PETROLEUM EXPLORATIONISTS SEEK REVIEW OF PRODUCTION SHARING CONTRACTS

Geologists and geophysicists under the aegis of the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE) have asked the Federal Government to review the fiscal terms of Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs) for the mutual benefit of both the government and the operators.

This recommendation was part of the communiqué of NAPE’s pre-conference workshop held recently in Lagos with the theme “Survival Strategies for Petroleum Exploration and Exploitation in a Challenging Environment”

Read more @ Thisdaylive

OPERATORS SEEK NIGERIA LNG MODEL FOR FUNDING JOINT VENTURE PROJECTS

Executives of some exploration and production (E&P) have advocated for the adoption of the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) model for funding joint venture projects by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and some local and international oil companies operating in the country

Read more @ Thisday Online

BAYELSA, ERA THREATEN LEGAL ACTION OVER AZUZUAMA OIL SPILL TRAGEDY

Consistent trend of explosions leading to needless deaths has trailed the company’s operations, hence the need for the Federal and state government to set up an investigative panel to review its operations as well as its spill contingency plans and protocols, which have so far put production and profit at the fore and left safety in the back seat.

FOLLOWING the incident that occurred during a clean up exercise by Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) that left the 14 persons killed on July 9, 2015, the Bayelsa State government and Environmental Rights

Read more @ The Guardian

SHELL, CHEVRON CONCLUDE SALE OF FOUR OIL BLOCKS

Shell, Chevron and their joint venture partners have finally concluded the sale of their stakes in Oil Mining Leases (OMLs) 71, 72, 83 and 85 to a Nigerian independent company – First Exploration & Petroleum Development Company Limited (First E&P) – after a year's delay arising from the lack of ministerial consent to seal the deals

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UNIVERSAL ENERGY ANNOUNCES COMMERCIAL OIL PRODUCTION AT STUBB CREEK

Universal Energy Resources Ltd (“Universal Energy”) is pleased to announce the commencement of crude oil production from its Stubb Creek Field in Akwa Ibom State, following approval to embark on delivery of oil through Exxon Mobil’s Qua Iboe Terminal, which came on-stream in early February 2015.

 

With this achievement, Universal Energy has joined the league of marginal oil field producing companies in Nigeria, having successfully completed the construction of an Early Production Facility and building of the necessary 23 km pipeline from the Stubb Creek Field to Exxon Mobil’s Qua Iboe Terminal to enable evacuation and delivery. Commercial oil production from the Stubb Creek Field is at an initial gross rate of 2,000 bpd with plans to increase the processing capacity to 8,000 bpd.

 

Commenting on this milestone, Bassey Umoh, Managing Director, Universal Energy, said Universal Energy has achieved a major milestone in the long term development plan for the Stubb Creek Field; that is first oil from this marginal field. The marginal field round was executed with the aim of enabling domestic companies to bring smaller marginal fields on-stream and we are proud to have achieved this.

 

 

As a team, Universal Energy wishes to ‎express sincere appreciation and thanks to everyone who provided support and significantly contributed to the successful completion of the Stubb Creek Early Production Facility Project in Unyenge, Mbo Local Government Area; from conceptualisation, through to development and achieving first oil delivery. Particular thanks to our esteemed Board Chairman and Members, Seven Energy International Limited (which owns 62.5% equity interest in Universal Energy), other shareholders, our Joint Venture Technical Partner - Sinopec International Petroleum Exploration & Production Company (Nigeria) Ltd and the current Universal Energy management team and our retired and serving staff. We also value the immense contribution of Universal Energy project team and the numerous contractors, suppliers and vendors that have all played a part in the accomplishment of this goal in the development journey of the Stubb Creek Field.

 

Universal Energy appreciates the support of the Federal Government of Nigeria and its functionaries, the Akwa Ibom State Government, relevant Government Regulatory Agencies including Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Federal Ministry of Environment (FMEN), Federal Ministry of Trade and Industry (FMTI), Nigerian National Petroleum Cooperation (NNPC) Commercial Division, Nigeria Content Development Management Board (NCDMB), as well as Nigeria Security Agencies. Lastly but most importantly, we would like to commend our host communities in Akwa Ibom State for their support in creating a conducive environment for our operations and granting us access to operate in the immediate and outer communities.

 

We would like to offer our assurance that Universal Energy will continue to uphold the Industry Best Practices while carrying out its operations and in accordance with the Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. 

