FUEL IMPORTS GULP N958.3 BILLION IN FIVE MONTHS

Nigeria spent N958.3 billion importing Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, in five months. The amount could build five 20,000-barrels-per-day mini refineries, industry experts, who argued that one of such refineries would cost government between $75 million and $250 million, said yesterday. In naira terms, higher expenditure on petrol imports gives impression of worsening foreign exchange position for the country and emphasizes the need to activate the country’s four idle refineries, Francis Ogbimi, a Professor of Technology Management at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife said.

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NNPC, SHELL, BANKS SIGN $2.2BN DEAL FOR CONTRACTORS

Shell, supported by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, has signed Memoranda of Understanding with eight local banks under the refreshed Shell Contractors’ Support Fund. The oil major, in a statement on Sunday, described the development as the latest milestone in efforts to improve access to finance for Nigerian vendors and suppliers in the oil and gas industry. It said under the MoUs signed in Lagos, Access Bank, Skye Bank, Zenith Bank, Stanbic IBTC Bank, First Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, First City Monument Bank and Guaranty Trust Bank had set aside $2.2bn for contract execution by Nigerian firms.

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NNPC MAY ADJUST PETROL PUMP PRICE ON FALLING CARGO RATES

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) may undertake a downward review of the pump price of petrol in its retail outlets across the country. It was gathered yesterday that this was possible from a reported consistent drop in the historical price of petroleum cargoes from about $600 per metric tonne to an average of $440 per metric tonne. NNPC had recently adjusted the pump price of petrol at its outlets, thus raising fears of a possible hike. The development also followed claims in August by its former Group Managing Directors that the government’s pricing modulation framework was not economical for the downstream petroleum business.

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FG YET TO TAKE DECISION ON NNPC’S PUBLIC LISTING

The Federal Government has not taken a precise decision on the proposed listing of the stocks of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) or any other stock exchange. According to authoritative sources within the ministry of petroleum resources, the proposal to list the stocks of NNPC on the exchange after its restructuring as contained in a new draft national oil policy has not yet been approved by the government.

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WE’LL RESIST SALE OF NNPC STAKE – OIL WORKERS

Oil workers on Sunday declared that they would resist any attempt by the Federal Government to sell some of its stake in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation. The Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources released a draft policy document on the reform of the oil sector late on Thursday in which it proposed the sale of some of its stake in the national oil firm. Reuters reported on Friday that the country had been mulling the sale of oil assets to raise foreign exchange as a slump in vital oil revenues was eroding the budget.

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INVESTMENTS IN NIGERIA’S OIL SECTOR DECLINE TO N78B

Capital importation into Nigeria’s oil and gas sector has declined from the $200 million (N90 billion) from the second quarter of 2016 to $172 million (N78 billion) in 3rd quarter, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). But this decline has been attributed to uncertainty in the country’s oil and gas sector occasioned by insecurity, delay in the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) and delay in meeting contractual obligations in the services industry.
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NNPC WILL CEASE TO EXIST IN TWO YEARS

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) will cease to exist in about two years time, as a result of sweeping reforms contained in the draft National Oil Policy which has been presented to stakeholders for their input. This is however subject to the approval of the National Assembly.

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NIGERIA’S OIL SECTOR NEEDS N7B YEARLY INVESTMENT

The Nigerian oil and gas sector requires about $7 billion capital investment yearly, to fund exploration and development to achieve the nation’s crude production targets, according to Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC). Besides, Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), also put the expected oil upstream investment requirements from 2016 to 2040 at $7.4 trillion).

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TOTAL, PETROBRAS PARTNER ON AKPO FIELD, OTHERS

Total and Petrobras have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) towards a strategic alliance covering upstream and downstream activities in Nigeria and other countries including Brazil. According to the terms of the agreement both companies both companies will collaborate in some key areas of mutual interest and evaluate opportunities in Brazil, as well as abroad to jointly benefit from their respective experience in all segments of the oil and gas value chain.

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RECESSION: WE’RE PAYING FOR PAST MISTAKES, SAYS BUHARI

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday blamed the harsh economic situation currently faced by Nigerians on the mistakes the country made in the past. Buhari noted that though the country was blessed with numerous resources, it allowed herself to be confined to a mono economy by paying too much attention on petroleum to the detriment of viable cash crops like cocoa, groundnut, palm oil, palm kernel and hides and skin.

