15112022

24 — Vanguard, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2022
Energy transition creating huge opportunities in Nigeria --- Seplat
By Joseph Oso
ENERGY transition creates huge
opportunities in Nigeria as it
supports economic and social
development, job creation, improved
health and education, the Chief
Executive Officer, Seplat Energy Plc,
Mr. Roger Brown has said. Mr. Brown
said this during a panel session at the
University of Dundee Alumni, Nigeria
Chapter seminar held on Saturday in
Lagos.
The session which dwelt on the topic
'Optimizing energy security in a global
transition era' provided a platform for the
panellists to x-ray the current global
trajectory of energy transition, and how
energy security could be guaranteed
in the face of transition, relating the
subject to Nigeria's domestic market
situation.
The Seplat CEO, explained that
energy transition conundrum is all
about how stakeholders balance three
realities of climate change and the
need to decarbonise the world; the need
for energy security; and urgent need
for economic development in Africa,
tackling poverty and lack of access to
energy.
He said: "Seplat Energy remains
committed to improving Nigeria's
access to affordable and reliable
energy that drives social and economic
development, in line with the UN's
Sustainable Development Goals. We
can make Nigeria a more attractive
destination for global energy
investment that will allow us to fund
our energy transition towards lowercarbon
sources of energy, such as gas
to provide baseload, and renewables.
"By developing our gas industry we can
transition Nigeria's population away from
expensive and polluting diesel generators,
and from using biomass for cooking. I
believe we can achieve all of these
development wins for Africa at little
incremental cost to the environment."
According to Mr. Brown, we must use
Nigeria's gas resources for the direct benefit
of Nigerians, and use it to increase
production of grid-scale energy that will
power people's homes without choking
them on diesel fumes, and allow them to
cook without having to collect firewood
and have the risk of open fires in the home.
"This gas-fired power will also keep the
lights on at night so the kids can study,
and power businesses across Nigeria so
they can create wealth at much lower
costs," he noted, adding that: "increasing
access to cheaper, more reliable energy
creates so many positive effects that will
drive economic and social development
in Nigeria; access to energy supports
wealth creation, improves health and will
allow Nigeria to achieve development
goals."
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2022
Exploration: Nigeria's rig count rises 27.9% to 93
By Udeme Akpan, Energy
Editor
NIGERIA may have started to
do well in terms of oil and
gas exploration as its rig count rose
Year - on -Year, YoY, by 27.9 percent
to 93 in the first 10 months (January
- October) 2022, from 73 recorded
in the corresponding period of 2021.
The rig count is a major index of
measuring exploration and other
activities in the upstream sector of
the petroleum industry globally.
However, on Month-on-Month,
MoM, the rig count also rose
marginally to eight in October 2022,
from seven in September. The
Organisation of Petroleum
Exporting Countries, OPEC, which
disclosed this in its Monthly Oil
Market Reports, MOMRs, obtained
by Energy Vanguard, did not specify
the factors responsible for the
positive trend. But checks by Energy
Vanguard pointed to the Petroleum
Industry Act, PIA, a comprehensive
legislation that has encouraged
investment, thus culminating in the
deployment of more rigs. However,
the November report showed that
Algeria was the highest African
petroleum exploration nation with
32 rigs while Equatorial Guinea
came last with no rig whatsoever.
Commenting on the development,
the National President, Oil and Gas
Service Providers Association of
Nigeria, OGSPAN, Mr. Colman
Obasi, said it would take some time
for the impact of the PIA to show on
the industry. According to him, the
industry requires long term
investment and mobilisation of
resources, including funds from
within and outside the nation. He
said: "Oil and gas exploration has
been very low in Nigeria, apparently
because of the delay associated with
the passage of the Petroleum
Industry Bill, PIB. We have started
seeing the positive impact of the PIA.
We, however, hope that the
momentum would be sustained.
Despite the quest for Energy
transition, Nigeria and indeed
African nations should increase
investment in the industry while
using their abundant natural gas as
the transition fuel into the future."
The Lead promoter, Energyhub
Nigeria, Dr. Amieyeofori Felix, who
noted that the positive impact of the
PIA would be gradual, said: "The
PIA is very important to
stakeholders, including oil and gas
companies, the government and
communities. We hope that it would
attract new investments into the
industry." But the Chief Executive of
the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum
Regulatory Commission, NUPRC,
Mr. Gbenga Komolafe, who stressed
the need for new investment
maintained that Nigeria's 37 billion
barrels of proven oil reserves could
be depleted in the next 60 years,
adding that the country's natural gas
reserves of 208 trillion scuff would
take another 88 years.
In its latest report obtained by
Energy Vanguard, NUPRC, stated
that Nigeria's dwindling average oil
output, including condensate,
dropped Year-on-Year, YoY, by 7.4 per
cent to 1.37 million barrels per day,
mb/d in the first 10 months (January
- October) 2022, from 1.48 mb/d in
the corresponding period of 2021.
