Category: West Africa

There were indications, yesterday, that a former Petroleum Minister, Diezani Allison-Madueke, arrested and released in the United Kingdom, on Friday, on money laundering allegations, may be charged to court, this week. And feelers showed that she will not be the only person in the dock. Sunday Vanguard learnt that besides the four other persons arrested with the former minister, more suspects may also be arraigned. Meanwhile, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) detectives, who raided the Abuja home of Allison-Madueke, just at about the time of her arrest in the UK, on Friday, reportedly recovered cash running into millions of Naira. The trial is expected to be conducted in London and is likely to draw thousands of Nigerians resident in the United Kingdom (UK) but no date was specified, last night, when Sunday Vanguard made contacts with the National Crime Agency (NCA), which arrested and released Diezani and the […]

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By George Agba, Kunle Olasanmi, Reuben Buhari, Chika Otuchikere Hours after the immediate past Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke was arrested by the United Kingdom National Crime Agency, and her residences in Abuja and Lagos simultaneously raided by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Federal Government has started mulling the idea of having her extradited back to Nigeria. Diezani was arrested yesterday alongside four other people on offences related to bribery, corruption and money laundering. Even though the names of the other four couldn’t be ascertained, but just after the arrest of Diezani in London, EFCC operatives who stormed her home in Abuja also stormed the home of one Jide Omokore, a business friend of hers while she held sway as oil minister. There were reports that Omokore’s 9 Turnbull Street home in Ikoyi, was raided by EFCC operatives. His office on Glover Street, also in […]

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There are indications that Nigeria’s crude oil exports may fall by about 10 per cent in November, as loading were assessed to be on the lower scale. Indeed, loading programmes continued to emerge on Monday, with exports on track to fall from October’s high. The provisional loading programmes showed that Nigeria plans to export a total of 56.66 million barrels of oil, or 1.89 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil in November, which is a decline from the 63.1 million barrels, or 2.04 million bpd, planned initially for October loading. On a per-day basis, the November programme is on track to be the lowest since July, according to available data. Traders said the November loading programme was on track to show a decline from the yearly high hit in October, but trading was limited as the market processed the new offers. Few trades surfaced as the market […]

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The oil refinery in Warri, Nigeria, is roaring back to life after years of neglect. WARRI, Nigeria—Newly elected Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari’s plans to overhaul the world’s most populous petrostate include pushing people like Bombo Okpe out of the oil business. Mr. Buhari recently dispatched soldiers to torch the rusted oil drums and steel piping Mr. Okpe had rigged to refine stolen crude into gasoline and kerosene in a mangrove swamp here. Mr. Okpe says he is too afraid to rebuild. The president’s move marks a major reversal in a country where thieves used to set fire to government refineries and build their own from spare parts. Now Mr. Okpe’s operation is in ashes, while a few miles away engineers are revving up a refinery that hasn’t worked properly in years. “They see light at the end of the tunnel,” said Hippolite Amadi, an executive director at Warri’s troubled […]

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There has been a steady surge in fuel importation to Nigeria with more inflows expected from Europe in the months to come. Trading sources told Platts, a global energy information website, at the weekend that one of the main reasons for the strong demand has been the increased buying interest from Nigeria. The country has four refineries which could reduce petroleum products importation by up to 50 per cent but the refineries have struggled to remain afloat and have been unable to churn out products in appreciable quantities since the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) announced they were back. For instance, the 37-year-old Warri refinery has remained shut since August due to some technical hitches in one of its units. The NNPC Group Managing Director, Dr Ibe Kachikwu gave a 90 days ultimatum to the refineries to stream back to full active service or be sold. There are plans […]

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Nigeria gets financial support for onshore and offshore oil and gas exploration campaigns from Chevron subsidiary. File photo by A.J. Sisco/UPI LONDON, Sept. 21 (UPI) — Nigeria’s national oil company said it secured more than $1 billion in financing for onshore and offshore drilling operations from a Chevron subsidiary. An agreement signed during the weekend in London envisions $1.2 billion for the development for 23 onshore and 13 offshore wells in Nigeria. The Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. said the funding is an integral part of an exploration and production financing program meant to address "the perennial challenge" on the part of the government’s support for upstream activities. The company said the projects could combine for between $2 billion and $5 billion in revenue for the federal government. Stage one, consisting of 19 wells, could deliver up to 21,000 barrels of oil and 120 million cubic feet of natural gas […]

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IBADAN, Nigeria–The state-run Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has secured $1.2 billion to drill wells offshore and onshore under a joint venture with Chevron Nigeria, the NNPC said Sunday. Nigeria has been criticized for failing to meet obligations to its oil JV partners, which has affected efforts to reach production targets of over 4 million barrels a day and reserves to 40 billion barrels. The $1.2 billion package will finance the development of 23 onshore and 13 offshore wells. The NNPC/CNL Joint Venture is the third largest oil producer in Nigeria, the statement said. Nigeria, Africa’s largest oil producer, relies on crude exports for over 90% of its foreign exchange earnings and 70% of government revenue, according to the International Monetary Fund.

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IBADAN, Nigeria–Nigeria will seek to renegotiate the fiscal terms of existing production-sharing contracts with some international oil and gas companies to seek more favorable terms, the new head of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. said. “In the weeks and months ahead, the corporation will be renegotiating the contracts to extract as much benefits as possible for Nigeria,” said NNPC chief Ibe Kachikwu, according to a statement. Speaking in Paris ahead of the state visit of Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, Kachikwu said: “The NNPC is allowed to make use of the window which creates space for renegotiation.” The major African oil exporter is facing hefty budget pressures after international oil prices plunged and as the Buhari administration looks for funds to execute an ambitious reform program. The new government had been expected to seek to renegotiate some contracts. Since assuming office in May, Buhari has sought to overhaul the NNPC […]

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Investors hoping that Nigeria’s central bank Governor Godwin Emefiele will succumb to pressure to devalue the naira weren’t aware of one crucial factor: he has the backing of President Muhammadu Buhari. In his first public comments on the currency since taking office in May, Buhari, 72, said on Wednesday he opposes a weakening of the currency. His stance endorses Emefiele’s policy of restricting foreign-exchange trading to stabilize the naira despite a plunge in oil revenue in Africa’s biggest crude producer. It also raises questions about the central bank’s independence and puts the two men at odds with foreign investors, local businesses and some members of the Monetary Policy Committee who say the naira is overvalued, deterring capital inflows and hindering economic growth. “There appears to be some unwritten agreement between the presidency and the central bank that the naira will not be devalued, in spite of the deteriorating fundamentals,” […]

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