Power

Seplat Energy receives CSR award

Seplat Energy Plc has been honoured with the Social Impact and Sustainability Awards (SISA) Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) award for empowerment. Member of Trustees at Sustainability Professionals Institute of Nigeria and President of the International Network for Corporate Social Responsibility, Eustace Onuegbu, highlighted the significance of these awards in recognizing transformative efforts in Nigerian society.

The award specifically acknowledges organizations that have embraced globally recognized sustainability standards such as ISO 37101 Management Standards on Sustainable Development, ISO 26000 Social Responsibility, ISO 14001 Environmental Management, ISO 9001 Quality Management, ISO 20400 Sustainable Supply Chain Management, ISO 45001 Occupational Health and Safety Management Standards, among others.

The recognition extends to adherence to best reporting standards like GRI and IIRC Standards, as well as initiatives aligned with the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and philanthropic contributions.

Seplat Energy’s commitment to educational advancement and stakeholder engagement received a commendation from the award organizers. The company’s notable educational CSR initiatives, including the Seplat Pearl’s Quiz, National Undergraduate Scholarship, SEPLAT Teachers Empowerment Programme (STEP), and Seplat Innovators programme, were highlighted.

Director of External Affairs and Social Performance, Chioma Afe, expressed gratitude for the recognition, emphasizing the company’s dedication to global best practices in social development programs, particularly in host communities.

Afe stressed that Seplat’s educational CSR initiatives align with the company’s seven Principles of Corporate Strategy, emphasizing accountability, transparency, ethical behavior, respect for stakeholders’ interests, adherence to the rule of law, compliance with international norms, and respect for human rights.

Power

Fresh oil production hiccups may distort market stability despite $490b investment

Although about $490 billion is being invested this year to boost crude oil production and plug the supply gap, there are indications that supply shortfall may persist.

The development, which kept the oil price at about $84 per barrel, yesterday, is expected to increase the oil price to $100 per barrel, thereby compounding the current global energy crisis with the inflationary implications.

Coming at a time when Nigeria’s oil production is shrinking following 400, 000 barrels daily loss to theft, the prevailing situation may further worsen the pump prices of petroleum products, escalate the foreign exchange crisis and expand fiscal deficit.

Wood Mackenzie analysts, in a new report on upstream investment, have noted that the oil and gas industry is currently in the third year of an upcycle, with investment in production at $490 billion.

The funding, though significantly higher than the $370 billion low recorded in 2020, upstream analysts at Wood Mackenzie, Fraser McKay and Ian Thom, said much would still be needed to balance supply in the market.

The analysts were specifically worried about the lack of a spare production capacity, which could be viewed as a side effect of newly-found discipline with spending and focus on efficiency while adjusting to a world in transition.

“We expect companies to go for margin rather than market share; and upstream supply chain capacity to creep rather than leap, which has been the traditional response in an upcycle,” McKay and Thom said.

According to them, restraint could lead to a tighter supply chain than the industry has been used to. In Nigeria, the development is worsened by continuous divestment in the industry. Although the country conducted a bid round last year, most international companies are holding back their capital as Nigeria has repeatedly failed to meet its three million barrels daily target.

Amidst the stranded sale of ExxonMobil assets to Seplat, international oil companies have reported divesting assets worth over N20.8 trillion. For instance, Shell plans to divest about $2.3 billion in assets, Eni’s asset divestment is around $5 billion and ExxonMobil would offload $15 billion in assets.

Rystad Energy had initially estimated that Total and ConocoPhillips would divest assets close to $27.5 billion. With dwindling crude oil reserves, now hovering around 37 billion barrels instead of the projected 40 billion barrels, Nigeria’s spending on exploration has been in inland basins in northern states.

Earlier, stakeholders disclosed that Nigeria may see the coming onstream of over $32.5 billion worth of oil and gas projects as the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited and International Oil Companies operating in the country yesterday show readiness to sign final investment decisions (FIDs) on some projects.

The development came on the backdrop of the payment of $3.8 billion to oil operators in the country to clear all outstanding Joint Venture (JV) cash-call debts, which may see Shell alone decide on $19 billion worth of projects in the next 10 years, Managing Director of Shell, Osagie Okunbor said.

