NLNG shops for N150b to acquire new vessels

NLNG shops for N150b to acquire new vessels

By Sulaimon Salau

PLANS are in the pipeline by the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Company (NLNG) to raise $1 billion (about N150 billion) from international markets to acquire six LNG carrier ships.

   Specifically, it is gathered that the gas company is in the process of appointing financial advisers for the deal, which is expected to buoy its operations and boost supply.

  General Manager for External Relations, Siene Allwell-Brown, who unveiled the plans recently, said the management held a board meeting last week to discuss the appointment of advisers for the loan process.

  Her words: “We have contacted global banks from which we will choose a financial adviser who will give us the best option through which we will raise at least a $1 billion loan to acquire six LNG carriers for our operations.”

  It was not yet decided which bank would lead and manage the deal, nor from which company they would source the ships.

  She did not provide a timetable when the company expects to close the transaction but said that the loan aims to expand the operations of its shipping subsidiary, Bonny Gas Transport Limited, which currently has 24 LNG ships.

  Meanwhile, an earlier report had it that the company had plans for a syndicated loan market in the first quarter of 2012, with proposals to obtain loans totaling $4 billion.

  According to NLNG website, a Reuters report cited international bankers close to the deal as saying that they had received proposals from the NLNG on a $1billion plus syndicated loan that would enable it purchase new LNG tankers.

  The proposals are with potential sponsorship arrangement from NNPC, ENI, Shell and Total.

  The report also said a deal to get a loan of $1.5 billion to back the development of offshore oil fields by Exxon Mobil and NNPC was expected to close by the end of January, adding that negotiations for an additional $1.5 billion loan for NNPC was also on the way.

  With this action, NLNG and NNPC will join a string of borrowers looking to tap into the international syndicated loan market early this year. Active deals across the continent currently amount to $6billion.

  NLNG was set up over two decades ago to harness Nigeria's natural gas resources and produce Liquefied Natural Gas and Natural Gas Liquids for export.

  The company has long-term supply contracts with buyers in Italy, Spain, Turkey, Portugal and France and also sells on the spot market.

  It has a capacity to produce 22 million metric tonnes of liquefied gas a year. It obtains its gas supply from the upstream oil companies and liquefies it for export.

  The gas firm intends to consolidate its position as one of the largest producers and exporters of LNG in the world, becoming the third largest supplier. Currently, NLNG delivers some 10 per cent of the world’s demand and contributing about seven per cent of Nigeria’s gross domestic product. Besides, it supplies over 70 per cent of Nigeria’s liquefied petroleum gas needs.

Seventh parliament: 100 days on seat, where is the PIB?

Seventh parliament: 100 days on seat, where is the PIB?

By Sulaimon Salau

Disappointment, betrayal and unloyalty to national interest will be the best word to describe the intrigues in the seventh National Assembly that has made the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) so elusive. In fact, the faith of the PIB remained unknown, despite the promises of passage.

    It is not a gainsaying that the anticipation of the PIB is gradually fading away in the sight of the stakeholders, who seems to be tired and washed about commenting on the petroleum industry reforms bill. However, the spirit of keeping a greater Nigeria is what is keeping them alive on the bill now.

   At the resumption of the seventh National Assembly, expectations of Nigerian were high that the new parliament should be able to do finishing touches to the passage of the bill, which was at the peak of passage by the sixth National Assembly. Few days away from marking 100 days on seat, no much positive development is emerging, instead it was an allegation of moves to manipulate the original PIB to suit the interest of some people that envelopes the industry.

   This brought to limelight the level of betrayal that may be exhibited by the personalities representing the various tribes and geographical regions of Nigeria at the red seat chamber. One of such was recently unveiled by the Former Chairman of Senate Committee on Petroleum (Upstream), Senator Lee Ledogo Maeba, who recently, let the cat out of the bag on the intrigues that that have stalled the passage of the PIB.

   Maeba said the refusal to scrap the Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF), Petroleum Product Price Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), both government agencies, as prescribed by the PIB was an issue to contend with.

      The senator however lamented that some people have taken personal interest above national interest, which is likely to do a lot of havoc to the continued growth of the petroleum industry.