 

For more information on Seven Energy

SHELL INTRODUCES COMMUNITY HEALTH INSURANCE

Shell’s deepwater subsidiary in Nigeria, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company, says it has extended its Community Health Insurance Scheme to Anambra State, with the recent inauguration of the initiative at the Iyi-Enu Mission Hospital.

 

The scheme, in a statement by the firm on Sunday, was being executed in partnership with the Anambra State Government, the Idemili CHIS Board, and two Health Maintenance Organisations – Proserve and Avon.

Read more @ PunchOnline

GOVT RECEIVES N9.6 TRILLION FROM SHELL IN FOUR YEARS

The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) paid $48 billion (N9.6 trillion) revenues to the Nigerian government from 2010 to 2014.

Also, the company paid $3 billion (N600 billion) share of royalties and taxes to the Nigerian government in 2014, with $1.8 billion from SPDC and $1.2 billion from Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company SNEPCo in the year under review.

Read more @ Guardian

LOCAL OIL FIRMS' PRODUCTION HITS 300,000BPD

Indigenous players in the exploration and production (E&P) value chain of the oil and gas industry account for 300,000 out of the about 2.2 million barrels (bbls) of oil produced daily in the country.

The daily production, according to data, is supposed to be between 2.4 million barrels and 2.5 million barrels per day (bpd), but owing to vandalism and oil theft, the volume sometimes drops to 2.1 million bpd.

Read more @ The Nation

FG EARNS N9.4TN FROM SHELL IN FIVE YEARS

Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited paid to the Federal Government a total of $48bn (N9.46tn) in royalties and taxes from 2010 to 2014, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, the parent company of the SPDC, has said.

 

The oil major, in its ‘Sustainability Report 2014’ released on Friday, said its share of royalties and taxes paid to the government in 2014 was $3bn (SPDC, $1.8bn and Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company, $1.2bn

 

Read more @ Punch Online

SAHARA GROUP ADVANCES ACTIVITY ON OIL BLOCK OPL 274

Sahara Group’s Upstream Company said it is making good progress with its activities in oil prospecting lease (OPL) 274, an asset it has a 100 per cent working interest. It is also pressing forward to optimise opportunities in the block where it has achieved first oil.

The firm last year doubled its certified Proved plus Probable (2P) reserves in the Oki-Oziengbe South field in Edo State, making a new commercial discovery with the Oluegi-1 exploration well.

Read more @ The Nation

168,000 FISHERMEN AFFECTED BY 2011 BONGA SPILL – MONARCH

No fewer than 168,000 fishermen in 350 communities of Bayelsa and Delta states were affected by the 2011 Bonga oil spills. In 2011, an oil spill from Bonga offshore, operated by Shell Nigeria Production and Exploration Company, left the communities devastated.

 

The Paramount Ruler of Olobia community in Koluama, Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, Chief Howells Levi, said in an interview on Monday in Yenagoa that fishermen were mostly impacted by the spills.

 

Read more @ Punch Online

EXPLORATION, DRILLING ACTIVITIES IN PETROLEUM SECTOR HIT RECORD LOW

Nigeria’s oil and gas sector is facing low exploration and drilling activities as only two companies are currently engaged in activities in the industry, according to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

This may be as a result of the non-passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) and the uncertainty in the crude oil market. Specifically, as at November and December last year, only Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) and Addax carried out exploration/drilling activities during the months under review.

Read more @ The Guardian

OIL, GAS EXPLORATION COSTS SET TO FALL 33%, SAYS WOOD MACKENZIE

As oil and gas industry operators adjust to the low oil price environment with exploration budget cuts in 2015 expected to average 30 per cent, a new report by Wood Mackenzie suggests that the cost of exploration in the sector will slump by 33 per cent by 2016.

In its report “Upstream cost deflation: how much could costs of exploration fall?”, Wood Mackenzie stated that exploration deflation will average 33 per cent by 2016, comprising three global elements that are locally compounded by favourable exchange rate moves.

 

Read more @ Thisdaylive

UNLOCKING POTENTIALS IN SUB-SAHARA AFRICA

 

Accra (Ghana), March 17, 2015 – With more than 4,200 oil and gas blocks identified, Africa is the last true oil and gas frontier. About half of these blocks are open, subject to force majeure. More than 80% of the 1,300 blocks in North Africa are licensed, while in sub-Saharan Africa, it is estimated that only about 30% of 2,900 blocks are licensed. In the sub-Saharan regions, it is evident that many new opportunities still exist, especially for the exploration and production (E&P) companies that are willing to take risks.

