Business
NNPC Secures $2bn Discounts On Re-Negotiated Contracts
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), says it has secured $2 billion dollars discount from re-negotiated upstream contracts being executed by its various service providers in the last one year.
The Group Managing Director of the corporation, Dr Maikanti Baru, made this known in a message to mark one year of his headship of the organisation.
In a statement by NNPC Group General Manager, Mr Ndu Ughamadu, Group Public Affairs Division, Baru said that the discount was got in the quest to continually drive down the high cost of production in the oil industry.
He said that the corporation had successfully reduced cost of producing a barrel of crude from 27 dollars per barrel to 22 dollars per barrel.
He said that in the upstream segment of the sector, cost reduction and efficiency were key features that the corporation would focus attention on.
Baru said that there had been significant increase in crude oil reserves and production, averaging national daily production of 1.83 million barrels of oil and condensate.
He disclosed that currently, “the year-to-date 2017 average production hovers around 1.88 million barrels’’.
He said that with improvement in security and resumption of production on Forcados Oil Terminal (FOT) and Qua Iboe Terminal pipelines, average national production was expected to increase.
According to him, it will surpass 2017 target of 2.2 million barrels of oil and condensate per day.
“In October last year, the Owowo Field, located close to the producing ExxonMobil-operated Usan Field was found, and the Field’s location could allow for early production through a tie-back to the Usan Floating Production Storage and Offloading.
“The Field added current estimated reserves of one billion barrels to the national crude oil reserves.
“The corporation has grown the production of the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), NNPC’s flagship Upstream Company, from 15,000 barrels of oil per day to the current peak-operated volume of 210,000 barrels per day in June, 2017.
“The ownership of Oil Mining Licence, OML13, has been restored to NPDC following a presidential intervention, with first oil from the well expected before the end of the year.
“The confidence of the NNPC Joint Venture (JV) partners to pursue new projects has been rekindled following the repayment agreements for JV cash call arrears.
“The arrears were negotiated and executed for outstanding up to end 2015 by all the International Oil Company Partners,” Baru said.
He also said that gas supply to power plants and industries in the country had significantly increased.
Baru listed NNPC’s accomplishments during the period as completion of repairs of vandalized 20″ Escravos-Lagos Pipeline System ‘A’ in August, 2016 which ramped up Chevron Escravos Gas plant supply from nil to 259 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd).
Another, according to him, is the completion of repairs of the vandalized Chevron offshore gas pipeline in February, 2017 which took the company’s gas supply to 430mmscfd.
He said that others were completion of repairs on vandalized 48″ FOT export gas pipeline in June, 2017 and inauguration of NPDC’s Utorogu NAG2 and Oredo EPF 2 gas plants.
The GMD explained that the FOT export pipeline had reactivated shutdown gas plants, including Oredo Gas Plant, Sapele Gas Plant, Ovade Gas Plant, Oben and NGC Gas Compressors.
He said that the concomitant effect of the attainments was a significant growth in domestic gas supply in the last few months.
He added that during the period, domestic gas supply increased from average of 700mmscf in July, 2016 to an average of 1,220mmscfd currently, with about 75 per cent of the volume supplied to thermal power plants.
“A lot of Generation Companies, as a result, are rejecting gas due to the inability of Transmission Company of Nigeria to wheel-out the power generated”, Baru said.
He also said that since he resumed office, resources had been deployed to the Benue Trough, with exploration efforts commencing there in earnest.
“Seismic data acquisition is ongoing in the frontier region using the services of Integrated Data Services limited (IDSL) and her partners to pursue government’s aspiration to grow the reserves base of the country.
“Drilling activities are expected to commence in Benue Trough in the fourth quarter of this year.
“We are working with the security agencies for an early return to the Chad Basin.
“Drilling activities will be a priority on resumption while continuing with seismic data acquisition with improved parameters,” he projected.
In the downstream sector, Baru explained that NNPC had stabilized the market with sufficient products availability across the country through modest local refining efforts as well as Direct Supply Direct Purchase (DSDP) scheme.
According to him, the scheme has saved the nation about N40 billion in 2017.
“We have also commenced the resuscitation of our products transportation pipelines network, thus enabling us to move products to depots at faster rate and cheaper distribution costs to consumers.
“The Aba, Mosimi, Atlas-Cove and Kano depots have all been re-commissioned and are currently receiving products, thereby enhancing products availability across the country,” he said.
Baru said that under him, NNPC had improved capacity utilization of the refineries with the projection that they would attain supply of 50 per cent of non-gasoline white products, including diesel and kerosene, to the nation.
“After more than seven years of dormancy, the Asphalt Blowing Unit of the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company (KRPC) was resuscitated to meet road construction needs in the country.
“Efforts are ongoing to secure third party financing to revamp the refineries to their full operational capacities,” he said.
He commended the corporation’s staff and industry’s in-house unions – Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) for their support.
The Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Felix Omatsola-Ogbe, has reeled out initiatives evolved by the Board in its contribution towards capacity building for youths across the country.
The NCDMB Scribe revealed this recently at the 2024 Practical Nigerian Content (PNC) Youth Forum held in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital.
Tagged “empowering the future: unlocking the opportunities in the Niger Delta oil and gas sector”, the event featured three thematic lecture series delivered by the founder and leader of the Niger Delta Peace Coalition (NDPC), Mr. Zik Gbemre, the Bayelsa State Commissioner for Youths Development, Mr. Alfred Kemepado Nimizigha, and the Chief Executive Officer, PE Energy ltd., Mr Daere Akabo.