This showed a shortfall of 317,940
MOMAN donates N50m to Nigerian flood victims
By Sebastine Obasi
THE Major Oil Marketers
Association of Nigeria,
MOMAN, yesterday, donated the
sum of N50 million to support
communities affected by floods in
Nigeria. Handing over a N50m
cheque to the Nigerian Red Cross
Society at a ceremony in Abuja, Mr.
Clement Isong, Chief Executive
Officer of MOMAN said that the
recent flooding which is a
humanitarian disaster has not been
getting the deserved attention.
He noted that the pictures of sheer
devastation in communities in
various parts of Nigeria are horrific
and underscore the need for
corporate organisations to lend
their support. According to him, "in
previous emergencies such as
COVID-19, Nigerians rallied round
each other but with the floods, the
rest of the world appears to be taking
things more serious than Nigeria is.
It is sad that the flooding which I see
as a humanitarian disaster is not
treated with the seriousness it
deserves."
Receiving the donation, the
Secretary General of the Nigerian
Red Cross Society, Abubakar Kende,
was ecstatic at the display of social
responsibility by the Major Oil
barrels when juxtaposed against the
1.69 mb/d which the 2023 budget
was based on at $70 per barrel.
The NUPRC, which disclosed this
in its monthly Oil Production Status
Reports, obtained by Energy
Marketers Association of Nigeria,
MOMAN, and promised that the
funds would truly be used to alleviate
the effects of the flooding.
He said: "The Nigerian Red Cross
Society has come a long way and
accountability is our watchword. It
is so gratifying in these times to meet
an organization that actually has the
spirit of volunteerism and humanity
embedded within its core. About two
weeks ago, the Nigerian Red Cross
Society launched an emergency
appeal in order to raise 13 million
Swiss Francs for the flood victims
across Nigeria.
"These funds are targeted at
supporting up to 500,000 displaced
ARDA lauds Rainoil's oil, gas facility in Lagos
By Joseph Oso
THE African Refiners and
Distributors Association,
ARDA, has applauded Rainoil
Limited for its state of art Oil and
Gas facility located in Ijegun-
Egba, Amuwo Odofin LGA, Lagos
State. The association
commended the company's
genuine move to boost domestic
utilization of Liquified Petroleum
Gas in the Country.
The Association led by its
President, Marième Ndoye
Decraene, the Executive Secretary,
Mr. Anibor Kragha along with
other delegates took a tour at the
facility.They implored other
similar investments across Africa.
Speaking after the tour, Mr.
OIL MARKET WATCH
Bonny Light $96.15
Brent $96.05
OPEC Basket $94.85
WTI $88.90
MARS $85.46
(As of November 14, 2022)
ANNIVERSERY ----From left: Mrs. Justina Ikpea (wife), Executive Chairman, LEE Engineering Group and
Allied Companies Ltd, Dr. Leemon Ikpea, Very Rev. Fr. Francis Ike of the Catholic church of the Assumption,
Falomo and other staff of the company at the 31st Anniversary and Thanksgiving ceremony of Lee
Engineering Group and Allied Companies Ltd.
Vanguard, weekend, did not specify
the cause of the trend. However,
checks by Vanguard, yesterday,
attributed it to prolonged pipeline
vandalism, oil theft, and illegal
refining in the Niger Delta. It
Kragha stated that the visit was
necessitated by the need for
members to see the reality of the
massive projects going on in
Nigeria. He also emphasized that
Rainoil was aligning with the
vision of the Federal Government
and ARDA in driving cleaner fuel
in the region.
According to him, ARDA's vision
is to serve as the leader in Africa's
transition to cleaner fuels. "We also
promote the harmonization of
cleaner fuel specifications across
Africa in line with the AFRI Fuels
Roadmap to avoid urban pollution
and the associated health
challenges. ARDA supports the
implementation of a Cleaner Air
Policy with a regulatory framework
that considers fuels and vehicles as
indicated that pipeline vandalism,
oil theft and illegal refining would
still continue next year, despite the
efforts of stakeholders, especially the
government and oil companies, to
tackle them.
people and focus on the provision of
basic food, health, care, water,
sanitation, hygiene promotion,
search, rescue, Rapid NEEDS
assessments, deployments of
Emergency First Aid Teams and
many more services required to
alleviate the general suffering
brought on by the effects of flooding."
an integrated system."
He noted that the Association is
in Nigeria as part of its mission
which is focused on developing an
integrated energy self-sufficiency
plan for Africa that promotes the
processing of African crude oil in
upgraded African refineries,
distribution of resulting cleaner
petroleum products via African
pipelines and terminals with
funding primarily from African
financial institutions.
Mr. Kragha confirmed that the
delegation had earlier paid a
courtesy call to the Nigerian
National Petroleum Company
(NNPC), the Dangote Refinery and
was scheduled to visit Sahara
Group's Egbin Power Plant.