News Power

Nigeria needs reliable energy for industrialisation – Tinubu

President Bola Tinubu has said that Nigeria’s plans to become industrialised, create jobs and achieve economic growth cannot be achieved if reliable energy is not generated, transmitted and distributed.

Tinubu said this at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Gwagwalada Independent Power Plant (GIPP) Project held in Abuja on Friday.

He reiterated that he had promised to prioritize energy availability and stability while using available energy resources to increase power generation beyond the current capacity and strengthen the integrity of the transmission infrastructure while distribution bottlenecks are removed.

“We cannot be productive without energy efficiency; To accelerate our economic growth, we must remove every obstacle on our way to progress,” he said.

In his address, Mele Kyari, GCEO, NNPCL said Nigeria has abundant gas resource which NNPCL as a commercial enterprise is leveraging to monetize the available resources by expanding access to energy to support economic growth, energy access, industrialization and job creation.

He described the project as a giant step towards achieving the NNPC’s goal of adding 5GW to the national power generation by 2024

He said currently NNPC and partners are delivering about 800MW to the national grid from Afam Vl and Okpai Phase thermal power plants with combined installed capacity of 1,100MW, adding that the Okpai Phase 2 project that will add up to 320MW of power to the national grid and progressing with other power plant projects across the country including those along the AKK pipeline route has been completed.

He added that the Gwagwalada IPP is among the NNPC flagship power projects along the AKK corridor which is part of the 3,600MW cumulative power capacity including Kaduna IPP (900MW) and Kano IPP (1,350MW).

The Gwagwalada IPP is among the NNPC flagship power projects along the AKK corridor. will be delivered in collaboration with General Electric as the as the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) and China Machinery and Engineering Corporation (CMEC) as the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) Contractor.

He said this is part of the 3,600MW cumulative power capacity which includes Kaduna IPP (900MW) and Kano IPP (1,350MW)

“Our ambition is to create capital power plants across the country in small scale where transmission issues will not become a major concern; Expanding access to energy will change the game, It will create a better investment climate and promote balanced economic growth, a win-win situation for the Nation and for NNPC as a commercial company,” he said.

The project according to NNPCL was necessitated by the need to deliver gas towards achieving additional power generation capacity in Nigeria and make a substantial contribution to the positioning of gas as the preferred fuel for power.

The first phase of the project has a capacity of 350MW consisting of one gas turbine and one steam turbine

Situated on 54.7 hectares of land at Gwagwalada, Abuja, the project has a combined cycle of three power train blocks of 4500 megawatts (MW) each, Two gas turbines, Two heat recovery and steam generators, one steam turbine and can generate 10.3m MW per hour of electricity.

Power

Stakeholders ask Africa to look inward for hydrocarbon exploration funding

• Demand speedy implementation of PIA, African Energy Bank
Stakeholders at the Nigeria Association for Energy Economics (NAEE) said funding for the exploration of hydrocarbon deposits across Africa should come from the continent instead of looking up to Europe and America for help.

NAEE in a communique signed by its President, Prof. Yinka Omorogbe and Vice- President (Conferences and Publications), Prof Ben Obi, noted that in light of decreased global funding for hydrocarbon activities, Africa needs to realise that funding of non-renewable energy resources needs to come from within.

While most African countries depend heavily on revenue from hydrocarbons, the huge oil and gas reserves may remain untapped due to climate change concerns and reluctance to fund non-renewable energy.

As of December 2020, total private wealth in Africa without the addition of Africans in the diaspora was approximately $2 trillion

The stakeholders lauded the initiative between Africa Petroleum Producers Organisation (APPO) and the AfreximBank to establish the African Energy Bank, which would provide funds for oil, natural gas and other energy projects.

They also agreed that there is an urgent need to implement Nigeria’s roadmap for energy transition, particularly as domestic natural gas consumption expands.

NAEE said gas must become an integral part of the future energy mix, insisting that delays could negatively impact Nigeria’s economic development.

The players stated that the Nigerian oil and gas sector would play a pivotal role in Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan, and that partnership with the renewable energy sector to jointly drive the implementation would increase the success rate.

