Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, says the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) will be unbundled into 30 competitive revenue generating subsidiaries in the coming week.
He made the disclosure at the Oloibiri Lecture Series and Energy Forum organized by the Society of Petroleum Engineers.
It was the 25th in the series of lectures aimed at bringing key players in the oil and gas industry together to brainstorm on issues that will ensure profitability and economic advancement through oil and gas.
The focus was on global oil price and the use of technological advancements in hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation.
Dr Kachikwu told the petroleum industry experts that an overhaul of the foremost government oil firm, NNPC was imminent, to ensure the return of profitability and stability in the sector.
In what the Minister said would be a major overhaul of the system, the positions of Group Executive and Managing Directors as existed in the NNPC would be replaced by Chief Executive Officers who will head each of the companies.
He said that the move, which would be concluded within the next seven days, would reposition the corporation to bring in huge profits which has been impossible to achieve in the past 15 years.
However, other experts at the lecture noted that for Nigeria to be able to get over its financially challenging times occasioned by the instability in the oil market, advanced technology in the sector is a must to reduce costs and maximize profit.
The experts said that several sub-sector practices must be ratified and enhanced, including joint venture structures, gas exploration, oil production and refining chain among others.
Uganda has received seven bids for six oil exploration blocks offered in a licensing round and it plans to choose the winners and sign deals by the end of June, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development said on Wednesday.
Oil deposits were discovered in Uganda along its border with Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in 2006 but delays in erecting the necessary infrastructure, tax wrangles and the drop in the oil price have delayed the start of production.
The blocks on offer are in the Albertine rift basin, close to the border with DRC, where commercial oil deposits are estimated by government geologists to total 6 billion barrels.
The six blocks are in Ngassa, Tai Tai & Karuka, Mvule, Turaco, Kanywantaba and Ngaji. Ugandan officials say they are targeting commercial oil production by 2018 at the earliest.
Also, Uganda and Tanzania recently announced they are planning to build a pipeline from Ugandan oil fields to the Tanzanian coast to help export Uganda’s crude once production starts.
Uganda announced its first competitive bidding round for the six exploration blocks, covering a total of 3,000 square kilometres, in February last year. Bidding documents were issued to 16 oil firms in October.
In the statement, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development said seven of the 16 had submitted final bids.
“The attraction of seven bidders is significant, taking into consideration the current low global oil and gas prices,” the statement said, adding that the companies came from Australia, Nigeria, Canada and the United States.
“Government will conclude the licensing round by negotiating with successful bidders, sign production sharing agreements and award exploration licences by the end of June 2016,” the statement said.
None of the three oil firms already operating in Uganda – London-listed Tullow Oil, France’s Total and China’s CNOOC – was among the bidders.
Environmental groups including Global Witness and Greenpeace have protested the inclusion of Ngaji, a 895 square kilometre area that is part of Virunga park along Uganda’s border with Democratic Republic of Congo.
“Uganda and Congo should make a deal … to protect Virunga from oil activities,” London-based Global Witness said in a statement this week, adding that drilling there would be a “disaster” for the people and animals in the park.
According to the latest annual global survey released Tuesday by Canadian think tank the Fraser Institute, South Africa has fallen out of the top ten mining investment destinations on the continent and dropped 11 places to 67th globally.
The institute’s Annual Survey of Mining Companies 2014, rates 122 jurisdictions around the world based on their geologic appeal and the extent to which government policies encourage exploration and investment.
“While it is useful to measure the attractiveness of a jurisdiction based on policy factors such as onerous regulations, taxation levels, the quality of infrastructure and so forth, investment decisions are often based on the pure mineral potential of a jurisdiction. Indeed respondents consistently indicate that roughly only 40% of their investment decision is determined by policy factors,” according to the report.
The survey covers Central African Republic, Egypt, Lesotho, Mauritania, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, and Uganda for the first time, but it’s at the top of the rankings that trends are most visible. And it’s not encouraging for the continent’s long-time stalwart.
South Africa is ranked the 11th most attractive African destination for investment in the resources sector behind the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Troubles in the mining sector are also reflected in the country’s broader economic performance.
GDP growth in 2014 was the lowest for South Africa in five years. An unprecedented five-month wage strike by platinum mine workers, followed by another prolonged strike by more than 220,000 metalworkers and engineers, dragged growth down to 1.5% for the year.
Rolling electricity blackouts (or load shedding at it is referred to in the country) as the power utility struggles to keep its creaking coal-fired plants running have also badly shaken business confidence.
Comments on the state of mining in South Africa from the Frasier Institute survey also point to labour and power as central concerns:
“Highly political unionized workforce that perpetually demands more and more in return for less and less productivity; inadequate power generation and inadequate labour laws regarding mineral sector strikes.”
Namibia is the top ranked destination in Africa and 25th overall edging out jurisdictions like Queensland in Australia, British Columbia in Canada and Colorado in the US. The country showed improvement on its policy factors and moved up to a ranking of 20th in 2014 from 34th in 2013 based on its legal and tax environment and other factors such as infrastructure and costs.
