Oil & Energy

Sack Fever Grips IBEDC Workers

Published

12 years ago

May 5, 2014

There was tense atmo
sphere at the Omu-Aran Business Office of Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company of Nigeria (IBEDC) last week over rumour of impending mass sack of workers.
The Tide gathered that City Hall, Omu-Aran, office of IBEDC workers were seen in groups discussing the development.
The apprehension among the workers was further heightened as the six-month trial period to asses performance of the workers by the new investors expired today.
News about distribution of sack letters to some workers spread fast in the town and created fears in the minds of the workers.
A senior officer in the district told newsmen on condition of anonymity, that a directive for the workers to attend a meeting scheduled for 4.00 p.m. heightened anxiety among the workers.
“We have already heard the news that sack letters were being distributed in other districts like Challenge and Baboko in Ilorin.
“Today being the last day in the month of April is the last day of the six months grace period to determine the fate of the present workforce by the new management.
“So, when the directive to attend a general meeting, scheduled for 4.00 p.m. by the management, got to the workers and coupled with the aforementioned facts, the atmosphere became charged,” the source said.
The source further said that the affected workers would have been served their letters before now if not for the need to fix some faults caused by the recent rainstorm in the area.
“The rainstorm damaged some electrical poles which left some of the communities within the district in darkness. “This is what the workers are working to clear before the rumour of impending retrenchment surfaced,” the source said.

Oil & Energy

FG Intensifies Efforts To Reposition Tourism Sector

Published

3 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

3 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.

Related: Saudi Aramco Looks to Raise $10 Billion from Real Estate Asset Deal

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

Oil & Energy

PenCom Grants PFAs Waiver To Invest In Dangote Refinery IPO

Published

3 hours ago

May 18, 2026

The Tide

The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has granted Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) a special regulatory waiver allowing them to invest pension assets in the upcoming Initial Public Offering (IPO) of Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals FZE (DPRP).

The waiver, announced in a circular dated May 13, 2026, effectively suspends several investment restrictions, marking a significant shift in PenCom’s stance on equity investments by PFAs.

PenCom clarified that the decision is a one-off exception, issued in light of Dangote Refinery’s economic importance and strong investment fundamentals.

The new policy permits PFAs to invest in the IPO, bypassing the usual requirements for corporate profitability and dividend history that are typically mandatory for PFA investments.

The circular emphasised that the regulatory body carefully considered the strategic significance of the Dangote Refinery, which is part of a broader $40 billion expansion project in oil refining, fertiliser production, and other industries.

The Commission also highlighted the refinery’s strong financial backing and the established performance record of Dangote Industries Limited, its majority shareholder.

The circular said “The Commission has carefully evaluated the strategic investment opportunity and the economic impact of the proposed Initial Public Offering (IPO) of Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals FZE (DPRP) on the pension industry and the wider economy.

“In light of these considerations, the Commission has reviewed the request for a special dispensation that would permit Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) to invest pension fund assets in the IPO”.

PenCom acknowledged Dangote Refinery’s role in advancing Nigeria’s oil sector and its potential to driving broader economic growth.

It confirmed that the waiver does not set a precedent for future IPOs but is a specific and singular exception due to the refinery’s large-scale impact on Nigeria’s economy.

It would be noted that the Dangote Refinery IPO is set to open in mid-2026 and will offer approximately 10% of the company’s equity to the public.

This move is part of Dangote Group’s strategy to raise funds for further industrial expansion.

The IPO is expected to be one of the largest public offerings in Africa, with the refinery’s valuation potentially reaching $50 billion (about N70 trillion).