The stakeholders, while acknowledging and emphasizing the need for a functional electricity sector with a sustainable, available and affordable electricity supply, said industrialisation would not be possible without a regular power supply.

“Political stability is essential, as are the continuity of government reform and development programmes, which prioritise economic prosperity and the need for meaningful sustainable economic and national development,” the communique said.

The experts hailed the ongoing implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), noting that continuous growth, strengthening, enablement and stability of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (the Commission) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority were vital to the growth of Nigeria’s energy sector.

“Nigeria needs to scale up the utilisation of her substantial natural gas resources for the development of her people; therefore, participants recommended the speedy implementation of the provisions in the Petroleum Industry Act that establish the framework for natural gas utilisation, and where needed, any amendments to the law that will create an attractive investment climate,” it stated.

According to the association, the hopes of the rural energy poor lie in the use of off-grid renewable energy sources.

Lauding the initiatives of the Nigerian government to electrify communities outside the electricity grid network through the Rural Electrification Agency, NAEE recommended that the initiatives should be sustained to alleviate poverty.

The current huge burden of subsidy removal on Nigerians, according to the association, could be alleviated by a rapid expansion of measures to speed up the utilisation of natural gas as a substitute for premium motor spirits (PMS).

“These include promoting the activities of the Natural Gas Expansion Programme, the conversion of engines to run on compressed natural gas (CNG) and the speedy deployment of CNG stations all around the country.

“The present crushing effects of the removal of the PMS subsidy need to be alleviated through measures such as mass transportation programmes and others that are directly targeted at most of the affected Nigerians.

“The long-overdue rehabilitation of existing refineries remains a necessity, to promote diversification and guard against monopoly power, noted conference participants,” NAEE said.

News Power Production

NNPC to end oil swap contracts, embrace cash payments for petrol imports

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) is winding down crude oil swap contracts with traders and will pay cash for petrol imports as private companies could begin importing petrol as soon as this month, according to a Reuters report.

This means that NNPC is in the process of ending crude swap contracts with traders. Instead of exchanging crude oil for refined petroleum products, the state-oil company will now make cash payments for petrol imports.

The move is part of President Bola Tinubu’s plans to deregulate the petrol market and reduce the burden on government finances, the statement said.

President Bola Tinubu on Monday during his inauguration announced that “subsidy is gone” sending the market into a tailspin as those who had the products quickly shut their pumps and long queues emerged across the nation.

NNPC has been importing petrol from consortiums of foreign and local trading firms and repaying them with crude oil via what is known as Direct Sale Direct Purchase (DSDP) contracts since 2016 because it does not have enough cash to pay for the purchases, the statement said.

“In the last four months, we practically terminated all DSDP contracts. And we now have an arm’s-length process where we can pay cash for the imports,” Mele Kyari, group chief executive officer, NNPC told Reuters in an interview late on Saturday.

“This is the first time NNPC has said it is terminating crude swap contracts. By importing less gasoline as private companies import the bulk, NNPC will be able to pay for its purchases in cash.”

Nigeria is Africa’s biggest crude producer but imports most of its refined products after running down its refineries. Nigeria’s petrol import bill hit N5.2 trillion in 2022, the highest in six years, as the quest by the country to wean itself off imported fuel drags.

Read also: Nigerians groan as NNPC, marketers raise petrol price

A significant drop in oil production last year coupled with high global fuel prices due to the war in Ukraine pushed NNPC’s debt to traders higher. It owed the consortiums about $2 billion, a September 2022 NNPC report to the Federation Account Allocation Committee shows, the statement said.

“An industry source with direct knowledge of the matter said NNPC was still allocating crude for fuel swaps for July loading, though less than in previous months. In its report detailing March crude oil loadings, NNPC also allocated crude to the swap contracts held by the consortiums,” Reuters said.

Kyari told Reuters that NNPC’s monopoly on petrol supplies was ending and private firms could start importing as early as this month.

“Nigeria’s total crude and condensate output was at 1.56 million barrels a day (bpd) as of Friday. Nigeria has struggled to meet its Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) oil quota of 1.742 million bpd due to grand oil theft and illegal refining,” Kyari said.

