Mohammed Shosanya

Seplat Energy Plc, a Nigerian independent energy company,says gas development is a clear solution to Nigeria’s immediate problems and remains a longer-term transition fuel.

The Director New Energy at Seplat Energy, Mr. Effiong Okon, said this whilst delivering keynote during the Gas Stakeholders Conversation panel session at the 2024 Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES) held in Abuja.

“Increasing the supply of reliable, affordable and sustainable energy is Nigeria’s greatest challenge; but clearly gas is the logical transition fuel we need to realise this,” Okon said.

He tied gas development to power, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) export, Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) production, fertilizer production, Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) production, and building materials production, among others.

He added: “Today we have acute housing and infrastructure shortage, but no commercially viable substitute for production of building materials e.g. cement, glass, steel; about 90,000 deaths per year due to biomass cooking; and rising population presents urgent need to improve agricultural production. We can fund all of the above with gas.

“We can also reduce reliance on petrol, increase and decarbonise domestic transport fuel if we leverage on gas. Of course, these would in turn strengthen our focus on sustainability.”

Okon emphasized that the Nigerian energy industry must focus on end-to-end solutions to unlock the full value of Nigeria’s gas, noting that exploration, production, gas processing and delivery of gas to last mile remain germane to maximising the dividends of the resource.

For a sustainable gas development programme in Nigeria, the Seplat New Energy Director emphasised the need for bankability and access to low-cost capital; use of technology, Internet of Things (IoT) and smart metering to reduce Aggregate Technical Commercial and Collection (ATC&C) losses; and technology-enabled revenue delivery opportunities to aid fund collection.

At the NIES 2024 Award Ceremony, Seplat Energy won the coveted award of the Gas Infrastructure Project of the Year. The award was received by Mr. Okon on behalf of the management and staff of the Company.

By Mercy Salawu

The Crude Oil Refiner Owners Association of Nigeria (CORAN), has raised the alarm that stranded crude located in various parts of the Niger Delta was limiting its capacity.

Chairman of CORAN, Mr. Momoh Oyarekhua stated this at a panel session on the Nigeria Energy Downstream Forum at the ongoing Nigerian International Energy Summit(NIES) 2024 in Abuja, recently.

Oyarekhua said there were a lot of crude oil sites that do not have pipelines linked to them and thus makes evacuation of the oil nearly impossible.

He said access to such oil should be granted to those that need them, saying crude oil production without refining capacity is an effort in futility.

Oyarekhua,who is also the Chairman of OPAC Refinery said most companies into oil production and exploration were only interested in export because of the foreign exchange earnings but not keen about domestic refining.

The OPAC boss said it makes no sense for the country to export its crude to gain forex but later use the same forex generated to import petroleum product.

He lamented that over 40 per cent of the country’s forex goes into importation of petroleum products, a trend he said could be reversed if more modular refineries are empowered through adequate access to crude oil.

According to him, there exit enough room for investment opportunities in the refining space, saying currently, CORAN members have the capacity to refine 27,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

‘‘You cannot overemphasis the importance of refining in the energy value chain. Without refining we cannot have the downstream sector. Anywhere in the world where you extract oil, you extract it because you must refine it. If you don’t refine it, there is nothing to do with it.

“We have now come to realize that there is a very huge importance of refining. But the key question is that what have we done as a country with refining, we have almost done nothing. Will upstream and downstream exist without refining? The answer is no”.

He said that by encouraging and increasing local refining, Nigeria saves itself the embarrassing situation of chasing crude buyers around the world, and can also eliminate the importation of premium motor spirit (PMS) and other refined products thereby making it possible that the country cuts its foreign exchange exposure.

“We can save a lot of foreign exchange which will be utilized to fund other important sectors of the economy, which will mean that, as a country, we will not be heavily exposed to the international crude or currency politics.

“More investment is needed to increase our local refining capacity and the government should provide specific ‘Target Framework’ to further support and encourage local investors in this sector so as to ensure that we produce enough for our local consumption and even for export to earn more foreign currencies while creating jobs”.

The CORAN Chairman maintained that government increasing and doubling support for local refineries will further reduce the hardship faced by some of the players in the downstream sector of the oil industry whilst ensuring that Nigeria can achieve better consumer-friendly pricing for PMS and other finished products which can be produced locally.

He said’:‘As a nation, we must boost the capacity of our local refineries and scale the modular refineries to meet the challenges of the future and to also sustain the gains we have made in the oil and gas industry”.

Mayowa Balogun

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) says it will attract about $17.64 billion investment inflow from 51 field development plan which it approved in the year 2022 to 2023.

Its Chief Executive Officer (CCE) of NUPRC, Mr. Gbenga Komolafe, disclosed this ih his keynote speech during a panel session at the ongoing Nigerian International Energy Summit(NIES) 2024 in Abuja, recently.

