The Group Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Ltd (NNPCL), Mr Mele Kyari, on Thursday, March 14, 2024, said the Port Harcourt refinery would begin production by end of March.
R-L: GCEO NNPC Ltd, Mr. Mele Kyari; EVP Downstream, Mr. Dapo Segun; and Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye, during an interactive session organised by the Senate Ad-hoc Committee on Investigation of Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) in the nation’s refineries, held at the National Assembly, on Thursday
Kyari said this after a meeting with the Senate Ad-hoc Committee investigating the various Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) projects of Nigerian refineries.
“In the next two weeks, production will start, we did mechanical completion of Port Harcourt, that was what we said in Dec 2023.
“That means we are done with our rehabilitation work, now you are to test if this completion is okay,” he said.
On Warri refinery, Kyari said mechanical works had been completed, adding that the facility was undergoing the regulatory compliance processes.
He, however, said Kaduna would not be ready until December.
Kyari said that all the crude lines were active, adding that over 450,000 barrels had been delivered into Port Harcourt refinery.
“Yes, there may be security issues, but also government is responding to the situation.
“We are happy to work with the committee and promise not to hide anything from them,” Kyari said.
Chairman of the Ad-hoc Committee, Sen. Ifeanyi Uba (APC -Anambra), said the committee was satisfied with the information from NNPCL.
Ubah said the committee had an understanding of when to go for oversight function of the refineries.
“I believe everything is positively on track.
“We want the refineries to work, and we have gotten firm promise from NNPCL on when they will begin operation.
“The next step is to visit the refineries and assess the progress,” he said.
The Senate has dismissed media reports claiming that it will expose all “frauds associated with the contracts and management of the Turn Around Maintenance of the nation’s refineries”.
A news report last week claimed that the Senate through its Ad-hoc Committee on Investigation of Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) in the nation’s refineries has vowed to “expose all frauds associated with the contracts and management of the process.”
Chairman of the Ad-hoc Committee, Senator Ifeanyi Ubah, who expressed displeasure over the “unfortunate reports” at an interactive session on Thursday, said the National Assembly couldn’t have declared verdict on an issue that is still under investigation.
“I apologise for the reports. I was quoted out of context,” Senator Uba said at the interactive session.
The Senator further noted that the Committee’s concern was aimed at getting the nation’s refineries fully rehabilitated and returned to their respective optimal refining capacities so as to ensure nationwide petroleum products sufficiency and safeguard Nigeria’s energy security.
The Senate Ad-hoc Committee is expected to visit the three refineries in Kaduna, Warri and Port Harcourt soon for an on-the-spot assessment of work progress.
The committee will meet with Kyari on March 19, on issues relating to crude oil theft.
UTM Offshore Limited, promoters of Nigeria’s first Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) facility, has requested the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) to invest equity in the project and to accelerate key approvals that would fast-track the project’s development.
Group Managing Director, UTM Offshore Limited, Mr. Julius Rone
The request was made on Wednesday, March 13, 2024, at the Nigerian Content Tower in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State when the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Felix Omatsola Ogbe, hosted the management of UTM Offshore Limited led by the Group Managing Director, Mr. Julius Rone.
The target completion date of the FLNG project is 2028 and it hopes to contribute about 450,000 tonnes of liquified petroleum gas (LPG), otherwise known as cooking gas, per annum to the domestic market. This will assuage Nigeria’s average demand of about 1.5 million tonnes of LPG per annum and reduce the dependence on the importation of LPG.
Giving a brief on the company, the Group Managing Director stated that UTM is a 100 percent indigenous company, and the floating LNG project would optimise Nigeria’s stranded gas offshore, enhance energy transition, promote domestic consumption of cooking gas, and aid technology transfer, among other benefits.
He invited the NCDMB to take equity in the project, hinting that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and the Delta State Government were already partners on the project given its importance to Nigeria’s energy security. He described the FLNG as another confirmation of the capability of Nigerians to develop projects of world-class standards.
He announced that roadshows were being planned for Uyo and Abuja in April 2024, to showcase the Nigerian Content opportunities in the project and to engender increased participation of Nigerian oil and gas services companies.
The UTM Offshore boss thanked the Board’s Management for facilitating the project’s progress, just as he solicited greater synergy with his company on all aspects of Nigerian Content implementation and overall development of the project.
Providing further details, the Technical Manager of the FLNG, George Amara, stated that the project’s target total production is 2.72 million tonnes per annum (MTPA), with LNG accounting for 1.81 MTPA, LPG taking up 0.45 MTPA, and condensate making up 0.25 MTPA.
He commended NCDMB for approving key stages of the development, including Pre-Front-End Engineering Design (Pre-FEED), the Pre-FEED Nigerian Content Development (NCD) Plan, and the Front-End-Engineering Design (FEED) NCD Plan. Other accomplishments include the Engineering Procurement Construction NCD Plan, the training of three indigenous engineers for Pre-FEED Nigerian Content Development, and the engagement of 13 Nigerian engineers for the FEED NCD scope as well the engagement of Nigerian engineering firms for different aspects of the project.
He affirmed that UTM FLNG would utilise Nigerian fabrication yards for in-country activities, adding that an inspection of prospective yards in Lagos and Calabar had been completed.
He hinted that the project was going into the Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Installation & Commissioning (EPCIC) stage, which is very critical, hence the need to update the NCDMB and request speedy approval for the EPC NCD Plan.
