Oil & Energy

HYPREP Admits Receipt Of $180m For Ogoni Clean-Up …Denies Allegations Of Missing Funds

Published

6 years ago

August 12, 2019

The Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) has denied allegations that some funds it received for the on going Ogoni clean-up exercise were missing, saying the body has so far received $180million.
The Project Coordinator of HYPREP, Dr. Marvin Dekil, disclosed this in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, during a live radio programme monitored by The Tide, recently.
It would be recalled that HPREP was set up by the Federal Government to implement the recommendations of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report on the pollution in Ogoni land, Rivers State.
Dekil, who was reacting to allegations in some quarters that the clean-up funds may have been diverted due to the prolonged delay in implementing the UNEP report, explained that the initial cost of the clean-up was $1billion, but that the cost could be more.
“Let us start by asking how much is the process going to cost? The process is going to cost an initial $1billion. That is what we need to start with to my understanding. It is going to cost more, I believe.
“How much have we received? We received an initial $10million, and recently, another $170million. So, we have received $180million.
“That is what the Board of Trustees of HYPREP has received. Each time I talk about this money, I am very particular, and I have to let people understand the governing structure of HYPREP, and the different roles played by these structures.
“It is the Board of Trustees (BoT) that is in charge of receiving this money. They function separately from the project coordination office. Remediation is an international activity. If you cost it in local ways, you may not appreciate what we are doing.
“The way it works is that the BoT collects the money, and they are holding it. They are managing it. It has nothing to do with project coordination office. There is the Governing Council that approves all our activities. They are the approving and policy making part of the project, separate from the BoT, and separate from the project coordination office,” he stated.
The HYPREP project coordinator further said that “Just this month (August), my team and the United Nations team and the oil companies just finished with the budget this year, and we are looking at the activities between now and December. That will cost, I think, about $80million. These are the things that we are going to do.
“That we have the money, even if the entire $1billion was given to us now, it doesn’t mean that we are going to spend all of it just like that. You need to come up with detailed programmes and have the buy-in of all the stakeholders to what it is you want to do with the money before you spend it.
“This is how difficult it is to spend the money. So, when they are talking about ‘you have received $180million, what have you done with it? The money is there. We are taking it as we need and as all the parties agreed that it will be spent. When I talk about the parties, I am talking about the three governing structures.
“I am also talking about the stakeholders, being the oil companies, the United Nations system, the Nigerian government. We are driving this process and the Ogoni people who are also part of this administration and the policy making of this will all have to agree on how to spend the money and what to do with it within the context of the recommendations of the United Nations.
“This is what we have been doing. And you see frequently we are going back to Geneva because that is where the technical capacity, the leadership of UNEP is. So, we don’t take one step without synchronizing the input of all who are on this. So, not a dime of our money will be spent without the input of others, and so, no money is missing,” Dekil stated.

Dennis Naku

Oil & Energy

FG, MEMAN Chart Ways To Safe Petroleum Products Delivery

Published

4 weeks ago

February 10, 2025

The Tide

The Federal Government and key Petroleum Products marketers have proposed new measures to help curb rising cases of road accidents involving petrol tankers.
This followed recent incidents of road accidents resulting in cremation of hundreds of lives and causing extensive damage to properties.
Speaking at the Discourse organised by Mejor Energy Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN) in Lagos, Thursday, with the theme “Improving Safe Transportation of Petroleum Products”, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, noted with dismay the number of casualties the country recorded recently due to tanker accidents.
Lokpobiri stressed the need for an enhanced training for tanker drivers, installation of detection leak devices as well as other safety systems that can assist drivers.
He called on Marketers and Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) to strengthen collaboration with stakeholders, especially in the training of tanker drivers.
On his part, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpo Ekpo, reaffirmed government’s commitment to providing enabling environment to ensure safety of petroleum products transportation.
Ekpo, who was represented by Engr. Abel, said consideration should be given to more safety means of transporting products like the pipelines and railway line.
He stressed the need for better training for drivers and implementation of safety regulations within the industry.
Earlier, Chairman, MEMAN, Huub Stokman, said the Association has elaborate training manual for members truck drivers.
Stokman insisted that more training programmes and consistent adherence to safety measures would help to curb road accidents involving tanker drivers.
Also speaking, the National President, Nigerian Association of Raod Transport Owners (NARTO), Yusuf Lawal Othman, called for support.

Oil & Energy

Benue To Pioneer Gas Production From Coal – NGEP

Published

4 weeks ago

February 10, 2025

The Tide

The Chairman, National Gas Expansion Programme (NGEP), Prof. Mohammed Ibrahim, has said that the production of coal bed methane, an unconventional form of natural gas extracted from coal, is set to begin in Benue State.
Prof. Ibrahim staed this while addressing newsmen at the end of a joint meeting of the National and State gas expansion committees with Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia.
He said the Federal Government is committed to expanding gas availability in Nigeria for domestic use and mobility.
Ibrahim added that extracting gas from unconventional coal sources rather than traditional hydrocarbon reserves is a way to boost gas availability.
“Essentially there are four areas of implementation that the committee has identified. One is to pioneer the production of gas from what you call coal bed methane, which means that Benue is going to pioneer in the country the production of gas not from conventional hydrocarbon, but from non-conventional coal just so that the nation will have an alternative source to gas availability”, he said.
Also speaking, the Chairman, Benue State Gas Expansion Programme, Dr. Emmanuel Chenge, said the gas expansion initiative would contribute to the economic transformation of Benue State.
“The good news is that Benue is set to join the league of gas-producing states and if we are conversant with what being a member of the gas-producing state is, it shows that Benue State will start getting derivatives from that sector of the economy”, Dr Chenge stated.
The National Gas Expansion Programme (NGEP) was established to boost the exploration and utilisation of gas in Nigeria and make Nigeria a gas-based industrial nation by increasing the use of gas for transportation, cooking, and industrialization.

Oil & Energy

NNPC Debunks Explosion Claim In Warri Refinery

Published

4 weeks ago

February 10, 2025

The Tide

The Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has said there was no explosion at the newly refurbished Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company (WRPC).
NNPCL’s Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye, made this known in a statement issued on Friday night.
Soneye said reports claiming that there was an explosion at the Warri refinery were false and should be ignored and disregarded by the public.
According to him, the refinery was undergoing routine maintenance.
His statement read, “NNPC Ltd. wishes to clarify that there was no explosion at the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company (WRPC). Any reports suggesting otherwise are completely false.
“On January 25, 2025, operations at WRPC Area 1 were intentionally curtailed to carry out necessary intervention works on select equipment, including field instruments that were impacting sustainable and steady operations.
“These intervention works are essential to ensure the production of on-specification finished and intermediate products, particularly Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) and Kerosene (Kero).
“The routine maintenance is progressing as planned, and Area 1 will be back in operation within the next few days.
“Despite ongoing interventions, over the past 11 days, AGO loading has been maintained at an average of eight trucks per day, with a sufficient supply available to sustain ongoing truck load-out operations”.
Soneye added that the NNPCL was committed to ensuring an uninterrupted supply of petroleum products from the refinery.
He said the company “appreciates the patience and cooperation of all stakeholders as it completes these essential maintenance activities”.