…AVEVA highlights world-leading digital solutions to help oil and gas companies in Egypt, North Africa and the Mediterranean achieve decarbonization and value-chain innovation on the path to net-zero

AVEVA, a global leader in industrial software, driving digital transformation and sustainability, returns to the Egypt Petroleum Show (EGYPS) 2023 with the latest digital solutions for responsible use of the world’s resources.

Alongside Schneider Electric, AVEVA will showcase how connected industrial ecosystems harness data to support innovation and improve business performance for sustainability in the energy industry.

AVEVA brings its unparalleled portfolio of world-class digital software to EGYPS 2023, including popular asset performance management solutions and value chain optimization products, as well as the market-leading AVEVA digital twin technology. In addition, show delegates will be able to experience firsthand how  AVEVA Unified Operations Center offers a 360-degree view of plant operations with greater visibility of energy sources, consumption and greenhouse emissions data.

With businesses beginning to realize the productivity, efficiency and scalability benefits of cloud computing, the industrial software-as-a-service platform AVEVA Connect has demonstrated its value in driving innovation, growth and sustainability for the energy sector. The platform now hosts AVEVA Production Accounting, which addresses the pressing issue of unaccounted losses for refineries, petrochemical plants, and other processing facilities. 

Nayef Bou Chaaya, AVEVA Vice President, Middle East, Africa and Turkey, said, “After a successful presence at COP27 where we demonstrated the essential role of data-led technologies in supporting climate innovation and industrial decarbonization, I’m delighted the AVEVA team is returning to Egypt.

“At EGYPS 2023, we will showcase how our unrivalled suite of cutting-edge products can support the creation of a resilient, net-zero energy future, while enabling customers to implement their sustainability roadmaps at a challenging economic moment,” he added.

Sharing data to unlock innovation in a low-carbon economy

Digital technologies speed up innovation and value generation by eliminating internal and external silos. When operational data is infused with artificial intelligence (AI) in the cloud and shared across the connected industrial ecosystem, it creates a digital thread of contextualized, real-time, information so teams can collaborate in a smarter and more connected way.

Applications such as the industrial digital twin are already proving how companies can realize unprecedented economies, synergies and benefits for their own organizations and for society at large. The connected industrial economy further leverages these strengths by sparking industrial ingenuity and facilitating co-operation in a world where businesses face innumerable headwinds.

Bob Parker, Senior Vice President at leading analyst firm IDC said, at AVEVA WORLD 2022 “A rapidly evolving digital economy is unparalleled in depth and scope after being accelerated by the pandemic. Asset-intensive industry segments of the old economy including oil and gas (…), are under new pressure on operations to be increasingly resilient. This requires higher levels of asset instrumentation and capabilities that use the data gathered to speed up decision-making and innovation. Ultimately, this is leading to the rise of connected industrial ecosystems.”

Delegates visiting the AVEVA and Schneider Electric stand at EGYPS 2023 will experience firsthand how they can combine engineering data with real-time and transactional data to unlock actionable insights, redefine processes, enable deeper collaboration, and reduce value leaks while raising productivity – all in real time. They will be able to learn how to converge engineering, operations, and other data in context for end-to-end enterprise visibility using a single 360-degree view of plant operations. The latest asset performance management solutions will also be demonstrated at the event.

AVEVA experts will share how the connected industrial economy presents unprecedented opportunities for the energy sector at stand 2C30 at EGYPS 2023. The event is being held at the Egypt International Exhibition in Cairo from February 13-15, 2023.

Nigeria is a study in contradiction. It has the largest proven gas reserve in Africa yet faces a significant challenge in providing access to gas for a majority of its citizens and businesses.

On top of this, it occupies an unenviable position as one of the top seven gas-flaring countries in the world, according to the World Bank. The tale would be unbelievable if it was fiction. 

Sadly, the reality is grim. Oil-producing companies burn off millions of cubic litres of natural gas during oil production.

They use a fancy term, gas flaring, to describe it. It doesn’t however take remove from the fact that the action, gas flaring, is a glaring waste of a wasting resource. It also impacts negatively on the environment, human health and the cost of gas. It needs to be stopped. 

Over the last couple of years, governments have sought to curtail incidents of gas flaring, increase the use of gas and boost revenue from it, all with varying degrees of success. 

