GRBusiness
CBN reveals $36.3bn spent on petroleum products’ importation in four years
The House of Representatives on Monday rejected the submission of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation on the fresh bid to carry out a turnaround maintenance on the country’s four refineries.
A budget of $1.8bn is already set aside for the TAM.
This came as the Central Bank of Nigeria disclosed that between 2013 and 2017, the country spent $36.3bn on the importation of petroleum products.
The country’s total import bill for the period was $119.4bn.
The apex bank made the submission to an ad hoc committee of the House, which is investigating the planned TAM of the refineries.
The committee rejected the NNPC’s submission on the grounds that it was sketchy and did not answer the questions it sought answers to.
The committee, which is chaired by a member of the All Progressives Congress from Kaduna State, Mr. Garba Datti-Muhammad, started a public hearing on the controversial TAM in Abuja on Monday.
The committee demanded detailed information on the spending on the four refineries, particularly on all previous TAM and other repairs, as a basis to justify the fresh $1.8bn plan.
It gave the NNPC 24 hours to provide the information.
This came as the NNPC’s Chief Operating Officer, Refineries and Petrochemicals, Mr. Anibor Kragha, disputed the committee’s position that over $20bn had been spent on TAM since the inception of the refineries by successive governments.
He argued that if the combined cost of building all the refineries was less than $2bn, there was no way the series of TAM done over time would be up to $20bn.
“The figure you have is not true. It is strange how the committee arrived at the $20bn,” Kragha stated.
But, when he was asked to give the accurate figure spent on each of the refineries for maintenance, Kragha could not.
Rather, he informed the lawmakers that the NNPC’s new agenda was not to do a TAM but to carry out a comprehensive rehabilitation of the four refineries.
He claimed that the last time TAM was done on any of the plant was in 2004, adding that the level of delay would require a comprehensive rehabilitation of the plants and not TAM.
Kragha’s disclosure left the members confused, as they grilled him on the difference between TAM and a comprehensive rehabilitation.
Datti-Muhammad said, “The NNPC treats us with contempt and fails to respond to inquiries adequately.
“In our letter to you, we gave you a template on how to provide the information we asked for. But, you gave us a sketchy document, carefully avoiding the real information.”
Another member of the committee, who is the Chairman, House Committee on Public Accounts, Mr. Kingsley Chinda, asked the NNPC to provide the details requested by the committee, whatever name it was called.
“What is important here is the cost of the planned repairs. Is it TAM or comprehensive rehabilitation? What is the cost? Tell us,” Chinda added.
The committee later sent Kragha away, directing him to submit full details of the planned work on the refineries today (Tuesday).
In his submission to the committee on the economic implications of maintaining the refineries, the CBN’s Director of Research, Mr. Ganiyu Amao, told the lawmakers that the country continually depended on fuel importation to service domestic needs because the plants rarely work efficiently.
He stated that the country had to deplete its foreign reserves to pay TAM bills.
Amao stated, “Data from the CBN show that from 2013 to 2017, a total of foreign exchange committed to imports in the country stood at $119.409bn, while the total foreign exchange committed to imports in the oil sector stood at $36.371bn, representing 13.5 per cent of all imports made by the country.
“It greatly exerts serious pressure on our external reserves and depreciates the value of our local currency.”
However, lawmakers said the CBN’s submission still did not directly address the cost implications of the TAM done on the refineries over time, aside from acknowledging that it was a drain on the nation’s economy.
A member of the committee, Mr. Razak Atunwa, said, “The CBN, like the NNPC, has not told the committee anything useful in respect of TAM.
“What we are looking for are payments made in relation to all the TAM done over the years, or any other maintenance done to any of the refineries.”
Chinda made a similar observation, saying, “The CBN too can’t tell us that it does not know the total cost of this particular comprehensive rehabilitation they are talking about.
“The CBN is the banker to the NNPC; you keep the records of their withdrawals.”
The committee directed the CBN, just like it did to the NNPC, to furnish members with information on the TAM today (Tuesday).
The country’s refineries, which are located two in Port Harcourt and one each in Kaduna and Warri, have largely been unable to refine crude for domestic consumption and possible exportation of finished products.
.Punch
…OML 13 Asset Eyes 80,000 bpd by End of 2025
In a major boost for Nigeria’s crude oil production, revenue generation and economic growth efforts, the NNPC Ltd has officially unveiled its latest crude oil grade, the Utapate crude oil blend, before the international crude oil market.
It would be recalled that in July, 2024, NNPC Ltd and its partner, the Sterling Oil Exploration & Energy Production Company (SEEPCO) Ltd introduced the Utapate crude oil blend, following the lifting of first cargo of 950,000 barrels which headed for Spain.
During a ceremony held at the Argus European Crude Conference taking place in London, United Kingdom, on Wednesday, the Managing Director, NNPC E & P Limited (NEPL), Mr. Nicholas Foucart described the introduction of the Utapate crude oil blend into the market as a significant milestone for Nigeria’s crude oil export to the global energy market.
“Since we started producing the Utapate Field in May 2024, we have rapidly ramped up production to 40,000 barrels per day (bpd) with minimum downtime. So far, we have exported five cargoes, largely to Spain and the East Coast of the United States; while two more additional cargoes have been secured for November and December 2024, representing a significant boost to Nigeria’s crude oil export to the global market,” Foucart told a packed audience of European crude oil marketers.
He added that since its introduction into the global market, the Utapate crude oil blend has enjoyed a positive response from the international crude oil market, due to its highly attractive qualities.