Botswana is ranked just below Namibia overall and is again the highest ranked jurisdiction in Africa on policy factors, ranking 13th in 2014 and up from 25th in 2013. Botswana’s showed an improvement on the ratings for nearly all policy factors, most notably for the availability of labour and skills (+15 points), (less) uncertainty concerning the administration, interpretation, or enforcement of existing regulations (+14 points), and security (+11 points).
The Federal Government has inaugurated a 17-man committee to develop a blueprint to guide the transformation of the solid minerals sector in the country.
It noted that given the dwindling fortunes of the nation as a result of falling oil prices, the government has hinged the diversification of the economy on the solid minerals and agricultural sectors.
A statement issued in Abuja recently stated that the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, inaugurated the committee chaired by Prof. Ibrahim Garba and co-chaired by Prof. Siyan Malomo. The committee has three weeks to complete its assignment.
Fayemi said the committee was to produce a 25-year action plan for the transformation of the solid minerals sector, broken down into 24-month short-term plan, 10-year midterm plan and 25-year long-term plan.
The terms of reference of the committee include the identification of hindrances to the development of Nigeria’s mineral resources, identification of pathways to overcome the barriers, prioritisation of activities and provision of time frames for all activities.
They also include the creation of models and scenarios for successful implementation and monitoring of activities; and development of a consensus strategy for buy-in by all stakeholders in the industry, among others.
The minister said the committee was at liberty to identify sub-sectional activities along the minerals value chain that would enhance the rapid development of the industry.
He urged the committee members to take the assignment with passion and commitment, adding that the work was critical to the economy of the nation.
Garba expressed appreciation to the Federal Government for giving the members an opportunity to serve the nation in that capacity and pledged their determination to take the responsibility very seriously.
Ghana National Petroleum Corporation and Quantum Power agree terms for the construction and operation of the Tema LNG Import Terminal.
Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) – Ghana’s National Oil Company, and Quantum Power, the pan-African energy infrastructure investment platform, are pleased to announce that they have signed Heads of Terms for the construction and operation of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage, regasification and delivery facilities at Tema, Ghana (the “Tema LNG Project”).
Matty Vengerik, CEO of Quantum Power and Alexander Mould, CEO of GNPC
The Tema LNG Project will have the scalable ultimate capacity to receive, store, regasify and deliver, at steady state, of about 3.40 million tons of LNG per year, equivalent to 500 million standard cubic feet of gas per day, utilizing a state-of-the-art dedicated floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) moored off-shore Tema. An associated sub-sea and onshore pipeline will deliver the natural gas to GNPC and its customers onshore. The Tema LNG Project, comprising a capital outlay of over $550 million, will be implemented on a build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) basis with the assets transferring to GNPC after the Project’s 20-year term.
Commencement of operations is scheduled for the end of 2016 and, given its design, the Tema LNG Project has a built-in scalability, which would make it play an increasing role in meeting Ghana’s growing energy demand; providing the Ghanaian power generation industry with a highly reliable and clean fuel supply to meet projected power and industrial needs over the next 20 years. The Tema LNG Project will provide GNPC with the flexibility to manage volatility in power demand and fluctuations in domestic gas supply, while mitigating the effect of unpredictable rainfall on Ghana’s power balance.
The Tema LNG Project has been under development for three years, involving some of the world’s most experienced engineering teams collaborating on an innovative design to address the specific maritime challenges in the Gulf of Guinea, while assuring optimal year round operability. The terminal, which will be located 12 kilometres off Tema’s shore allows for cost efficient refuelling and regasification without affecting maritime and port traffic.
Alexander Mould, CEO of GNPC, stated, “We are pleased to announce our agreement with Quantum Power. As the national gas sector aggregator, GNPC is leading Ghana’s efforts to develop the gas-to-power value chain supporting the Government’s vision of energy security for accelerated economic growth. The Tema LNG Project is a critical component in achieving this vision as it allows for the diversification of fuel supply sources, enhancing flexibility and reliability. It guarantees GNPC contracted capacity of 250 million standard cubic feet of gas per day, for regasification of competitively priced LNG.”
Matty Vengerik, CEO of Quantum Power, added, “We are delighted to Partner GNPC to deploy this cost-efficient and clean fuel supply infrastructure solution to Ghana. This is the first such project to be implemented in sub-Saharan Africa. The combination of increased certainty-of-supply with the cost savings inherent in LNG supply has a significant multiplier effect on the economy at large, as it reduces risk for commercial and industrial activities and increases Ghana’s attractiveness as an investment destination. Furthermore, the project will spur directly and indirectly technology and know-how transfer, and maritime and energy employment opportunities, in addition to its highly leverageable indirect contribution to economic activity and employment in the country. Quantum Power is proud that GNPC has selected our project as one of its national strategic initiatives”.
High graded satellite seep on NW-SE seismic line in the Deep Offshore Mumbai area (seep input courtesy of Fugro NPA) PSDM section displayed in depth with timing lines every 1,000 m. Section width is 38 km. Image: Spectrum/ Fugro
High graded satellite seep on NW-SE seismic line in the Deep Offshore Mumbai area (seep input courtesy of Fugro NPA) PSDM section displayed in depth with timing lines every 1,000 m. Section width is 38 km. Image: Spectrum/ Fugro
The continued decline of crude oil prices on the international market has led to many players in the industry adopting prudent spending measures including the reduction in headcounts and capital expenditure.