That has raised doubts on whether Nigeria can meet supplies for the 650,000-bpd newly commissioned Dangote Refinery. NNPC has a contract to supply 300,000 bpd to the refinery.

News Power

Port Harcourt refinery to start before end of 2023, says NNPC GMD

Mele Kyari, the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited, has promised that the Port Harcourt refinery, located in Rivers State, Nigeria, will kick off production of fuel and other refinery activities before the end of the year.

In an exclusive interview with Arise Television’s “The Morning Show” on Thursday, Kyari said that the reason why the Port Harcourt refinery is behind schedule is because of disruptions in the global supply value chain that were created by the Russia-Ukraine war and are not peculiar to Nigeria.

“Of course there is work going on in the Warri refinery that is already in earnest. For the Kaduna refinery, that is a different situation, and we have awarded the turnaround maintenance for the Kaduna refinery, which is already in place,” he said about the other two federal government refineries.

Read also:Nigerians groan as NNPC, marketers raise petrol price

He admitted that with the Dangote Refinery, local refineries whose turnaround maintenance is nearing completion, and a couple of modular refineries, the country should be expecting a surplus of petroleum products by the end of next year.

“So ultimately, what this means is that we are going to have a surplus of product in the country by the end of next year,” he noted.

He reminded everyone of the projected contribution of the Dangote refinery once commercial production kicks off sometime in July or August.

“Once that happens, you would have a significant volume of PMS—once that happens, we fix our refineries and other modular refineries, and this country will be the hub of petroleum refineries on the continent and a reversal of market choice,” he said.

Earlier in the interview, the Group Managing Director debunked popular views, claiming that once the country starts a whole-scale domestic refinery of petroleum products, the price of fuel and others will come down drastically.

“There is this misconception that once you start to refine locally, the price is going to crash to half the price; that is not correct,” he said. “The distinction between domestic pricing and import pricing is simply two things.”

He listed two major instantaneous benefits outside of this price crash that will come to the country. According to Kyari, the security of the supply of products and businesses around refinery activities will improve.

He said, “First, it gives you security of supply—supply is by your door. You don’t need 14 days to move products from Europe into Nigeria. That goes away; you have access to this product because there’s no disruption in the supply chain. You have a short time to regulate and move around, so it gives you security of supply. This is the number one thing it does.

“Secondly, it creates a market around it for employment, taxes, and so many other benefits that will come to the country.”

He corrected another popular misconception around the pricing of refined petroleum products, saying that the prices of refined products, regardless of area of production, are determined by the international market.

“Therefore, at the gate of your refinery, you are pricing it as if you are getting it from Rotterdam or Amsterdam; that means the conversion of FX that determines the market value is determined by the international market,” he said.

“But there will be a delta; that delta is the cost of freight that builds up in your country. You will see a difference in price as a result of the freight difference,” he added.

Power

Petrol to sell between N478 and N600/ltr as subsidy goes

At the current petrol pricing template, the pump price of petrol will sell anywhere between N478 and N590 per litre, based on the effective dollar rate the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) settles upon following the directive by the new president to reform currency rates, BusinessDay analysis shows.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited met with oil marketers to agree on indicative pricing on Tuesday. Mele Kyari, its group chief executive officer, met President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa shortly after he resumed work. The results of these engagements have yet to be made public.

Using the CBN naira-dollar rate of N467/$1, the pump price of petrol could rise to N390 per litre if the government no longer pays subsidy. When the rate allowed for airlines to repatriate funds, which stand at N600/$1, is used, BusinessDay’s calculations show that the effective pump price would be N478 per litre in Lagos.

At the black market rate of N750/$, the picture changes. The product cost rises to N503.91 per litre. Other costs including traders’ margin, freight, NPA port charges, NIMASA, financing costs, jetty storage, and wholesale margin bring the landing cost to N565.34.

When retailers margin, dealers margin and transport cost are added, it brings the price in Lagos to N590.34. The price could average around N600 when it is transported across Nigeria.

The major components that constitute petrol landing cost in Nigeria include product cost, traders and insurance margin, shipping, charges by government agencies, financing and banking charges and storage charges. These come to about N358.24 per litre as landing charges. Another N25 is added based on retailer margins (N15), dealer’s margin (N5) and Transport cost at (N5). This brings the total costs to N383.24.