To highlight the commitment of the federal government to boost the domestic use of gas among Nigerians as the primary energy source President Muhammadu Buhari declared the ‘Decade of Gas’ (January 1, 2021, to 2030). An integral part of the process is the development of gas infrastructure, with the construction of the 614km Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano gas pipeline the number one starting point. 

The goal is simple, to increase the domestic utilisation of LPG and CNG, commercialise gas flares, develop industrial gas markets and increase gas-to-power. Related policies which are already in the works include the National Gas Expansion Programme and the Autogas policy. 

Experts argue, however, that despite the government’s best efforts to increase the distribution of liquified petroleum gas (LPG), also known as cooking gas, a large number of Nigerians still rely on firewood and charcoal for cooking with the attendant damage to the environment and impact on the climate.

Now one of the main reasons for this is the lack of infrastructure and distribution networks for LPG. Many areas in the country do not have access to gas pipelines, making it difficult for residents to obtain cooking gas.

We’ll require a study to explore the risk associated with the current gas tank retail marketing method. Additionally, the cost of LPG is prohibitively high for low-income households, who make up the bulk of the population.

Figures from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) show how deep the poverty is – 63 per cent of persons living in Nigeria (133 million people) are multidimensionally poor. It’s a grim picture. 

GlobalData reports that by flaring, rather than utilising gas for power generation or other domestic needs, Nigeria and other nations involved in such acts, could lose up to $82 billion a year globally. Other countries in this unholy group include Algeria, Angola, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Malaysia, Mexico, Russia, the US and Venezuela. They accounted for over 87 per cent of all flared gas in 2020. 

Independent sources reveal that Nigeria flared an average of 11.1m3/bbl of gas in 2021. The issue here is that the Nigeria Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme (NGFCP), which seeks to curb the act, has loopholes along with low and weakly enforced penalties. It needs to be tightened and strengthened to make it more effective. 

Nigeria had 208.62 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of gas reserve as of January 2022, according to the Commission Chief Executive (CCE) of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Gbenga Komolafe, an engineer. However, the development of gas, especially for domestic use, is still relatively low.

The price is still in the skies for many potential users. Right now, the concern is that with the rising cost of cooking gas, the domestic utilisation of LPG may decline. It remains to be seen how this will impact the achievement of the ‘Decade of Gas’ objectives.  

There are several steps that the government can take to increase access to cooking gas for Nigerians. As a concerned citizen and cooking gas user, here are my thoughts on five things that the government can do to improve access to natural gas:

Firstly, the government must invest in building pipelines and distribution networks to reach residential and business areas and improve access to LPG.

Secondly, while the country has significant natural gas reserves a lack of investment in the sector has led to low production of LPG. It is time for the government to encourage investment in the sector to increase domestic production and thus curb the importation of LPG.

In addition, to demonstrate the resolve to improve the use of gas among citizens, the government can look at providing subsidies for LPG to make it more affordable for low-income households. This will make it more accessible to those who currently are unable to afford it.

Furthermore, since reports indicate that Nigerians are unaware of the benefits of using LPG as a cooking fuel, the government can launch a campaign to educate citizens on the benefits of LPG and how to safely use it.

Finally, the government must create an enabling environment to encourage private sector participation and investment in the LPG industry. This will increase the availability of LPG and possibly help drive down prices.

With the implementation of these measures, Nigeria can truly increase access to cooking gas for a majority of its citizens and reduce the country’s dependence on firewood and charcoal. This will not only improve the quality of life for citizens, but it will also help the environment by reducing deforestation and air pollution caused by the burning of firewood.

Eromosele, a Corporate Communication professional and public affairs analyst lives in Lagos.

To say that the mixed news coming from the federal government of Nigeria over President Muhammadu Buhari’s consent to the acquisition of the entire ExxonMobil, Delaware, USA’s shares in Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPNU) by Seplat Energy Offshores Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Seplat Energ​​y Plc., is a serious cause for worry for the global business community is to state obvious.

Nigeria is probably the only country in the world that could allow this game by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Plc. (NNPC) and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) over a $1.3 billion transaction, which also includes up to $300 million contingent consideration.

A statement by Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adeshina, said the approval was predicated on the deal’s extensive benefits to the Nigerian energy sector.