Though the boom and bust cycle is very common in this industry, the current decline has taken longer than anticipated partly due to the bullish stand of OPEC.
The decline in crude oil prices have started taking a major toll on oil producing countries in Africa where the effect has begun to bite hard, especially when it comes local players in the industry.
It therefore comes as no surprise that in Ghana, the Petroleum Commission, the regulator of the upstream sector of the country’s oil and gas industry, has adopted the posture of introducing to local players a more cost effective ways of doing business through training workshops.
This, the Commission seeks to achieve through collaborating with companies with new technology and research that can drastically reduce the cost of doing business in the country.
One of such training workshop organized by the Commission in February was with Fugro on marine seeps detection technology.
Marine seeps are hydrocarbon – enriched fluids that have travelled from a reservoir deep in the subsurface to the seabed or seawater column. Sampling and studying these seeps provide information and enhance the understanding of the oil reservoir thus lowering exploration risks.
The training was to equip participants with skills on how to utilize the technology as a tool to minimize risks and costs during exploration.
“The Petroleum Commission is collaborating with these experts to highlight the importance of seeps. For the new entrants, people with new petroleum agreement, they have mapped their prospects but they don’t know whether it contains anything.
Exploration is just mapping prospects and until you drill you will not know whether it contains anything. But when you have this kind of technology and you run it over your prospect, it is then that you see evidence of the success or otherwise of your prospect,” Mr. Chris Fordjor, an Advisor to the Petroleum Commission indicated.
He maintained that marine seeps detection technology gives you a high confidence of making it a success and minimizes your risk of drilling that prospect. “It reduces the risk of drilling a dry well. If you drill a dry well, about 50 to 60million dollars is gone,” he observed.
He emphasized that as the regulator of the upstream sector of the industry, the commission will encourage as many who want to demonstrate new technologies that have been developed to reduce cost.
He however quickly pointed out that the “Commission is not championing the organization of such things, but if any research institution approaches us that they have this type of research and we find it to be good for players in the industry, we will endorsed it and help in organizing it.”
According to Daniel Doolittle, Senior Geoscientist Exploration Project Manager, Fugro, “The market has responded to the need to find an efficient way to gather data for offshore exploration, and traditionally that has been done with very expensive 3D seismic vessels and that is a wonderful tool. Seismic data tells you what type of structure that you have, it tells you the potential volumes of what may be in those structures but it does not tell you what. And to get to the what, you have to do geochemical analysis on the materials that have been collected in that area. Traditionally, you have to drill, which is very expensive, to the targeted area, gather the materials and analyze it geochemically and then you will know whether you have a successful reservoir or an economic reservoir.
These geochemical seeps hunting surveys allow much more efficient approach to not just determining the volumes of materials that may be in offshore reservoir, but finding these leaking hydrocarbons typically coming out of these reservoirs. And if we sample them precisely and accurately we can get very good geochemical results of what is in that reservoir. It is much more economical, it is much more efficient than drilling for it.”
He noted that using the marine seeps detection technology is probably on the order of less than $100,000.00 a day, adding that, “But for using a drilling rig or a seismic vessel add a few more zeroes to that.”
Mr. Doolittle pointed out that the main challenge for any exploration manager in oil and Gas Company is reducing risk.
“You have to find an amount of resources and you have to choose among a global portfolio what to deploy those resources towards, usually money.
If you choose one that is not successful as another, that is a real risk to your business. What we call exploration risk is very real, and so is exploration cost; the risk of a project going over the budget.
What a seep hunting campaign can do is to go in and start answering some of those risk questions very early on at much less expense than the other methods available.
Another scenario which is very common is to have a small company that does not have a lot of resources but have won a bid round; they were able to gain the right from a national oil company or from a foreign country to explore optical section of the offshore environment. They have a plan; they see something that maybe the big oil and gas companies do not see. So they are taking the risk by being the small player. If they can find a good geochemical result in their block that proves that there is an active petroleum system occurring, they can take that data point and walk into the board room of a major oil company and ask them to invest with them or even farm in.
So it also serves as a risk reduction tool for smaller companies,” he explained.
Fugro has a very strong presence in West Africa. The company said it is committed to a long term presence in Ghana despite the declining crude oil prices on the market.
For Vincent van Santen, Business Development Manager, Fugro, “We are we putting so much effort on this type of knowledge and technology because at the end of the line people want to spend money more efficiently, especially at this time when oil prices are very low. It is a cost saver for our client. It is a very high cost seismic survey data system. If you do this type of survey it is relatively cheap survey to get a lot more information and much more efficiency. And that is the context why we are here.”
He said everywhere Fugro starts an office, the company always build a strong local presence and train local people through our Fugro Academy. This he pointed out fall in line with the localization and knowledge transfer requirement of the Petroleum Commission.
Two years after the Government of Ghana’s plans to have the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) to entirely takeover the management and operations of the Ghana Gas Company Limited (Ghana Gas), the process still lingers on.
Though the GNPC insist that the Corporation has signed an agreement with government on the takeover long ago, there are still administrative and legal issues that needed to be addressed before the takeover materialize.
