Category: Nigeria

The Federal Government may soon commence the forensic audit of the accounts of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, as President Goodluck Jonathan has approved the engagement of reputable international firms to handle the exercise. The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Reuben Abati, who stated this in Abuja on Wednesday, said this was to reassure Nigerians that government was actually determined to unravel the truth and get to the root of the controversy. Mr. Abati said that contrary to claims by the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Lamido Sanusi that government was attempting to sweep the allegation of missing oil monies under the carpet, President Goodluck Jonathan was committed to ensuring that the relevant committees of the National Assembly investigated the issues to ensure that the culprits were brought to book. Mr. Abati was reacting to alleged claims by Mr. Sanusi […]

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The persistent fuel scarcity in the country is taking its toll on the residents of the Nigerian capital, Abuja, as transport fare has increased by between 50 and 100 per cent. A correspondent the News Agency of Nigeria who went round some parts of the territory in Abuja on Monday, reports that worst hit are civil servants and traders who waited endlessly at their various bus stops without much hope of getting vehicles. Motorists, who managed to get the product after several hours of queuing at fuel stations, transferred the burden on passengers by charging almost double the normal fare. Yusuf Yahaya, a civil servant, who lives in Lugbe on the Airport Road, said he suffered a lot of hardship at the bus stop while coming to work on Monday morning. Mr. Yahaya said that he spent several hours before getting a vehicle and the driver charged him N150 […]

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Even in a country where untold oil wealth disappears into the pockets of the elite, the oil corruption scheme he was investigating seemed outsize — and he threatened to lay it bare at a meeting with Nigeria ’s top bankers. The rabble-rouser was none other than the governor of the country’s central bank. Weeks later, however, he was out, fired by Nigeria’s president in an episode that has shaken the Nigerian economy, filled newspapers and airwaves here, and even inspired a rare street demonstration. The bankers were going to have to open their books, the governor, Lamido Sanusi, warned them at the recent meeting. He wanted to see where the money was going — $20 billion from oil sales that, mysteriously, was not making its way to the treasury, in a country that could soon be declared Africa’s biggest economy and already attracts the most direct […]

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Fuel scarcity has hit virtually all parts of the country, with scanty evidence that it will abate soon. Aside the irritating scarcity, the hike in the pump price of fuel in some parts of the North has added agony to both dealers and consumers of the commodity, often referred to as ‘black gold,’ reports Weekly Trust. It has been weeks of scarcity of fuel across Nigeria, as motorists spend long hours in queues at filling stations to buy what many now call ‘black gold.’ But what has remained a constant headache to consumers of the commodity is the price hike that has come with the scarcity, at the few filling stationswhich open occasionally. In Kaduna, the fuel shortage has led to long queues in petrol stations, with a concomitant increase in pump price. Investigations revealed that the price of fuel ranges between N100 and N130 per litre, depending on […]

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The current fuel scarcity in the country may worsen this week as more filling stations ran out of supply at the weekend. THISDAY gathered from the managers of some petrol stations in Lagos that the few filling stations that had fuel, exhausted their stock at the weekend and would likely not have the product this week. However, the marketers disagreed with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) that they were hoarding the product and attributed the scarcity to the delay in the release of the first quarter import allocation. According to them, the tight supply would linger until the marketers begin to bring in the product, adding that the situation was worse in Lagos, because of its large population as the commercial nerve centre. Sources hinted that the situation was getting out of hand in some parts of the North, South-east and South-west, as the Department of Petroleum Resources […]

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Shell has shut a key oil pipeline in southern Nigeria to stop a leak caused by oil theft and sabotage, a spokesman said yesterday, without disclosing the volume of output loss. "We closed the Nembe Creek Trunkline on Sunday for the removal of crude theft points," spokesman Precious Okolobo told AFP. Shell has deployed engineers to repair the pipeline in the Niger Delta region, which feeds the Bonny exports terminal and would reopen "as soon as repair works are completed," he added. Oil majors do not usually give information on production losses. Local media in Nigeria estimated that about 95,000 barrels of crude per day might have been shut in as a result of the closure. Nigeria is Africa’s largest producer, accounting for more than two million barrels per day. Crude oil theft or "bunkering" is a major problem in Nigeria, with estimates that the country loses some $6 […]