      Maeba, who was among the senators that championed the bill in the senate during the administration of the sixth national assembly felt bad for the country, for not been able to achieve that single objective after several years.

     He lamented, “the competition in the Gulf of Guinea is very high now, and we are not in the competition, all the major investments are diverted from Nigeria, which the implication is that the oil industry will eventually collapse.

     “I think it is very important for us to have a political will from all the stakeholders, the senate, the house and the president, everybody must exercise very serious political will to pass the PIB.

      “Besides, there must be a spirit of unfolding the national interest, above all private or personal interest and it is equally very important to tell the representatives that when any of them goes home, they must try to educate people in their locality about the importance of national interest,” he said.

      “The kind of situation we face in the last days of the PIB is a satiation that should not happen in the parliament, where people insist on issues like allowing Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF), Petroleum Product Price Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), exist.

    “These are institutions that were deleted by the PIB to pave way for deregulation of the economy, and we believe that deregulation is the best way out.” 

      He continued, “if institution that regulate the industry are left existing, then the regulation continues and nobody will like to come and invest money in a place where you build a refinery and produced a product, then government will now tell you how much to sell the product, it is not of any business interest to this country, so I believe that these are critical issues other political issues must be resolved by stakeholders before the national assembly reconvene. And I believe the PIB at its current state (at the end of the sixth national assembly) is the best that can happen to Nigeria because every interest has been accommodated.”

 Also, The Nigeria Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has warned that Nigeria will lose $3 billion petroleum revenue yearly if the National Assembly passes the PIB as amended by lawmakers.

   NEITI said the limit of government’s share of oil revenue being set by the House of Representatives is below internationally competitive rates, as such, it would result in the erosion of government petroleum revenue. It said: “This is dangerous to our already fragile economy that is oil revenue dependent.”

    NEITI however made the urgent call on the Federal lawmakers for protection of the national interest in the on-going PIB debate by the National Assembly because it appears that some crucial facts and data were either not presented to the members or if made available, were not thoroughly understood by them to enable them to make informed decisions on the PIB.

   “For instance, NEITI does not see the rationale for passing a Bill that is designed to reduce government’s revenue from petroleum operations by minimum of $3 billion annually through fiscal provisions.”

   “NEITI is therefore, of the view that if the NASS passes the bill as it is now, the Nigerian oil and gas sector will be in serious danger of not achieving the desired national goals of promoting greater indigenous participation and increased revenue generation for national development.

   “In view of the fact that oil is the mainstay of the Nigerian economy, the NASS owes all Nigerians a responsibility to promote Nigeria’s interest in the bill, protect our corporate sovereignty and secure the future of generations yet unborn.  The Report of the PIB now before the NASS, if passed into law, will do havoc to Nigeria’s national interest.”

   The Presidency also, last week began a count down to President Goodluck Jonathan’s 100 days in office, with a declaration that one of the president’s achievements was Nigeria’s recovery of her place as the highest exporter of crude oil in Africa.

   The government announced that Nigeria had again overtaken the Republic of Angola in oil production, following the return of peace to the troubled Niger Delta. Good as these so-called achievements are, the stakeholders have queried the government’s interest in the passage of the PIB that is expected to reposition the petroleum industry.

   Nigeria currently produces about 2.4 million barrels per day (bpd) up from about 1.8 million bpd at the behest of the crisis in the Niger Delta.

Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr Reuben Abati, said the sharp rise in oil production had again put the country as the second largest oil exporter in the world, next to Saudi Arabia.

   He said: “Boosted by the overwhelming success of the amnesty programme of the current administration, Nigeria’s oil production expanded by 20 per cent and she reclaimed her foremost position as Africa’s largest oil exporter, which she had hitherto lost to Angola.

   “Nigeria sets a new record by being recognized by OPEC in July as the second largest oil exporter in the cartel, second only to Saudi Arabia. It is the first time Nigeria has recorded such a feat, he added.