Perhaps the closest attempt by government to bring this plan to fruition was the dissolution of the old board and the appointment of a new board of directors.
Checks by Orient Energy Review on the ongoing process indicates that the new board is yet to pass a resolution that would address the necessary legal and administrative changes at the Registrar General’s Department to enable the process to be completed.
Dr. Kwesi Botchwey, former Board Chairman Ghana Gas
The decision to cede the management and operations of Ghana Gas to the GNPC attracted a lot of controversy with the old board of Ghana Gas, led by Dr Kwesi Botchwey challenging that decision.
“While the board has become aware of government intention, through its announcement in the Budget and Financial Estimates of 2015, to transfer its ownership of Ghana Gas to the GNPC, as a limited liability company, the board of Ghana Gas has as of today not passed any resolution nor has the board filed the necessary papers to effect the change in ownership.
Statements that the takeover has been concluded are therefore surprising and premature. The board and management of Ghana Gas have not held any meeting with the Transaction Advisor (who a statement from the Minister of Finance said has been appointed), neither has the Transactional Advisor requested the company to provide it with any information. It cannot therefore be said that the process has been undertaken and concluded.
We are yet to receive any written indications from either the Minister of Finance or the Minister of Energy on the takeover decision and the way forward as the company prepares to meet the Transactional Advisor,” a press release signed by Dr Kwesi Botchwey lamented.
But the GNPC has argued that the takeover makes sense because Ghana Gas was originally part of the GNPC.
The Kwesi Botchwey led Ghana Gas Board
At a meeting on January 13, 2016, the Dr Kwesi Botchwey led board by resolution, announced the retirement of the non executive directors of the Ghana Gas Company from its role as the policy making and policy direction arm of the Company effective February 4, 2016.
The non executive directors are Dr Kwesi Botcway, Dr Valerie Esther Sawyerr, Mr. Eric Nathaniel Yankah and Mr. Patrick Tawiah.
Many believed that the decision of the board was tied to their strong opposition of the intended takeover of the Ghana Gas by the GNPC.
The Dr Kwesi Botchway led board, which assumed office on July 2011, is accredited for successfully establishing the administrative and operational structures of the company from scratch, and superintending on the recruitment of key staff.
The old board following the review of the Gas Task Force Report and the options for the development of gas infrastructure, decisively choose a configuration of having an onshore gas processing facility to process raw natural gas and produce various products including liquefied petroleum gas and other natural gas liquids for domestic and industrial use.
The board implemented the Western Gas Infrastructure Project and successfully brought the Gas Processing Plant, associated pipelines and auxiliary equipments into operations.
The new Board of the Ghana National Gas Company (Ghana Gas) has assured staff of their readiness to work with management of the gas processing company to resolve immediate challenges facing it.
During its maiden visit to the gas facility, the Board said it will outline policies to make Ghana Gas financially independent and to ensure settlement of indebtedness by off-takers of the Company’s products.
The Volta River Authority (VRA), main downstream off-taker of lean gas, owes Ghana Gas over US$250 million for processed gas.
Chairman of the Board, Mr. John Armstrong Yao Klinogo, made this assurance during a visit of the Board to the Atuabo Gas Processing Plant to familiarize themselves with operations of the Company Tuesday.
Other members of the Board on the familiarization tour were Dr. George Sipa-Adjah Yankey, CEO of Ghana Gas, Mr. Alexander Kofi-Mensah Mould, CEO of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), Ms. Vivienne Gadzekpo, Director of Legal Affairs at the Ministry of Petroleum and Awulae Amihere Kpanyinli III, Paramount Chief of the Eastern Nzema Traditional Area.
The new Board, which replaced the first Board of the Company, was sworn into office on February 4, 2016. It is expected to shape the future of “Ghana Gas” and oversee the implementation of the second phase of the gas project.
The Board also paid a courtesy call on the chiefs and people of the Eastern Nzema Traditional Area and assured the community of its commitment to address the concerns of the communities in which Ghana Gas operates.
The CEO of Ghana Gas and member of the Board, Dr. Sipa Yankey, said the company plans to roll out a series of corporate social responsibility interventions to support the developmental needs of the communities within its areas of operation.
The chiefs, in response, assured the Board of their support and affirmed their continuous cooperation for the success of the gas project and its associated community projects.
The FPSO Professor John Evans Atta Mills, a Floating Production Storage Offloading vessel, which will produce and store oil from Ghana’s Tweneboa-Ntomme-Enyenra (TEN) offshore oil fields, has arrived Ghanaian waters on Wednesday March 2, 2016.
The vessel, which was constructed in Singapore and named by the First Lady, Mrs Lordina Mahama, in September 2015, is expected to start producing oil from the TEN fields by July/August 2016.
A statement from Tullow Oil said the FPSO began its voyage from Singapore to Ghana on 23rd January 2016 with almost zero “carry over”, meaning only 2,000 man hours of work remained to be completed during the voyage.
This was a very significant industry achievement. The FPSO will move directly to the installation phase when it arrives on station, the statement said. This will be followed by the hook-up of subsea facilities via flowlines, risers and control umbilicals, much of which had already been pre-installed.
In addition, six wells have already been completed, and the completions of the remaining wells were on schedule. The integrated facilities would undergo final commissioning and testing during the second quarter of this year before first oil.
