The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) said that it has started arresting vessels for violating provisions of the Cabotage Law demanding that Nigerians should be employed onboard vessels.

Disclosing these newsmen yesterday, NIMASA’s Director of Maritime Labour and Cabotage Services, Ibrahim Jubril equally confirmed that the agency has equally acquired fast intervention vessels which the agency uses in hot pursuit of the airing vessels.

Jubril also said that in order to have an accurate data of available maritime labour in the sector, NIMASA recently came up with an electronic register of all maritime labour in order to ensure jobs are provided for them in line with the Cabotage law.

“I would like to inform the maritime industry that on the part of NIMASA as a regulator, we have put in measures to ensure full implementation of the Cabotage Act in Nigeria, particularly on the fourth pillar which has to do with the building of ships and carriage of cargoes and the manning aspect of it”

“What we have put in place recently is to come up with an electronic register of all maritime labour that would enable us to plan better for the industry, such that whenever there are identified jobs for seafarers, it would be carried out by Nigerians and Nigerians would be placed on the job.”

“In line with the presidential executive order number 4, we have come out in full force in terms of our enforcement to ensure that only Nigerians are engaged onboard. Before the release of this presidential order, we in NIMASA have come up with a marine notice that mentioned that we would have zero tolerance for any waiver at all.”

“We now detain vessels whom we have identified as carrying foreigners onboard, very soon we are going to intensify on that. We have acquired fast intervention vessels recently, which is going to help us pursue these ships all around our waters to make sure that proper inspection is carried out and proper placement of labour is done in the industry,” he said.

Sweetcrude, Lagos

The Hague-based LNG giant Shell with partners is looking for a government approval to import liquefied natural gas into Indonesia.

Speaking to the media, Indonesia’s oil and gas director general Djoko Siswanto said the company has proposed the LNG imports to the government, however, it has not been approved yet, Reuters report.

The government has, in turn, requested Shell and its partners to present a plan to the government.

The buyer for the volumes has already been found by Shell, and the company intends to build a liquefied natural gas import terminal in Indonesia, although Siswanto has not named the buyer.

The government also noted that any imports by Shell and its partners should not interfere with the domestic LNG producers’ attempts to find buyers.

• LNG World News

Brazil’s Petrobras said that its oil and natural gas production, including natural gas liquids (NGL), was 2.62 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed) in June, dipping slightly from the previous month, LNG World News reports.

The state-owned energy giant said that 2.53 million boed were produced in Brazil and 98 thousand boed were produced abroad.

The production of natural gas in Brazil, excluding the liquefied volume, was 78.2 million cubic meters per day, 3.4 percent lower than the previous month.

This was mainly due to the maintenance stoppage of FPSO Cidade de Paraty located in Lula field at Santos basin pre-salt and the sale of 25 percent stake of Roncador field to Equinor.

Natural gas production abroad was 6.4 million cbm/d, in line with the volume produced in May, Petrobras said.

News Wires

Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC has lifted a force majeure on the export of Nigeria’s largest and best crude oil grade, Bonny Light.

The ban lifting comes after nearly two months.

SweetcrudeReports gathered that the leak on the Nembe Creek trunkline has finally been repaired after the company shut it down in mid-May.

The pipeline is one of the main export routes for Bonny Light.

The shut-in had affected Nigeria’s export of 150, 000 barrels per day of crude oil from the pipeline.

Confirming the lifting, Shell that it “lifted the force majeure on Bonny Light exports following the repair and reopening of the Nembe Creek Trunkline by the operator, Aiteo Eastern E&P Company Limited.”

Nigeria produces between 200, 000bpd and 250, 000bpd of Bonny Light which is also very popular among refiners globally.

Price of Bonny Light which is one of the highest globally has also rubbed off on other key Nigerian grades such as Forcados and Qua Iboe.

Sweetcrude, Lagos

Sweetcrude, Lagos — Wednesday’s trading on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange ended with marginal gain for one of the energy companies on the Exchange.