He added that the 51 field will deliver cumulative oil recovery and gas recovery estimated at 2.12 billion barrels and 13.13 trillion cubic feet respectively in the coming years.

Other investment revenue target include a total of circa $2.5billion investment in 175 wells drilling in the year 2022 – 2023 and a total of $2.68 billion investment in 842 well work overs and other well intervention activities in the year 2022 – 2023 resulting in increased average oil production.

Komolafe noted that the commission has also intensified efforts in collaborating with the IOCs to ensure accelerated maturation and development of some high volume deep offshore assets.

‘‘Despite the low emissions attributed to Nigeria compared to the global total, we are not resting on our oars. The Commission is effectively spearheading the national drive to achieve zero-flare target by 2030 and net zero carbon emissions by 2060 through several initiatives including a unique flare commercialization programme – the NGFCP.

As part of the its efforts to encourage collaboration, the commission established a College of Awardees, following the award of 49 NGFCP flare sites, to serve as a forum for the successful entities to leverage their collective experiences as well as connecting them to other stakeholders and critical support systems, bringing together world-class service providers, including technology providers/original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), financiers and funding entities, and multilateral agencies to foster optimal delivery of the flare commercialisation projects,’’.

He maintained that the commission has also made significant strides in the realm of innovation, noting that over the past 3 years, it has embarked on a transformative journey, moving from manual processes to embracing technology and digitalization across all departments allowing it to leverage data analytics and artificial intelligence to unlock new efficiencies, make informed decisions, eliminate delays and enhance productivity, transparency and accountability as well as enhance the monitoring of compliance with regulatory requirements.

‘‘Perhaps most importantly, our embrace of innovation has fostered a culture of technology adaptation and adoption across the upstream oil and gas industry. Hence, the oil and gas companies in Nigeria are increasingly committed to pushing the boundaries of innovation asthey continue to invest in cutting-edge technologies from data analytics and automation to remote monitoring and predictive maintenance”

The NUPRC boss reassured willing investors that implementation of the Host Communities Development Trust (HCDT) provisions of the PIA has restored confidence and created social inclusion for the host communities by the operators.

In this regard, he said the commission, in carrying out its oversight roles, has registered a total of one hundred and three(103) HCDTs, and has deployed an intelligent digital, platform for reporting, monitoring, and ensuring transparent administration of the HCDTs for sustainable operations in the Nigerian communities.

Mohammed Shosanya

The Nigerian energy industry authoritative newspaper,Energy Times Times will on April 19, 2024, holds its maiden Energy Award at Eko Hotel & Suite in Lagos.

Among the awardees are top industry players, organizations and agencies of government whose contributions have impacted the economy and people’s life positively,a statement said on Monday.

The paper first started as a weekly newspaper now bi-weekly is based in Lagos. It was first published in March, 2017 to fill the vacuum of in-depth energy news analyses and reportage in Nigeria.

With a current subscribers’ base of 1,815 that cut across the country,the paper has offices in Lagos, Abuja and Port-Harcourt.

According to a statement signed by the newspaper’s Chairman, Editorial Board, Alhaji Yakubu Lawal, being the maiden edition, a team of industry experts were constituted into a body of Advisers to deepen the content of the award.

He said this year’s award is meant to appreciate and recognize those individuals and corporate organisations whose works have in one way or the other impacted people life positively.

Mohammed Shosanya

Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG),says it supplied 493,000 metric tons of LPG to the domestic market in 2023.

The company delivered 498,000 metric tons in 2022 and 399,000 in 2021,it said in a statement where it said it noted reports indicating that it supplies 1.5 million metric tons of Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) to the Nigerian domestic market.

NLNG clarifies that it annually provides close to 500,000 metric tons of LPG to meet market demands.

It explained that,this is in pursuit of its commitment to deliver 100% of its LPG production to the domestic market, a decision made by the Company’s Board of Directors in 2022.

“In 2023, NLNG supplied 493,000 metric tons of LPG to the domestic market. In the preceding years, NLNG delivered 498,000 metric tons in 2022 and 399,000 in 2021. Currently, NLNG caters to 30% of the total LPG demand in the country which is currently estimated to be about 1.5 million metric tons.

“NLNG maintains a firm commitment to supplying LPG to the domestic market. Additionally, the Company remains focused on promoting increased gas utilisation within the country and raising awareness about the use of clean gas for cooking to mitigate health risks associated with firewood usage.

“NLNG takes pride in its role in the LPG sector, facilitating the entry of more stakeholders into the LPG value chain and encouraging investments in infrastructure development to bolster sectoral growth. This endeavour has contributed to the creation of additional employment and business opportunities in Nigeria”,it added in a statement signed by Andy Odeh,General Manager, External Relations and Sustainable Development