Category: Nigeria

This is extraordinary. Remember all those dire things that were supposed to happen when Peak Oil hit? All the stuff in The Long Emrgency? Cars queuing up for miles to buy petrol, public transportation jacking up rates, cell phones not working, banks closing their doors, planes grounded for lack of fuel, supermarkets stripped bare, scalpers selling gas in jerry-cans, factories shutting down, stations going off the air, people losing their jobs, political disorder, human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria… Turns out all of it is happening…In Nigeria: Nigeria is facing a prolonged fuel-supply crisis that is taking a severe toll on the country’s economy, living conditions, and basic services, reports say. The shortage in Africa’s leading oil producer has forced an increasing number of drivers in Lagos to stop using their personal vehicles, but prices for commuters on public transport have more than doubled. Black market […]

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Hawkers sell gasoline in Abuja, Nigeria, on Monday. The country has been experiencing a severe scarcity of fuel. (Deji Yake / European Pressphoto Agency) Nigeria’s gasoline scarcity was resolved Monday, but only after the shortages had damaged the economy, canceled or diverted commercial flights, shut down radio stations and put mobile phone networks at risk. With incoming President Muhammadu Buhari set to be sworn in Friday, the opposition All Progressives Congress accused outgoing President Goodluck Jonathan of sabotaging the new administration. Buhari faces high expectations and myriad problems, including a government financial crisis partly caused by the fall in oil prices, a battle against the militant group Boko Haram in the country’s northeast, electricity outages, widespread corruption and poor infrastructure. In the final days of Jonathan’s term, the country has also faced dire gasoline shortages and millions in unpaid wages of government workers. The gasoline shortage began before the March election that […]

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Nigerian oil worker unions at state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and Nigerian Petroleum Development Company have called off a strike that shut about 100,000 b/d of production for a week, union and company officials said late Monday. The Pengassan and Nupeng unions started the strike May 18 to protest the transfer by the government of the operatorship of onshore oil block OML 42, sold by Shell to local firm Neconde. "Since the strike has been called off, other necessary things will follow," a NPDC spokesman said, referring to the restart of oil production at shut fields, without giving further details. Article continues below… For over 100 years Platts has been at the forefront of pricing and news in the energy markets. Today, we publish the essential information that you need to navigate the rapidly evolving commodity markets that Africa plays a key part in. Here you will find a […]

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Nigeria’s energy crisis deteriorated Monday, as the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), the government agency responsible for regulating operations in the electricity sector, reported that only five of the country’ 23 power plants are currently functional. By implication, Nigerians would now have to contend with a biting fuel supply crisis, which has almost grounded the economy for months, and lack of electricity to power. On Friday, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Power, Godknows Igali, had during a meeting with outgoing Vice-President, Namadi Sambo, in Abuja raised the alarm over the epileptic supply of electricity across the country. Mr. Igali, in the company of the Minister of Power, Chinedu Nebo, said the country’s dwindling electricity supply took a further nosedive to unprecedented all-time low level of 1,327 megawatts (MW) from the 4,800 MW level attained recently. He attributed the damning situation to the epileptic performance of most key power […]

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By Abel Orukpe, Tunde Opeseitan, Emma Nzomiwu, Chukwujekwu Ilozue And Temidayo Akinsuyi The lingering fuel crises caused by the refusal of oil marketers to lift and supply petroleum products until their demand for payment of oil subsidy is met by the federal government, appear to have affected virtually every sector of the Nigerian economy. Judicial activities at the various courts in Lagos were halted as those who managed to sit adjourned abruptly. In Enugu State, all the roads were deserted as the exorbitant cost of petrol forced motorists who could not afford to pay N200 per litre to either abandon their vehicles and trek or use commercial means of transportation. Also in Anambra State, business and social activities were almost shut down due to the crises. The price of petrol as at yesterday is said to have risen to between N180 to N250 per litre. Unfortunately, Mega stations from […]