The development of the TEN fields was being led by Tullow Oil along its partners the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), Kosmos Energy, Anadarko Petroleum Corporation and PetroSA (the TEN Partners).
Tullow Ghana Ltd Managing Director, Charles Darku, commented: “We are extremely pleased and proud that Ghana’s second FPSO has arrived safely here on our shores. It is a source of pride to note that many of the component parts of both the FPSO and the subsea infrastructure were built and supplied by Ghanaian companies.
“Tullow and its partners remain at the forefront of unlocking Ghana’s oil resources for the mutual benefit of the nation and shared prosperity. We can look forward to first oil from the TEN fields by July/August this year”.
The FPSO Professor John Evans Atta Mills was constructed by MODEC and will be operated by MODEC Ghana Ltd on behalf of the TEN Partners.
Akiira Geothermal Ltd has signed a Sh138.9 million ($1.37 million) grant agreement with the African Union Commission (AUC) to extend exploration of steam power.
The company is currently undertaking drilling in Akiira Ranch, south of Ol Karia geothermal fields, Naivasha sub-County of Nakuru in Kenya.
With the funding Akiira will embark on its second stage exploratory drilling works with an aim of finding at least 77MW of steam energy sufficient to drive the power plant for 25 years.
“Akiira commenced exploratory drilling in August 2015 and is today about to kick off on drilling its third geothermal well,” Centum said in an announcement recently.
The grant is part of its Geothermal Risk Mitigation Facility that is aimed at mitigating financial risks that early stage private sector developers bear when drilling in the search of geothermal steam suitable for power production.
The initial stages of geothermal exploration can be the most risky, with costly investment sometimes being lost when drilled areas do not produce enough steam or heat, causing projects to be discontinued.
SUPPLY POWER
This facility is part of the AUC’s commitment to support Africa’s infrastructure investment objectives.
In August last year, the firm signed a Power Purchase Agreement with Kenya Power and Lighting Co Ltd to supply base load power from a 70MW power plant that it will construct once exploratory drilling has been completed.
Kenya is one of the leading countries in the world in investments in renewable energies in wind, solar, hydro, biomas and geothermal energy according to London based audit firm Ernst and Young (EY).
EY’s Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index (RECAI), Kenya was placed in a category described as ‘markets which show no signs of slowing down and continue to offer far-reaching energy investment opportunities’.
Akiira is owned by Frontier Investment Management a Danish renewable energy Private Equity fund manager and Centum Investment a Nairobi Securities Exchange listed investment company.
Two other shareholders, Marine Power Generation of Kenya and RAM Energy of the United States are the developer companies for the projects.
AIM-listed San Leon Energy has announced that it has secured the funds to complete the Mart Resources Arrangement Agreement announced on22 January 2016, and the extensions announced on 18 February and 25 February 2016. Completion of the Arrangement Agreement is subject to necessary approvals.
This forms part of the broader proposed transaction outlined on 22 January 2016, and totals approx. CAD$89.26 million plus approx. US$4.5 million in transaction costs. Progress on the other elements of the proposed transaction will be announced in due course.
San Leon has provided Mart with confirmation from its investors that they will fund the agreed escrow account by 5pm Calgary time on 8 March 2016, and a further extension to the agreed funding timing has been agreed between parties to facilitate this.
Oisin Fanning, San Leon’s Executive Chairman, commented: ‘We are delighted to have secured the funds to enable this company-changing transaction to complete, subject to necessary approvals.’
SDX Energy has announced that drilling operations have commenced on its high impact exploration well (Manatee-1) on Bakassi West, Cameroon. The well, which is located in shallow water in the prolific Niger Delta Basin, offshore Cameroon, will be drilled using Paragon M825 jack-up rig to a depth of 1,550 meters and the operation is expected to take up to 45 days. The well is operated by Dana Petroleum and SDX holds 35% working interest (38.89% paying interest) in the concession.
The concession, which contains a number of discoveries, is covered by 350km of newly acquired 2D seismic from which 13 prospects and leads have been identified. The location of Manatee-1 is in the South Western corner of the block, and has been chosen based on the seismic data which has identified strong geological similarities to the adjacent Abana Field, which lies 7km’s to the Southwest. The Abana field has reported recoverable reserves of 85 MMBBL of high quality light crude oil which produced at a plateau rate of 30kbopd when it came on stream in 1999.
Commenting on the spudding of the well, CEO Paul Welch said: ‘This is an exciting well with the potential to be truly transformational for SDX. The data we have acquired on this block provides strong evidence that this prospect is very similar to the Abana field, which has been a strong oil producer since it came on stream. In the success case of an oil discovery, we believe that an accelerated development plan could be put together given the shallow water location and the example set by Abana which achieved first production less than 24 months after the TD of the discovery well. The Bakassi block has numerous prospects and leads and success at Manatee-1 will significantly de-risk these other opportunities.
This is the first of two high impact exploration wells we plan to drill this year and represents the first major catalyst for SDX Energy’s shareholders since the successful merger in October of last year. We are fortunate to be in a position whereby we are generating positive cash flow from our Egyptian assets whilst testing high impact exploration opportunities that have the potential to transform the company. I look forward to updating our shareholders on this well in due course.’
