Oil & Energy

Shell, Abe Blame FG For Ogoni Clean-Up Delay

Published

12 years ago

July 7, 2014

Shell Petroleum Develop
ment Company of Nigeria, (SPDC) has blamed the Federal Government for the delay in the release of funds for the implementation of the 2011 United Nations Report for the clean-up of Ogoni land in Rivers State.
The Ogoni restoration project manager for Shell, Mr Augustine Igbuku, stated this at the stakeholders’ meeting organized by House committee on environment at Abuja.
The Project Manager alleged that the Federal Government was frustrating the release of the fund inspite of the readiness of SPDC towards the release of its counterpart funding to the $1bn Ogoni restoration fund.
He said the Federal Government has failed to provide legal framework for the adhoc intervention agency (Hydrocarbon Pollution Restoration Project) set up by the government.
According to him, the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources has failed to provide work plan that could facilitate the proposed clean-up and utilization of the funds.
Igbuku, who also blamed the take-off of the clean-up exercise on illegal oil bunkering and refineries noted that there were about 47 breaks in the pipeline.
“We did 50 clean-ups. People are still breaking the pipes inspite of the local contractors that we employed to safeguard them,” he stated.
The Senator representing Rivers South-East Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Magnus Abe, also exonerated SPDC while accusing Federal Government of frustrating implementation of the UNEP Report.
At a dinner in Port Harcourt in honour of Ogoni Young Professionals, the Senator blamed President Goodluck Jonathan for non implementation of the report.
He said two years ago, SPDC said during its Annual General Meeting in London, that the one billion dollar for the clean-up of Ogoni environment was ready and was left for the government to move into action.
The Senator disclosed that he had severally met with the Petroleum Minister over the issue and that the Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi had equally carried same to President Jonathan but regretted that till now, nothing has happened.
“Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, who initiated the remediation move is not from the Niger Delta; late Yar’adua who signed a Federal Government resolve to implement whatever be the outcome of the investigation is not from the Niger Delta, but someone who is from the Niger Delta region has refused to implement the UNEP report”, Abe said.
He stated that the frustration of the implementation of the report was what made him leave the ruling PDP for APC.
In his own submission, Director-General of NOSDRA, Peter Idabor, confirmed that not much has been done in terms of the implementation, that the agency was not aware of the emergency measures t hat the Directorate of Petroleum Resources (DPR) claimed to have done.
However, in a swift reaction to the allegations, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Danladi Kifasi and the General-Manager, Health, Safety and Environment of DPR, Musa Zagi, said the Federal Government was working seriously on the UNEP Report implementation.
Kifasi said that the Federal Government has set up committees on the issue and that a delegation had liaised with the Ogoni communities and HYPREP has already started work in the communities.
The Pemsec explained that HYPREP governing council has been set up and that the gazette would be ready in two weeks time.

Chris Oluoh

Oil & Energy

NCDMB Unveils $100m Equity Investment Scheme, Says Nigerian Content Hits 61% In 2025 ………As Board Plans Technology Challenge, Research and Development Fair In 2026

Published

4 weeks ago

December 8, 2025

The Tide

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), has unveiled a $100 million Equity Investment Scheme among a raft of fresh initiatives to bolster indigenous capacity and participation in the oil and gas industry.

Executive Secretary of the Board, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, disclosed this while delivering his keynote address at the opening of the 14th Practical Nigerian Content Forum, held in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

Ogbe said the $100 million Equity Investment Scheme would provide equity financing to high-growth indigenous energy service companies, while diversifying the income base of the Nigerian Content Development Fund (NCDF).

In furtherance of the scheme, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed at the event between Engr. Ogbe and the Managing Director of the Bank of Industry, Dr. Olasupo Olusi toward the management of the scheme, which is a new product of the Nigerian Content Intervention Fund (NCI Fund).

The NCDMB Scribe also announced that 61 per cent Nigerian Content level has already been attained in the oil and gas sector by the third quarter of 2025 from projects being monitored by the Board.

Ogbe further expressed the board’s readiness to onboard a new set of Project 100 Companies after the successful implementation of approved interventions relating to the first set of Project 100 Companies, launched in 2019, for which an exit plan is slated for April 2026.

The ‘Project 100 Companies’, TheTide learnt, is an initiative of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the NCDMB under which 100 indigenous companies in the oil and gas industry were nurtured and empowered to higher levels of competitiveness through capacity building and access to market opportunities.

