News / Oil & Gas

Forex: How NNPC remitted $2.7 billion in six months

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited remitted $2.7 billion in six months, from January to June this year, into its accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The revelation has put to rest claims that the national oil company has not been contributing to the national purse.

This claim has also led to another that the lack of contribution by the NNPC, which trades largely in foreign exchange, was responsible for the spiraling value of the naira.

The funds remitted comprise of $645 million for dividend paid by the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Company Limited and $1.786 billion from the NNPC operational activities.

Further details showed that the NNPC Limited remitted $18.77 million in January 2022,  $194.56 million in February 2022, and $373.233 million in March 2022.

Other NNPC remittances were $247.884 million in April 2022, $591.565 million in May 2022 and $880.906 million in June 2022.

This followed claims that zero remittance by the NNPC Limited has been responsible for the acute scarcity of the dollar, leading to the sharp depreciation of the naira last month.

The naira depreciated by N3.95 to N429 per dollar at the end of July in the Investor and Exporters window from N425 per dollar at the end of June.

Similarly, the naira depreciated by N95 to N710 in the parallel market at the end of July from N615 per dollar at the end of June.…

News / Oil & Gas / politics

Nigeria’s outgoing OPEC Secretary-General dies hours after meeting with Buhari

Nigeria’s Dr. Mohammed Barkindo, the Secretary-General of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, is dead.

Mele Kyari, Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Company, confirmed the development on Wednesday.

Kyari spoke in a statement posted on his official Twitter page in the early hours of the day.

He tweeted: “We lost our esteemed Dr Mohammed S Barkindo. “He died at about 11.00 p.m. on Tuesday.

“Certainly a great loss to his immediate family, the NNPC, our country Nigeria, the OPEC and the global energy community.

“Burial arrangements will be announced shortly.”

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Barkindo, who is the outgoing OPEC Secretary General, was in Nigeria where he delivered the Chairman’s Keynote Address at the ongoing Nigerian Oil and Gas Conference in Abuja on Tuesday.

At his last official outing at the NOG, Barkindo was given a standing ovation by industry stakeholders for his outstanding contributions to the Nigerian and global oil and gas industry.

He had earlier in the day visited President Muhammadu Buhari in the Presidential Villa (see photograph used for illustration), where he was hailed by the President for being a “worthy ambassador to Nigeria.”

Born on April 20, 1959 in Yola, Adamawa State, Barkindo served as the Secretary General of OPEC since August 1, 2016 and would have bowed out on July 31, 2022 following the completion of his tenure.

He completed his Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Ahmadu Bello University Zaria in 1981 and Masters of Business Administration degree from Washington University in 1991.

Prior to the MBA, in 1988 he earned a Post Graduate Diploma in Petroleum Economics from Oxford University.

Also, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Federal University of Technology Yola.

Barkindo previously served as the acting Secretary-General in 2006 and represented Nigeria on OPEC’s Economic Commission Board from 1993 to 2008.

He also led the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation from 2009 to 2010 and headed Nigeria’s technical delegation to United Nations climate negotiations since 1991.

Barkindo will be replaced by Haitham Al-Ghais, a veteran of …

News / Oil & Gas / politics

IPMAN urges government to clamp down on illegal refineries operators

IPMAN’s President, Chinedu Okoronkwo, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Friday in Lagos.

Okoronkwo said the recent explosion at one of the illegal refineries at Abaezi forest in Ohaji-Egbema Local Government Area of Imo State had again brought to the forefront the dangers of engaging in such nefarious activities.

He said: “IPMAN as a body commiserates with the government and people of Imo over the deaths and injuries recorded in the incident.

“We are, therefore, calling on the local, state and federal governments to intensify efforts to check the operations of these illegal refineries within their domains.”

Okoronkwo said Nigeria was losing billions of naira to crude oil thieves, a conduct he lamented was affecting the nation’s economy negatively.

He added that the environmental degradation being caused by their activities could not be overemphasized, especially in the Niger Delta region.

Okoronkwo urged other state governors to emulate Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Woke, who had taken the campaign against oil bunkering in the state very seriously.

He said on its part, IPMAN would continue to work with the government, security agencies and other stakeholders to find a lasting solution to the challenges confronting the oil and gas industry.