Nigeria, Russia renew commitment to build Africa’s second nuclear power plant

Nigeria, Russia renew commitment to build Africa’s second nuclear power plant

By Sulaimon Salau

The Federal Government and the Russia Nuclear Energy Corporation have concluded plans to build Africa’s second nuclear power station in Nigeria. The first one was built in South African Republic in 1984.

   The move to build the nuclear facility was nearly jeopardized by the anxiety that followed the unfortunate event of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan that resulted into death of hundreds and damaged lots of properties.

 The nuclear plant, according to the Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission (NAEC) is estimated to generate at least 1000 mega watts (MW) of electricity and feed into the national grid by the 2019, and then ramp it up to 4000MW in another 10 years.

  The two parties arrived at this decision when Deputy Director General of Rosatom for international activities N.N. Spasskiy held consultations in Abuja with the Chairman of Nigerian commission for atomic energy F.Osaysaya.

  A statement by the Russia Nuclear Energy Corporation disclosed that the parties finalised discussion of the draft inter-governmental agreement on design, construction, operation and decommissioning of the first Nuclear Power Plant in Nigeria.  

  It added that currently the parties in accordance with their national legislations have started the necessary internal proceedings to present the draft for approval to the Government of the Russian Federation and Government of Federal Republic of Nigeria.

  Spasskiy also held meetings with Minister for Foreign Affairs O, Ashiry, Minister for science and technologies, in addition, he was received by Secretary to the Federal Government, Anyim Pius Anyim.

   According to the statement, the open discussion was held on the issues regarding different areas of cooperation between Russia and Nigeria in the area of peaceful usege of the atomic energy.

 “In particular, the issue of international cooperation between the countries in strengthening of international nuclear safety regime was discusses in details with respect to the lessons learned from Fukushima accident in Japan”, it added.

  Speaking on the development, Rosaton spokesman, Sergei Novikoy stated that the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan has forced some countries to denounce nuclear power. “However, this is far from becoming a tendency. Apart from the Koeberg nuclear power station outside Cape Town, Africa is almost pristine in terms of nuclear industry. However, there is a growing demand in nuclear energy in the continent”, he added.

  He explained: "Nuclear energy will remain in demand worldwide for it offers a nature-friendly source of energy to the developing countries. This also offers a platform for new technology, including new sources of energy. That is why more countries in Southeast Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa are seeking their national nuclear industries. And being the world`s third leading nuclear producers, Russia is ready to help these countries achieve their goal.

  "Russia and Nigeria have an intergovernmental agreement on the peaceful use of nuclear energy. A new bilateral document has been drafted to pave the way for the construction of Nigeria’s first nuclear power plant. The draft has been coordinated by experts from both sides, and now Rosatom and our Nigerian counterparts will send these documents to their governments for approval."

 The Minister of Science and Technology, Ita Oko-Bassey Ewa had recently expressed delay over the arrangemens. He said the power plant was first proposed in 2009 between the two countries; and that he disliked the fact that an agreement had not yet been reached since then.

  He, however, assured that “follow up meetings are now being initiated to discuss modalities for its implementation.”

   “A draft project implementation agreement has been prepared and ready for signing,” he added.

   Ita said that Nigerian needed to diversify its source of electricity and that the FG had set up the Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission, NAEC, as a body to help achieve that objective.

Collapse building kills 8, injures 33 in Lagos

Collapsed Building Kills 8, Injures 33 in Lagos

At least eight people have so far been confirmed dead, while 33 others received various degrees of injury in a collapsed four-storey building located on 4 Mogaji Street, Idumota/Ebute-Ero area of Lagos Island. The building caved in around 11.30pm on Tuesday.

    It was gathered that the building, which is about 10 years old, trapped many of the residents including the secretary of the Community Development Association (CDA), Mr. Tajudeen Adeyemi, and his wife who were later rescued by the Lagos State Emergency Agency (LASEMA) and the state mobile ambulance personnel with the adequate support of the youths in the area. 

  According to the councillor of Ward A3, Hon Shewu Tijani Adisa Makanjuola, who witnessed the tragedy: "The building cracked and collapsed at exactly 11.30pm on Tuesday night and youths in our area commenced rescue operation while we called 767 security number to alert the state government which responded promptly.