It read: “In his capacity as Minister of Petroleum Resources, and in consonance with the country’s drive for Foreign Direct Investment in the energy sector, President Muhammadu Buhari has consented to the acquisition of Exxon Mobil shares in the United States of America by Seplat Energy Offshore Limited.

“ExxonMobil had entered into a landmark Sale and Purchase Agreement with Seplat Energy to acquire the entire share capital of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited from ExxonMobil Corporation, Mobil Development Nigeria Inc., and Mobil Exploration Nigeria Inc., both registered in Delaware, USA.

“Considering the extensive benefits of the transaction to the Nigerian Energy sector and the larger economy, President Buhari has given Ministerial Consent to the deal.

“The President, in commitment to investment drive in light of the Petroleum Industry Act, granted consent to the Share Sales Agreement, as requested by the parties to the transaction, and directed that the approval be conveyed to all the parties involved.

“ExxonMobil/Seplat are expected to carry out operatorship of all the oil mining licenses in the related shallow water assets towards production optimisation to support Nigeria’s OPEC quota in the short term as well as ensure accelerated development and monetisation of the gas resources in the assets for the Nigerian economy.

“President Buhari also directed that all environmental and abandonment liabilities be adequately mitigated by ExxonMobil and Seplat”.

Misinterpreting the law

Surprisingly, hardly had the President’s ink dried than the NUPRC openly countermand his assent in a bizarre move that has discomfited global business community and set tongues wagging.

In insisting that the earlier veto by the NNPC remained, Buhari’s consent notwithstanding, NUPRC Chief Executive, Gbenga Komolafe, cited provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, which he claomed, conferred on the Commission powers of sole regulator of the upstream subsector.

“As it were, the issue at stake is purely a regulatory matter and the Commission had earlier communicated the decline of Ministerial assent to ExxonMobil in this regard. As such, the Commission further affirms that the status quo remains.

“The Commission is committed to ensuring predictable and conducive regulatory environment at all times in the Nigerian upstream sector.

“Let me just put it simply, as a Commission, we work strictly in line with the position of the law, and basically we don’t react on the basis of news making the rounds, but we work strictly in line with the law.

“And by virtue of the provisions of the petroleum industry act, under section 95, subsection 10, 14 and 15, the commission’s powers in these regards are clearly stated.

“So, regarding the issue, my clarification will just be an affirmation that the position of the Commission stands in respect of the decline of the assets (sale), without prejudice to any other position.

“So, the position of the Commission as the authority involved in the regulation of the upstream, which had earlier been communicated to Mobil, stands. As far as the commission is concerned, nothing has changed. The status quo remains as far as we are concerned,” he insisted.

But NUPRC referencing to Section 95 of the PIA as guiding ministerial consent is wrong because the PIA does not apply to the MPNU assets, which are OML assets. OMLs are still guided by the Petroleum Act (PA), and the MPNU’s OML assets are yet to be converted to PIA regime and Buhari exercised the powers of the Minister under the PA. Section 303 (1) of the PIA unambiguously provides that the PIA does not apply to unconverted OPLs and OMLs until the OPLs and OMLs come up for renewal.

Even at that, whereas Section 95 (15) of the PIA 2021, which NUPRC gleefully quotes provides that “A holder of a petroleum exploration licence shall not assign, novate or transfer his licence or any right, power or interest without prior written consent of the commission”, Section 95 (8) expressly provides that “Where the consent of the minister is granted in respect of the application for a transfer, the Commission shall promptly record the transfer in the appropriate register.”

So, industry stakeholders are understandably at a loss as to where NUPRC derives its powers to override the Minister’s consent.

Playing NNPC’s script

Obviously NUPRC is acting NNPC’s scripts. It is recalled that the NNPC had in a May 2022 letter to ExxonMobil by its Group Managing Director, Mele Kyari, said the transaction could not be consummated as it wanted to exercise its right of first refusal in the June 28, 1990 Joint Operating Agreement (JOA) with ExxonMobil.

To make good its threat, the NNPC in July dragged ExxonMobil to a Federal high Court in Abuja, asking the Court to order that a dispute had occurred between the parties over pre-emption rights, or to order them to take the matter to arbitration, quoting a statement from Seplat. It obtained an order of interim injunction baring ExxonMobil “from completing any divestment”.