“We believe that part of the ways we can reduce their activities is for governments to begin the establishment of modular refineries in some of these areas.

“If these people are positively engaged, the pro…

News / Oil & Gas / politics

Buhari seeks National Assembly’s approval for N4t fuel subsidy

President Muhammadu Buhari has formally requested the National Assembly’s approval of N4 trillion for fuel subsidy in the proposed amendment to the 2022 Fiscal Framework.

Buhari made the request in a letter sent to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila.

The Speaker read the letter during plenary on Thursday.

The letter said: “As you are aware, there have been new developments both in the global economy as well as in the domestic economy which have necessitated the revision of the 2022 Fiscal Framework on which the 2022 Budget was based. “These developments include spikes in the market price of crude oil, aggravated by the Russian Ukraine war, significantly lower oil production volume due principally to production shut-ins as a result of massive theft of crude oil between the production platforms and the terminals.

“The decision to suspend the removal of Petroleum Motor Spirit (PMS) subsidy at a time when high crude oil prices have elevated the subsidy cost has significantly eroded government revenues. There is also the need to make adequate provisions for the recent enhancements of allowances for officers and men of the Nigeria Police Force to boost their morale as they grapple with heightened security challenges in the country.

“Following these developments, it has become necessary to adjust the fiscal framework and accordingly amend the 2022 Appropriation Act to ensure its successful implementation.

“The adjustments to the 2022 Fiscal Framework include an increase in the project oil price benchmark by US$11 per barrel, from US$62 per barrel to US$73 per barrel. A reduction in the projected oil production volume by 283,000 barrels per day from 1.883 million barrels per day to 1.600 million barrels per day.

“An increase in the Estimated provision for PMS subsidy for 2022 by N3.557 trillion from N442.72 billion to N4.00 trillion. A cut in the provision for Federally-funded upstream projects is being implemented by N200 billion. from N352.80 billion to N152.80 billion.

“An increase in the projection for Federal Government independent revenue by N400 billion; and an additional provision …

News / Oil & Gas

PMS: NNPC begins 24-hour operations in depots, retail outlets

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited says it has started 24-hour operations in its depots and retail outlets to restore normal supply and distribution of Premium Motor Spirit across the country.

The NNPC made this known in a statement issued on Tuesday and obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos.

The statement said: “NNPC Limited wish to reassure Nigerians that it has put adequate measures in place to accelerate nationwide distribution of PMS earlier disrupted by the quarantine of methanol blended petrol.

“The quarantine was a necessary step to safeguard our customers from the potential impact of this PMS grade on vehicles and machineries.

“In order to accelerate distribution across the country, we have commenced 24-hour operations at our depots and retail outlets.”

According to the statement, as part of NNPC’s strategic restocking, over 2.3 billion liters of PMS is scheduled for delivery between now and end of February 2022, which will restore sufficiency level above the national target of 30 days.

It said the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, Depot Owners and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria and Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria had also commenced 24-hour loading and dispensing activities in some of their designated outlets.

The statement said NNPC monitoring team was collaborating with the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority and other security agencies to ensure smooth distribution of PMS nationwide. “NNPC implores Nigerians to avoid panic buying as there is sufficient volume of PMS in-country and effort is being made to accelerate distribution to all filling stations,” it said.…

News / Oil & Gas / politics / Uncategorized

Substandard fuel: Producers, MRS, Oando, others must be held accountable – Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered that producers and providers of consumable products be held accountable for substandard services and or products sold by them.

The President has also given directives to the relevant government agencies to take every step in line with the laws of the country to ensure the respect and protection of consumers against market abuses and social injustices.

The President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, in a statement on Thursday, said Buhari gave the directive while reacting to the issue of petroleum product shortages linked to the inadvertent supply of products of foreign origin into the Nigerian market.

According to the President, the protection of consumer interests is a priority of the present administration and is ready to take all necessary measures to protect consumers from hazardous products, loss or injuries from the consumption of substandard goods. Buhari, therefore, directed that in line with the law, service providers must make full disclosure of relevant information with respect to the consumption of their products and that dissatisfied consumers are entitled to a proper redress of their complaints.…

Crime / News / Oil & Gas

NSCDC destroys eight illegal modular refineries in Abia

The Abia Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps has destroyed eight illegal modular refineries in the oil-bearing Ukwa West Local Government Area.