"The quick response of LASEMA, police, LASAMBUS and fire service officials with the assistance of youths in the area saved the situation because it could have been worse than this."

     Some of the youths that were involved in the rescue operation told our correspondent that only people who lived at the 4th, 3rd and some at the 2nd floors were rescued, while some in those floors died.

   "Some of the people living on the 2nd and 1st floors were still trapped in the wreckage because the building caved in, compressing the entire ground floor. When that happens, rescue mission becomes difficult," he added. As at the time of filling this report, efforts were still being made by all the government agencies and youths in the area to rescue others that were trapped in the building.

Govt close-in on oil firms over Nigerian content quota compliance

Govt close-in on oil firms over Nigerian content quota compliance

By Sulaimon Salau 

The Federal Government is moving a step further to ensure full compliance with the local content quota set for the multinational oil firms by the Nigerian Content Monitoring and Development Board (NCMDB), in line with Local Content Act 2010.

The General Manager, Projects and Operations, NCMDB….N.S Etim-Ukut , who spoke during the official commissioning of the GIL Automations and Control Services Nigeria’s Industrial Automation Training facility in Lagos recently, said the board is presently strategising to ensure strict enforcement of the Nigerian content quota.

  He warned that any firm found wanting of breach of the law would face the necessary sanctions.

  He however stressed that the NCMDB has established mechanisms to ensure that stakeholders and all such projects engage training providers and training facilities to provide project specific training in the oil and gas industry. Memorandum of Agreement and Training Services Agreement are now mandatory for all contracts in the industry. Training of Nigerians will therefore be done in Nigerian training facilities such as the GIL as long as there is capacity in-country. 

   Etim Ukut acknowledged GIL for the training facility put together to buoy the Local Content Agenda, assuring that the board is determined to promote capacity building in-country and ensure they are fully utilized.

  The Chief Executive Officer, GIL Automations and Control Services Nigeria Limited, Mr. Lawal Gbolahan, said the firm is poised to improve the capacities of Nigerians on system integration, hence the need to set up the industrial automation training centre.

   According to him, Nigerians can do better in system integration, if given an opportunity.

   We have found out that there is no course in Nigerian Universities that actually fit into automation, the closest we have is electrical engineering, mechanical and chemical engineering, but they don’t go into a half of the process, nobody teaches these technical areas of how the I.T or technology mixes up with industrial process control system.

   So, it is based on this that we floated this training centre, we know that this will have a long term effect in localizing the technology, giving access to technology acquisition skills, and ultimately boost local economy.

   GIL Automation is an indigenous technical solution and system integration company, that provides complete industrial control, automation, instrumentation and metering, measurement and system integration services to companies in oil and gas, power and manufacturing industries.

   The Project Engineer, Mr. Akande Olawale, said GIL Automations aim at bridging the gap of Automation process and Integration system for starters, intermediate technical personnel and skilled professionals.

   He said the training materials were built in compliance with industrial leading standards such as ISA, NFPA, IEC, IEEE, IET, OSHA among other, while the use of authorized industry videos were also adopted to buttress the class lessons.

   According to him, about 23 courses were available, including  industrial automation, such; Control and Automation, Instrumentation and Metering, Electrical and Power System, Safety and Security System

  Other courses cover designing, installation, operation and maintenance of systems in various automation projects like PLC, SCADA/HMI, DCS, Instrumentation and Process Control, Electrical and Power System Modelling and aAnalysis, CCTV, Access Control, Intrusion Detection and Fire and Gas Detection Systems among others.

 

                                                             

Police Headquarters’ blast: An insecurity of the highest order

By Sulaimon Salau 

Three bombers yesterday drove an explosives-laden vehicle into the car park of the Louis Edet building of the Nigerian police headquarters in Abuja and set it off at about 11: 00 am local time.

The three, reportedly men, died in the explosion. Police authorities have not released any information regarding any other casualties that may have occurred as a result of the incident.

Briefing the press about the incident, the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Hafiz Ringim, said that it was apparently a suicide bombing involving a lot of militants. He said some of the attackers were apprehended, and confirmed the three who died in the blast.  Mr. Ringim said the bombers had carefully followed the convoy of a police DIG into the police headquarters and set off their explosives as soon as they arrived in the car park.