The NCDMB helmsman also said the Board has concluded plans to launch its NCDMB Technology Challenge in the first quarter of 2026 and to hold a Research and Development Fair in the second quarter of 2026.

In addition to its ongoing initiatives, the board further stated that a review of its seven current guidelines would be undertaken between the first and second quarter of 2026.

“The Board has completed the framework for issuance of NCDF Compliance Certificate, an instrument to confirm that a company in the oil and gas industry has complied with the one per cent remittance obligations.

“The Certificate will become effective on Ist January 2026 and would be required to obtain key permits and approvals from the Board”, Ogbe said.

In his address, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Rt. Hon. Ekperikpe Ekpo, said the theme of the PNC Forum, “Securing Investments, Strengthening Local Content, and Scaling Energy Production,” captures Nigeria’s national priorities that guide interventions by the Board and his Ministry.

He insisted that investment remains the lifeblood of the energy sector, and that the Board and the Ministry were committed to providing stable policies, transparent processes, and market-driven incentives, to attract long-term capital, assuring that the ministry would continue to strengthen local capacity across fabrication, engineering, technology services, manufacturing of components, and research and development.

On his part, the Minster of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, noted with satisfaction that a decade-long stagnation in the oil and gas industry was overcame with the enactment of the long-delayed Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), 2021, and Presidential Directives issued by the Administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in March 2024.

He said Nigeria has regained investor-confidence as signalled by the recent surge in FIDs and the increase of oil rigs from 14 to over 60, with 40 currently in active service.

“Our investment climate now is globally competitive, our fiscal terms are globally competitive. Our policies must be seen to be consistent at all times. The Federal Government is prepared to support Nigerian Content and the oil and gas industry, but then, things have to be done responsibly., he said.

In a goodwill message, the Managing Director, BOI, Dr. Olasupo Olusi, said that the collaboration between the NCDMB and BOI marked a significant expansion of a longstanding relationship, while assuring that through the $100 million NCIF Equity Investment Fund, the Bank of Industry would deploy equity and quasi-equity capital to support high-potential Nigerian companies to complement traditional debt financing and strengthening access to the long-term risk capital required for scale, competitiveness, and value creation.

“With a single obligor limit of $5 million, the Fund is designed to catalyze multiple high-impact investments while maintaining strong governance and prudent risk management”, the BOI Managing Director said.

On her part, the Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Mrs. Olu A. Verheijen, commended the NCDMB for sustaining the PNC Forum, which she said, accelerates change, drives competitiveness, and pushes the industry toward global standards.

She urged stakeholders to remain intentional and not incidental about in-country value addition, as they chart the path toward building a resilient, competitive industrial base in Nigeria.

By; Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa

Oil & Energy

Power Supply Boost: FG Begins Payment Of N185bn Gas Debt

Published

4 weeks ago

December 8, 2025

The Tide

In the bid to revitalise the gas industry and stabilise power generation, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has authorised the settlement of N185 billion in long-standing debts owed to natural gas producers.

The N185 billion legacy government obligations to gas producers for past supplies had strained cash flow and hindered operations, discouraged further exploration and production, and reduced gas supply for power generation, thereby worsening Nigeria’s power shortages and unreliable electricity supply.

The payment, to be executed through a royalty-offset arrangement, is expected to restore confidence among domestic and international gas suppliers who have long expressed concern about persistent indebtedness in the sector.

Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, said the move, endorsed by the National Economic Council (NEC) headed by Vice President, Kashim Shettima, marked one of the most significant interventions in Nigeria’s energy sector in recent years.

In a statement issued by the his Spokesman, Louis Ibrahim, Ekpo described the approval as a “decisive step towards revitalising Nigeria’s gas sector and strengthening its power-generation capacity in a sustainable manner,”

While noting that the intervention aligned with the ‘Decade of Gas’ initiative, which aims to unlock more than 12 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d) of gas supply by 2030, Ekpo said clearing the arrears would deliver wide-ranging benefits, beginning with restoring investor confidence in the sector.

According to him, settling the debts is crucial to rebuilding trust between the government and gas producers, many of whom have withheld or slowed new investments due to uncertainty over payments.