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Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has pledged that his government will launch a full-scale investigation into the alleged $20 billion in oil export revenue that is missing. Speaking Monday night on a media chat that was broadcast live on state media, Jonathan debunked claims by opposition parties that the suspension of central bank governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi earlier this month was linked to the latter’s revelation that Nigeria National Petroleum Corp. had failed to remit the $20 billion in oil revenue into the Federation Account. "That [$20 billion] is a lot of money, and I can’t preside over this nation and watch even one kobo go missing from the government treasury," Jonathan said. "I don’t even know the figure to believe as the missing money, whether it is $49.8 billion, $10 or $20 billion. But whatever, even if it is one dollar, we will find […]

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President Jonathan’s suspension of the CBN governor raises concerns not just over the economy and elite vested interests, but also the rule of law. In what has been seen by most as a baldly political move, President Goodluck Jonathan shocked both markets and observers yesterday as he suspended Nigeria’s widely-celebrated Central Bank Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi. In a press release Jonathan’s spokesman claimed that "Lamido Sanusi’s tenure has been characterised by various acts of financial recklessness," but offered no details or specifics, and many commentators believe the real reason for Sanusi’s removal was his outspokenness on institutional corruption. "Sanusi’s persistent criticism of Nigeria’s opaque oil revenue management and allegations of unremitted NNPC [Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation – the state-owned oil company] oil proceeds made him a public enemy of the political elite," says Samir Gadio, Emerging Market Strategist at Standard Bank. "His suspension is a disruptive move which indicates […]

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President Jonathan’s suspension of the CBN governor raises concerns not just over the economy and elite vested interests, but also the rule of law. In what has been seen by most as a baldly political move, President Goodluck Jonathan shocked both markets and observers yesterday as he suspended Nigeria’s widely-celebrated Central Bank Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi. In a press release Jonathan’s spokesman claimed that "Lamido Sanusi’s tenure has been characterised by various acts of financial recklessness," but offered no details or specifics, and many commentators believe the real reason for Sanusi’s removal was his outspokenness on institutional corruption. "Sanusi’s persistent criticism of Nigeria’s opaque oil revenue management and allegations of unremitted NNPC [Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation – the state-owned oil company] oil proceeds made him a public enemy of the political elite," says Samir Gadio, Emerging Market Strategist at Standard Bank. "His suspension is a disruptive move which indicates […]

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The fishing town of Bama has been attacked four times in the past two years. Scores of people have been killed and hundreds of houses have been burned to the ground. As reports filtered in Wednesday that gunmen in Bama were once again shooting people and setting homes on fire, Boko Haram released a video statement saying it plans to widen its reach, to attack oil refineries in the south and continue its assault on Muslim clerics that don’t agree with its harsh interpretation of Islamic law. Analysts say Boko Haram’s continued threats and attacks are a sign that the Nigerian government has failed to stop the more than four-year-old insurgency, despite nine months of emergency rule in three northeastern states. Femi Odekunle, a professor of criminology at the University of Abuja, says, "The government must double its efforts with more men and more resources to contain […]

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The fishing town of Bama has been attacked four times in the past two years. Scores of people have been killed and hundreds of houses have been burned to the ground. As reports filtered in Wednesday that gunmen in Bama were once again shooting people and setting homes on fire, Boko Haram released a video statement saying it plans to widen its reach, to attack oil refineries in the south and continue its assault on Muslim clerics that don’t agree with its harsh interpretation of Islamic law. Analysts say Boko Haram’s continued threats and attacks are a sign that the Nigerian government has failed to stop the more than four-year-old insurgency, despite nine months of emergency rule in three northeastern states. Femi Odekunle, a professor of criminology at the University of Abuja, says, "The government must double its efforts with more men and more resources to contain […]

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The suspended CBN governor, Malam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, had said that it was ironical for the federal government to accuse him of ‘financial recklessness’ while the account of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has not been audited since 2005, spanning eight years. Sanusi spoke yesterday on Channel Television which was monitored by our reporter while reacting to his suspension by President Goodluck Jonathan. The estranged CBN governor further said he would seek legal redress over his suspension as a way of making future CBN governors independent and free from fear of being suspended in the face of discharging their duties. Speaking further, Malam Sanusi said the president does not have the constitutional backing to remove CBN governors without the approval of the senate. He said: "You cannot go round that section (of the constitution) and say, I am not removing you but I am suspending […]

