Connect with us

Economy

PIB will guarantee robust upstream fiscal framework — Sylva

Published

on

$25bn global investment needed annually to access clean cooking by 2030 – Sylva

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, says the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) currently before the National Assembly will guarantee a robust petroleum upstream framework for development.

Sylva made this known at the 2021 Society of Petroleum Engineers Oloibiri Lecture Series and Energy Forum (SPEOLEF) in Abuja, on Thursday.

The theme of the lecture is “Operational Excellence and Portfoilio Optimisation, way forward for the oil and gas Industry Post-COVID-19’’.

“You are all aware that the PIB is before the National Assembly and when passed into law will not only guarantee a robust upstream fiscal framework beneficial to both government and investors but will also unlock several midstream gas opportunities.

“This will further enhance the domestic gas utilisation,’’ he said

According to him, the framework will base on core principles of clarity, dynamism, neutrality, open access and fiscal rules of general application.

Represented by his Chief of Staff, Mr Moses Olamide, the minister advised stakeholders to position themselves for the full implementation of the bill when passed into law for its benefits.

“There is no denial that COVID-19 had impact on the global economy.

“The negative effect affected the crude oil prices in 2020 and made it imperative for Nigeria to strike strategic survival measures to ensure economic sustainability and job security.

“Remember, as an industry, we have survived several hard times.

“Therefore, it is not strange now to undertake a strategic shift to ensure Operational excellence in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.

He said that the Federal government was willing and ready to play its part to ensure the growth of the sector.

He commended the council of the SPE for organising the lectures series and the role they play for the growth of the oil and gas sector.

In his Keynote address on Industry Operations, Malam Mele  Kyari, the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), said that operational excellence remained key for the growth of the sector.

Represented by Mr Tombomieye Adokiye, the Chief Operating Officer, Upstream, Kyari said that the growth in the industry had escalated the operating cost drivers which included human resources logistics, security, and direct operational maintenance, among others

According to him, the cost drivers became a major source of concern to stakeholders.

Also read:  Wike wants PIB to allocate 10 per cent of revenue to oil-bearing communities

He added that the reasons for the escalation were attributed to global factors.

He said that the global pandemic had affected crude oil production of demand and supply chain adding that the long term effect touched on cost of production and thus a huge management risk for operators.

He said that with the push for energy transition the industry had been pushed to reduce operational cost for the future growth of the sector.

He said that the NNPC was repositioning itself to transit to energy company in line with the global drive for energy transition in the sector.

“In Nigeria we are focusing in increasing domestic gas utilisation and maturing hydrocarbon reserves to generate revenue for the nation, although we are curtailed by the OPEC cuts.

“NNPC is also determined to increase market shares to guarantee energy security, investment in petrochemicals and fertilizer, promote the use of Compressed Natural gas (CNG), and increase domestic refining capacity in the country,’’ he added.

 

Economy

PETROL: ‘Be Wary Of Substandard Product Dumping’, Dangote Refinery Tells Nigerians

Published

on

PETROL: 'Be Wary Of Substandard Product Dumping', Dangote Refinery Tells Nigerians

…Says citizens’ health and vehicle longevity are seriously at risk!

The Dangote Refinery on Sunday warned that Nigerians may soon begin to buy substandard petrol, without much concern for either the citizen’s health or the longevity of their vehicles, except care is taken to prevent low products dumping by those open to connive with certain international traders.

The Group’s image maker and spokesman, Anthony Chiejina gave the warning, saying the group was constrained to raise the alarm, despite its desire to refrain from engaging in any media fights.

“We have lately refrained from engaging in media fights but we are constrained to respond to the recent misinformation being circulated by IPMAN, PETROAN, and other associations. 

“Both organisations claim that they can import PMS at lower prices than what is being sold by the Dangote Refinery. We benchmark our prices against international prices and we believe our prices are competitive relative to the price of imports”, Chiejina stated, stressing that the issue on ground was not about being able to land relatively cheaper petrol on ground, but the quality of such products.

“If anyone claims they can land PMS at a price cheaper than what we are selling, then they are importing substandard products and conniving with international traders to dump low-quality products into the country, without concern for the health of Nigerians or the longevity of their vehicles. Unfortunately, the regulator (NMDPRA) does not even have laboratory facilities which can be used to detect substandard products when imported into the country.

“Post deregulation, NNPC set the pace by selling PNS to domestic marketers at N971 per litre for sale into ships and at N990 for sale into trucks. This set the benchmark for our pricing and we have even gone lower to sell at N960 per litre for sale into ships while maintaining N990 per litre for sale into trucks.

“In good faith, and the interest of the country, we commenced sales at these prices without clarity on the exchange rate that we will use to pay for the crude purchased.