However, a cursory look at the JOA in question shows that right of first refusal applied only to divestment of Participating Interest, not in a case where a company wants to sale its shares to a third party.

Article 19.4 of the JOA provides: “Subject to sub-clauses 19.1 and 19.2, if any Party has received an offer from a third Party, which it desires to accept, for the assignment or transfer of its participating hereunder (the “Transferring Party”), it shall give the other Party prior right and option in writing to purchase such Participating Interest as provided in sub-clauses 19. 4.1 to 19 .4.2”.

Sub-clause 19. 4.1 states: “The Transferring Party shall first give notices to the other Party, specifying therein the name and address of the aforementioned third Party and the terms and conditions (including monetary and other consideration) of the proposed assignment and transfer”. 

Also, sub-clause 19 .4.2 provides: “Upon receipt of the notice referred to in Sub-clause 19. 2.1, the other Party may within thirty (30) days thereafter, request in writing the assignment and transfer of such Participating Interests to it, in which event the assignment or transfer shall be made to it on the same or equivalent terms”.

However, the JOA, in Article 1 (24), defines Participating Interest as “the undivided percentage interest from time to time held by the parties in the concession (s), the joint property and rights and obligations under this agreement…” 

The question is: did NUPRC or NNPC make any efforts to ascertain from the Presidency the reasons Buhari overruled them on the matter? This becomes pertinent as findings show that the Attorney General of the Federal and the Legal Department of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources (NUPRC’s and NNPC’s supervising ministry) were of the view that the transaction followed the law and consequently advised the President to consent to the deal, as manifestly, MPNU’s Participating Interest in the respective OMLs and the JOA were not offered for sale.

The deal was for the acquisition of shares owned by third parties that are shareholders in MPNU.

It is either the NNPC and NUPRC do not understand the law or they are being mischievous with the law, for It is a given in law that the shareholders of a company are distinct from the company, just as the company is a distinct or separate person in the eyes of the law?

Precedents, implications to Nigeria

Meanwhile, precedence and propriety do not support the NNPC and NUPRC’s position and actions. They are also worried about its grave implications to Nigeria’s already gloomy investment environment.

On Tuesday, an oil and gas industry analyst and publisher of Africa Oil and Gas Report, Toyin Akinosho, decried the impropriety of NUPRC’s public spat with the Presidency, saying it was needless, spoke of poor organisation, and was definitely sending wrong signals to the investment world.

“ExxonMobil simply wants to leave the shallow waters; and other companies have left. So, there have been precedents in terms of how companies have left by handing over their entire shareholding in that particular country.

“ExxonMobil is not selling its segment in the OMLs. They are basically selling MPNU the way Ashaland sold Ashland, the way ConocoPhillips sold its entire shares to Oando, the same way Eland Oil and Gas sold to Seplat and this same government approved it.

“As far as I know, the President Buhari has signed off on ExxonMobil-Seplat transaction, the Attorney General has signed off on it. So, when NUPRC says it is not in compliance with Nigerian laws, I really don’t understand where that is coming from”, he stated.

In May, an Energy Law expert, Bloomfield, Ayodele Oni, warned that truncating the ExxonMobil-Seplat deal could cause the likes of TotalEnergies looking to also divest some of its assets to be discouraged from going into negotiations.

Likewise, the Group Chairman/CEO at International Energy Services Limited, Dr. Diran Fawibe, had warned that “the cancellation will give the wrong signal to the international community”. 

Chasing rats while the house burns

As the controversy rages, Nigerians on social media have wondered why NUPRC and NNPC fiddles when the industry is going south under their watch. Oil theft has worsened to 400,000 barrels per day. Fuel consumption per day has spiked from about 30 million litres per day in 2015 to a bogus 100 million litres amid long cues and sometimes adulterated supplies. Resource-gobbling subsidy has virtually rendered Nigeria bankrupt. NNPC’s has been unable to remit a dime to the Federation Account for months.

Yet both NNPC and NUPRC have been so preoccupied with scuttling a deal they should actually promote and find it difficult to encourage prolific indigenous oil and gas firms to boast Nigeria’s sagging production.

It is high time Mr. President calls them to order and salvage the ExxonMobil-Seplat transaction to save the nation further pains, embarrassments and loss of investors’ confidence.

Adewale, an energy analyst writes from Lagos