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Lamido Sanusi was dismissed on Thursday after charging the national oil company with failing to turn over billions of dollars. Stefan Wermuth/Reuters DAKAR, Senegal — President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria removed the governor of the country’s central bank from his post on Thursday, after the bank governor repeatedly charged that billions of dollars in oil revenue owed to the treasury was missing. The dismissal of the bank governor, Lamido Sanusi, was seen as further evidence of the Nigerian government’s weakening resolve in tackling widespread corruption, a problem that has plagued the country since independence, analysts said. Mr. Sanusi’s removal was greeted with dismay in financial markets. The country’s stock market fell sharply, bond trading was halted and the value of the Nigerian currency, the naira, plunged to a record low against the dollar before the bank intervened to prop it up. Outside investors had generally seen Mr. Sanusi as […]

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The leader of Nigeria’s Islamic uprising is threatening to attack oil interests more than a thousand miles (kilometers) from the northeastern base where his fighters are accused of killing more than 250 civilians this month. In a new video message, Abubakar Shekau also warns leading Nigerian Muslim politicians and religious and traditional leaders that his fighters will target them for pursuing democracy and Western-style education. He says his struggle to transform Africa’s biggest oil producer into an Islamic state is only just beginning. He says he will destroy oil refineries "in coming days." The warnings come the week Nigeria’s military has defended itself against charges by regional leaders that Shekau’s fighters are better armed and motivated. The video was obtained Thursday by the AP through channels used for previous communications. © 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, […]

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Nigeria is to carry out a forensic audit of the state oil company over an alleged $20 billion subsidy racket that officials say may help explain what happened to $50 billion in oil revenues that the governor of the central bank says is missing. The audit, ordered last week by a Senate committee investigating allegations of corruption in the oil industry of Africa’s second largest economy, could become political dynamite as Nigeria heads into a presidential election in 2015. Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation and one of its leading oil producers, is considered one of the most corrupt states on the continent, with much of the graft centered on the oil industry, whose revenues provide around 80 percent of the state budget and more than 90 percent of export earnings. The West African country’s "oil and gas industry has proved remarkably resistant to […]

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Nigeria is to carry out a forensic audit of the state oil company over an alleged $20 billion subsidy racket that officials say may help explain what happened to $50 billion in oil revenues that the governor of the central bank says is missing. The audit, ordered last week by a Senate committee investigating allegations of corruption in the oil industry of Africa’s second largest economy, could become political dynamite as Nigeria heads into a presidential election in 2015. Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation and one of its leading oil producers, is considered one of the most corrupt states on the continent, with much of the graft centered on the oil industry, whose revenues provide around 80 percent of the state budget and more than 90 percent of export earnings. The West African country’s "oil and gas industry has proved remarkably resistant to […]

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North-eastern Nigeria is under emergency rule, but attacks have intensified There are reports of a "massive" attack in northern Nigerian border town of Bama, a day after a presidential spokesman said the army was "winning the war" against Islamist militants. Borno state senator Ahmed Zanna told the BBC the attack on Bama had lasted for five hours on Wednesday morning. On Tuesday, spokesman Doyin Okupe said the military was "on top of the situation". More than 245 people have been killed this year alone by suspected Islamists. Several thousand have lost their lives since Boko Haram began its uprising in 2009. ‘Better armed’ Mr Okupe’s statement contradicted the comments of the governor of Borno state, where Boko Haram was founded. Governor Kashim Shettima called for reinforcements and said the insurgents were "better armed and better […]

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North-eastern Nigeria is under emergency rule, but attacks have intensified There are reports of a "massive" attack in northern Nigerian border town of Bama, a day after a presidential spokesman said the army was "winning the war" against Islamist militants. Borno state senator Ahmed Zanna told the BBC the attack on Bama had lasted for five hours on Wednesday morning. On Tuesday, spokesman Doyin Okupe said the military was "on top of the situation". More than 245 people have been killed this year alone by suspected Islamists. Several thousand have lost their lives since Boko Haram began its uprising in 2009. ‘Better armed’ Mr Okupe’s statement contradicted the comments of the governor of Borno state, where Boko Haram was founded. Governor Kashim Shettima called for reinforcements and said the insurgents were "better armed and better […]