However, pump price would vary based on station and location and, with the government’s subsidised transport charges, could average at N385 per litre using the official exchange rate. This pump increases to N478 litre using the N600/$1 rate and N600 using N750/$1 as the parallel market rate.

BusinessDay reached this conclusion by analysing the Nigerian government’s current pricing template based on current oil prices and marketers’ surveys on what prices would be at different oil price and dollar rate scenarios.

The current panic buying is contributing to worsening the problem as it gives unscrupulous marketers the avenue to exploit consumers. This is why NNPC Ltd, the marketers’ group and the regulator are calling for calm.

The oil regulator said in a statement that it is working with the NNPC and other key stakeholders to guarantee a smooth transition, avoid supply disruptions, and ensure that consumers are not short-changed in any form.

“Contrary to speculations and concerns, the announcement is in line with the Petroleum Industry Act (2021) which provides for total deregulation of the petroleum downstream sector to drive investment and growth,” the statement said.

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority assures that there is an ample supply of petrol to meet demand as it has taken necessary steps to ensure distribution channels remain uninterrupted and fuel is readily available at all filling stations across the country.

A joint statement issued by the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) and the Depot and Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN), on Tuesday, called for calm.

“In light of the assurance given by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), we wish to reiterate that there is no cause for alarm,” they said.

“We strongly urge Nigerians to avoid panic buying or stockpiling of petrol. This behaviour not only creates artificial scarcity but also poses a significant safety hazard.”

According to the oil marketers, the NNPCL has assured Nigerians of adequate fuel supply and the NMDPRA is working closely with stakeholders to ensure a seamless transition.

“They are ensuring distribution channels remain uninterrupted, thereby making fuel readily available at all filling stations across the country,” it read. “The decision to phase out this fuel subsidy regime is not merely a fiscal reform; it is a significant stride toward social justice.”

“We understand the concerns regarding potential price increases. However, we expect marketers to maintain reasonable pricing, as NNPCL remains the sole supplier of the product currently,” the Joint statement read.

The oil marketers said they anticipate minimal changes regarding distribution costs, considering the cost of the product constitutes 80 percent of the pump price and pledged to manage these distribution costs diligently to minimize the impact on the pump price in collaboration with the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners and other crucial stakeholders,

Some analysts say phased removal is the best option. “My recommendation is that the process should be done in phases,” said Ayodele Oni, energy lawyer and partner at Lagos-based Bloomfield law firm.

Oni said the refineries in the country should be functional and operational to the extent that they can meet the demands of the country. This would certainly reduce the importation of refined products into the country and the associated costs such as haulage, insurance, ship-to-ship transfer costs, etc

Refineries

Since Tinubu’s inaugural speech, labour unions have been kicking against subsidy removal. At a press briefing in Abuja on Tuesday, Festus Osifo and Nuhu Toro, president and general secretary of Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, said they expect the President to be wise with the issue at hand.

“We dare say that this is a very delicate issue that touches on the lives, if not very survival, of particularly the working people, hence ought to have been treated with the utmost caution, and should have been preceded by robust dialogue and consultation with, the representatives of the working people, including professionals, market people, students and the poor masses,” they said in a statement.

The labour leader said they were concerned that Tinubu was not specific in how the plan will work and that Nigerian workers and indeed masses must not be made to suffer the inefficiency of successive governments, adding that they are ready to dialogue with the President.

“We are also worried that in his speech President Tinubu failed to delve into or reveal his plans on how to tackle and address the issue of poor and unchecked deterioration in industrial relations, particularly in the education, health and judiciary sectors, often resulting in prolonged strike and Industrial actions and their attendant adverse effects on society and the economy.”

However, analysts say subsidy actually benefits the rich at the exclusion of the poor.

“Fuel subsidy only rewards the elites, middle class, and rich in Nigeria. If you go to rural areas, you will hardly buy fuel at the regulated pump price. The fuel subsidy that is supposed to help the poor actually helps in intensifying their poverty and misery. So, fuel subsidy is only for the rich and has to go,” said Bongo Adi, a professor of Economics at Lagos Business School.