Ogbe, who was represented by the Manager, Capacity Building of the Board, Mr. Olugbenga Sheba, noted that the NCDMB has recently partnered the Nigerian Liquified Natural Gas (NLNG) to commence the Nigerian Content Human Capacity Development (NC-HCD) in the oil and gas sector for the training of 331 young graduates.
“As you already know, the NCDMB was established by the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act of 2010.
“Our mandate is to develop human capabilities and material capacities in the Nigerian oil and gas industry, and to monitor and enforce compliance with the provisions of the act”, the NCDMB Scribe said.
“The theme for this year’s youth event is ‘Empowering the future: Unlocking the opportunities in the Niger Delta Oil and Gas Sector’. This theme speaks to our determination and ongoing efforts to introduce youths from the Niger Delta to opportunities that abound in the oil and gas industry.
“Few weeks ago, we partnered the NLNG to kick start the Nigerian Content Human Capacity Development (NC-HCD) basic training programme for a total of 331 young graduates. The training covers ICT, Engineering, Welding and Fabrication, Non-destructive Testing (NDT), Lifting and working at Height, Quality Management Systems, Marine and offshore services and Facility Management and Maintenance.
“We also organised training for youths with the Industrial Training Fund (ITF), WalterSmith Petroleum, and other organizations. And as part of the NCDMB’s initiatives in the Niger Delta, we’ve developed two oil and gas parks at Emeyal one in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, and Odukpani in Cross River State”, he added.
By: Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa
The Federal Government College, Warri, Delta State, has won the maiden ‘’Anti-Corruption” debate organised for select Secondary Schools across the six geopolitical zones of the nation by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), in partnership with the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) at the Content Tower, headquarters of the Board, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
The Tide reports that at the debate umpires said following the evaluation from the presentations by the two finalists, Federal Government College, Kazaure, Jigawa State, scored a total of 74.4 points as first runner-up while the Federal Government College, Delta State garnered 76.4 points to emerge winners.
Other schools that participated in the various stages of the debate leading to the finals were Federal Government College, Odi, Bayelsa State; Federal Government College, Okigwe, Imo State; Federal Government College, Ijanikin, Lagos State; Federal Government College, Maiduguri, Borno State; and Federal Government College, Rubochi, Abuja.
The Tide further reports that the theme for the 2024 International Day of Anti-Corruption was, “Effective Whistleblower Protection Mechanism: A Critical Tool in the Fight Against Corruption”, while topic for the debate was, “Impact of integrity on the expansion of public trust and confidence in governance.
Earlier in his keynote address, the Executive Secretary, NCDMB, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, restated the Board’s stance against corruption, noting that fighting corruption is a must for the Board.
He reaffirmed his commitment to ideas and programmes geared towards putting an end to corruption within the system, and lauded the Federal Ministry of Education for approving the participation of students in the event.
While commending the ICPC for their support and continuous oversight over the activities of the Anti-Corruption Unit (ACTU) of NCDMB, Ogbe also thanked the anti-graft unit of the Board for putting the event together, noting that they were doing well in their efforts at combating corruption.
“To be clear on what today is about, we’re marking and celebrating International Anti-Corruption Day (IACD), with focus on raising the consciousness of our youths on the ills of corruption and how it stunts the socio-economic development of any Nation.
“This is to send a strong message for extra vigilance by all of us in combating the menace of Corruption from all fronts”, the NCDMB boss said.
By: Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa
The Federal Government has earmarked N700billion from the federation account to implement the distribution of free electricity meters under the Presidential Metering Initiative.
This was disclosdd by the Special Adviser to the Minister of Power on Strategic Communications and Media, Bolaji Tunji.
Tunji, who, in a chat with The Tide’s source noted that the PMI was on course with a target to deliver two million meters yearly, also revealed that the amount reserved for the project had reached N700 billion and procurement had started.
“The Presidential Metering Initiative is still on course. Two million meters every year, delivery of the first batch will start by the first quarter of next year. About N700billion provision has been made, and the money is ready”, he said.
He further revealed that the government would fulfil its promise to deliver 1.3million electricity meters out of the 3.2 million meters under the World Bank Distribution Sector Reform Programme initiative this month, saying that “The DISREP programme will commence this month”.
An analysis of the Federal Account Allocation Committee meeting minutes obtained by our correspondent between April and August showed that the government had saved N420billion from a monthly deduction of N100billion.
The amount deducted from the monthly federation revenue before allocation to the three tiers of government was aimed at bridging the metering gap in the country, which currently stands at 50 per cent.
Recall that N120 billion was deducted from April revenue as the first tranche for the PMI, bringing the amount deducted from the federation account for the initiative as of August to N420billion.
In May, the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, said the government would provide an initial N75billion as seed capital while the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority pledged to inject N250 billion annually for the initiative.
The Minister also disclosed that the initiative would leverage debt financing from diverse financial institutions to bolster the PMI’s resources.
The Managing Director of Abuja Distribution Electricity Distribution Company, Mr. Victor Ojelabi, recently said the PMI would unlock about N1trillion in revenue currently tied up in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry due to a large number of unmetered customers.
Under the initiative, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission announced the approval of N21billion for the 11 electricity Distribution Companies to provide meters for end-use customers at zero cost.
The Distribution Sector Recovery Programme is a comprehensive initiative aimed at addressing the challenges and inefficiencies within Nigeria’s electricity distribution sector.
Recently, the NERC acknowledged that the country’s metering gap remains substantial despite installing 3.03million meters since privatising the power sector in 2013.
It said 6.15 million out of 13.33 million registered customers had been metered, bringing the metering rate to 46.14 per cent in 2024.
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