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Chevron Corp. has notified the Nigerian government it has selected a preferred bidder—a group led by Lagos-based Seplat Petroleum Development Co.–as the buyer of onshore oil assets the U.S. major has been seeking to sell for eight months, according to people familiar with the matter. Chevron is planning to sell the assets for $800 million to a group led by Seplat, according to these people. Seplat is part owned by French independent oil company Maurel & Prom . The onshore blocks, in the eastern part of the Niger Delta, are still at an exploration stage and aren’t yet producing oil. The government has the last word on whether the sale will go forward. A spokeswoman for Chevron declined to comment. "I can confirm we [made] a bid," said Seplat Chief Executive Austin Avuru. He declined to say if he has been notified that Seplat was the favored bidder […]

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Global rating agency, Standard & Poor’s, S&P, yesterday, raised concerns that Nigeria’s crude oil production forecast of 2.39 million barrels a day in the 2014 budget, was over-estimated. This, according to the rating agency, was due to increased tension in the Niger Delta region and the forthcoming 2015 general elections. Ravi Bhatia, an analyst at S&P, said: "It’s a concern if they have a big rise in pre-election expenditure and there’s a big revision on the oil price or there is a production shortfall due to Niger Delta tensions. High global oil prices are helping to sustain the picture as it stands now." Bhatia described as optimistic, the 2.39 million barrels a day projection put forward by the Presidency to the National Assembly According to him, a $10 to $15 fall in the global oil price might change the fiscal equation for Nigeria, adding that " the country is […]

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Eni SpA said Friday it had shut down an export pipeline following a sabotage in the Niger Delta of Nigeria as community unrest adds to oil theft to rattle the oil industry in the restive African nation. "There was a shutdown of the pipeline, due to sabotage" in Bayelsa State, southern Nigeria, a spokesman The pipeline, called Tedidaba-Brass pipeline and operated by a local Eni joint-venture, normally carries the high-quality Brass grade for export. The Eni spokesman said the Italian company was losing 3,500 barrels […]

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Eni SpA said Friday it had shut down an export pipeline following a sabotage in the Niger Delta of Nigeria as community unrest adds to oil theft to rattle the oil industry in the restive African nation. "There was a shutdown of the pipeline, due to sabotage" in Bayelsa State, southern Nigeria, a spokesman The pipeline, called Tedidaba-Brass pipeline and operated by a local Eni joint-venture, normally carries the high-quality Brass grade for export. The Eni spokesman said the Italian company was losing 3,500 barrels […]

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The Nigerian government will not privatize its four ailing oil refineries, labor minister Chukwuemeka Wogu said Wednesday, prompting the country’s two powerful oil workers’ unions to declare that they have now dropped plans to embark on a nationwide strike intended to cripple crude oil production and exports. "The Federal Government is not selling the nation’s refineries," Wogu said in a statement issued after a meeting with the unions in Abuja. The government called the meeting after the unions had threatened to begin a strike this week aimed at forcing the government to reverse earlier announcements by two government agencies that Nigeria would commence the sale of the state-owned refineries by first quarter of this year. "After extensive deliberations on the situation with the refineries, the two parties agreed that…the unions shall not embark on any form of industrial action over the subject matter," Wogu […]

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The Nigerian government will not privatize its four ailing oil refineries, labor minister Chukwuemeka Wogu said Wednesday, prompting the country’s two powerful oil workers’ unions to declare that they have now dropped plans to embark on a nationwide strike intended to cripple crude oil production and exports. "The Federal Government is not selling the nation’s refineries," Wogu said in a statement issued after a meeting with the unions in Abuja. The government called the meeting after the unions had threatened to begin a strike this week aimed at forcing the government to reverse earlier announcements by two government agencies that Nigeria would commence the sale of the state-owned refineries by first quarter of this year. "After extensive deliberations on the situation with the refineries, the two parties agreed that…the unions shall not embark on any form of industrial action over the subject matter," Wogu […]

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The Nigerian government did not approve a plan to sell the country’s four ailing refineries, state media reported Friday quoting presidential spokesman Reuben Abati, contrary to earlier reports that the president had given the green light for the privatization of the plants. "The Federal Government will not sell the refineries. There is no presidential endorsement. Even the minister does not have the powers to sell government’s property," Abati was quoted as saying in state radio. Nigeria’s state privatization agency, the Bureau of Public Enterprise, on December 21 said it had received approval from President Goodluck Jonathan to proceed with the sale of the four state-owned refineries despite strong opposition and strike threats by the country’s powerful oil unions. "President Goodluck Jonathan has approved the commencement of the privatization of the nation’s four refineries by the BPE. This is in keeping with the [government] agenda, […]

