of the hydroelectricity component of the dams.
Although tangible efforts have been made to boost the country’s energy production capacity through alternatives such as solar power, biomass, biogas reactors, wind turbines and coal, the experts stress the need to place considerable emphasis on hydroelectricity generation as well.
Water experts particularly argue that the 2014 World Water Day, which will be celebrated on March 22 with the theme: “Water and Energy’’, should be viewed as a platform for renewing commitment to utilising dams for improved power generation.
The experts point at Inyishi and Amauzari Dams in Imo, Ibiono Ibom Dam in Akwa Ibom, Mgbowo Dam in Enugu State, Owena Dam in Ondo State, Galma Dam in Kaduna State, Sulma, Dutsi and Mashi dams in Katsina State as some of the dams that could be used to generate power.
They argue that while all the dams could be used for water supply and irrigation, two of them — Mashi and Galma dams — have the capacity to generate six megawatts of electricity.
The immediate past Coordinating Director, Nigerian Integrated Water Resources Management Commission, Mr Razaq Jimoh, said that most of the dams with irrigation, water supply and hydropower generation components are underutilised due to paucity of funds.
Jimoh stressed that efforts should be made to revive the varying components of the dams to boost water supply and electricity generation, as according to him. We have examples of some large dams that had been completed for over 20 years and their level of utilisation, in some cases, is not more than 30 per cent.
“If you have a dam that is for four purposes and you are only enjoying one purpose, such a dam has not been maximally utilised.
“If you are enjoying the four benefits for which the dam was designed, you will derive more benefits from the dam for the community,’’ he said.
Jimoh noted that Kainji Dam, one of the country’s major hydropower generating dams, was designed to generate 960 megawatts, adding, however, that it could generate 760 megawatts because only eight of its 12 turbines had been installed.
In an attempt to reinvigorate the power sector, the Federal Government in 2011, selected 20 medium and large dams for hydropower generation and produced a roadmap for the development of the critical infrastructure in the water and power sectors.
In the same vein, the Federal Ministry of Water Resources said that it would achieve a 95-per-cent development of its hydropower potential capable of producing up to 10,000 megawatts of electricity by 2015.
These efforts notwithstanding, stakeholders insist that paucity of funds, inadequate technical staff and synergy among the federal and state governments are some of the major constraints to efficient electricity generation in the country.
However, the Minister of Water Resources, Mrs Sarah Ochekpe, said that “the Federal Government is indeed conscious of the fact that globally, there is a relationship between the number of dams and hydropower generation for the socio-economic benefit.
“As part of measures to improve electricity supply, the installation of 30 megawatts electro-mechanical turbines for the Gurara Dam has been completed”, he remarked.
“Besides, the Bureau of Public Procurement has given a no-objection right to the Federal Ministry of Power to harness the 40-megawatt hydropower component of Kashimbilla Dam in Taraba. “It’s a multi-purpose dam; we have the dam, the airstrip, irrigation, potable water and electricity; this dam will be completed this year,’’ Ochekpe added.
Moreover, Mr Yusuf Ismail, the Deputy Project Site Engineer, Bokolori Dam in Sokoto State, said that the dam had the potential to serve the residents of Sokoto State much better if its hydropower component was developed and duly utilised.
He called on Federal Government to harness the hydropower potential of the dam, recalling that the dam was constructed in 1978 and equipped with three megawatts hydropower and seven megawatts diesel engines for power generation.
To boost the Federal Government’s efforts to improve power generation, Gov. Rabi’u Kwankwaso of Kano State pledged in 2013 to finance the installation of the hydropower component of Tiga and Challawa dams at the cost N14.2 billion to produce 35 megawatts of electricity for the state.
He said that although the venture ought to have been captured in the Federal Government’s budget, the delay in harnessing the hydropower potential of the dams for the benefit of the state prompted his administration’s intervention.
“The dams had been completed but the hydropower component has not been utilised; it has been difficult to get both the Federal Government and development partners to install turbines for the generation of electricity.
“For this reason, the state government has taken the bull by the horns and will now take up the project 100 per cent and finance it,’’ he said at a recent forum.
Expressing reservations about the condition of dams across the country, Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Water, said that the components of many dams, particularly those in the northern parts of the country, had not been utilised.
“It is one thing to construct the dams, it is another thing to see how the state and local government would be able to tap into them and utilise them optimally.
“The dams are completed, Federal Government has done its own but the state governments need to come in and partner with it so as to ensure the benefits are taken to the door steps of the end users,’’ he said at a recent meeting of the committee.
Ukuedojor is a staff of NAN.
Magdalene Ukuedojor
Oil & Energy
Savannah To Take Over Stubb Creek Field in Nigeria
Savannah Energy PLC has signed agreements to take over Sinopec International Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Nigeria Ltd. (SIPEC), the British company’s co-venturer in the Stubb Creek oil and gas field in Nigeria, for $61.5 million.