 

In realization of these inherent opportunities in the sub - region, the maiden edition of the Sub-Sahara Africa Upstream Oil & Gas Summit & Exhibition has been scheduled to hold in Accra, Ghana from 1st - 3rd April 2015 with theme “Unlocking Potentials in sub-Sahara Africa Upstream Oil & Gas”. The summit is organized by Zenith Professional Training (ZPT), a firm with several years’ of building oil and gas capac­ity through industry specialized training.

The Summit and exhibition, in its maiden edition is aimed at bringing to the fore the intricacies of the oil and gas sector, the potentials of the industry and the sizable share of global reserves and resources deposited in Nigeria, Ghana and other oil-producing countries in the Sub-Saharan African region.

Issues to be discussed range from cross-border matters, particularly for stakeholder licenses, financial instruments for marginal fields, local content drive, to security and safety in extractive industries and sustainable management of resources. Beyond discussions, the event affords participants the opportunity to showcase their organization’s brand and products, launch company’s new products and services, increase product awareness across the Sub-Saharan African region, face to face contact with potential clients and clients’ customers as well as networking with key decision makers.

It is expected that the summit and exhibition will attract many key industry players from across Africa and beyond. The exhibition will provide a veritable opportunity for established Exploration & Production Companies, Marginal Field Companies, State Governments, Government Agencies, Legal & Financial Services Providers, Exploration, Production & Processing Technology Manufacturers, Exploration, Production & Processing Service Companies, services providers, equipment manufacturers and new entries to interact and showcase their potentials.

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NIGERIA RECORDS ZERO OIL EXPLORATION IN FOUR MONTHS

Between July and October this year, there was no single case of crude oil exploration in the country.

Between January and June this year, the country recorded five exploration activities in the upstream half of the petroleum industry, according to the Department of Petroleum Resources

Read more @ The Punch

$150B PROJECTS MAY SUFFER SETBACK

THE effects of the dwindling crude oil prices may have continued to hit hard on the global oil industry as indications emerged that several oil and gas exploration projects worth about $150 billion are likely to be put on hold next year.

Although, Nigeria is not listed among the impacted projects, there were indications that the sliding prices and regulatory uncertainties in the sector have affected major industry initiatives in the country.

Read more @ The Guardian

700 BENEFIT FROM TOTAL’S FREE MEDICAL SERVICE IN RIVERS

About 700 people from communities in Ogba/Egbema/Andoni Local Government Areas (ONELGA) of Rivers State are beneficiaries of the ongoing free medical services organised by oil giant, Total Exploration and Production Nigeria (TEPNG) Limited.

About 3,000 people are expected to be the eventual beneficiaries as the five-day programme comes to an end today in Total’s OML-58 host communities.

Read more @ Nigerian Tribune

BONGA OIL SPILL: HOUSE ORDERS SHELL TO PAY $3.6BN FINE

The House of Representatives has directed Shell Nigerian Exploration Company (SNEPCo) to pay the sum of $3.6 billion or N604.832 billion for the damage caused by oil spill from its equipment failure almost four years ago  in Bayelsa State

The House Committee on Environment gave the directive during an investigative public hearing on Wednesday, citing the breakdown of an independent value analysis it adopted, which totalled N63.6 billion, payable for direct losses (irreversible damages) the community incurred.

Read more @ Thisday Live

JONATHAN INTERVENES AS OIL WORKERS’ULTIMATUM EXPIRES TODAY

President Goodluck Jonathan has ordered a quick resolution of the crisis in the oil and gas industry to avert the planned strike by workers.

The workers, under the aegis of the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), had issued a 14-day ultimatum after their joint National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Abuja on October 31, over alleged sack of members by Total Exploration and Production (TOTAL E&P).

Read more @ New Telegraph

TOTAL CONSTRUCTS 95KM PIPELINE TO BOOST GAS COMMERCIALISATION

Nigeria’s gas commercialisation is set to receive a boost following the ongoing construction of two major gas pipelines by Total Exploration and Production (E&P) Nigeria.

The projects are the 50km Northern Option Pipe Line otherwise known as (NOPL) and the 45km traversing the Obite, Ubeta and Rumuji (OUR) pipelines.

Read more @ Leadership