“At the same time, an international trading company has recently hired a depot facility next to the Dangote Refinery, intending to use it to blend substandard products that will be dumped into the market to compete with Dangote Refinery’s higher quality production.

“This is detrimental to the growth of domestic refining in Nigeria. We should point out that it is not unusual for countries to protect their domestic industries to provide jobs and grow the economy. For example, the US and Europe have had to impose high tariffs on EVs and microchips to protect their domestic industries.

“While we continue with our determination to provide affordable, good quality, domestically refined petroleum products in Nigeria, we call on the public to disregard the deliberate disinformation being circulated by agents of people who prefer for us to continue to export jobs and import poverty”, the Group Chief Branding and Communications Officer further said.

Continue Reading

Economy

YULETIDE Decorations: LASG To Divert Traffic At Ajose Adeogun

Published

on

YULETIDE Decorations,: LASG To Divert Traffic At Ajose Adeogun

The Lagos State Government will divert Traffic, away from a section of Ajose Adeogun Street in Victoria Island, for the mounting of end-of-the-year decoration, for a duration of three weekends starting from Saturday 19th October 2024.

The aforementioned exercise, according to Commissioner for Transportation, Oluwaseun Osiyemi,  will be carried out in three phases with each phase focusing on different sections of the street. 

To this end, the following alternative routes have been mapped out for motorists during the cause of the mounting; 

 During the First Phase which will cover Jubril Martins to Chicken Republic – (Saturday, 19th and Sunday, 20th October 2024)

Traffic inward Eko-Hotel Roundabout will be diverted to the other half (existing section) of Ajose Adeogun Street by VCP Hotel to form contra-flow traffic and exit at Eko-Hotel Roundabout to continue journeys.

Alternatively, Traffic inward to Eko-Hotel Roundabout from VCP Hotel will be diverted through Jubril Martins into Muri Okunola to link Patience Coker and access Ajose Adeogun Street to connect destinations.

During the Second Phase which will cover Molade Okoya Thomas to Mounis Bashorun section – (Saturday, 26th and Sunday, 27th October 2024). 

Traffic inward Ajose Adeogun Street from Eko-Hotel Roundabout will be diverted to a right turn into Molade Okoya Thomas to link Younis Bashorun to access Ajose Adeogun Street to continue journeys. 

During the Third phase of the project spanning 10 meters inward Ajose Adeogun (Saturday, 2nd November, 2024).

Motorists from Adetokunbo Ademola Street will maintain a lane movement for about 10 metres into Ajose Adeogun Street to connect their destinations, while Motorists inward Eko-Hotel Roundabout on Ajose Adeogun Street will maintain a lane movement for about 10 metres into Eko-Hotel Roundabout.

The Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, Mr Oluwaseun Osiyemi while imploring Motorists to note the ease of movement plan assured that the State’s Traffic Management Authority will be on ground to manage vehicular activities along the corridor to minimise inconveniences.

The Commissioner therefore advised Motorists to be patient, as the Partial closure is part of the traffic management plans for the commencement of End of Year Decoration of Ajose Adeogun Street, Victoria Island, Lagos, by Zenith Bank PLC.

Continue Reading

Economy

NLC Kicks, Says Petrol Hike Will Further Deepen Poverty, Job Loss

Published

on

NLC kicks, Says Petrol Hike Will Further Deepen Poverty, Jobs Lost

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has kicked against the current petrol price hike, stressing that the latest increase in the pump price of petrol will further deepen poverty as production capacities dip.

The Congress added that the increase would lead to more job loss with multidimensional negative effects, and therefore, demanded its immediate reversal.

NLC’s position is contained in a statement signed by its President, Mr Joe Ajaero on Wednesday in Abuja, titled, “What next after increase in pump price?”.

The labour leader said the previous increases had not produced any good results, rather, people only got poorer.

He said the Congress was dismayed by the latest increase in the pump price of petrol without commensurate capacity of Nigerians or mitigatory measures.

“Even following the logic of market forces, we find it an aberration that a private company (NNPCL) is the one fixing prices and projecting itself as a hegemonic monopoly.

“We challenge the government to go to the drawing board and present us with a blueprint for inclusive economic growth and national development instead of this spasmodic ad hocism and palliative policy.

“It needs no stating the fact that the latest wave of increase has grossly altered the calculations of Nigerians once again at a time they were reluctantly coming to terms with their new realities,” he said.

It would be recalled that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) had raised the pump price of petrol by 14.8 per cent to N1,030 per litre from N897 across its retail outlets in the FCT.

Earlier in September, the NNPCL had increased the price of the product from N615 to N897.

Continue Reading

Editor’s Pick

Politics