SIPEC owns a 49 percent interest in the proven onshore asset in the Akwa Ibom State, which sits on the southern coast of the Western African country.
Savannah affiliate Universal Energy Resources Ltd. operates Stubb Creek with a 51 percent interest.
London-based Savannah, in a Press Release, said it has now inked separate share purchase agreements (SPAs) with the Chinese and Nigerian owners of SIPEC—Sinopec International Petroleum Exploration and Production Corp. (SIPC) and Jagal Ventures Ltd., the completion of which will result in Savannah taking full ownership of Stubb Creek, SIPEC’s principal asset.
“The SIPC SPA will see Savannah Energy SC Limited (a wholly owned subsidiary of Savannah) acquire a 75 percent equity interest in SIPEC for cash consideration of US$52 million, payable on completion and subject to customary adjustments for a transaction of this nature from 1 September 2023.
“The Jagal SPA will see Savannah Energy SC Limited acquire a 25 percent equity interest in SIPEC for cash consideration of US$7.5 million (without adjustment), payable on completion, plus US$2 million in deferred cash consideration payable in eight equal quarterly installments post-completion”, it stated.
Savannah simultaneously released an independent analysis showing gross proven and probable (2P) oil and condensate reserves of 11.9 million stock tank barrels (MMstb), as well as a gross best contingent gas estimate (2C) of 515.3 billion cubic feet (Bcf), in Stubb Creek as of January
It also holds an 80 percent interest in Accugas Midstream Business, which owns and operates the Uquo central gas processing facility and 260-kilometer (161.6 miles) pipeline network. The processing facility has a declared capacity of 200 million cubic feet a day.
SIPEC meanwhile had an estimated 8.1 MMstb of 2P oil reserves and 227 Bcf of 2C gas as of yearend, while its oil production is estimated to average 1,400 barrels per day (Kbpd) this year.
“Savannah’s Reserve and Resource base will increase by approximately 46 MMboe [million barrels of oil equivalent] following completion of the SIPEC Acquisition.
“It is anticipated that, within 12 months following completion of the SIPEC Acquisition, Stubb Creek gross production should increase by approximately 2.7 Kbopd to approximately 4.7 Kbopd through implementation of a de-bottlenecking program”, it said.
Oil & Energy
NNPCL Lists Transparency, Accountability, Others, As Transformation Drivers
The Executive Vice President, Gas, Power and New Energy, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd, Olalekan Ogunleye, has identified transparency, accountability, research, technology and innovation as key drivers of the ongoing transformation in the company.
Ogunleye disclosed this while speaking during a Panel Session hosted by the NNPC Ltd at the ongoing 2024 CERAWeek Conference in Houston, the United States.
Ogunleye, whose session addressed the theme, “Africa’s Energy Future: Access, Investment & Sustainability”, said under the current leadership of Mr. Mele Kyari, the Company has institutionalized the use of modern technology to drive its operations, a development that has created tremendous value for the company in its quest to compete with its global peers.
He said with the coming of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) in 2021, NNPC Ltd has today transformed into an integrated commercial entity that is focused on transparency and accountability, two core values that are vital towards the Company’s quest to float an Initial Public Offer (IPO) at the stock exchange.
“Over the last five years, the NNPC Ltd has been pushing the agenda of transparency, accountability and performance excellence. I am glad to say that we are setting very high standards, and this is a journey that we are all committed to going forward”, Ogunleye stated.
He further observed that transparency and accountability have a commercial component to them, because they can make any organisation attractive to its partners and potential investors.
He said currently, the NNPC Ltd is working assiduously to become IPO-ready, stressing that once that is done, the IPO would be phenomenal and successful.
Ogunleye, who described the future as exciting for the NNPC Ltd, said as the biggest energy company in Africa with the biggest resources and largest market, the Company remained committed to delivering value to its shareholders by relentlessly improving its processes in line with global best standards.
He said gas would continue to be an important resource for Africa because it is the surest tool for economic development and for delivering better living standards for the teeming population on the continent.
Ogunleye called on all gas players to sustain the advocacy for gas as a major energy source that will be utilised to develop the economic and industrial fortunes of the continent.
According to him, gas is a top priority for NNPC Ltd because the Company is at the forefront of Nigeria’s gas commercialization efforts and flare elimination.
“Gas has come to stay. It is going to be part of the energy mix for us in the long term. We shall continue to be at the forefront of accelerating gas development and commercialisation in Nigeria”, he added.
Oil & Energy
Africa’s Energy Leap From Fossil Fuels To Renewable Powerhouse
The African continent is at a critical turning point. The region’s energy demand is set to skyrocket, just as climate change is starting to impact local livelihoods in earnest.