Labour leaders have also called for fixing the refineries before subsidy is removed but in the current situation, local refining would only save freight and port charges as crude constitutes over 86 percent of the cost.

Tinubu meets Kyari, Emefiele, others

Tinubu on Tuesday met behind closed doors with Godwin Emefiele, governor of CBN, NNPC boss, Kyari, in an apparent effort to address the fallout of fuel subsidy removal.

The meeting was his first official assignment in the Presidential Villa. The President arrived the meeting at about 2:32pm, and was received by Vice President Kashim Shettima, at the foya of the President’s office, accompanied by Tijjani Umar, permanent secretary, State House.

Others include Femi Gbajabiamila, speaker of House of Representatives, Wale Edun, Dele Akake and James Faleke.

Fuel subsidy, a burden on poor Nigerians – Shettima

Shettima described Nigeria’s huge subsidy spendings as a burden placed on poor Nigerians.

Shettima, speaking with State House Journalists on his first day in office at the Presidential Villa, said: “You and I benefit 90 percent from the fuel subsidy, while the poor, 40 percent of Nigerians, benefit very little. And we know the consequences of unveiling a masquerade.”

He said: “The truth of the matter is that it is either we get rid of subsidy or the fuel subsidy gets rid of the Nigerian nation.

“We will get fierce opposition from those benefitting from the oil subsidy scam. But where there is a will, there is a way. Be rest assured that our President is a man of strong will and conviction. In the fullness of time, you will appreciate his noble intentions for the nation. The issue of fuel subsidy will be frontally addressed. The earlier we do so, the better.”

Also speaking on the issue of multiple exchange rates, he said the Tinubu administration would collapse the multiple exchange into one.

He said: “So these are two big elephants in the room and as the days go by, we will be unveiling our agenda. He is going to unveil his agenda because as I have always said, there can never be two captains in a ship. He is the president and commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

“I’m the vice president. Your relevance is directly proportional to the level of your loyalty to the president. This is a gentleman that I have known for well over a decade; that I have interacted closely with. Be rest assured that we are going to work harmoniously as a team, as a family for the greater good of our nation.”

Read also: Fuel subsidy crisis: Tonye Cole urges Tinubu to discuss more with labour

FG owes NNPC N2.8trn, says Kyari

Also speaking on the subsidy issue, Kyari told journalists that the federal government owed the NNPC N2.8 trillion for money expended on fuel subsidy.

He revealed that the federal government “no longer have the money to pay the agency money spent on subsidy” adding that government has not paid NNPCL for subsidy for about two years.

Kyari also affirmed that the subsidy is no longer sustainable as it has made it impossible for the company to funds to fund its operations.

Kyari said the petrol queues that have resurfaced are understandable as marketers would like to understand the meaning of the president’s pronouncement that “subsidy is gone.”

He urged Nigerians to avoid panic buying, adding that the NNPCL has enough stock. “What you are seeing is normal because consumers will like to rush to the filing stations to fill their tanks, while the marketers will want to take advantage of the situation. The combined the two is what you are seeing play out.”

The NNPCL boss assured that government will initiate measures to cushion the effects of the removal of subsidy.

Power

Empowering Nigeria’s oil and gas industry for global competition

When the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) was established in 2010, its mission was to promote the development and utilisation of in-country capacities for Nigeria’s industrialisation by effectively implementing the Nigerian Content Act. While the board has, over the years, made giant strides towards actualising this goal with several policies to facilitate the participation of indigenous businesses in the Oil and Gas industry, changes in the global political and economic landscape call for a continuous rethinking of long-standing policies and implementing adjustments where necessary.
“NCDMB has been fantastic for the industry. The board has been an enabler. A lot of companies have benefitted, not just from the categorisation or the ring-fencing or the initiative of having Nigerian entities run the business. Some companies have benefited from the fund that they provide to enable them to acquire assets etc. It goes across the board. I think there are a lot of participants in the industry that may not be here if not for the NCDMB,” said Seyi Ajibola, MD/CEO of Zircon Marine Limited, during a live television interview exploring the challenges and opportunities in the Nigerian maritime industry.