GE’s Distributed Power business announced that UK-based Clarke Energy, GE’s new authorized distributor of Jenbacher gas engines in Cameroon, is supplying a 1.4-MW J420 Jenbacher gas engine to Flour Mill SCTB s.a. (Societe Camerounaise de Transformation du Blé S.A.) to provide more reliable, cost-effective, on-site power for the company’s mills in the city of Douala. The project marks the first Jenbacher gas engine order in Cameroon.
“Changing from a rental power plant to a permanent installation provided by Clarke Energy and using GE’s Jenbacher gas engine technology will enable us to save in excess of $200,000 per year in fuel costs,” said Fofou Gregoire, project manager of SCTB. “Installing a permanent on-site power solution also will help us improve our mill’s availability so we can meet our production targets.”
Clarke Energy worked with SCTB to develop a technical solution to deliver a permanent supply of reliable electricity from pipeline-sourced natural gas. The projected savings in fuel costs was a significant driver for the gas engine’s installation. The project marks the first Jenbacher engine that Clarke Energy has supplied to SCTB.
“GE’s gas engine technology has been proven to be an attractive technical and commercial solution for Cameroon. This installation will be our first in Cameroon and will immediately start to deliver cost savings and reliable energy to our customer SCTB,” said Ali Hjaiej, business development director— Africa, Clarke Energy.
By increasing its gas-to-power efficiency rate and reducing diesel fuel consumption, SCTB also will be able to reduce carbon emissions at its mills.
“We are pleased to provide our first “Jenbacher gas engine” in Cameroon as part of our new distributor agreement with Clarke Energy. The J420 gas engine will enable SCTB to save on fuel while accessing reliable power for its operations,” said Oluwatoyin Abegunde, sub-Saharan region leader for GE’s Distributed Power business. “The project illustrates how GE’s technology is able to support Cameroon’s needs for a more sustainable supply of electricity.”
With Cameroon’s unstable grid causing local power outages, industrial operators have experienced unplanned downtime for their factories, resulting in losses from reduced production levels. As a result, a number of factory owners first turned to diesel generators to produce on-site power. SCTB decided to switch from diesel engines to gas-fired reciprocating engines to prove the feasibility of natural gas-fueled generation in Cameroon. Based on the rental units’ success, SCTB chose to install a new permanent Jenbacher gas engine solution to provide a reliable supply of electricity supply to the flour mills.
NuWeld Incorporated has reiterated its commitment to safety and quality, stating that it has put in place a highly capable management team with craft resources that would help expedite projects anywhere in the globe.
Nuweld in a presentation after a tour of its facilities, titled, ‘Fabricating the Future of Energy,’ disclosed that the company has a proven track record of performing projects on time and within budget.
The report noted that the company understands the importance of being responsive and focusing on its customer, while it has developed a fabrication facility with capability and capacity to handle any over the road project.
Continuing, the report said the company has, “Field group with in-house capability to perform structural, mechanical and civil scope and a management team that can provide turnkey construction services. It also has a fully staffed quality assurance/quality control and engineering departments with quality assurance programs to perform most projects, while our facilities have the capability to provide a turnkey project once initial design has been provided.”
The company further stated that it is proud to provide its customers with over 280 years of combined experience in welding, engineering and fabrication, adding that its main facility encompasses 211,000 square feet of high capability manufacturing on 24 acres with direct rail access.
“Located in the Industrial Park of Williamsport Pennsylvania, our fabrication shop is equipped with 13 over head cranes with capacities up to 20 tons. Currently offer an extensive variety of field and shop services to the nuclear, natural gas and power industries,” the company said.
The company maintained that over the years, it had adopted a zero accident/zero injuries policy, engaging accredited safety trainers, while it also provides extensive job-specific safety training for its new staff.
NuWeld noted that its welding segment is in line with approved welding procedure specification and it has the ability to qualify new welding procedures based on customer requirements and specifications with rapid turnaround.
The company said its specialty welding processes include: plasma arc welding; automatic welding; orbital welding and hard facing and corrosion resistant overlays, adding that its over 100 welding procedures qualified for various metals including: carbon steel, stainless steel, low alloy steel, titanium and aluminum.
The company maintained that it is the fabricator that has the capabilities and capacity to successfully complete projects courtesy of in-house and on-site project management and project engineers.
It noted that it has a fully staffed purchasing/ procurement team with approved vendor list and a full fleet of earth moving equipment and trucking capabilities.
“NuWeld Inc. offers a variety of specialized mechanical services worldwide. Our qualified team of engineers, technicians, and craftspeople are standing ready to carry out nuclear safety related and non-safety related work, complete natural gas and oil distribution services, individual & complete turnkey services, and ongoing inspection & post-project maintenance.
We are committed to our customers, and we ensure their satisfaction by being committed to our employees and their safety. We believe our professional dedication and personal integrity have established the values to our success. Our commitment to those values is what sets NuWeld apart from other companies which makes us stronger, our growth sustainable, and our future unlimited,” the company stated further.
Pennsylvania Coal, Oil Sectors Attract $1.25bn Dollar FDI
By Margaret Nongo-Okojokwu
The Pennsylvania coal, oil and natural gas sector has attracted $1.245 billion Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) according to data obtained from FDI.Com, a cross-border investment monitor.