Japaul gained 0.03k while Oando ended with -0.5k drop. Mobil and Eterna were unchanged.

OpeOluwani Akintayo

The House of Representatives has called on the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, to rescind the suspension of the executive and non-executive directors of Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company.

The resolution followed a motion under matters of urgent public importance by Rep. Sunday Adepoju (Oyo-APC) at the House plenary in Abuja.

In the motion, Adepoju noted the critical role the power sector played in Nigeria’s economy.

He said that in the Federal Government’s privatisation policy, Integrated Energy Distribution and Marketing Limited became a core investor in Ibadan Electricity Distribution Plc and the Yola Electricity Distribution Plc.

Said  he: ”The House is aware that due to the protracted violence in the North-East, the Integrated Energy Distribution and Marketing Limited declared ‘force majeure’.

“This terminated the sale of Yola Electricity Distribution Company and entitling Integrated Energy Distribution and Marketing Limited to a refund from the Bureau of Public Enterprises of the money it paid for a stake in the company.

”The House is conscious that though the refund to Integrated Energy Distribution and Marketing Limited fell due since 2015, the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) is yet to fulfil its obligation.

“It recently caused the Federal Government to provide for it in the 2018 Appropriation Act.

”The House is also conscious that in two separate agreements executed in 2015 and 2016, the Integrated Energy Distribution and Marketing Limited borrowed a total of N6,000,000,000 from the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company.

“This is to pay off some of the debts it incurred in the failed Yola Electricity Distribution transaction”.

Adepoju said that in spite of the expected refund from the BPE, which served as security against the loans, the Integrated Energy Distribution and Marketing Limited in December, 2017 reached an understanding.

He said “the understanding with NERC was to pay the sum of N150,000,000 monthly to Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company towards the settlement of the loans.

”The House is satisfied that the Integrated Energy Distribution and Marketing Limited as at June 14, 2018, had paid the said N150 million from January to May, 2018.

“Although, there were hiccups occasioned by cash flow, payment is currently up to date.

”We’re alarmed that vide its order referenced as NERC/181/2018 and dated June 19, 2018, the NERC suspended all executive and non-executive directors of the Ibadan Electricity Regulatory Commission.”

The lawmaker described the suspension as “counter-productive’’, saying it would not only affect the investors’ confidence in the market, but also deprive the company of critical management needs.

When the speaker, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, put the motion to a voice vote, it was unanimously adopted.

The Committee on Power was, therefore, charged to investigate the matter with a view to protecting the electricity market environment, and report back within four weeks.

Sweetcrude, Lagos

OpeOluwani Akintayo

The Senate has alleged that the Minister of States for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, and the Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, of “granting all manners of illegal discounts and rebates” in the ongoing process of renewing expired oil and gas leases in the country.

The resolution was made after a deliberation on a motion sponsored by Omotayo Alasoadura (APC, Ondo Central) and three other senators.

According to a committee of the upper chamber, the minister and DPR have reportedly granted illegal rebates and discounts, denying government possible revenue in excess of N10 billion.

The Senate has, meanwhile, mandated its Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream) to investigate all issues relating to the lease renewals and to submit report to the Senate of irregularities in the process, likewise to identify possible solutions.

According to Mr. Alasoadura, who is the Chairman of the committee, multiple irregularities were discovered in the process.

“The Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and Department of Petroleum Resources is proceeding to renew leases of companies that have brazenly and illegally refused to pay royalties due to government from oil and gas lifted by the said companies in contravention of extant laws.

“The irregularities being perpetrated by the Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and the Department of Petroleum Resources in the ongoing lease renewal process is capable of denying government revenue in excess of $10 billion as a result of illegal discounts and rebates in the process of lease renewal.”

He accused DPR of intentionally refusing to provide the committee with relevant information and data related to the renewal.

In his remark, Shehu Sani (APC, Kaduna Central) stressed the need for the Senate to intervene “when issues are raised about transparency and accountability in the oil and gas sector.”