Foucart said the Oil Mining Lease (OML) 13, fully operated by NEPL and Natural Oilfield Services Ltd (NOSL), a subsidiary of SEEPCO Ltd, boasts a huge reserves of 330million barrels of crude oil reserves, 45 million barrels of condensate and 3.5 tcf of gas.
“We have a number of ongoing projects to increase our production from the current 40,000bopd to 50,000bopd by January 2025 and 60,000bopd to 65,000bopd by June 2025. Essentially, we are targeting opportunities to increase production to 80,000bopd by the end of 2025,” Foucart added.
He said the Utapate crude oil terminal is sustainable, affordable and fully compliant with the rigorous environmental regulations and sustainability principles especially those aimed at reducing carbon emissions and other ecological effects.
Also speaking, the Managing Director of NNPC Trading Ltd (NTL), Mr. Lawal Sade said the pricing structure of the Utapate crude oil blend is similar to that of Amenam crude as it is a light sweet crude which is highly sought after by refiners across the world due to its low sulphur content, efficient yield of high-value products, API gravity and other similarities.
He said in bringing the new crude oil blend to the global market, NNPC Ltd wanted to optimise value for both its producers and counterparties across the globe.
He added to ensure predictability and sustainability of supply, the NNPC Trading intends to run a term contract on the Utapate crude oil blend cargoes, principally targeting off-takers from the European and the US East Coast refineries.
Produced from the Utapate field in OML 13 in Akwa Ibom State in Nigeria, the Utapate crude oil blend is similar to the Nembe crude oil grade. It has a low sulphur content of 0.0655% and low carbon footprint due to flare gas elimination, fitting perfectly into the required specification of major buyers in Europe.
The NNPC E&P Ltd and NOSL partnership is also committed to operating in a manner that is safe, environmentally responsible, and beneficial to the local communities.
The Utapate field development plan, executed between 2013-2019 and approved in October, included converting wells and facilities from swamp/marine to land-based operations.
The plan involved a multi-rig drilling campaign for 40 wells and the development of significant infrastructure such as production facilities, storage tank, a subsea pipeline and an offshore loading platform to facilitate crude oil evacuation and loading.
The entry of the Utapate crude oil blend into the market is coming barely a year after the NNPC Ltd announced the launch of Nembe crude oil, produced by the NNPC/Aiteo operated Oil Mining Lease (OML) 29 Joint Venture (JV).
This remarkable achievement signals the commitment of the NNPC Ltd to increasing Nigeria’s crude oil production and growing its reserves through the development of new assets.
Energy
NNPC Ltd Set to Supply 100mmscf/d Gas to Dangote Refinery
…10-year Deal to Boost Local Production, Revamp Industrial Growth, reports Ikenna Oluka
The NNPC Gas Marketing Limited (NGML), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, has successfully executed a Gas Sale and Purchase Agreement (GSPA) with Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE.
The agreement, signed by the Managing Director, NGML, Barr. Justin Ezeala and the President/CEO of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote on Tuesday at the Corporate Head Office of Dangote in Falomo, Lagos State, outlines the supply of natural gas for power generation and feedstock at the Dangote Refinery, in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos State.
This major milestone is in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s policy of utilizing Nigeria’s abundant gas resources towards revamping the nation’s industrial growth and kickstarting its economic prosperity.
This development, which sees a huge investment of this nature penned with zero capital expenditure (CAPEX) outlay, has been described by many as unprecedented in the history of NGML or any gas Local Distribution Company (LDC) in the country.
Under the terms of the agreement, NGML will supply 100 million standard cubic feet per day (MMSCF/D), 50MMSCF/D being firm supply and the rest 50MMSCF/D interruptible natural gas supply to the refinery for an initial period of 10 years, with options for renewal and growth.
This collaboration is a significant step toward ensuring the operational success of the Dangote Refinery and enhancing Nigeria’s domestic gas utilization.
NNPC Ltd, through NGML, its gas marketing subsidiary, continues to lead efforts in promoting the use of domestic gas to support industries and businesses nationwide.
The agreement represents a milestone for both NNPC Ltd and Dangote Refinery, aligning with their shared commitment to boosting local production and providing vital products for the benefit of all Nigerians.
It is also a further proof of NGML’s unwavering commitment to business excellence and fulfilling NNPC Ltd’s core mandate of ensuring Nigeria’s energy security through the execution of strategic gas projects across the country.
Women in Maritime Africa (WIMAfrica), in a significant step forward for female representation in the Maritime field, held a strategic meeting with SIFAX Group at the SIFAX headquarters on November 12th, 2023.
The two organizations aim to foster mentorship, sponsorship, and skills development programs that will empower women to pursue and excel in maritime careers, where female representation remains below 1%. Key figures from WIMAfrica, including Continental Vice President Mrs. Carolyn Ufere and Nigeria’s President Mrs. Rollens Macfoy, emphasized the need for corporate partnerships to expand access to training and professional networks for women. SIFAX’s Coordinating Director, Mrs. Wunmi Eniola-Jegede, expressed the Group’s commitment to gender inclusivity and highlighted the presence of women in leadership roles across its various sectors.
In closing, WIMAfrica extended an invitation for SIFAX Group to support its upcoming conference in Lagos, themed “New Economy and Moving Forward for the Next Generation,” which seeks to inspire young women to explore maritime career paths like engineering and marine security. The collaboration between WIMAfrica and SIFAX Group marks a crucial move toward an inclusive future in Africa’s maritime industry.
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