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.

Read more @ Vanguard Online

PIRATES KIDNAP OIL WORKERS, KILL POLICEMEN

Attacks by pirates in the creeks of the Niger Delta since last Thursday has left three policemen dead and at least nine people abducted, security officials have said.

Most of those kidnapped were local workers in the oil industry, where piracy in the surrounding waterways and seas is on the rise again after a brief lull, bucking a global trend that has seen pirate attacks fall elsewhere, according to Reuters

Read more @ The Punch

NAVY INTENSIFIES WAR AGAINST OIL THEFT

PORT HARCOURT—Nigerian Navy has intensified its crusade against oil theft in the Niger Delta region  with an approach  it termed “choke points” strategy.

Flag Officer Commanding Naval Training Command, Rear Admiral Goddy Ayankpele, yesterday, during a facility tour of the Nigeria Navy Basic Training School, Onne, Rivers State, said they were recording huge success with the new strategy.

Read more @ Vanguard

CRUDE OIL THEFT THREATENS GLOBAL PEACE - UDUAGHAN

THE persistence of crude oil theft in the Niger Delta region where over 400,000 barrels per day are stolen may threaten world peace and democracy if concerted action is not taken to curb it, Governor of Delta State, Dr. Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan, has said.


Speaking at an African Business Roundtable-organized workshop on combating emerging threats held on the sidelines of the ongoing United Nations General Assembly in New York, Uduaghan explained that with 90 per cent of the stolen oil exported, the cash return is enough to empower individuals and organizations engaged in the theft to destabilise democracies in the West African sub-region.

Read more @ The Guardian

INDIGENOUS FIRMS BOOST NIGERIA’S MARGINAL FIELD PRODUCTION

The contribution of indigenous firms to oil and gas production and reserves in Nigeria through marginal fields awarded to them in the first licensing round has grown in recent times, adding pressure on the government to expedite action on the next bid round.
More indigenous oil firms are seen as positioned to boost Nigeria’s stagnant production and reserves, as the next marginal field bid round is eagerly anticipated to come on stream sooner than later.

“Without necessarily ranging them, I can count five indigenous oil companies that are poised to grow in the upstream sector. They include Energia, Platform, Seplat, Niger Delta Resources, Waltersmith, and Emerald,” Wumi Iledare, president, International Association for Energy Economics, told BusinessDay

Read more @ Businessday

SEVEN ENERGY’S $600M GAS PLANT GOES LIVE

Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan, on Thursday commissioned a N90 billion ($600m) gas processing facility at Uquo in Akwa Ibom State located in Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger-Delta region.

The Uquo Field was one of the 24 marginal fields awarded in 2003 to indigenous companies by Nigeria’s Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) as part of the government’s Marginal Field Programme aimed at increasing reserves, production, employment, local content and indigenous participation in the upstream oil and gas sector.

Owned by Accugas Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of indigenous company Seven Energy International Limited headquartered in Lagos and London. The gas plant commenced gas deliveries in early 2014 to the 190 megawatts (MW) Ibom Power Station.

Read more @ Ventures Africa

NNPC’s restructuring stalls NPDC’s MoU with host communities

The shake up in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and its exploration and production arm, the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), has stalled the  signing of Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMoU) between the NPDC and  the host communities from which it acquired Shell’s divested assets in the Niger Delta region.


A source told The Nation that arrangements had been concluded for the signing of the understanding with the communities before August 8, unfortunately, the Group Managing Director of NNPC, AndrewYakubu was removed while the NPDC’s Managing Director, Victor Iyowuna Briggs and top management staff of the corporation were also redeployed on August 1.

Read more @ The Nation