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Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has approved the launch of the privatization process of the country’s four oil refineries, the Bureau of Public Enterprises said Friday. The BPE listed the refineries as the Port Harcourt Refining Company Ltd. I, Port Harcourt Refining Company Ltd. II, Kaduna Refining & Petrochemical Company Ltd. and Warri Refining & Petrochemical Company Ltd. The refineries with a combined capacity of 445,000 barrels a day have worked well below their installed capacities for years due to poor maintenance. As a result, Nigeria, Africa’s largest oil producer, relies on fuel imports to meet around 80% of its needs for gasoline, diesel and other petrochemicals. The two refineries in Port-Harcourt have a combined capacity of 210,000 barrels a day, Warri has a daily processing capacity of 125,000 barrels and Kaduna has a capacity of 110,000 barrels. Further details on […]

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Nigeria plans to spend 4.9 trillion naira ($30.96 billion) in 2014, little changed from this year, amid government expectations of reduced oil production. Budget proposals submitted by Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to lawmakers today in Abuja on behalf of President Goodluck Jonathan are based on an oil output of 2.39 million barrels a day and a price of $77.5 a barrel. The economy will expand 6.75 percent next year, faster than this year’s 6.5 percent estimate, with the budget deficit increasing to 1.9 percent of GDP from 1.2 percent this year. Africa’s biggest oil producer will use an exchange rate of 160 naira a dollar to calculate its expenditure, according to the minister. Oil output estimates for next year are 6 percent lower than the figure of 2.53 million barrels a day used for this year’s spending plan. In his medium-term expenditure proposals sent to lawmakers in September, Jonathan […]

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Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan is facing the biggest test of his three years in office after reports the central bank questioned the lack of accounting for $50 billion in oil revenue and a former leader criticized him for failing to tackle corruption. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, a stalwart of the ruling People’s Democratic Party , said in a letter to Jonathan this month that he has failed to tackle graft and security threats in Africa ’s biggest oil producer. He also accused him of widening a split between the mainly Muslim north and largely Christian south in a bid to retain power. Obasanjo’s criticism came after newspapers including Lagos-based ThisDay said Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Lamido Sanusi wrote Jonathan a letter alleging that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. is withholding more than three-quarters of oil revenue earned from January 2012 to July this year. The […]

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President Goodluck Jonathan is under growing pressure from top-level corruption in Nigeria’s oil industry, with the central bank asking what happened to $50 billion in missing oil revenues and his political mentor, former president Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo complaining about massive fraud in the industry. Meantime, massive oil theft in the Niger Delta, the southern region where Nigeria’s oil production is centered, is rising amid reports of growing politicization of militants who have been blamed for much of the theft in recent years. They have threatened to bring oil production to a halt by 2015 unless the government and foreign oil companies compensate impoverished villagers for massive environmental damage in the region and introduce more equitable sharing of oil revenue. The multifaceted oil issue is becoming a major problem for Jonathan, who hails from the Christian south himself, and is currently grappling with a […]

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President Goodluck Jonathan is under growing pressure from top-level corruption in Nigeria’s oil industry, with the central bank asking what happened to $50 billion in missing oil revenues and his political mentor, former president Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo complaining about massive fraud in the industry. Meantime, massive oil theft in the Niger Delta, the southern region where Nigeria’s oil production is centered, is rising amid reports of growing politicization of militants who have been blamed for much of the theft in recent years. They have threatened to bring oil production to a halt by 2015 unless the government and foreign oil companies compensate impoverished villagers for massive environmental damage in the region and introduce more equitable sharing of oil revenue. The multifaceted oil issue is becoming a major problem for Jonathan, who hails from the Christian south himself, and is currently grappling with a […]

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Eni SpA said Saturday it has shut flow stations serving a key pipeline following a fire in the Niger Delta of Nigeria. A spokesman for the Italian company said “a fire occurred along the Tebidaba-Brass line.” “We have promptly started the shut-in operations for the flow stations related to the pipeline,” the spokesman said. The pipeline, which is operated by Eni’s Agip unit, normally carries 75,000 barrels a day of the high-quality Brass grade for export. A Nigerian official said oil theft was the suspected […]