Ekpo explained that improved financial stability would help revive upstream activity by accelerating exploration and production, ultimately boosting Nigeria’s gas output adding that Increased gas supply would also boost power generation and ease the long-standing electricity shortages that continue to hinder businesses across the country.

The minister noted that these gains were expected to stimulate broader economic growth, as reliable energy underpins industrialisation, job creation and competitiveness.

In his intervention, Coordinating Director of the Decade of Gas Secretariat, Ed Ubong, said the approved plan to clear gas-to-power debts sends a powerful signal of commitment from the President to address structural weaknesses across the value chain.

“This decision underlines the federal government’s determination to clear legacy liabilities and give gas producers the confidence that supplies to power generation will be honoured. It could unlock stalled projects, revive investor interest and rebuild momentum behind Nigeria’s transition to a gas-driven economy,” Ubong said.

Oil & Energy

The AI Revolution Reshaping the Global Mining Industry

Published

4 weeks ago

December 8, 2025

The Tide

The global mining industry is undergoing a rapid digital transformation, driven by the dual pressures of the energy transition and increasingly complex extraction environments. A new market report projects the global Artificial Intelligence (AI) in mining market will nearly quadruple in value over the next seven years, reaching $9.93 billion by 2032.

This surge in adoption comes as miners face a “perfect storm” of challenges: declining ore grades, labor shortages, and an insatiable global appetite for the critical minerals required to power electric vehicles (EVs) and renewable energy grids.

According to data released this week, the market for AI in mining is valued at approximately $2.6 billion in 2025 and is expected to expand at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 21.1 percent through 2032.

While the mining sector has historically been viewed as slow to modernize, the need for efficiency is forcing a change. The integration of autonomous haulage systems, predictive maintenance analytics, and “digital twins”—virtual replicas of physical mine sites—is shifting from pilot projects to standard operational necessity.

The “Operations & Process Optimization” segment is currently the dominant application, expected to account for more than 35 percent of the market in 2025. This technology allows companies to squeeze higher yields out of lower-quality rock, a capability that is becoming essential as easily accessible high-grade deposits are depleted worldwide.

The driving force behind this investment is the global scramble for critical minerals. The report highlights that the metal mining segment held the largest market share in 2024, directly correlated to the demand for lithium, copper, cobalt, and nickel—the backbone of the green energy economy.

“Metal mining operations involve highly complex processes—from ore body modeling and exploration to drilling, blasting, grinding, and material movement,” the report notes.

“AI supports these functions through predictive analytics… enabling cost reduction and higher yield recovery.”

For Western nations, this technological pivot also holds geopolitical weight. With China currently dominating the processing of rare earth elements, Western mining majors are under pressure to ramp up domestic production and efficiency to secure supply chains for battery manufacturing and clean energy infrastructure.

Beyond productivity, the industry is leveraging AI to address its most persistent operational risk: safety. The “Safety, Security & Environmental” segment is projected to record the highest growth rate during the forecast period.

Mining remains one of the world’s most hazardous heavy industries. Companies are increasingly deploying AI-powered video analytics and real-time worker tracking to prevent accidents involving heavy machinery and to monitor for gas leaks or ventilation failures in underground operations.

Furthermore, stricter Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria from investors are pushing miners to adopt AI for environmental compliance. New tools allow operators to monitor tailings dams for stability, track emissions in real-time, and optimize water usage, ensuring that the intensifying race for minerals does not come at the cost of environmental stewardship.

Geographically, the Asia Pacific region commanded the largest share of the AI in mining market in 2024 and is expected to maintain the highest growth rate.

This dominance is underpinned by massive production volumes in China and Australia. Major industry players in the region, including BHP and Rio Tinto, have been early adopters of autonomous technologies. In Western Australia, for example, autonomous haulage trucks and drill rigs are already commonplace, moving millions of tons of iron ore with minimal human intervention.

China’s adoption is further accelerated by government support for “smart mining” initiatives aimed at modernizing its vast coal and mineral sectors to reduce fatalities and improve environmental performance.

As the world moves toward 2032, the “mine of the future” will likely bear little resemblance to the labor-intensive operations of the past. With generative AI now entering the sector to assist in complex mine planning and exploration, the industry is pivoting toward a model where data is as valuable as the ore itself. For energy markets, this efficiency is not just a bonus; it is a prerequisite for meeting the material demands of a decarbonized world.

By: Charles Kennedy