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By Drew Hinshaw And Patrick McGroarty LAGOS, Nigeria–The most oil-rich nation in Africa nearly ran out of gas this week. Airlines grounded flights because they couldn’t find jet fuel in recent days, and gas stations nearly all closed down. The companies licensed to restock Nigeria’s fuel depots refused to do so, saying the government here–defeated in an election in March–owed them more than $1 billion. The result was the worst fuel shortage here since a 1993 military coup, one that could echo for weeks in Africa’s top economy. Television stations, banks, and cellphone towers all went offline. Doctors worried their emergency rooms would go dark, and several soldiers in the north said they considered halting their pursuit of Boko Haram and the women the Islamist terrorist group has kidnapped. Late Monday, the shortage ended, when Nigeria’s government agreed to look into the debts it owed. On Tuesday, gas stations […]

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The senate has intervened in the ongoing fuel crisis in the country leading to a commitment from all critical stakeholders to pave way for the lifting of fuel in the next six hours. This resolution was reached at the Senate inquest into the fuel crisis organised by the Senate Joint Committee on Petroleum Upstream and Downstream. LEADERSHIP recalls that sequel to a resolution of the Senate last week mandating its committees on petroleum resources (Upstream and Downstream) to investigate the persistent fuel scarcity in the country, the committees summoned the coordinating minister for the economy and finance minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and her petroleum ministry counterpart, Diezani Alison-Madueke, over the scarcity. Also invited by the joint committee, the group managing director of the NNPC, managing director, PPMC, director DPR, PPPRA, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) , Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) and National Association of Road […]

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By Obafemi Oredein Special to DOW JONES NEWSWIRES IBADAN, Nigeria–A severe shortage of petroleum products in Nigeria could shutdown the country’s cocoa industry, officials, traders and exporters said Monday. The nationwide shortage, now entering its fourth week, has affected the operations of commercial banks, telecommunication companies and the other key sectors of the economy. Commercial banks in Nigeria normally close at 4 pm local time, but a shortage of gasoline and diesel used to run generators is forcing them to shut earlier than normal. "If banks close down now, cocoa business is off," Monday Awulu, a senior official at Saro Agro Allied Ltd., a major cocoa exporting company in Nigeria, told Dow Jones Newswires. He said the severe petrol shortage didn’t have a major impact on the movement of cocoa, "but if diesel becomes difficult then cocoa movement becomes difficult as most of the vehicles we use are diesel-powered." […]

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A man carries jerrycans to search for fuel in Lagos, Nigeria, on May 21. ENLARGE Photo: Agence France-Presse/Getty Images LAGOS, Nigeria—Nigerian airlines grounded flights on Saturday and radio stations were silenced, as a monthslong fuel shortage aggravated by striking oil-tanker drivers worsened in Africa’s biggest oil producer. Vehicles also were grounded. Normally bustling roads in Lagos, a metropolis of 20 million, were half-empty and gas stations closed on Saturday. One station owner said he had fuel, but strikers were threatening to set fire to any stations selling it. He insisted on anonymity for fear of reprisals. Police were arresting black marketers selling fuel at roadsides at four times the regulated 87 naira (40 cents) a liter. Meanwhile, radio stations went dead on Saturday night, including Classic FM, The Beat and City FM, hit by frequent power outages and out of diesel fuel for generators. Confusion reigned at bus stations […]

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Nigerians are sitting in long lines to purchase fuel for their cars and generators at high prices as the energy crisis in the country worsens. By Benrard Tolani Dada, Isaiah Benjamin, Juliet Alohan, Nnamdi Mbawike, Osa Okhomina The strike embarked upon by workers in the oil sector under the aegis of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) over federal government’s transfer of the operatorship of Oil Mining Lease (OML) 42 to indigenous firms have resulted in a near collapse of business and commercial activities nationwide. The development is further compounded by the ongoing industrial action also embarked upon by the National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) and the Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) who have refused to lift petroleum products from the coastal depots in protest of the huge amounts owed them by […]

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