“It is very clear that the Minister of State has, in every possible way, been engaged in acts that contravene the law and I believe this is the very person who, over a year ago, wrote an open letter, raising issues about transparency and impunity in the oil sector.

“What this panel can do is to once and for all, bring the minister to make a clarification about the actions he has taken. Ten billion dollars is no small amount of money. I believe that we can get to the root of this matter to open other cans of worms in the petroleum sector,” he said.

In another report by Premium Times, Mr. Sani was quoted as urging the Senate to summon the minister of state and other officials in the petroleum sector for questioning.

Rafiu Ibrahim (APC, Kwara South) asked that the Chief of Staff to the President be summoned as he was “rumoured” to be on the board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) as well as the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.

“We are aware that the Minister of State, ordinarily, does not have final approval of this type of cases; there’s a board of the NNPC.

“It is in the rumour mill that the Chief of Staff to the president is a member of the board and literally in charge of the ministry and NNPC. Let us expand those to be called, maybe the board. So that the Minister of State will not just come and say he is not the one in charge,” he said.

On his part, the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, stated that the issue of transparency has been a major setback in the oil and gas sector.

“We must ensure, using our oversight, that there is transparency in the management of our oil resources.

“One of our major problems is the issue of enforcement and regulations because we have sufficient rules to guide us in almost all sectors. I want to appeal to regulatory agencies and enforcement agencies to wake up to their responsibilities to ensure that the right things are done irrespective of who is involved,” he said.

The Ministry of Mines and Hydrocarbons of Equatorial Guinea proudly announces that it will hold the Africa Petroleum Producers Organization’s (APPO) next ministerial summit and industry conference in Malabo in March 2019. The Cape VII event will take place at the Sipopo conference center on Bioko Island.

Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons H.E. Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima confirmed that Equatorial Guinea would host the Cape VII forum at a meeting of the 18 ministers of APPO in Abuja, Nigeria, on Monday.

The Minister stated: “APPO is an extremely valuable forum for Africa’s petroleum industry policy-makers, and a venue where we can advance an agenda of cooperation on this continent. Equatorial Guinea is in the privileged position of being able to serve the interests of all African producers at the Cape VII conference.”

“The Ministry of Mines and Hydrocarbons thanks the Secretary General of APPO H.E. Mahaman Laouan Gaya for his leadership, and looks forward to welcoming him and APPO member state ministers and their delegations to Malabo next March.”

Cape VII is one of three events to be held in 2019 under the Ministry of Mines and Hydrocarbons’ Year of Energy initiative, which is coordinated by the Agency of Energy. Malabo will also host the 2019 Gas Exporting Countries Forum summit and heads of state meeting, and the Equatorial Guinea Africa Oil & Power conference.

APPO, formerly known as the African Petroleum Producers Association (APPA), is an intergovernmental organization founded in Lagos in 1987. Its members are: Algeria, Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo Brazzaville, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Gabon, Ghana, Equatorial Guinea, South Africa, Libya, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria and Sudan. The previous APPO ministerial conference and exhibition, Cape VI, was held in Abuja in March 2016.

By Ndubuisi Micheal Obineme

Dr. Afe Mayowa, president, Oil and Gas Trainers Association of Nigeria, (OGTAN) and chief executive officer, Danvic Petroleum International Corporation has called for collaboration by all inter-governmental organization to further improve Research & Development (R&D) in Nigerian universities.

Dr. Afe who spoke with our correspondent at the sideline of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Conference (NOG) in Abuja said that there is need to put more collaborative efforts in place between Nigerian universities and the oil and gas industry.

He said that there is nothing wrong if about 10 PhD candidates are selected as a research team to work on a particular project in the University of Ibadan while Chevron becomes the sponsor which in return the candidates will be able to deliver the work with a positive result. He adds: “This is the kind of collaboration we really want to see. But as at today, we are not seeing too much of that.”

