Mohammed Shosanya

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) is seeking its members’ direct access to the Dangote refinery,to enable them load from the facility as the Nigerian National Petroleum Company does.

Abubakar Garima,IPMAN’s president believes the gesture could force down the skyrocketing petrol prices and increase consumption of the product in Nigeria.

He spoke on Channel TV on Wednesday, to debunk low patronage claims by the owner of the facility,Alhaji Aliko Dangote on account of huge importation of the product by the marketers.

He clarified that his members are not importing petrol,adding that they were unable to load petrol from the Dangote refinery for days.

According to him, the refinery should allow independent petrol marketers to register directly to facilitate access to the product, rather than require them to go through the NNPC.

He said:“If he (Dangote) can be able to sell the product to us directly, we can buy the product, because we have to pay before we pick. Presently, we have N40 billion under the NNPC custody but we cannot source the product.

“Just of recent, there are some of my marketers that NNPC sent to load in Dangote refinery and those marketers stayed with their trucks for four days, and they cannot load.”

He also implored Dangote to review his prices if marketers are opting to import petrol instead.

“Since he (Dangote) says marketers are not buying his product, he should check his price properly. Is it higher than what they are obtaining outside or is it the same rate?”

He maintained that although some marketers might opt to sell imported petrol, Dangote should evaluate external market prices and consider the delivery timelines for marketers to stay competitive.

Mohammed Shosanya

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,has commended the Implementation Committee on the Naira-based sales of crude oil and refined products and asked the members to resolve any teething problems.

In a review meeting at the State House on Tuesday,Tinubu said that using the Naira was conceived to remove the exchange rate hurdle.

“Whatever solution we proffer in crude oil and refined products sales in Naira should not take us back to our experience in the last 40 years.

“There can be cost and revenue adjustment in the oil sector, but the issue is that the government will not have to go back to the old way of doing things,’’ the President stated in a statement signed by Bayo Onanuga,Special Adviser to the President(Information and Strategy).

He advised the various players in the oil sector, including the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Ltd and the Dangote Refinery, should work to improve the economy and the livelihood of Nigerians.

He urged stakeholders to look inward and consider supplying enough petrol and petroleum products for local consumption to stop the persistent reliance on importation.

He said this would enable the channelling of foreign exchange into the development of the real sector.

He advised stakeholders to use Afreximbank as a settlement bank to resolve the Naira pricing for crude and refined products. Afreximbank is already on board as the financial adviser.

“The market must determine what we are doing. Once you allow the market to determine the profit and loss, independent marketers and the government side can meet on the worksheet. I want the issues resolved without future waste of time,’’ he added.

“We can have energy security, and the motivation for Alhaji Aliko Dangote will not be defeated.It will be more predictable on a medium and long-term basis,’’ the President said.

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, said the administration’s groundbreaking steps to sell crude in Naira would not be reversed, and the government would not be involved in determining the rate of exchange for the oil sector.

The President and Chief Executive of Dangote Group told the President that the refinery had more than 500 million litres of fuel in reserve after supplying 400 million to the economy.

He said the refinery could collaborate with the other refineries managed by NNPC Ltd to meet an estimated 32 million litres of local petrol needs.

At the meeting, the Federal Inland Revenue Service Chairman, Zach Adedeji,who chairs the technical committee, said importing refined products should end once we have the capacity to produce enough to meet domestic needs.

“The vision of Mr President is to turn Nigeria into a hub for refined products to export to the world.”

Other stakeholders at the meeting included Prof. Benedict Oramah, the President and Chairman of the Board of Afrexim Bank, and Sen. Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, the minister of budget and national planning and Group Managing Director of NNPC Limited, Mele Kyari.

The president’s special adviser on energy, Olu Verheijen, and the CEOs of NIMASA and Nigerian Ports Authority also attended, along with Engineer Gbenga Komolafe, head of Upstream Regulator, and Farouk Ahmed, head of Midstream & Downstream Regulator,NMDPRA.

Mohammed Shosanya

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) is gearing up to launch new Contracting Cycle Guidelines for the oil and gas industry in compliance with the Presidential Directives on Local Content announced by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in March 2024 to accelerate oil and gas contract timelines, incentivize investments in the sector and increase Nigeria’s crude oil production.

The Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, Engr Felix Omatsola Ogbe announced this at the two-day Contracting Cycle Guidelines Sensitization Workshop organized in Lagos by the Project Certification and Authorization Directorate (PCAD) of the Board for international and indigenous operating oil and gas companies and their service counterparts.

