Oil & Energy

‘Deregulation’ll Unlock Investment Potential In Downstream Sector’

Published

7 years ago

January 7, 2019

Stakeholders in the oil and gas industry say total deregulation of the downstream sector will unlock huge private investment potential in the sector.
The stakeholders, who made the assertion in seperate interview, said that deregulation would stimulate sustainable growth in the oil sector.
They expressed worry over the huge amount of money spent annually by the Federal Government on subsidy payment, saying such sum could be used to develop other sectors of the economy.
They urged the Federal Government to liberalise the downstream sector to attract investors and boost the country’s economy.
The Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, had said that subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol, stood at over N1.4 trillion.
The stakeholders said it was imperative for government to embark on total deregulation of the downstream sector to attract investors, while the country saved funds.
The Director-General, Lagos State Chambers of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Mr Muda Yusuf,said the biggest burden on the economy might be regarded as the petroleum subsidy regime.
Yusuf said that government should encourage private sector players to take over the downstream sector of the petroleum business.
He said: “When this is done, most of the challenges we see as regard subsidy, refineries and others will be adequately addressed.
“The government should only play the regulator and not an operational role.
“Government has no business refining petroleum products, retailing or distributing fuel as well as the marketing of these products.
“We cannot continue to carry that kind of burden in the oil sector.’’
Yusuf also said that subsidy remained a big hole in the finances of government and puts pressure on the foreign exchange market.
According to him, it has downward impact on the foreign reserves, just as it exerts immense stress on the nation’s treasury.
He said one of the critical elements of the oil and gas sector reform, particularly the downstream sector, was the complete deregulation of the sector.
An energy expert, Mr Felix Andrew, said that continuous payment of subsidy would not be sustainable and urged government to liberalise the market and encourage “free entry, free exit’ to attract investors in the sector.
Andrew, who is also the Executive Director, Blue-Sea Energy Ltd., said that currently, Nigeria spent about N1.7’trillion on fuel subsidy annually, while its education and health sector could only access a paltry budget of N300 million and N400 million, respectively.

Oil & Energy

Rivers PETROAN Elects 12-Member Executive

Published

14 hours ago

May 18, 2026

The Tide

The Petroleum Products Retail Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), Rivers State Branch, has elected a 12 – member executive to steer the affairs of the association for the next four years.

The executive, elected during the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the association, at it’s secretariat in Port Harcourt, and sworn in immediately after the election, was mandated to, among other things, tackle the adulteration of petroleum products as well as address irregularities in meter readings across the state.

The newly elected executive include, Pastor Ezekiel I. Eletuo as Chairman, Kanu Addeson C. as Vice Chairman , Dr. Ejike Jonathan Nnbuihe as Secretary, Fidelis A.Inaku as Treasurer and Lady C. N. Ekejiuba as Financial Secretary.

Others are Anaenye Anthony as Publicity Secretary, Arc. Kingsley O. Anyino as Organising Secretary, Nze Peter Ezenwa as Chief Whip, and Sunny Williams as Auditor.

Other members of the executive included Chidiebere Ronel Akwara as Welfare Officer, Ibe Chimaobi C. as Legal Adviser, and Emetoh Chizoba as Assistant Secretary.

Inaugurating the new leadership, PETROAN Zonal Chairman, High Chief Sunny G. Nkpe, charged the team to build on the achievements of the outgoing executive.

He urged them to collaborate with stakeholders in the petroleum sector to ensure industry stability and address issues of multiple taxation.

Nkpe who emphasized the need for transparency, accountability, and an open-door policy in administering the union, insisted these principles remained crucial in advancing the association’s objectives and improving members’ welfare.

The zonal chairman also commended the outgoing executive for their accomplishments during their tenure and for conducting a smooth transition process.

He further described their efforts as instrumental in strengthening the union’s standing in the state.

In his acceptance speech, the new Chairman, Pastor Ezekiel I. Eletuo, thanked members for their confidence and pledged to improve on the foundations laid by the previous administration.

He promised his leadership would be guided by transparency, accountability, fairness, unity, and integrity.

Eletuo called on all members to support the new executive in its efforts to elevate the association.

Also speaking, the immediate past Chairman, of the association, Sir Chilam Francis Dimkpa, expressed appreciation to members for their support during his administration and stressed the need for them to extend the same cooperation to the new leadership.

Dimkpa highlighted key achievements of his tenure to include capacity building for members, increased union visibility through media advocacy, and the establishment of stronger ties with stakeholders, corporate organisations, and individuals.

He also acknowledged the support of the state government, the Police, the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

Stakeholders present at the event also delivered their goodwill messages.

Highlights of the event included administration of oath of office to the new executive and the presentation of certificates of return by the zonal chairman. .

By: Amadi Akujobi

Oil & Energy

FG Intensifies Efforts To Reposition Tourism Sector

Published

16 hours ago

May 18, 2026

The Tide

The Federal Government has intensified efforts towards reposition Nigeria’s hospitality and tourism industry for global competitiveness, aimed at strengthening regulation, professionalism and workforce standards across the sector.

This was made known last week when the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR) conferred fellowships, inducted professionals and inaugurated the governing boards of the Hospitality and Tourism Sector Skills Council of Nigeria (HTSSCN) in Abuja.

The high-profile event, held at Merit House, Maitama, drew senior government officials, regulators, tourism operators, cultural institutions, hospitality investors and development partners in what stakeholders described as a major institutional shift .

Government also formally inducted registered practitioners into various professional categories while also inaugurating the Board of Trustees and Board of Directors of the HTSSCN, an employer-led platform designed to align workforce competencies with industry expectations.