He further explained that in the developed countries, you will see companies investing in departments who have personnel; doctoral students and the students will devote their time in carrying out specific research that could help the oil and gas industry. This is because the companies are in business to make money while the universities are in the process of adding knowledge. So the companies help the students who want to go into research and add to knowledge which they will also benefit from.

“This is because if you improve technology, a lot of things will be easy for the oil company. There is a lot of benefit in inter agency collaboration. This is to forestall duplication of efforts,” Dr. Afe said.

Dr. Afe also called for Government support to ensure that there is an enabling environment for every operation to be useful. He adds: “Chevron cannot collaborate with the University of Ibadan if the environment for Chevron to do their business is not there.”

He said that there should be some tax concession to companies that are sponsoring research in universities. There should be some form of tax holiday. For instance in developed nations, if you sponsor anything charity, what they do is that the money is tax free. It encourages you to do more because you know that you will get some of the things that you are doing tax-free. An enabling environment is a key and the government should be able to provide it.

As part of OGTAN efforts to contribute to the oil and gas industry, the group recently organised an education summit which was attended by stakeholders from across the Nigerian oil & gas industry.

OGTAN have also developed a communiqué which are giving to government, ministry of education and every industry stakeholders.

OGTAN has also created a technical business meetings that will enable people to be able to express themselves.

PRESS RELEASE–The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has commenced comprehensive community integration and stakeholders’ engagement to sensitize dwellers of Iwure, Ojor and Osomba/Akin communities of Cross River State ahead of planned oil palm-based biodiesel project in that part of the state.

A release by Corporation’s Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Ndu Ughamadu, said the 26, 000 hectares facility was designed to accommodate an oil palm plantation co-located with bio-diesel, crude palm oil co-generation plants and other facilities.

Already, officials of the corporation’s Renewable Energy Division (RED) have embarked on the sensitization campaign across affected communities, providing information on the rationale and projected benefits of the biofuels projects in the state.

The NNPC Research and Development Division (R&D) is also being engaged for the conduct of Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) for the projects.

The release said that the plant was projected to generated about 14 megawatts of electricity from empty fruit bunches and the residue from oil palms.

Under the arrangement, the oil palm would be processed into fuel grade Biodiesel and industrial crude palm oil as by-products. The Biodiesel will be blended with diesel in a mix of 20 per cent biodiesel and 80 per cent diesel and sold as B20 in the domestic market. Any utilized biodiesel quantity would be exported to the international market.

The NNPC Cross River bio-fuel project is in tandem with renewed drive by the corporation to develop biofuels in Nigeria through partnership with core investors to create a low carbon economy and link oil and gas sector to the agricultural sector. This is also to mitigate the adverse effect of climate change and the transformation of NNPC into an integrated energy company with diverse portfolio.

The business model would involve a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) comprising NNPC, State Government and the Core-investor. The state Government is expected to provide land as equity while core investor takes more than 50 per cent equity and operate the venture leaving NNPC and state Government with minority share of less than 50 per cent.

So far, Kebbi, Ondo, Taraba, Benue, Jigawa, Kogo, Adamawa have shown interest in partnering with NNPC in biofuels projects.

Exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States edged up since the last weekly report issued by the Energy Information Administration on June 28, LNG World News reports.

During the week ending July 11, six LNG vessels departed the United States with a total LNG carrying capacity of 22.4 billion cubic feet of natural gas, slightly above the 21.7 Bcf dispatched in the previous period EIA reported on.

Four cargoes left Cheniere’s Sabine Pass LNG export facility in Louisiana with two cargoes shipped from the Dominion’s Cove Point facility in Maryland.

The natural gas feedstock to both of the terminals averaged 3.3 Bcf/d during the report week, down from the 3.5 Bcf/d the week before.

Cheniere Energy, the developer of the Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi liquefaction terminals, received permission from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last week to start commissioning a fuel gas system at Corpus Christi Train 1 and introduce hot oil as part of the commissioning activities.

Corpus Christi has two trains currently under construction, with the third stage of the expansion consisting of seven modular liquefaction trains and a storage tank. The third expansion stage received a Final Investment Decision in May.