The workshop provided a platform for NCDMB to explain the provisions of the Guidelines and how it would implement them in alignment with the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act and the Presidential Directives.

Represented by the Director, Project Certification and Authorization, Engr. Abayomi Bamidele, the Executive Secretary emphasized that NCDMB is a business enabler hence the decision to get stakeholders’ feedback before finalizing and launching the guidelines at the forthcoming Practical Nigerian Content Workshop slated for December 3-5, 2024 at the Nigerian Content Tower, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

To further assist the companies, he promised that NCDMB would convene a technical workshop in the first quarter of 2025 to train personnel of operating and service oil and gas companies on how to efficiently complete various technical documents utilized in the oil and gas contracting process.

The three Presidential Directives are the Presidential Directive on Local Content Compliance, Presidential Directive on Reduction of Petroleum Sector Contracting Cost and Timelines and Presidential Directive on Oil and Gas Companies (Tax Incentives, Exemption, Remission, etc).

Explaining the objectives of the Presidential Directives, Ogbe canvassed that for Nigeria to deepen local content practice and grow the sector, it must eliminate premium margins charged by some service companies, stop frequent policy changes and ensure that final investment decisions (FIDs) are signed regularly, to catalyze new projects. He recommended that at least one or two FIDs should be signed at the annual oil and gas conferences, to create activities in the sector.

He further provided details on the Presidential Directives and the Board’s actions, noting that the PD on Local Content Compliance addressed issues pertaining to NCDMB, while the PD on Reduction of Petroleum Sector Contracting Cost and Timelines referred to NCDMB and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company and its investment arm, the NNPC Upstream Investment Services (NUIS).

He added that NCDMB is working to support oil firms to accelerate their projects and take advantage of the incentives provided by the PD on Oil and Gas Companies (Tax Incentives, Exemption, Remission, etc).

He informed that the PDs reduced the period for concluding oil and gas contracts from 180 days to six months, while it also revised the Contracting Timelines in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) the Board had signed with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd and international operating companies in September 2023 and reduced the number of days allotted to NCDMB on the cycle.

He said that the Board was mandated to develop templates to collapse its touchpoints on the contracting cycle to enhance the business environment within the provisions of the law.

The Board has reduced its touchpoints from nine to five for open tenders and selective tenders,while retaining only four touchpoints for single source contract.

He stated that another goal of the Presidential Directive is to eliminate intermediaries with no demonstrable capacity and to develop structured processes to determine, verify and document in-country capacities and capabilities.

He added that the Board has adopted robust pre-qualification and technical evaluation process, policy revisions to provide clarity on in-country value addition for OEM representatives and in-country capacity audit every two years.

Another objective of the PD is to target global benchmarks. For this, he noted that NCDMB is proposing the co-creation of tender cost templates/tariffs, the promotion of joint venture of local/foreign service companies, the adoption of robust waiver management system by the Board and conveyor belt of at least two final investment decision (FID) per year.

The workshop featured technical presentations and interactions and the participants thanked NCDMB for providing a platform for stakeholders to make constructive inputs into the industry’s operating guidelines.

Mohammed Shosanya

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), with its joint venture (JV) partners, Thursday unveiled world-class engineering design studios and an information and communication technology (ICT) hub at the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO).

The facilities were conceived and donated in furtherance of the Nigerian Content Human Capacity Development (HCD) programme which had focused lately on institutional strengthening, equipping universities and revamping select technical and vocational schools across the country, in a bid to develop competent technical manpower and craftsmen needed in the oil and gas industry and the linkage sectors,a statement.

The new facilities include two state-of-the-art Engineering Design Studios and a fully furnished 100-seater Main ICT Lecture Hall, equipped with computers and smartboards. The studios are designed to serve as a “visually stimulating collaborative workspace that fosters an environment where students can engage in group work, brainstorming sessions, and ideation meetings.”

Other facilities are a 200KVA diesel generator, diesel storage tank, generator house, borehole, overhead water tank, perimeter mesh wire fence, a car park, as well as shallow drains and landscaping.

Speaking at the ceremony,the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, said the studios and hubs were initiated in furtherance of the Federal Government’s aspirations for development of competent technical manpower to support activities in the oil and gas industry and its linkage sectors.

The impartation of specialised skills through expansion and modernisation of academic infrastructure, he noted, has to be accelerated.

According to the NCDMB boss, who was represented by the Board’s Director in charge of capacity building, Dr. Ama Ikuru, “We shall keep enhancing institutional capacity to equip our students with the requisite knowledge and skills needed to compete globally in the wake of the 4th industrial revolution where Artificial Intelligence, data science, Internet of Things, robotics dominate.”