FDI.com said the investment in the sector was over a period of about 12 years, from January 2003 to July 2015.
Specifically, the company explained that 10 FDI projects had been undertaken within this period in the region, with about 1,005 jobs created.
In addition, the report stated that the average project size in terms of jobs created translated to 100 jobs per project, while the average investment in each of 10 projects translated to $124.5 million.
The company, however, noted that the report includes estimated values on capital investment and the number of jobs created in cases where information was not available at project announcement.
Giving a breakdown of investments in the region over the period, the report stated that in 2012, EmberClear, a company in Calgary, Canada, announced the investment of $400 million in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in an electricity project in the Coal, Oil and Natural gas sector of the state.
According to the report, EmberClear investment, which created an estimated 11 jobs, was for the building of a natural gas-fired power plant in Allentown, Pennsylvania, capable of producing 300 megawatts of electricity for 300,000 local households when it is commissioned.
Furthermore, in the same year, ArcelorMittal, a company based in Luxembourg invested $50 million in a manufacturing project aimed at modernising and upgrading its coke operations in Monessen, Pennsylvania.
According to the report, the investment was designed to enable the company restart coke production at the facility helped created 113 new jobs at the site. The facility is capable of producing 370,000 tons of metallurgical coke per year.
In 2011, the report stated that PBS Coals, a subsidiary of Severstal, a company based in Cherepovets, Russia invested an estimated $356.4 million, in an extraction project in Friedens, Pennsylvania, with plans to double output at the unit by 2015.
The report said the company is currently investing in a number of mining projects worldwide, adding that PBS Coals site provides metallurgical and steam coals from both surface and deep mines for the metals, energy and industrial sectors.
Continuing, the report stated that, “Talisman Energy, based in Calgary, Canada, is investing $15.7 million in the United States, in the Coal, Oil and Natural Gas sector a in Sales, Marketing and Support project. Canada-based energy company, Talisman plans to occupy an additional 2,045 square meter at the Pennwood Commons office complex in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania.
“Talisman already occupies 4,645 square meter at the complex and the expanded space will accommodate 100 additional employees, with the company planning to hire between 60 and 100 more people in the future.
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, and the Consumer Protection Council, CPC, recently sealed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, to ensure that consumers get meters as prescribed in the service agreement electricity distribution companies (Discos) had with the Bureau of Public Enterprises, BPE.
A statement obtained from NERC noted that the Acting Chairman, Dr. Anthony Akah, regretted that gas pipeline vandalism was on the increase and called for stiffer measures to check the menace.
The two organisations are also to work closely with consumers to ensure that those who volunteered to pay for meters under the Credit Advance Payment Metering Implementation (CAPMI) scheme get their meters within 60 days or not to be billed until meters were provided.
Akah said, “It is our belief that with this collaboration with the CPC, complaints that may arise in the course of the implementation of the good tariff and other electricity consumers related ones would be effectively managed and addressed in line with the Commission’s redress mechanism.
According to him, “The CPC has a member in each of NERC’s consumer forums located nationwide; we intend to intensify enforcement of consumer protection regulations on metering, billing and the perennial complaints of estimated customers. There shall also be concerted efforts aimed at reducing the incidence of estimated billing and eventually eliminating them completely.
“The increasing incidents of vandalism of electricity infrastructure, energy theft, hostility to operators are also issues we hope to jointly address.”
The current erratic power supply in the country has been attributed to the increased vandalism of gas pipelines and transmission towers.
According to Eko Electricity Distribution Company or Eko DISCO, the situation has led to power rationing and intermittent outage within its network.
Head, Corporate Communications, Mr. Idemudia Godwin, in a statement, said the drop in the national generation level is “as a result of incessant acts of vandalism on gas pipelines and transmission towers.
He explained that the attacks have resulted in inadequate bulk electricity load allocation to the company from the national grid, occasioning acute power rationing in all areas within the company’s operational territory.
Areas affected by the power rationing, according to the statement, include Surulere, Lekki, Ajah, Ibeju, Mushin, Apapa, Yaba and their environs.
The company appealed to its customers to bear with the situation, assuring that it was doing well to ensure equitable distribution of available power to all customers pending improvement in the power generation level.
Indications have emerged that the decline in crude oil prices might force some indigenous oil and gas companies operating in Nigeria to close shop by 2017.
Making the assertion at the 13th Aret Adams Lecture in Lagos, the Managing Director of Seplat Petroleum, Mr. Austin Avuru, said declining crude oil prices has negatively impacted the operations and profitability of oil companies, especially the indigenous players.
According to him, market forces would determine crude oil prices and would shut out companies that could not measure up while keeping only those that could produce what the world needed.
Explaining what’s going on in the international oil market, Avuru said: In the past, especially in the 90s when total global oil demand was 75 million barrels per day, once we had a million barrel glut and there was a drop in oil prices, OPEC would withdraw one and a half million barrels and stabilise the price.
“When this current situation occurred, people expected OPEC to do the same, but OPEC, led by Saudi Arabia, reasoned that they don’t have to lose their market share, because they produce 30 million barrels while world demand is 95 million barrels a day. Remember, when world demand was 75 million barrels a day, OPEC was producing same 30 million barrels a day.
