Business

Cote d’Ivoire To Raise Oil Output After Discoveries

Published

14 years ago

January 9, 2013

Cote d’Ivoire hopes to raise its oil output to around 200,000 barrels per day in five years from 32,000 bpd now thanks to recent discoveries and ongoing exploratory drilling, a top oil official said.

The Tide learnt that Oil exploration off Africa’s west coast has risen sharply since Cote d’Ivoire’s neighbour Ghana discovered a large field in 2007 and brought it into production in record time in late 2010.

Oil firm Vanco Cote d’Ivoire announced in December it had found light oil on Cote d’Ivoire’s offshore block CI-401, six months after UK-based Tullow Oil said it struck light oil on block CI-103.

“With these discoveries and the projected investments, Cote d’Ivoire will be able to realise its target of raising output from around 32,000 barrels per day now to around 200,000 bpd in the five years ahead,” Ibrahima Diaby, head of hydrocarbons at the Ministry of Mines, Petroleum and Energy told our source in an interview.

He said Vanco and Tullow were planning further drilling on their discoveries in 2013 and 2014 to clarify reserves.

Oil output has fallen nearly in half in Cote d’Ivoire due to technical problems and low levels of investment during a decade of political turmoil that culminated in a 2011 civil war.

But Diaby said that Cote d’Ivoire had signed 14 new production sharing contracts since the end of the war and had seen a boom in exploration activity by international oil firms, including France’s Total, and US-based Anadarko.

He said the government had also signed three exclusive exploitation deals for natural gas fields in 2012, including two with Cote d’Ivoire-based Foxtrot and one with Rialto. He said natural gas production in the country could rise to 250 million cubic feet per day from 170 mmcfd currently.

Diaby said Cote d’Ivoire remained in talks with Ghana over their shared land and sea border. Both sides have played down the talks, saying there was no evidence rights to a key oil find were at stake.

The world’s top cocoa grower, Cote d’Ivoire is seeking to diversify its economy, in part by boosting its energy and mining sectors. Diaby said some 800 billion CFA francs worth of investments were planned in the energy sector, with funds coming from state firm Petroci as well as partners in Europe and the United States. He gave no details.

Business

Ogoni Oil Resumption: Group Demands Transparency, Full Jobs Disclosure, Contracts

Published

12 minutes ago

August 24, 2026

The Tide

A group under the aegis of the Greater Ogonis in Diaspora Organizations (GODO) has called for full transparency and accountability in the ongoing dialogue over the proposed resumption of oil production in Ogoniland, demanding disclosure of employment opportunities, contracts, confidence-building projects and other oil-related activities.

The group made the demand in a statement signed by its President, Chief Ambrose Kii and made available to the public in Port Harcourt , at the weekend.

GODO said the concerns raised by the President of KAGOTE, Chief Lesi Maol, a member of the Ogoni Dialogue Committee, Rev. Msgr. Pius Kii, and KAGOTE Second Vice President and ODC member, Rear Admiral John Nicholas Bakpo (rtd.), had reinforced the need to protect the collective interests of the Ogoni people.

The group stressed that its position should not be interpreted as opposition to the Federal Government or the proposed return of oil production to Ogoniland, but as a demand for a process that is transparent, equitable,

environmentally responsible and capable of delivering lasting benefits to the people.

It expressed particular concern over reports concerning 40 employment opportunities reportedly allocated to Ogoni youths by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) as part of confidence-building measures.

GODO demanded the public disclosure of the identities of the beneficiaries, their communities and local government areas, as well as the criteria used in selecting them and the process through which the list was approved.

It also called for an investigation into allegations that 18 of the 40 employment slots were allegedly allocated to persons who are not Ogonis, stressing that such a serious allegation should not be ignored if confidence in the dialogue process is to be sustained.

The organisation said any diversion of opportunities specifically meant for Ogoni youths would constitute a breach of trust, insisting that all beneficiaries and the basis of their selection should be subjected to appropriate scrutiny.

It further raised concerns over reports that oil-related activities may have commenced in some parts of Ogoniland while negotiations between the Federal Government and representatives of the Ogoni people are still ongoing.

The group maintained that critical issues relating to participation, equity, community benefits, environmental safeguards and other conditions for the resumption of oil production must be resolved before irreversible decisions are taken.

According to GODO, allowing oil activities to proceed while fundamental negotiations remain inconclusive could create a situation where Ogoni stakeholders are eventually confronted with decisions that have already been taken without their full participation.

The organisation also demanded comprehensive details of the confidence-building projects reportedly being executed across Ogoniland, including their locations, contractors, scope, funding arrangements and implementation status.

It said concerns raised by Rear Admiral Bakpo, who reportedly complained that despite being a member of the ODC and a monitoring team for confidence-building projects in Khana, he was allegedly unaware of the contractors and scope of projects he was expected to monitor, required urgent attention.

GODO also called for clarification of the reported harmonisation arrangement involving individuals allegedly outside the ODC, urging the Office of the National Security Adviser to clarify whether it authorised the composition of the controversial list and, if not, establish how the names became associated with the office.