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BARGE, EQUIPMENT SINK IN FAILED ATTACK ON NPDC PIPELINE IN DELTA

Hell bent on crippling the source of the oil revenue of the country, suspected militants again, in the early hours of yesterday, attempted to bomb the Trans Forcados 48” Export Trunk line in Batan community in Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State. Though the attack on the trunk line, operated by the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), was foiled by soldiers, the militants succeeded in sinking a barge with equipment used for repair work on the line.

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GAS PRODUCERS KICK AGAINST JV CASH CALL OBLIGATION

Stakeholders in the Nigeria gas sector have emphasised the need for the Federal Government to desist from Joint Venture (JV) funding, which gulped over $3.09 billion in the last one year. For example, Nigeria’s total export crude oil and gas receipt for the period of September 2015 to August, 2016 stood at $3.21 billion, out of which the $3.09 billion was transferred to JV Cash Call in line with 2015/2016 Approved Budget and the balance of $0.073 billion was paid to Federation Account.

Already, current cash call indebtedness of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), JVs, has risen to well over $6 billion.

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NIGERIA’S PIPELINE BREAKS DROP TO 221 POINTS IN AUGUST

The Federal Government’s efforts in tackling the issue of pipelines vandalism have shown remarkable progress, as disruption of oil flow dropped to 221 in August, down from 311 points in July, according to the latest data from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). It disclosed that in August 2016, there was 28.94 per cent drop in the number of pipeline vandalised points relative to July, 2016. The Corporation stated in its August Monthly Financial Report (MFR), released, that the spate of pipeline vandalism in the country has shown remarkable improvement, following Federal Government and NNPC’s sustained engagements with the Niger Delta militants.

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FG REACHES SETTLEMENT WITH IOCS ON $5BN CASH CALL ARREARS

The federal government has reached an outline settlement to resolve a protracted dispute with five international oil companies (IOCs), under which the oil firms will be paid $5 billion as arrears of cash calls to cover exploration and production costs. Financial Times reported that Shell, ExxonMobil, Eni, Chevron and Total have signed deals relating to this settlement of costs incurred between 2010 and 2015, as they also seek to forge new financing arrangements for their joint ventures (JVs) in Nigeria.

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NEW GAS POLICY CREATES $51BN INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN SECTOR

Nigeria’s latest gas policy encapsulated in Ibe Kachikwu’s 7Big Wins has created $51 billion worth of investment opportunities in gas processing, transmission and general infrastructure in midstream and downstream operations of the sector. Nigeria’s epileptic power supply has created opportunities to build more power plants, as the current 22 have not assuaged energy needs.

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SENATE TO INTRODUCE OIL COMMUNITY DEVT BILL

The Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, has stated that the Senate will introduce a host community legislation to complement the Governance and Institutional Framework Bill of the revised Petroleum Industry Bill. The PIB passed second reading at the Senate on Wednesday. The Senate President said the legislation would address issues relating to community participation, security and the ecological debt incurred by host communities from oil extraction.

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REPS WARN AGAINST CONTINUOUS GAS FLARING IN NIGER DELTA

The House of Representatives, yesterday, warned oil companies operating in the Niger Delta region against continuous flaring of gas estimated at over $5 billion yearly from over 257 flow stations, saying it had subjected the lives of residents in the area to serious health hazards.

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NLNG BURDENED BY DOUBLE TAX, PIPELINE SECURITY ISSUES

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Nigeria LNG Limited, Tony Attah, has listed the challenges confronting the company to include operations of multiple regulatory agencies, pipeline security issues, and double taxation. Speaking during an oversight visit by the Senate Committee on Gas to the NLNG facility in Bonny, Atah disclosed that there were 19 recorded pipeline disruptions this year alone.

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OPEC'S OIL OUTPUT HITS NEW RECORD ON NIGERIA, LIBYA

Partial recovery in oil production capacity in Nigeria and Libya is likely to set another record high in October in OPEC’s oil output. The rise in output could add to scepticism about OPEC’s ability to finalise a plan agreed in September to limit supplies, a survey by Reuters said.

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NIGER DELTA LEADERS MEET BUHARI, DEMAND OIL BLOCS

President Muhammadu Buhari and some prominent leaders and stakeholders in the Niger Delta yesterday began to find lasting solutions to the crises in the oil-rich region. As part of the move, President Buhari hosted the leaders at the Presidential Villa where they demanded that they will be considered in the allocation and ownership of oil wells. The Niger Delta leaders specifically outlined a 16-point agenda which they presented to Buhari towards halting militancy in their area.

Read more @ The Guardian Online