“So, with 20 percent increase in world demand, OPEC has not increased its own share of production. The thinking was, therefore, why would OPEC reduce production to shore up prices, taking it to the same level where people who ordinarily should not compete with OPEC, would come into the market.
“OPEC decided to allow the glut to continue while world demand is 95 million barrels per day. But there will be an equilibrium price at which production will be equal to or less than 95 million barrels a day. Clearly, it is not $30 per barrel, it may not be $100, it may be $60 or $70.
“When we get to that equilibrium price, the market will shut out those who cannot survive and keep those who can produce what the world needs”.
Mr Inye Kemabonta, the National Coordinator, Office for Nigerian Content Development in ICT (ONC) says Nigeria is losing over 1 trillion naira annually for neglecting local content in ICT.
Kemabonta told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recently in Abuja that though Nigerians use social media like facebook, twitter, yahoo, there was no Nigerian content in them.
According to him, local content is the composite value; either added to or created in the Nigerian economy through a deliberate utilisation of Nigerian human, material and services in the development of ICT.
He said that Nigeria loses trillions in foreign exchange annually by not patronising local content in ICT and these ranges from the importation of ICT devices and software even to social media applications.
“ We are losing close to 1 trillion annually by the import based consumption, and this is critical to our survival that’s the simple truth as a country.
“ Many people have phones though it may cost just small but it has the capacity to generate businesses of two million because what you do with it can generate far more jobs and wealth than the cost of the phone itself.
“But today, we lose all that because of the lack of local content in it. So when we pay any soft or hardware, that money goes to some foreign government or company because it was not produced here, but was shipped here and that’s a huge capital flight.
“To make matters worse all the social media applications have little or no Nigerian content in them, for example Whatsapp is making money from every click, so is facebook, yahoo, twitter and the rest of them yet there is very little Nigerian content in it,.
“We don’t have our own Nigerian yahoo and other social media in spite the fact that we are the most populous country in Africa.’’
Kemabonta advised Nigerians to come up with their own social media applications so as to enhance local content in the ICT sector to boost the nation’s GDP.
He said that Nigeria’s population was more than half the population of all of West Africa with a GDP that “is more than all those countries put together, in other words we already have internal population that can consume any of the services.’’
He said that if ICT services were being rendered to Nigerians alone, it would be a large market due to the population and Nigeria would have grown big as a nation financially.
“We can grow our own social media applications just like we are doing with the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NIRA) which is in charge of the .ng internet domain.
“ The .ng domain is our national online resource, it is our flag on the internet , and it has the capacity to generate trillions of naira if we use it well.
“As at the time NIRA was born it had just 400 domain names registered in the repository but today it has increased to 60,000, you can see the growth, though it’s not wonderfully world standard yet but by African standard its ranking among topmost.’’
The coordinator said that the ONC was in charge of local content in ICT and its implementation in the country, adding that it was a special purpose vehicle under the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).
The Stallion Group says it plans to achieve 80 percent Nigerian content in its line of automobiles being assembled in Nigeria.
The Manager, Business Development of the company, Mr. Abah Ben, said this when he led a team from the group to visit the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, in Abuja.
The Nissan arm of the Stallion Group has also said a vibrant automotive sector will serve as a viable alternative to the dwindling oil revenue.
Ben, however, hinged the hope of achieving the company’s auto local content target on the operation of the Aladja Steel Rolling Mill, which the company had acquired.
He said that the company would explore partnership with the Ministry of Science and Technology to incorporate brake pads produced by one of the agencies of the ministry from local materials to grow the Nigerian content of the vehicles.
He also disclosed that the company through the acquisition of former Volkswagen Nigeria had entered into partnership with various auto manufacturers in Japan and Korea, which had started producing vehicles at the Volkswagen yard.
Ben said, “We have taken over the old Aladja Steel Company, now Premium Mine and Steel Limited. We are working and hoping that we will cooperate with our international agencies and we will begin to produce Nigerian vehicle parts from that mill.
“For now, the paints on our vehicles are local. The leather seats are also produced in Nigeria. They are produced in Sokoto. At the moment, the Nigerian content in the vehicles should be between 17 and 25 per cent.”
Onu urged the company to move from assembly of vehicles to manufacturing, adding that manufacturing had capacity to create more jobs in line with the focus of the Federal Government under President Muhammadu Buhari.
Also receiving the Founder of Lady Mechanic Initiative, Sandra Aguebor, the minister said the Federal Government would support her efforts to create jobs and empower women.
Aguebor had sought the collaboration of the ministry to enable the Lady Mechanic Initiative to create a vehicle made by the women group and an effort that would enable Nigerians to diagnose their cars with their mobile phones.
Meanwhile, Nissan Nigeria has warned of stagnation in the country’s evolving automotive sector unless the Federal Government wholly implemented the National Automotive Industry Development Plan and gave deserving operators the latitude to function optimally.
The Regional Project Director, Nissan Nigeria, Mr. Sorin Profir, gave this warning in Lagos at a media engagement to acquaint local automobile journalists with Nissan’s achievements since 2014 and its successive plan of action.