The group urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, to review the emerging concerns, saying the Ogoni people have waited for decades for a credible resolution and should not be pressured into accepting an arrangement that fails to guarantee justice, transparency, meaningful participation, environmental protection and equitable benefits.

King Onunwor

Business

Foundation Unveils New Digital Medical Facilities

Published

39 minutes ago

August 24, 2026

The Tide

The management of Save a Life Hospital has unveiled a fully digitalised medical facilities to enhance effective medical services and treatments for its patients across the globe.

The Founder and Director of the foundation, Dr Richard Okoye who conducted journalists round the facilities at the hospital in Port Harcourt, Friday, said the unveiling of the digital facilities was a dream come through and a commitment to international best practices.

He said the breakthrough makes save a Life hospital th.e first fully digitalised hospital in Africa, adding that the hospital will remain committed to research, innovation and excellence service delivery.

Briefing newsmen at the hospital, Dr Okoye disclosed that Nigeria was rated globally to have the lowest life expectancy after Afghanistan, adding that the situation was worsened by the mass flight of doctors from Nigeria to seek greener pastures out the country, known as jakpa syndrome.

According to Dr Okoye, part of the innovations recorded by safe a Life Foundation is the introduction of a medical application known as ‘my home clinic’ which avails patients the opportunity to engage medical facilities and enjoy medical services from their homes.

The renown medical practitioner pointed out that proper information management is applied to check misdiagnosis, minimize hytrogenic deaths and other tactical errors of medical enquiry; and practice.

He emphasised that the home delivery of medical services has also enhanced zero maternal mortality, as proper digital records of pregnant women are carried out with precision and followed up with proper medical services.

Dr Okoye called on governments and other stakeholders to key into the innovation to get it properly domesticated in tertiary, secondary and primary health care practices, adding that the target is to bridge the gap in jakpa syndrome and shore up Nigeria’s life expectancy ratio by reducing preventable deaths.

Oil & Energy

Oil Exploration Resumption: OYF Demands 500 Job Slots

Published

1 hour ago

August 24, 2026

The Tide

Youths of oil-rich Ogoni ethnic nationality in Rivers State under the aegis of Ogoni Youth Federation (OYF) have demanded 500 job slots from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited following the planned resumption of oil exploration in the area.

This figure is against the already released 40 slots by the company.

Consequently, the youths have moved to convene a national congress of youths to address issues relating to the oil exploration, which has sparked palpable divisions in the area.

Speaking during the inauguration of the Planning Committee for the Congress, in PortHarcourt, at the weekend, the President-General of OYF, Worldwide, Engr. Legborsi Yamaabana, described the congress as urgent, and targetted at addressing all issues arising from the planned oil resumption.

Yamaabana commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on his efforts in giving attention to reopening oil businesses in the area, noting however, that Ogoni stands at a crossroads following the issues surrounding the oil resumption.

He said “The Ogoni nation stands at a critical crossroads in its history. We acknowledge the renewed political attention of the Federal Government of Nigeria under the leadership of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (GCFR), particularly regarding the proposed resumption of oil and gas exploration in Ogoniland after more than three decades of suspension.

“While we recognize this development as a significant national conversation, we emphasize that any engagement concerning Ogoniland must be anchored on the principles of environmental justice, equitable benefit-sharing, and the protection of the dignity, rights, and future of the Ogoni people especially our youth, who remain the custodians of tomorrow.

“The Ogoni struggle is not merely historical; it is living, evolving, and central to the future of sustainable development in the Niger Delta and Nigeria at large.”

He called for calm over the 40 job opportunity given to the area by the NNPCL, insisting that such allocation was insufficient compared to the contribution of Ogoni to the economy.

Yamaabana rather requested that NNPCL, as a matter of importance, give 500 job slots to youths of the area,

In the interim, the leadership of OYF Worldwide has observed the unnecessary tension and uproar surrounding the reported 40 slots of employment opportunity allocated to Ogoni youths in NNPCL and its subsidiaries, as part of Federal Government confidence-building measure toward the resumption of oil and gas activities in Ogoniland.

“We wish to state clearly that this 40 slots is paltry and insignificant given the scale of our sacrifice; and as such, it should not become a source of internal rancour, division, or friction among our people.

“We strongly appeal to all Ogoni political, traditional, and community leaders to sheath their swords, maintain calm, and refrain from unnecessary squabbles over crumbs.

“Without preempting the sovereign deliberations of the upcoming Congress, let it be noted that Ogoni youth will not settle for tokenism.

“At the upcoming Congress, we shall formally demand a minimum of 500 direct employment opportunities within the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and its subsidiaries for qualified Ogoni youths, who have been economically sidelined and left inactive throughout this 33-year stalemate.”

Following the issues raised, Yamaabana said that convening of the Ogoni Youth National Congress 2026 has become an urgent necessity, regretting that some individuals were working to truncating the efforts of the Federal Government toward peaceful resumption if oil exploration in the area.

He, however, tasked the committee to amongst other terms of references design an operational framework for the Congress and ensure a Broad-based mobilisation of other youth groups, stakeholders for the Congress that would be held both physically and virtually.