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LONDON, Nov. 19 (UPI) — Afren, an energy company focused on African reserves, said Tuesday it encountered more oil than it expected in a frontier area off the coast of Nigeria. Afren said it encountered oil at prospecting lease 310 off the coast of Nigeria. It said the results from the exploratory drilling operation were “significantly” better than it expected. The company said Tuesday it drilled its Ogo-1 well to a total depth of 10,518 feet and encountered an oil layer measuring 524 feet thick. Based on that data, the company said it expected the prospect holds at least 774 million barrels of oil equivalent. Afren, headquartered in London, said the Ogo prospect represented a wildcat opportunity, meaning it was located in an area not proven to hold oil reserves, in an underexplored area off the Nigerian coast. It said preliminary data show there may be “several prospects” in […]

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ABUJA, Nigeria, Nov. 18 (UPI) — The Nigerian National Bureau of Statistics said crude oil production increased more than 7 percent from the second quarter to 2.26 million barrels per day. NBS released data for the third quarter of the year. It said crude oil production increased 7.1 percent from the second quarter to average 2.26 million bpd for the third quarter, Nigerian newspaper ThisDay reported Monday. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said Nigerian crude oil production for October was 1.8 million bpd. NBS said Nigeria’s gross domestic product increased to 6.81 percent for the third quarter, up from the 6.18 percent reported for the second quarter. The bureau said third quarter GDP growth was attributed largely to economic sectors not related to oil. A July report from the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative estimated Nigeria lost $10.9 billion in oil revenue to theft and sabotage from 2009 to […]

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The rights group Amnesty International and the Center for Environment, Human Rights and Development ( CEHRD) say oil giant Shell has been manipulating its investigations into oil spills in Nigeria. A joint report by the two groups says Shell has wrongly reported the cause of oil spills, the volume of oil spilt, as well as the extent and adequacy of clean up measures. Amnesty International says that the consequences for the affected communities in the Niger Delta region are devastating and can result in them receiving little or no compensation. DW: Can you give up us some examples to illustrate the claims you make in your report? Audrey Gaughran: We’ve documented two thingsin the report and one is systematic problems with the oil spill investigation process, where we’ve looked at every step of the process and found flaws. the other thing we’ve documented were specific cases where things have […]

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The rights group Amnesty International and the Center for Environment, Human Rights and Development ( CEHRD) say oil giant Shell has been manipulating its investigations into oil spills in Nigeria. A joint report by the two groups says Shell has wrongly reported the cause of oil spills, the volume of oil spilt, as well as the extent and adequacy of clean up measures. Amnesty International says that the consequences for the affected communities in the Niger Delta region are devastating and can result in them receiving little or no compensation. DW: Can you give up us some examples to illustrate the claims you make in your report? Audrey Gaughran: We’ve documented two thingsin the report and one is systematic problems with the oil spill investigation process, where we’ve looked at every step of the process and found flaws. the other thing we’ve documented were specific cases where things have […]

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LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Amnesty International accuses Nigeria’s biggest petroleum producer, Shell, of manipulating oil spill investigations and documents in cases where the rights group says the company has wrongly reported on the cause and volume of pollution devastating the Niger Delta and made false claims about cleanup measures. The future of farmers and fishermen whose livelihoods are destroyed by such spills depends on reports that can be “very subjective, misleading and downright false,” according to an independent U.S. industry expert hired by Amnesty International to review documents newly obtained under Nigeria’s freedom of information law. The Amnesty report offers detailed analysis to back longstanding charges that oil companies blame sabotage for spills sometimes caused by corrosion and other faults in aging pipelines. Sabotage or oil theft means a community is not eligible for compensation. Shell Nigeria said it “firmly rejects (the) unsubstantiated assertions” and seeks “greater transparency and […]

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http://cdn.ph.upi.com/sv/em/upi/UPI-14191383565588/2013/1/7017360716656a0b3e101ef08a71bdea/Shell-may-give-up-Nigerian-oil-pipeline-because-of-thefts-sabotage.jpg ABUJA, Nigeria, Nov. 4 (UPI) — A Shell subsidiary in Nigeria said it’s considering giving up its stake in a 60-mile oil pipeline in the Niger Delta because of thefts and sabotage. Shell Petroleum Development Co. said it may sell its claim to the Nembe Creek Trunkline, the Nigerian newspaper ThisDay reported Monday. The decision, the newspaper reported, comes three years after the company spent $1.1 billion on pipeline overhauls. The trunkline and the region’s Trans-Niger oil pipeline are used for the delivery of an estimated 400,000 barrels of crude oil per day from oil fields in the Niger Delta. In July, the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative estimated Nigeria lost $10.9 billion in oil revenue to theft and sabotage from 2009-11. The government has blamed instability in the Niger Delta for its failure to meet a 2013 production target of 2.53 million barrels of oil per day. […]