African countries are among those most vulnerable to climate change despite having contributed the least to the climate crisis.
Faced by a sharp population growth, and a need to develop local and national economies, Africa also must simultaneously contend with the urgent imperative to keep emissions in check. It’s a tall order.
Indeed, Africa is a perfect example of what is known as the energy trilemma: the tricky problem of creating enough energy while also keeping that energy sustainable and affordable.
What makes Africa’s situation so unique and so dire is the intense scale of each of these trends. The continent has some of the most underdeveloped energy grids on the globe, and is also facing the biggest population boom anywhere on Earth.
Africa has the fastest growing population in the world, expected to double between now and 2050. This means that, by midcentury, a quarter of the global population will be in sub-Saharan Africa. This presents a massive energy and infrastructure gap in the coming decades.
Currently, about 600 million people across Africa completely lack access to electricity. Furthermore, for a great many of those who do have access, it is not reliable or stable, as power failures and rolling blackouts are a common occurrence.
Such intermittent electricity is common in urban areas, while in rural areas establishing any form of grid connectivity can present a major challenge.
African energy demand is expected to increase by a third over the next decade as sub-Saharan Africa grows, develops, and industrializses.
To meet this demand, power generation capacity will have to increase by a factor of 10 by 2065. But to advance toward such goals without breaking climate pledges and more generally counteracting global progress toward decarbonization, Africa has to “leapfrog” over what is normally the next phase of development in a poor nation’s economic journey.
Unlike other nations in history which have enriched themselves and developed their economy by burning massive amounts of cheap and abundant fossil fuels with abandon, countries developing now do not have the same option.
Luckily, Africa is a goldmine of potential renewable energy resources.
“The continent is extremely rich in natural gas (considered to be a stepping stone away from dirtier fossil fuels like coal and oil), as well as abundant sunshine, wind, and highly sought-after rare Earth minerals such as lithium and cobalt which are essential components of renewable technologies including photovoltaic solar panels and lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and renewable energy storage”, Oilprice reported in July of 2023.
It’s just a matter of securing sufficient investment, fostering a supportive political environment, and establishing trans-national intra-African energy sharing agreements to be able to tap all of that green energy potential. If managed properly, clean energy could benefit the African economy enormously while helping to solve the riddle of the energy trilemma.
According to a new database of planned and installed renewable energy capacity across Africa, the continent is well on its way to achieving its ambitious energy “leapfrogging” goals.
In fact, figures show that if all planned additions are carried out without issue, some African nations could totally decarbonize by midcentury.
The Renewable Power Plant Database Africa, built by a renewable energy scientific modelling team from Rwanda and Germany, is the first comprehensive overview of renewable energy plants in Africa to include key details such as their geographic coordinates, construction status and capacity (in megawatts), allowing for more accurate and sophisticated modelling.
Such modelling shows that some of the countries with the most advanced renewable energy sectors and plans (such as Nigeria and Zimbabwe) already have enough clean energy projects lined up to conceivably transition away from fossil fuels as soon as 2050.
Furthermore, 76% of Africa’s electricity demand could be supplied by renewable sources by just 2040 in a scenario in which all clean energy plants in the pipeline are built as planned, and existing hydro-, solar and wind power plants are used to their full capacity.
This 76% would be composed of 82% hydropower, 11% solar power and 7% wind power.
However, the heavy dependence on hydropower in the short term is not a good long-term solution as periods of drought pose serious energy security risks.
“We conclude that combining the advantages of hydropower with wind and solar would be a more sustainable alternative to hydropower alone”, the Database team states, adding, “And that hybrid solutions would be the best option’.
Despite Africa’s many challenges, it stands to be one of the most important players in the global energy industry going forward. Its climatic and ecological characteristics and relatively low population density compared to other key regions gives it a major advantage as a hydro, wind, and solar powerhouse.
If built out according to plan, its clean energy output will be formidable. And as the continent develops, its massive workforce could make it a clean energy manufacturing source to reckon with.
Zaremba writes for oilprice.com concessional and semi-concessional.
By: Haley Zaremba
-
Maritime3 days ago
Customs Reopens Kebbi Border For Trade
-
News3 days ago
Four Die In Alms Distribution Stampede
-
Niger Delta3 days ago
Akwa Ibom, Nigerian Army Partner On Affordable Housing For Personnel
-
Sports1 day ago
NWFL: Rivers Angels Striker Targets Women CAF Champions League
-
Opinion3 days ago
Soludo’s Mandate: Austerity Or Prudence?
-
News3 days ago
CJN, Fubara, Others Eulogise Mary Odili
-
Sports1 day ago
Malaysia Rejects Offer To Host Commonwealth Games
-
Politics1 day ago
Kogi Gov’ship: Star Witness’ Testimony Weakens SDP’s Case At Tribunal