Energy
IE unveils ultra-modern undertaking office in Ikeja


With a focus to progressively improve operations and deliver customer-centric services, Nigeria’s leading Electricity Distribution Company, Ikeja Electric Plc (IE), has unveiled an ultra-modern PTC Undertaking office in GRA Ikeja to provide customers with improved access to quality service.
The newly unveiled office is an upgraded facility designed to deliver positive experience to customers.
It offers prompt attendance to clients’ queries with a highly effective Point-of-Sales self-service, fully automated Electronic Queue Management System (EQMS) and well-trained Executives Sales Representative.
Chief Executive Officer, Ikeja Electric, Dr. Anthony Youdeowei, while speaking at the commissioning recalled that the company in 2016 had promised to explore ways to improve supply, service and infrastructure for customers in Ikeja GRA.
He said: “The promise of providing dedicated and premium power to GRA is already materializing. Customers in this vicinity will no doubt feel the positive impact of this state-of-the art office which has come to complement our efforts to boost power supply in Ikeja GRA.
“As I speak with you, the quality of supply and service has improved tremendously as envisaged. Looking into the nearest future, we are working towards ensuring a 24 hour supply for residents of Ikeja GRA.”
He revealed that a dedicated team was created for prompt fault clearing and maintenance of Distribution Transformers, thereby reducing downtime and achieving optimization of installations.
This according to him has also helped the company to sustain the efficiency required to boost service delivery in this community.
According to him, Ikeja Electric has achieved 95 percent metering deployment both on the Distribution transformers as well as for individual customers.
He said the company had increased the momentum in meter deployment across IE’s network.
Mr. Youdeowei expressed optimism that the exercise will further bridge the metering gap and evidently reduce the incidence of estimated billing.
“Let me also use this medium to debunk some of the misinformation in the public space that we sell meters for N100,000. Please note that meters from Ikeja Electric are free and you do not have to pay for them.
“Based on business considerations, our strategy to metering is based on feeders and once it is the turn of your feeder, all customers on that feeder will be metered at no cost. I solicit the assistance of our friends from the media to help us cascade this news to the public and provide the clarity,” he clarified.
The commissioning was attended by the Group Managing Director, Sahara Power Group, Mr. Kola Adesina; representatives of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NECR), Ikeja GRA Residents Association as well as captains of Industries & Heads of Parastatals.
The DisCo also enumerated some of its ongoing projects and plans aimed at scaling up supply across our network, these include the Mushin 1x15MVA Injection Substation and the New Oworo 15 MVA Injection Sub-Station billed for commissioning by the end of October 2018.
It plans to replace 2 obsolete high voltage switchgears at Agege Injection Substation in the 1st week of November 2018 while it had flagged off the construction work on Transformer Repair Workshop for immediate repairs of failed distribution transformer and also set up a Preventive Maintenance Team to prevent failure of equipment and guarantee stable power supply.
According to IE, its series of projects and upgrading of facilities will translate to improved services across our six (6) business Units – Oshodi, Somolu, Abule-Egba, Ikorodu, Ikeja and Akowonjo.
“This is in line with our commitment toward enriching lives by means of our quality service that guarantees customer’s satisfaction. We will not stop aiming for the best, so are poised to extend this upgrading to other facilities in our Undertakings,” the company noted.
Energy
NNPC, Dangote Strengthen Strategic Partnership
Bot partners reaffirmed commitment to Healthy Competition Towards National Prosperity, reports SANDRA ANI


As part of ongoing efforts to promote mutually beneficial partnerships and foster healthy competition, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) and Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals (DPRP) have pledged to deepen collaboration aimed at ensuring Nigeria’s energy security and advancing shared prosperity for Nigerians.
This commitment was made during a courtesy visit by the President/Chief Executive of Dangote Group, Mr. Aliko Dangote, and his delegation to the Group CEO of NNPC Ltd., Mr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari, and members of the company’s Senior Management Team at the NNPC Towers, on Thursday.
During the visit, Dangote pledged to collaborate with the new NNPC Management to ensure energy security for Nigeria.
“There is no competition between us, we are not here to compete with NNPC Ltd. NNPC is part and parcel of our business and we are also part of NNPC. This is an era of co-operation between the two organizations.” Dangote added.
While congratulating the GCEO and the Senior Management Team on their “well-deserved appointments,” Dangote acknowledged the enormity of the responsibility ahead, noting that the GCEO is shouldering a monumental task, which he expressed confidence that, with the capable hands at his disposal in NNPC, the task is surmountable.
In his remarks, the GCEO, Mr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari assured Dangote of a mutually beneficial partnership anchored on healthy competition and productive collaboration.
Ojulari highlighted the exceptional caliber of talent he met in NNPC Ltd., describing the workforce as a dedicated, highly skilled and hardworking professionals who are consistently keen on delivering value for Nigeria.
Expressing the company’s readiness to build a legacy of national prosperity through innovation and shared purpose, Ojulari said NNPC will sustain its collaboration with the Dangote Group especially where there is commercial advantage for Nigeria.
Both executives also committed to being the relationship managers for their respective organisations through sustained productive collaboration and healthy competition, thereby envisioning limitless opportunities for both organizations.
Energy
AVEVA is providing data management support for renewable natural gas projects
Reporter: Godwin Ezeh


Key Highlights
● AVEVA’s industrial information infrastructure has been selected by Archaea Energy to provide key data management support
● AVEVA’s industrial software to optimize performance across Archaea’s RNG plants
AVEVA, a global leader in industrial software driving digital transformation and sustainability, has been selected by Archaea Energy, the largest renewable natural gas (RNG) producer in the US, to build a comprehensive operations data management infrastructure.
Using AVEVA’s software, Archaea Energy can collect, enrich and visualize its real-time operations data, enabling performance analysis across its growing network of plants.
Using AVEVA PI Data Infrastructure, a hybrid solution with cloud data services, the plants will be able to share data to highlight operational opportunities and optimize efficiency.
Caspar Herzberg, CEO, AVEVA, stated,
“Through this collaboration and the use of AVEVA PI Data Infrastructure, Archaea’s growing network of plants will have streamlined operations with accurate performance analysis throughout the expansion. AVEVA’s CONNECT software platform leverages industrial intelligence from a central location, making it easier to deploy additional digital solutions in the future.”
“As the largest RNG producer in the United States, we are dedicated to delivering reliable, clean energy,” said Starlee Sykes, chief executive officer of Archaea Energy. “This relationship will allow us to optimize operations and offer detailed performance analysis as we continue to expand across the country.”
Energy
Boost for Nigeria’s Oil Production, As NNPC’s Utapate Crude Grade Hits Global Oil Market


…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.