The State Commandant of the corps, Ayinla Olowo, told newsmen in his office in Umuahia on that the feat was achieved following the sustained efforts by the command to rid the state of illegal dealings in petroleum products.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that this was coming barely two weeks the command destroyed 10 of similar facilities in the same area.

Olowo said that the illegal refineries were destroyed by operatives of the Anti-vandal Unit of the command, codenamed “Operation Sting”. “The anti-vandal unit carried out an operation in Ukwa West on Feb. 5, to get rid of operators of illegal refineries in the area.

“The operatives destroyed eight illegal refineries and disconnected all the pipes with which they siphoned products from the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation’s pipelines.

“By this act, we have succeeded in stopping their activities in the area,” Olowo said.

He described the activities of illegal petroleum refiners as economic sabotage, saying that “their activities are having negative impact on the nation’s economic prosperity.

“This is why we have intensified our efforts to crack down on the operators.

“We cannot allow a few criminal elements to continue to destroy our national asset and source of revenue,” he added.

The state NSCDC boss expressed dismay that the command had yet to make any arrest and blamed the development on the antics of the illegal operators.

According to him, they usually keep people at strategic points in the forest to monitor the environment and alert them whenever there is any movement.

“So any time we carry out an operation, the moment we arrive at the forest, they will all disappear,” he said.

Olowo said that his next target was to uncover the root of the criminal act and those behind it and that the command would partner other sister security agencies in the state to tackle the menace.

He, however, said that such …

Breaking News / News / Oil & Gas

NEMA warns of massive gas leakage at computer village, Oba-Akran, Awolowo, Anifowose axis

A massive gas pipeline leak is reportedly taking place in some areas around Ikeja, Lagos State.

NEMA’s acting Coordinator for Lagos State Territory, Ibrahim Farinloye confirmed the incident while asking residents in the Computer Village/Under bridge, Awolowo Way, Oba Akran axis, Anifowoshe Street, and Medical Road to avoid coming into contact with naked flames for safety concerns. The agency said a distress alert was received about a massive leakage of gas pipeline around these areas.

The agency called on residents to proceed with extreme caution.

Mr.  Farinloye stated that emergency responders are attempting to avert the unexpected. Residents around these areas have been advised not open shops pending when normalcy will return.…

News / Oil & Gas / politics

NNPC top shot resigns, may join Kano governorship race

The Group General Manager in charge of Shipping at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Inuwa Waya, has announced his decision to voluntarily retire from the company in December this year.

However, the retirement of the top management staff is yet to be officially confirmed by the NNPC as at press time.

But it was gathered that he has already tendered his letter to proceed on voluntary retirement from the services of the corporation.

Following the submission of the letter of his voluntary retirement, Waya has already commenced his mandatory three months pre-retirement vacation, which began on September 10. Waya personally broke the news of his decision to voluntarily exit the national oil company at a surprise birthday party organized in his honor by the staff of the Shipping Division of the corporation to mark his 58th birthday on September 10.

In a commemorative speech during the party, Waya informed the staff that after serving the corporation for over 30 years, it was time for him to head towards the exit door, by voluntarily retiring to pave the way for the younger generation to take over.

Waya told the staff at the birthday party: “For over 30 years, I have worked and diligently served the NNPC in various capacities.

“Over the period, I believe I did my best to contribute my little quota towards helping the organisation realise the corporate goals and objectives.

“But I also believe every man and woman has his or her time and season for every of his or her activities.

“There is a time to work; a time to play, and a time to stop work and take a deserved rest to focus on other personal dreams.

“I believe my time to stop public work has come, to give way to my season of rest, find the space to focus on the private practice of my law profession as a qualified lawyer.

“That is what I have done.”

While many wondered why he chose to resign, considering that he still has two years in his career …

News / Oil & Gas / politics

PIB: Buhari approved 5% for host communities, Minister changed it — Senator

A former Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Henry Dickson, has exposed how the Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva, allegedly proposed 2.5 per cent operating surplus to Host Communities while President Muhammadu Buhari proposed 5 per cent in the Petroleum Industrial Bill.