According to reports from SaharaReporters, the vibration occasioned by the blast shattered the windows of the police headquarters as far away as the offices of the IG on the 11th floor, as well as several buildings in the vicinity of the police headquarters.

All roads leading to the scene were condoned off by security agents. Firefighters on the scene put off the fires arising from the explosion while anti-bomb units examined debris from the scene.

No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, but only yesterday, members of the Boko Haram Islamist group threatened to escalate attacks across Nigeria over statements credited to the IG that their days were numbered.

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) in a statement yesterday said, it was saddened by this grave development. “Though no group has claimed responsibility for this gruesome attack, it is nonetheless the handiwork of disgruntled elements who have one or two grudges against the police,” it stated.

“MURIC asserts that life is sacred and nobody except Allah has the right to take the life of another fellow homo sapien. It is clear that this attack was aimed at the heart of the police force thereby implying a desire for vengeance or a demonstration of dissatisfaction with certain operations of the Nigerian police. We strongly condemn this violence outburst in its entirety. It is high time Nigerians realized that violence cannot solve the nation’s problems. We call upon Nigerians to embrace dialogue as the ultimate panacea for resoving differences. Dialogue builds. Violence destroys.  

“MURIC urges the security agencies to fish out the culprits of this barbaric act. We appeal to the Federal Government to immediately engage all groups and different shades of opinions in dialogue. We advise the youth to shun violent propensities.” 

