FG UNVEILS $500M PROJECTS FOR LOCAL CONTENT DEVELOPMENT IN OIL AND GAS

The federal government has unveiled new projects that would gulp $500 million for the development of Nigerian Content in the oil and gas sector of the economy.

Speaking while fielding questions from journalists after a recent visit the headquarters of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke commended the achievements of NCDMB within its four years of existence.

She described the agency as a major contributor to the Transformation Agenda of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.

“We are all extremely pleased at the Federal level with the various achievements this board has recorded within this period of time. It is quite clear from our various movements particularly when we go to international fora and see the number of Nigerians, who are now exhibiting the services they deliver to the industry. It is progressing robustly every year and going from strength to strength. Within Nigeria, the success of Nigerian Content is incredible,” she said.

She also underscored the adoption of the Nigerian Content philosophy by other sectors of the economy like the Ministry of Communications Technology and the Ministry of Power as further proof that that the implementation of the Act has been effective.

NIGERIA TO GROW CRUDE OIL RESERVES TO 40BN BARRELS

The Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr. Andrew Yakubu, yesterday disclosed that Nigeria was working to accumulate 40 billion barrels of crude oil reserves and produce four million barrels per day.

Yakubu, who spoke at the ongoing media workshop for energy editors and correspondents in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, said: “Ahead of this, there is an aggressive exploration campaign in offshore, onshore and the inland basins of Chad, Anambra, Benue, Bida and Sokoto Dahomey.”

“We are also carrying out infield developments which have resulted in increased reserve and with the intensified approach, including the expedited action on new projects like Egina, the reserve and production targets is realizable.”

Yakubu said over 1,000 square kilometres of seismic data had been acquired in the Chad Basin in spite of the security situation in Borno State.

Yakubu said revamping of the corporation’s critical downstream facilities such as the refineries, depots, pipelines and jetties had remained the focus of the management.

He added that over 500,000 barrels of oil per day were potentially at risk due to incessant vandalism of four main crude export pipelines in the country.

THISDAY

NNPC EXPLORES GAS SALES POTENTIAL IN EUROPEAN MARKET

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has disclosed that it is looking for more markets for Nigeria’s gas.

It stated that it was looking further into the European markets for sale of gas, adding that through such possible markets, it hopes to generate maximum economic benefit from the nation’s enormous gas resources.

A statement from the Group General Manager, Public Affairs of the NNPC, Ohi Alegbe, yesterday in Abuja, said the Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Andrew Yakubu, made this disclosure while playing host to a Belgian business delegation under the auspices of the Flanders Investment and Trade Mission in his office.

Yakubu said: “Europe is a good market for gas. Incidentally, Belgium has important terminals such as the Port of Antwerp through which Nigeria hopes to get its gas to the rest of Europe. We are working on independently marketing our abundant gas resources to Europe.”

Yakubu, who was represented by the Coordinator, Corporate Policy and Strategy of NNPC, Dr. Tim Okon, said the NNPC would strategically position itself to attract investments to boost Nigeria’s economy.

While reiterating the need for collaboration between foreign investors and Nigerian businesses to domesticate the country’s gas industry, he stated that: “Gas is a strong mechanism for not only power generation and job creation, but also for growth and development.”

The statement stated that earlier in his address, the leader of the delegation and the Belgian Ambassador to Nigeria, Ambassador Dirk Verleyen, said no fewer than 60 Belgian companies had indicated interest to invest in Nigeria.

NIGERIA TO GROW DOMESTIC GAS CONSUMPTION FROM 1.7BN TO 5.4BN BY 2019

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) said it had put structures in place to grow the domestic gas consumption from 1.71 billion cubic feet to 5.4 billion per day by 2019.

The Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mr Andrew Yakubu, disclosed this on Tuesday at the 2014 Nigeria Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition in Abuja.

According to him, the prevailing gas infrastructure component of the Gas Master plan is designed to increase domestic gas consumption three fold to 5.4 bcf per day by 2019.

He said that the country’s reserves stood at 36 billion barrels of oil and about 182 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas and produced an average of 2.2 million barrels of oil per day in 2013.

“In Africa, only Libya has more oil reserves than Nigeria and despite new discoveries in Sub Saharan Africa, especially in Mozambique, Nigeria still has undiscovered gas potential of about 600 tcf,” he said

Yakubu said that the discovery of the Ogo field in 2013 with reserves of about 750 million barrels showed that the Nigerian Delta remained one of the most prospective areas in the world.

He said that the availability of production allowances would also provide a welcome boost for small fields and profitability would increase in the proposed Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) currently before the National Assembly.

REFINERIES LIKELY FOR PRIVATISATION THIS YEAR — NCP

The National Council on Privatisation has listed the nation’s four refineries for possible privatisation this year.

The Director-General, Bureau of Public Enterprises, Mr. Benjamin Dikki, disclosed this in a statement made available to our correspondent in Abuja on Tuesday.

He listed the prospective transactions in the oil and gas industry to include the privatisation of the two refineries in Port Harcourt, as well as the Warri and Kaduna refineries.

The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Deizani Alison-Madueke had earlier in the year said that the Federal Government was ready to privatise the refineries, but following opposition from the organised labour, the government later said there was no such plan.

Dikki also said the NCP had approved the partial privatisation of the Bank of Industry and the Bank of Agriculture.

He said, “Council has mandated the bureau to achieve the following milestones in 2014, restructuring and partial privatisation of the Bank of Agriculture, partial privatisation of the Bank of Industry, privatisation of the Nigeria Commodity Exchange and commercialisation of national parks.

“The transactions approved for the transport department were to privatise the Skypower Catering & Hotel Services and the sale of moveable assets in the ports.

“The sale process for Skypower Catering & Hotel Services will commence as soon as the steering committee is inaugurated. However, the sale of the moveable assets in the ports has reached advanced stages of conclusion.”

He added, “The definite transactions in the information and communications department are to conclude the guided liquidation of NITEL/MTEL and the policy/legal and regulatory framework review to prepare the ground for the commercialisation of the media enterprises – NTA, FRCN, National Films Corporation and the News Agency of Nigeria.

“The restructuring plan for the FHA (Federal Housing Authority) has been submitted to the Technical Board for review, while the recommendations for the policy, legal and regulatory frameworks for the housing sector are being finalised for the consideration of the Board and the NCP.”

He said that the BPE, in collaboration with the Enugu State Government, has set up a joint committee to resolve the issues surrounding the sale of houses and land of the defunct Nigerian Mining Corporation.

Another joint committee headed by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Mines and Steel Development has been set up to resolve the legal and other issues that impeded the sale process of the coal blocks, Dikki said.