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Perhaps it was a “minor fire incident” that happened at a unit of the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company last Tuesday. The refinery’s authorities promptly promised to investigate the exact cause of the fire, but they are yet to make their findings available, 10 days after. Terrorist group MEND (Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta), on the other hand, claimed it was responsible for the “sabotage” a few hours after the fire. The group’s spokesman “Jomo Gbomo” said it was targeting the nation’s oil and gas industry to protest President Jonathan’s reliance on “an unsustainable and fraudulent Niger Delta amnesty programme” for peace and security in the region. About the same time, a sister of a presidential adviser linked to the amnesty programme, Mr Oronto Douglas, was in the grip of kidnappers. Two Americans also got kidnapped off the coast of Bayelsa State. As these events signify, […]

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Pirates attacked an American-flagged oil industry vessel off the Nigerian coast early Thursday and abducted the captain and the chief engineer, both United States citizens, the Nigerian Navy and a private security firm reported. The abductions appeared to be the first involving American hostages in that region in at least two years. An official of the private security firm, AKE Group, of Hereford, England, said the attack on the vessel, identified as the C-Retriever, took place near the Nigerian city of Brass, where the oil-rich Niger Delta empties into the Gulf of Guinea, in West Africa. The official, based in AKE Group’s office in Lagos, Nigeria, spoke on the condition of anonymity. “All we know is this attack happened, and these were the people who were kidnapped,” the official said by telephone. He said he did not know the identities of the two hostages. A spokesman for the Nigerian […]

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Photo: AkwaIbom.com Port Harcourt — REPENTANT militant leaders in the Niger Delta, under the auspices of Leadership, Peace and Cultural Development Initiative, LPCDI, yesterday, said the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, MEND, died in 2009 and added that any claim or threat from a faceless group claiming to be MEND should, henceforth, be ignored by Nigerians. Denouncing the claim by MEND that it was responsible for Tuesday’s explosion at the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company, WRPC, Warri, Delta State, the ex-militant leaders, in a statement by LPCDI president, Pastor Reuben Wilson, said: “MEND ceased to exist from the day we accepted the amnesty offer of the Federal Government. Nigerians should henceforth disregard any claim or threat by MEND because the group died in 2009.” According to him, the acclaimed spokesman of MEND, Jomo Gbomo, never existed. “We make bold to say that there is no organisation […]

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Nigeria’s electricity generation capacity has declined from the peak generation level of about 4,517.6 mega watts (MW) recorded last December, 2012 to about 3,781.80 MW in October, according to the power generation fact sheet of the Presidential Task Force on Power as at October 20. The electricity generation report showed that though the country’s peak demand level forecast was 12,800 MW of electricity, energy generation capacity stood at about 3,559.46 MW hour per hour (MWH/H), while actual electricity sent out into the national grid was 3,487.85 MWH/H. The Chairman, Technical Committee of the National Council on Privatisation, NCP, Atedo Peterside, said at the handing over of the newly privatized successor companies of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, to their new owners that the nine former PHCN generation companies (including Omotosho and Olorunsogo) only had available capacity of 2,692 MW as at September 10, as against a total […]

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Nigeria’s electricity generation capacity has declined from the peak generation level of about 4,517.6 mega watts (MW) recorded last December, 2012 to about 3,781.80 MW in October, according to the power generation fact sheet of the Presidential Task Force on Power as at October 20. The electricity generation report showed that though the country’s peak demand level forecast was 12,800 MW of electricity, energy generation capacity stood at about 3,559.46 MW hour per hour (MWH/H), while actual electricity sent out into the national grid was 3,487.85 MWH/H. The Chairman, Technical Committee of the National Council on Privatisation, NCP, Atedo Peterside, said at the handing over of the newly privatized successor companies of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, to their new owners that the nine former PHCN generation companies (including Omotosho and Olorunsogo) only had available capacity of 2,692 MW as at September 10, as against a total […]

Click here to view full article at allafrica.com