High kerosene price: Avoidable albatross to Nigeria’s economic growth

By Sulaimon Salau
FORMER President Olusegun Obasanjo took the nation by surprise when he declared that he was unaware that kerosene price was higher than that of petrol. It is hopeful that the present situation will not be a replica of what Nigerians experienced during that regime.
Irked by the lingering scenario, concerned Nigerians have therefore appealed to President Goodluck Jonathan to intervene in what looks a no-end saga of kerosene price hike.
Dual Purpose Kerosene, otherwise known as DPK is a product that serves the household, particularly middle and lower class citizens of Nigeria. The scarcity of the product, which culminated into higher price has posed untold hardship on the livelihood of the consumers who found it tough to afford.
Efforts to normalise the situation through the major importer of kerosene, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the petroleum marketers has proved abortive as they continue to trade blames, leaving the masses to the wraths.
As this lingers, consumers’ swift move to adopt alternatives like firewood and coal, the prices of these commodities have also been artificially hike. Where a liter of kerosene goes for N200 and five litters goes for N1000, a bunch of firewood costs N300, while a bag of coal costs N1500.
This represents a significant increase from the former price where Kerosene goes for N50 per liter, firewood N200 per bunch and coal N1200. Other alternative lies in Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), popularly known as cooking gas and electric cookers. However, the problem of power supply has stalled the effective utilisation of electric cookers.
Having prolonged since January this year, the scarcity has spread across the country, leaving about 90 per cent of the petroleum filling stations out of stock. Instead the kerosene dealers, who now have an association have took over the market from the licensed dealers and manipulate prices to their taste.
Tensed with the uncomfortable situation, the stakeholders in the petroleum sector and the consumers have called for the intervention of Jonathan, whom they said should leave up to his promises by not leaving the masses to suffer.
As speculations begin to ripe on the real cause of the scarcity, some concerned group said the government may have secretly privatised kerosene, just like petrol and diesel, while others alleged that the NNPC has failed in its responsibility as the major importer of the product. The simple fact remains that the demand is higher than supply. Since our dilapidated refineries in Warri, Port Harcourt and Kaduna have stopped producing kerosene for a very long time, importation has also been inadequate.
A reliable source in the Nigerian Independent Petroleum Company (NIPCO), which does throughput arrangement for the NNPC, told The Guardian that the problem is caused by shortage of supply.
“We cannot rule out short of supply, although NNPC has been importing but I feel there is a shortage somewhere because if the product is enough, nobody will hoard it, and it will be duly circulated. You can imagine, the Independent marketers comprising of 16 companies are allocated only15,000 liters from the latest received cargo, so you can see it is a problem of shortage,” he said.
The marketers distanced themselves from alleged hoarding of products for profiteering, alluding the price hike to shortage of product.
The General Secretary of Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Mr. Mikelyne Osatuyi said: “I can tell you categorically that IPMAN members don’t hoard  product, what do we stand to gain from hoarding, it is a deliberate suffering of Nigerians and we don’t engage in such act, IPMAN is a reputable association and we are committed to the welfare of the citizenry in terms of effective product distribution.
He equally agreed that there is a huge gap between demand and supply of the product. “The problem is that there is no enough supply, what is being imported is far cry from the demand, so, we have the responsibility to duly distribute what is being allocated to our members. It is unfortunate that government is paying so heavily on subsidy and yet the products are not available.”
Osatuyi maintained that it only the government that is importing, (NNPC is importing on behalf of government), because kerosene is not under reimbursement like petrol, so the marketers are totally out of the import schedule.
He said the importers needed to realise that the demand for kerosene is increasing, while the industries are equally using it for certain production processes, hence demanded for immediate increase in the import quota.     “IPMAN is calling on the government and the NNPC to kindly increase the supply of kerosene, so that it will be available at every nook and crannies of the country, and it will be affordable to Nigerians.”
Reacting to the allegations of inadequate supply, the NNPC has boldly dissociated itself from the situation, pushing the onus to the petroleum marketers.
The Group General Manager, Public Affairs, NNPC, Levi Ajuonoma in his numerous statement said, NNPC is committed to importing products that would meet the national demand. He sees no reason why the product should be scarce unless due to malpractices by marketers.
Early February, the NNPC pumped 37 million litres of kerosene into the market through its subsidiary, Pipelines and Products Marketing Company (PPMC).
The supply, which was claimed to be far above the national demand of 10 million litres per day, is to check the scarcity of kerosene, which has made cooking difficult for many families since the beginning of the year.
Ajuonoma then said the market was well supplied with kerosene and that there was no need for members of the public to resort to panic buying.
Not quite long, the corporation injected additional 50 million litres into the market. At that time, Ajuonoma revealed that 18 million litres of kerosene was loaded out of NIPCO for the Independent Marketers, 12.2 million litres out of Capital Oil for the NNPC Retail stations and 17.4 million litres were being pumped to Mosimi depot from Atlas Cove for onward supply to Ibadan, Ore, Ilorin and its environs.
After it was obvious that these supplies were not capable of rescuing the situation, the group came out with an allegation that marketers are engaged in sharp practices, thereby making the product unavailable at expected or designated points.
NNPC decried the situation, threatening to investigate them through the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR).
“The nation’s refineries are working fine and producing kerosene. We give the marketers the same kerosene we are supplying the NNPC Mega stations. Very soon, the marketers will have to tell Nigerians what they are doing with the kerosene. This is a stern warning we are giving to the marketers,” Ajuonoma said.
The situation has, however, opened door for the opportunities in gas exploitation, as some consumers now see gas as a better alternative. A 25kg of gas is being filled up at N2,700 and the bigger cylinder costs N10,800 to be filled up.
According to Joseph Ozeigbe, “gas cooker is the best bet because what we are witnessing can be described as pure exploitation. This is a country where we claim to be practising pure democracy; where government claims to be caring for the teeming masses, yet, kerosene, an essential commodity for every household, tends to have gone beyond the reach of the common man.
It is a big shame. The Federal Government should act on time and arrest the situation by checking the excesses of the markers who are perpetrating this dastardly act.
The dealers hinged the price hike on the importers and depot operators, which they claimed ration the product allocation to various dealers.
Mr. Ayodele Ajayi, who is an independent dealer in Lagos, said kerosene is sold at N135 per litre from the depot, but the additional logistic charges made by the retailers automatically increased the price to about N200 per liter.
“It is not our fault, I can boldly tell you that the independent kerosene dealers are not happy with this situation, because it has equally affected our sales, the price was increased from the depot without any reason, so, by time we add the transportation and other logistics, it further go up,” he said.