Recalling several interventions by the NCDMB in academic institutions to boost acquisition of contemporary skills, Engr. Ogbe said, “the Board has carried out the upgrade of many vocational schools and universities under its Technical and Vocational Education and Training Centres (TVETs) upgrade programme” and that it believes in “the significance of education particularly the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) courses”

In his address, the Managing Director and Country Chair of SPDC, Mr. Osagie Okunbor, described the Engineering Design Studio and ICT Hub as a “very important human capital development project” that has resulted from a fruitful collaboration between SPDC, JV partners, notably, NNPCL, SPDC, TotalEnergies, Nigeria Agip Oil Company (NAOC), and NCDMB.

Represented by the General Manager, External Relations, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) Igo Weli, Okunbor disclosed that FUTO was “selected to benefit from institutional strengthening in the catchment areas of SPDC’s Assa North Ohaji South Gas Development Project” and that the facility was in line with the associated Nigerian Content Human Capacity Development Plan” and “in accordance with the provisions of the NOGICD [Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development] Act, 2010 and NCDMB’s HCD Guidelines of 2020.”

He promised that “A 40KW solar system will be installed in the coming weeks to ensure sustainable energy supply” to the facility.

The Chief Upstream Investment Officer, NNPCL Upstream Investment Management Services, Mr. Bala M. Wunti, observed that “Innovation thrives in an environment where ideas can be freely exchanged and developed,” adding that “The Engineering Studio and ICT Hub is designed to be such a place where students, researchers, and faculty can collaborate on projects, share knowledge, and push the boundaries of what is possible.”.

Represented by the Senior Advisor Stakeholders Relations, Mrs. Halimat Wilson, the NNPC top official stated that the true impact of the facility would be measured by the success stories that emerge from it.

The State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodinma, represented by the Commissioner for Digital Economy and E-Government, Dr. Chimezie Amadi, thanked Shell and its partners and the NCDMB for providing the State with what he described as vital digital infrastructure.

He said the facility would serve as a centre for innovation and creativity that would contribute to the development of the state.

Earlier in a welcome address, the FUTO Vice Chancellor, Professor (Mrs.) Nnenna Nnannaya Oti, said the facility “aligns with the critical mandate of the University, to jumpstart national development through indigenous technology-based teaching pedagogy that emphasises practical knowledge, innovations and problem solving.”

She expressed appreciation to the Managing Director and Country Chair of Shell, the Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, and the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, among others, “for making such a landmark donation” to the University.

Mohammed Shosanya

The Federal Government,has directed the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and Liquefied Petroleum Gas producers to stop exporting Liquefied Petroleum Gas produced in the country.

The action which is geared to arrest the spiralling cost of the product,is expected to take effect on November 1,this year,according to the Minister of State Petroleum Resources (Gas),Ekperikpe  Ekpo.

Ekpo,gave the directive  on Tuesday in Abuja at a meeting with stakeholders to address the skyrocketing price  of Liquefied Petroleum Gas,otherwise known as cooking gas,and its attendant hardship on Nigerians.

He also directed the Nigerian Midstream Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA),to engage stakeholders to create a domestic LPG pricing framework within 90 days.

He maintained that indexing price to cost of in-country production, rather than the current practice of indexing against external markets,such as the Americas and Far East Asia, whereas the commodity is produced in-country and the Nigerian people are required to pay much higher price for an essential commodity the country is naturally endowed with.

According to him,within 12 months, facilities will be developed to blend, store, and deliver LPG, ending exports until the market achieves sufficiency and price stability.

He said his directives are a step towards addressing the inherent challenges and ensuring Nigerians have access to affordable cooking gas.

He added:“The new measures aim to improve availability and ensure affordability to protect Nigerians from the economic hardship caused by LPG price hike”.

The Minister had established a  committee in November 2023, led by the Authority Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Mr. Farouk Ahmed, and comprising key stakeholders in the LPG value chain.

But prices have continued to fluctuate, recently soaring to N1,500 from an average of N1,100 – N1,250 per kg,despite the efforts of the committee to reduce the cost of the product. 

Mohammed Shosanya

Seplat Energy Plc,has announced that the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has confirmed  that consent has been granted by the Honourable Minister of Petroleum Resources in Nigeria, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to proceed with the acquisition of the entire issued share capital of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (‘MPNU’)

The company conveyed this in a statement on Tuesday.

“Seplat Energy sincerely thanks His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, for granting this approval, and appreciates the support and diligence of the various Ministries and regulators for all the work on this Transaction”,it added