Ajibola’s Zircon Marine is one of many indigenous businesses providing local content for Nigeria’s Oil and Gas industry. While his position reflects the dominant view of relevant stakeholders in the industry about the impact of the NCDMB, there remain particular challenges that indigenous industry players grapple with in their bid to match their counterparts in other parts of the world in terms of capacity and service delivery.

The rig count in the industry is currently at an all-time low, constituting a major challenge to businesses whose focus is on rig building, especially in offshore sites. The dearth of appropriate business-support infrastructure is another challenge, which drives up operating costs for indigenous businesses, making it difficult for them to compete with businesses from other countries. Accessibility to qualified technicians is another significant challenge to indigenous players as bringing in expatriates also negatively impacts operations costs. Similarly, soaring global prices due to the Russia-Ukraine war constitutes another hurdle.

Despite these challenges, stakeholders like Ajibola are convinced that indigenous businesses can not only thrive, but also compete successfully if they would adopt a global approach to their operations. According to Ajibola, earning certifications from IOCs, embracing sustainable strategies to business operations and adopting international best practices can better position an indigenous company to operate in the global market.

While these ideals may seem daunting, Zircon Marine has been able to achieve most by seeking out partnerships with companies with assets and expertise in relevant sectors of the industry and signing on to the UN Global Compact, a voluntary initiative based on CEO commitments to implement universal sustainability principles and to take steps to support UN goals.

“I think the main thing is that we want to compete globally, and these partnerships just enable us to do that. A lot of our business is devoted to best practices and we’re fighting and succeeding in getting international business that may have otherwise gone to so-called foreign companies. We’re building up as a 100% Nigerian entity,” he said.

“In 2022, we set ourselves some targets for our sustainability programme, both around the environment and around women empowerment, and we achieved both of them and I think the more and more companies that do that, the better not only for the environment but also for business.

“The top international companies also want to associate with companies that are environmentally compliant. They have initiatives that have respect for the environment and other sustainability goals. The environment is just one aspect. Even diversity in the workplace is a big sustainability goal as well. Those are the things that we’ve been doing specifically as a company.

Ajibola also thinks a tweak in one of the policies of the NCDMB can give local businesses better chances of achieving global relevance and position Nigeria’s Oil and Gas industry for greater gains in the global maritime market.

“For you to participate in the NCDMB today, you have to own vessels. I mean within a certain class, you can give waivers if the vessel is above a certain gross ton. I believe that if they can go back to narrowing into Nigerian participation and ownership of the business instead of Nigerian asset ownership, I believe immediately the cost will come down.

“You will still achieve some of the purposes of keeping money in the hands of Nigerians. You can then focus on specialising in other areas that enable that business. What is happening now is that a lot of people have borrowed money to buy assets and at the same time, especially in the upstream sector, the business has come down, leading to intense pressure to pay back. If you don’t have to own these assets, the flexibility to participate will be much higher, and I think, ultimately, it is much more sustainable,” he added.

This position is viable because it eases the entry burden on indigenous businesses, which has the knock-on effect of reducing operational costs and enabling competitive pricing.

Furthermore, indigenous businesses must continue to scrutinise their processes to ensure optimum efficiency, reducing waste to the barest minimum to give them better chances of setting competitive prices in the global market.

Ultimately, as the global market continues to respond to economic and political changes worldwide, the major stakeholders in the industry must take conscious efforts to reduce, if not remove, unnecessary obstacles impeding the progress of indigenous businesses.

Power

Despite energy transition, oil discoveries drive exploration to record high

…Nigeria’s oil discoveries in North missing in global listing
…Value creation reaches $33billion at base price

New global oil and gas discoveries hit record high in a decade last year, spurring value creation from the exploration segment to about $33 billion at the base.
Namibia, Brazil and Algeria stood out in the discoveries as Nigeria is missing despite announcing the discovery of over one billion barrels of oil in the northern part of the country.

ADVERTISING

As the world races towards net-zero, fossil fuel has been a major enemy as activists and the International Energy Agency (IEA) asked investors not to fund new oil, gas and coal supply projects if the world wants to reach net zero emissions by 2050.

Wood Mackenzie in a release noted “global oil and gas exploration sector had its strongest year in 2022 in more than a decade.”

