Category: Nigeria

AN unconfirmed number of people have been killed in a pipeline fire that erupted at one of the local pipelines belonging to the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation NNPC in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. Residents said vandals who were siphoning fuel from one of the corporations damaged pipeline caused the fire explosion. The Chairman of Okrika local government area, where the incident took place, Tamuno Williams, confirmed the incident. “The fire incident is as a result of oil thieves who were siphoning oil from NNPC pipelines. As you can see, there is no management staff of the NNPC or persons you can say are in-charge of the corporations operations here. "The gates of the NNPC remain closed to visitors, so, we have not seen anybody that we can officially lay our complaints.” He berated the NNPC management for allegedly covering up accidents in their facilities. “Those who survived […]

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There is no better demonstration of how Nigerians suffer unduly on account of the padding of project costs by the International Oil Companies, IOCs, operating in the country than in the sudden request by the Nigerian unit of French oil giant, Total for a review of its Ofon 2 project. Total Exploration & Production Nigeria, TEPN, Financial Vanguard reliably gathered, is seeking additional $3.78billion to an existing $2.85billion originally proposed for the project. If approved, this will bring total costs for the project to $6.63billion, representing a whopping 132.6 per cent increase, a development that is giving the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, a majority partner in the Joint Venture, JV, grave concerns. While cost padding is not peculiar to Total, as it cuts across all the multinational operators, this particular review stands out as the price of crude per barrel is being estimated above the $77.5per barrel being […]

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Nigeria’s oil revenue fell about 9% month-on-month to Naira 474.88 billion ($2.9 billion) in April, due to disruption to oil production and exports at the Shell operated Forcados oil terminal and ExxonMobil’s export terminals, Nigeria’s finance ministry said Friday. "Oil revenue fell to about Naira 474.88 billion in April compared to about Naira 519.99 billion in March. The decline in revenue is due to production shut-in at the Qua Iboe and Yoho terminals as well as the shut down of Forcados," the ministry said in a statement. Consequently, Nigerian government revenue dropped to Naira 584.15 billion in April from Naira 614.35 billion in March. Oil accounts for more than 80% of Nigerian government revenue. But Nigeria’s crude production and exports have declined steadily over the last 12 months because of pipeline problems, production shut-ins and large-scale oil theft. Nigeria’s central bank estimated that the country’s oil production averaged 1.86 […]

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Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, announced on Thursday that the accounting firm – PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has been appointed to carry out the audit exercise on the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) over the alledge missing $20 billion. She spoke during a debate at the 24the edition of the World Economic Forum for Africa with theme: "Forging inclusive growth, creating jobs." Okonjo-Iweala said the exercise would be carried out within 16 weeks under the supervision of the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation. The suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, had blown the whistle on a missing $20 billion, which he claimed was not remitted to the federation account by the NNPC. Following the controversy generated by the revelation, Okonjo-Iweala said the forensic audit would help unravel all mystery surrounding the missing fund. "On the issue of holding government to account, […]

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The allegation of contract inflation in the oil and gas industry by oil firms, particularly, international oil companies (IOCs) operating in Nigeria is generating ripples in the sector, THISDAY investigations have revealed. Presidency sources hinted that top officials of multinational oil companies use their connections in the presidency to secure oil and gas contracts at very exorbitant rates, when compared to costs of executing similar projects in other parts of the world. It was gathered that the oil majors often bypass the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to get direct approval from the presidency on multi-billion dollar projects that were hitherto disapproved by the corporation because final costs of their execution were ridiculously high. A Canadian oil company operating in Nigeria was said to have recently submitted a tender for a multi-billion dollar project, for which the cost was far higher than what it takes to execute similar project […]

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Transnational Corp. of Nigeria Plc , which has interests ranging from agriculture to oil, said it will drill wells on its prospecting lease after signing a production-sharing deal with the state oil company. Transcorp paid $30 million for oil-prospecting lease 281, or OPL 281, following a sale by the Nigerian government in 2007. The lease holds an estimated 104 million barrels of oil reserves, 335 million barrels of probable additional reserves and about 4 trillion cubic feet of gas, the Lagos-based company said today in an e-mailed statement. “We are excited by this development and the opportunity to fully exploit the huge reserves and gas resources,” said company Chairman Tony Elumelu. “We will produce enough gas to run our Ughelli plant to its current installed capacity of 1,000 megawatt and expand this to over 3,000 megawatt in the near future.” Transcorp, 44 percent owned by Elumelu, was set up […]

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I drove into Mobil fuel station on International Airport Road, Lagos, sometime last week and after sitting on the rather long queue, it finally got to my turn. I alighted, opened the boot of the car and made to bring out a 25 litre jerry can that has become a permanent companion since this lingering fuel scarcity started about two months ago but the meter attendant shocked me by saying, ‘Oga, we nor dey sell for keg o. I asked why, he said, ‘dem dey raid us, task force people, so our manager say make we nor sell for keg again’." I was now very angry and told him I would not move my car unless he sells in the jerry can. I guess he saw the resolve in my eyes and after using his eyes to pan around the fuel station, probably to see if his manager was […]

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The oil industry in Nigeria, like every other sector, has its own peculiar problems. In fact, it has been said over and over again by those who have ample knowledge about Nigeria oil industry that the greatest theft in the industry across the world, takes place in Nigeria. According to statistics, as much as $8 billion a year is lost to oil thieves operating in Nigeria. The figure, a report said, is based on an claims that an average of 100,000 barrels a day (b/d) are stolen from the country’s oil industry, a figure some persons have said, is conservative. Another report, while looking at the major challenges and reasons why the illicit trade thrives, says Politicians, security forces, militants, oil-industry staff, oil traders and members of local communities, all profit from "bunkering" of oil, so few have interest in stopping it. Profits from the crude stealing, are laundered […]

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Some fifty-six years ago, Nigeria’s first barrel of crude oil made its uncertain entry into the global oil market. It was largely an event unnoticed. But with it, Nigeria put a knife to the string that bound it to the stake of poverty. It took a leap into that very desirable and rarefied realm of the dollar, petrodollar. The country’s vast forests of cocoa and palm trees, its pyramids of groundnuts rising like sculptured mountains into the sky and its extensive fields of cotton began their retreat as the wheels of fortune, oil fortune, rumbled on carrying Nigeria into the comity of nations blessed by God. Among the more than 40 countries on the face of the earth endowed with crude oil, there is none that does not have its refineries. Whereas Venezuela, a country the size of Lagos State in Nigeria and the ninth largest exporter of crude […]

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Shell Nigeria has said its Forcados oil export terminal remains closed, seven weeks after it was shut down to repair a sabotaged undersea pipeline.  Militants had claimed responsibility for the Continue Reading