Speaking at the event, the Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musa Musawa, said the initiative represented a strategic intervention to strengthen accountability, standards and institutional coordination within Nigeria’s tourism and hospitality ecosystem.

According to the minister, Nigeria’s vast cultural assets, tourism destinations and creative talents can only translate into sustainable economic value through professionalism, regulation and globally accepted operational standards.

She noted that tourism and hospitality industry remains one of the fastest-growing sectors globally, contributing significantly to employment generation, foreign exchange earnings and cultural diplomacy.

Musawa explained that NIHOTOUR Establishment Act has expanded the institute’s mandate beyond training, positioning it as a regulatory and certification authority for hospitality, tourism and travel practitioners in the country.

“No sector can attain sustainable growth without structure, standards, institutional coordination and skilled professionals,” she said, stressing the need for stronger collaboration between government agencies, operators, training institutions and private sector stakeholders.

In his keynote address, the Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of NIHOTOUR, Abisoye Fagade, described the event as a historic turning point in the formalisation of Nigeria’s tourism and hospitality industry.

Fagade said the induction of practitioners, conferment of fellowships and inauguration of the HTSSCN governing boards marked the beginning of a new era of institutional governance, professional recognition and sector-wide coordination.

“Regulation and standardisation are no longer optional; they are economic necessities if Nigeria truly intends to compete globally,” he stated.

By: Nkpemenyie Mcdominic, Lagos

Oil & Energy

Big Oil Reconsiders Previously Unattractive Destinations

Published

16 hours ago

May 18, 2026

The Tide

The Middle Eastern crisis has prompted a reprioritization among international oil companies. Previously unattractive drilling destinations are suddenly looking quite attractive—even Alaska.

The oldest oil and gas producing part of the United States has for years been out of the spotlight as the industry moves to cheaper and faster-growing locations. The only news of any substance about Alaska recently was the Biden administration’s approval of the Willow project, led by ConocoPhillips, which was set to boost the state’s oil output by 160,000 barrels daily, and Australian Santos’ Pikka project, set to start commercial production this year. That was years ago. Now, Big Oil is eager to drill in Alaska.

Earlier this month, a lease sale in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska attracted record bids, worth a total $163 million. Among the bidders were Exxon, Shell, and Repsol, with the latter already partnering with Santos on the Pikka development. And this may be just the beginning.

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The Bureau of Land Management offered 625 tracts across about 5.5 million acres for bid in the sale, revived at the end of last year by the Trump administration. No lease sales were held in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska under President Biden. Yet under Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, there will be a total of five lease sales in Alaska over the next ten years.

“With the imminent start-up of the Pikka project on the North Slope, the reversal in the decline of oil production in the great state of Alaska is going to help put more oil in the Pacific area at an important moment,” Repsol’s head of upstream operations, Francisco Gea, said as quoted by the Financial Times. Gea called Alaska “a fantastic opportunity”. The Pikka project, which has a price tag of $4.5 billion, will produce up to 80,000 barrels daily.

It is indeed a fantastic opportunity, at the very least because it is nowhere near the Middle East and as such is a highly secure energy exploration destination. Canada is in a similar position, by the way: the head of the International Energy Agency earlier this month told an industry event Canada had a golden opportunity to step in as a secure energy supplier in a world that’s currently 14 million barrels daily short on supply because of the Middle Eastern crisis.

Security, then, is what has prompted Big Oil to return to the North—even Shell, which left in 2015 after writing off as much as $7 billion on an unsuccessful drilling campaign hampered, among other things, by strong environmentalist opposition. According to the Financial Times, the supermajor’s decision to partake in the latest Alaska lease sale was surprising for analysts.

However, according to chief executive Wael Sawan, the lease sale concerns a different part of the state. “It is a very, very, very different part of Alaska that we have gone to,” he told the Financial Times. “This is an onshore exploration opportunity in a very well-established basin that has been producing for some time… So this is not offshore Alaska where we have had the challenges in the past.”

Crude oil is not the only thing drawing the energy industry to Alaska in these times of oil and gas trouble. Gas is also a magnet—in this case, in the form of the Alaska LNG project. Interest in the Alaska LNG export project has spiked since the war in the Middle East choked 20% of global LNG supply and sent Asian buyers scrambling for expensive spot cargoes.

Glenfarne Group, the majority owner and developer of the facility, aims to sign binding offtake agreements with buyers soon and advance final investment decisions to later in 2026 and early 2027, company executives told media earlier this year on the sidelines of an energy conference in Tokyo.

“There’s a real interest, particularly with everything happening in the Middle East right now. Everyone would like to get those (preliminary deals) turned into long-term agreements,” Adam Prestidge, president of Glenfarne Alaska LNG, told Reuters in March.

Alaska LNG is designed to deliver North Slope natural gas to Alaskans and export LNG to U.S. allies across the Pacific. An 800-mile pipeline is planned to transport the gas from the production centers in the North Slope to south-central Alaska for exports. In addition, multiple gas interconnection points will ensure meeting in-state gas demand.

The latest Alaska developments show clearly how the Middle East war has put energy security back in the spotlight, making previously challenging locations desirable again. With an estimated 1 billion barrels of oil supply wiped out of markets since the war began, according to Aramco’s Amin Nasser, alternative supply sources have become urgently needed, and not just for the short term. Even if the Strait of Hormuz reopens soon—which at the moment seems unlikely—energy security will in all probability remain a top priority both for energy producers and for consumers.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com