The report acknowledged that attempts to lower-carbon, lower-cost advantaged hydrocarbons enabled the sector to create at least $33 billion of value and achieve full-cycle returns of 22 per cent at $60/barrel Brent prices.

The report, “Wood Mackenzie’s ‘Oil and gas exploration: 2022 in review” noted that the number of wells were less than half the numbers during pre-pandemic years, yet the total volume of 20 billion barrels of oil equivalent matched the average annual volumes of 2013-2019.

Director of global exploration research at Wood Mackenzie, Julie Wilson disclosed that the year was remarkable for exploration activities, and stressed that the volumes of discoveries were good, but not stellar.
“However, explorers were able to drive very high value through strategic selection and focusing on the best and largest prospects. The discoveries bring higher-quality hydrocarbons into companies’ portfolios, allowing them to reduce carbon by displacing less advantaged oil and gas supplies while also meeting the world’s energy needs,” Wilson noted.

Despite the much-trumpeted in-land basin reported discoveries in Nigeria, WoodMac noted that much of the listed discoveries are from deepwater.

According to the organisation, the highest value came from discoveries in a new deepwater play in Namibia, as well as resource additions in Algeria and several new deepwater discoveries in Guyana and Brazil, where the latest wave of pre-salt exploration finally met with success.
“The average discovery last year was over 150 million barrels of oil equivalent, more than double the average of the previous decade,” Wilson noted.

The report noted that liquids accounted for 60 per cent of new resources discovered, adding that the development is only the third time in 20 years that liquids made up the majority of new discoveries.

“There is a lot of uncertainty in future long-term demand scenarios for oil. Explorers are accelerating oil exploration to meet near and mid-term demand, while gas exploration is focused in geographies that can supply the gas-hungry European market. In some cases, major leases are approaching expiration of the exploration term and companies are pushing to optimize their value.

“By 2030, fast-tracked development of these new discoveries could deliver 1 million barrels per day in oil and 0.5 million barrels of equivalent per day gas production, generating $15 billion in free cash flow,” Wilson stated.

The report noted that the exploration sector continues to be dominated by national oil companies (NOCs) and Majors, with TotalEnergies, QatarEnergy and Petrobras leading the way in net-new discovered resources in 2022.

Wilson said, “Overall, we saw a year of continued discipline from explorers with exploration and appraisal well numbers largely flat from 2021. However, spending per well increased due to inflationary pressures. Appraisal well numbers increased as companies pushed towards final investment decisions in this short-term window of opportunity.”

Power

TotalEnergies sues Greenpeace over emissions report

The civil complaint, served on April 28, seeks a ruling that the November publication contains “false and misleading information,” a judicial order to withdraw the publication and cease all references to it under penalty of 2000 euros in fines per day, plus 1 symbolic euro in damages.

A first procedural hearing will take place on Sept. 7 at the Paris judicial court to set a calendar for arguments, though it will be several months before a judge begins to rule on the merits of the case.

Greenpeace and Factor X accused the oil major of having emitted about 1.64 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2019 but only disclosing 455 million tonnes in public statements.

TotalEnergies countered that the report double-counted emissions by knowingly using dubious methodologies, which were morally prejudicial to the listed company.

“This is a question of principle, and a judgment from the court will not prevent Greenpeace from continuing to criticize us and our climate strategy if they wish, but will remind them that public debate on issues with such high stakes concerning a listed company require rigor and good faith,” a TotalEnergies spokesperson said.

The TotalEnergies spokesperson added that the company’s main goal was to have the court recognize the knowingly false nature of the report, since the Factor-X firm behind the math presents itself as an expert in the field of carbon emissions accounting.

Factor-X could not immediately be reached for comment.

Greenpeace said the lawsuit was an attempt to muzzle the NGO ahead of the May 26 TotalEnergies general assembly, where activist shareholders will push for stricter climate commitments and environmental groups have called to block entry in protest of the company’s global oil and gas projects.

“TotalEnergies wants to drag Greenpeace through a long legal process … erase our reports and prevent us from denouncing their misleading and climate-killing practices,” said Greenpeace France Director Jean-François Julliard. “We will continue to lift the veil on their responsibility in global warming.”