The Senator made the revelation when he spoke with newsmen on the contentious issue on Thursday in Abuja.

According to Dickson: “Nigerians should ask the Minister of State for Petroleum why (late President Umaru) Yar’Adua proposed 10 per cent, Buhari proposed 5 per cent, but he came to the National Assembly to propose 2.5 per cent.”

The representative of Bayelsa West Senatorial District explained that before the passage of the bill, Sylva and the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Mele Kyari, told the Senators that it is either they agreed to 2.5 percent or no investment. He said: “Senator (George) Sekibo and I were mandated to reach out to other senators who are not in our region and we did.

“We spoke to lot of them and they all supported us for the 5 per cent.

“Before we took that deliberation and the vote, the Minister of State for Petroleum and the GMD of NNPC were invited to give us the executive perspective.

“I don’t know why it was done, but it was not parliamentary, but it was a decision the leadership took and they came supposedly to enlighten us on the technical  aspect of the bill.

“They told us that it is either we agree to 2.5 percent or no investment.

“So, I can feel how most members who had earlier given us their commitment felt when they heard the tough position by the executive.

“The minister said there won’t be investment inflow if we approve anything higher than the 2.5 per cent.…

News / Oil & Gas

PIB: Anger as Senate slashes host community share to 3% of oil profit

At long last, the Senate yesterday passed the much-awaited Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), with 30 per cent of profits accruing from Oil and Gas operations by the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) now to be set aside for exploration of oil in the frontier basins.

All exploration of frontier basins shall fall under the purview of the Upstream Regulatory Commission. Similarly, three per cent has been reserved for the development of host communities.

However, the Senate reached these decisions amid uproar due to disagreements on the right percentage of oil revenue for host communities.

The report of the Senate Joint Committee on Petroleum, which processed the bill, had proposed five per cent for host communities, while stakeholders had in the original bill proposed 10 per cent. But when the Senate began clause-by-clause consideration of the bill, it was reduced to three per cent.

The decision caused a moment of stalemate as Senators from the Niger Delta region rose against it. Senator James Manager (Delta State) proposed an amendment to retain the provision of five per cent in the report but he was defeated.

As Senate President Ahmad Lawan hit the gavel to re-confirm the three per cent host community provision, Senator George Sekibo ((River State) called for a division. His motion challenged the ruling of the Senate President and the floor again became tensed up.

Fearing the consequences of embarking on a division, the Senate leadership swiftly resorted to pleading with Sekibo to withdraw his motion. Senate leader, Yahaya Abdullahi, said the Senate would be ‘heading to Armageddon’ if it allowed that division to happen.

Lawan also supported the Senate leader and preached the gospel of patriotism to Sekibo who later agreed and withdrew his motion.

Chairman of the Senate Joint Committee that processed the bill, Sabo Muhammed Nakudu (APC, Jigawa West), while presenting the report explained that “the Joint Committee’s recommendation recognises the need for the country to urgently and aggressively explore and develop the country’s Frontier Basins to take advantage of the foreseeable threats to the funding of …

Business / News / Oil & Gas

N320 billion earned by NNPC in Bonga PSC deal

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and Bonga Production Sharing Contract (PSC) partners, have signed watershed agreements to unlock $700m (about N320bn) revenue to the federation.

The revenue is expected to be generated by way of gas revenue and lease renewal fees, adding that the pact would also unlock about two billion barrels of oil for Nigeria under the Oil Mining Lease 118.

Under the arrangement, the NNPC and Bonga PSC partners will be executing five agreements that will deliver about $700m of immediate benefit to Nigeria.

The five agreements signed include, dispute settlement agreement, settlement agreement, historical gas agreement, escrow agreement and renewed psc agreement.

It will also help to ensure $6bn savings of arbitral liability on the Federal Government and unlock 10 000 direct and indirect employment opportunities to Nigeria

This new agreement will also help to re-balance fiscal terms and address global competition in prioritization of investments by key players.

The OML 118 with its straddle fields, boast of the presence of the five Major Players in the deep water space not only in Nigeria but also globally.…