In his response, the Executive Secretary, NCDMB, Felix Omatsola Ogbe, expressed delight with the progress recorded on the UTM FLNG and assured that the Board would provide all the required approvals. He urged the company’s Management to “be proactive. Let us know whatever challenge or obstacles that you encounter”, assuring that the Board would do all that is within its powers to assist the company and others showing resourcefulness.
On the request for equity investment, the Executive Secretary promised to consider the application with the Board’s management and to escalate the proposal to the Board’s Governing Council for further consideration.
He also promised that the Board would participate in the Nigerian Content roadshow, to explore opportunities for other Nigerian firms on the FLNG project.
In its drive towards ensuring environmental sustainability and a cleaner and healthier Nigeria, the National Environmental Standard and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) convened a crucial stakeholders’ consultation session on the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) Circular Solutions to Plastic Pollution in Nigeria.
Some participants at the event
Held in Lagos on Wednesday, March 13, 2024, the event was aimed at discussing best approach patterns towards reducing pollution arising from single-use plastics commonly used for packaging sachet drinking water usually referred as “pure water”.
In his opening remarks, Professor Aliyu Jauro, Director-General of NESREA, said: “The proposed GEF Circular Solutions to Plastic Pollution in Nigeria Project holds immense promises. It aims to reduce from the upstream, consumption of single-use water sachets as well as its attendant pollution from poor management while ensuring accessible and safe drinking water for our communities.
“Through a multi-faceted approach, encompassing regulatory measures, industry engagement, circular economy models, and awareness raising, we are to create a paradigm shift on best approach to reduce plastic pollution in the Food and Beverage sector.”
According to the D-G, represented by Chukwudi Nwabuisiaku, Assistant Director, NESREA, “Shiran et al., 2013 asserted that estimated 460 Metric Tonnes of plastic was produced in 2019, with 430 Metric Tonnes being virgin plastic and 29 Metric Tonnes recycled.
“As you know, Nigeria lacks solid waste management infrastructure for efficient storage, collection, transportation and management of plastic waste in environmentally sound manner or through cross-value-chain approach. Also, our attitude and perception to handling of plastic waste is very poor.
“The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is thus committed to averting threats posed by plastic pollution.
“The question we may likely ask is ‘why the concern for plastic pollution?’. The answer is not far-fetched, as it is because of the negative health and environmental impacts of plastics to public health, biodiversity and the environment. Plastics are non-degradable; hence are indestructible, blocks drainages, causing flooding, prevent oxygen absorption by aquatic lives, as well as endocrine disruption amongst others.
“As we all know, plastic pollution has become a global concern resulting in the global agreement in 2022, when the United Nations Environmental Assembly (UNEA) adopted resolution 5/14, giving mandate to UN Member States to start negotiations towards an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the Marine Environment to commence negotiation for a Treaty on Plastics and its Waste Management. It is imperative that we come together as public servants to find sustainable and circular solutions to combat this menace.”
In his submission, Mr. Linus Orakwe, UNEP National Consultant, noted that the project, which is yet to kick off proper, is currently at the Project Preparatory Grant (PPG) phase, adding that the main objective of the project is “to reduce the consumption of single-use water sachets in Nigeria while ensuring accessible and safe drinking water for the people”.
Concerned by the submission of speakers, Egberi Odiri Mackson, National President, Hygienic Water Producers Association (HWAPAN), who cautioned the organisers not to compare Nigeria with countries in other climes, said: “This is Africa, Nigeria to be precise where access to potable water is from the private sector. Even in government establishments they use bottled water while the middle and lower class use sachet water. In my view, talking about the reduction of production of single-use plastics will affect everybody.
“Policy development and implementation is the way to go. Government should rather come out with a policy that will ensure clean and safe environment for all. They should think of formulating a policy that will see to the recycling of plastic materials and converted to other use like road construction, by doing this they would have created another channel for investment, employment and income generation.
“If the government puts up this policy, they can then give a mandate that, for every road construction project in the country, there should be a certain percentage of plastic.
“Also, give out grant for those planning to set up recycling plants to come up with pellets which the construction companies can use for their projects such as it’s being done in India.”
Dr. Clementina Chinwe Ativie, National President, Association for Table Water Producers of Nigeria (ATWAP), in her submission declared that what should be important to all stakeholders is how to ensure that Nigeria gets potable water and at the same time reduces the number of plastic materials in the environment.
While narrating some steps taken in the past in ensuring massive reduction of plastic wastes in the environment, the ATWAP National President, who said her association can identify the end users of both drinking the water and it’s plastic waste, said: “in 2006, we went into partnership with the Lagos State Ministry of Environment and came out with a programme known as ‘Nylon/Plastic Buy Back Consultative Forum’ in which we attached a premium to all our products, in less than two weeks the designated facilities used for the programme was overfilled with used plastic materials.
“ATWAP at the executive level has also devised means of executing community development projects where we take bulk water by mounting drum-like stainless refilling tank in strategic places, we also do one-off pack just like it’s being done in advance countries. So, people can come and buy the water. So, by the time you remove the quantity or the number that could have come into maybe 1000 litres, in the process you know how many sachets that could have gone to the environment” she maintained.
Dr. Leslie Adogame, Executive Director of Sustainable Research and Action for Environmental Development (SRADev Nigeria), in his submission disclosed that plastic technology globally has come to stay.
He said: “There is no advocate anywhere in the world that will support a complete ban on plastics, but I think the concern for us who are members of civil societies, our interest is to support sustainable development.”
Dr. Adogame, whose outfit is a major advocate for plastic-free future for the world, added: “We are very much aware of the socio-economic impact of what plastic pollution can cause, so we try as much as possible to advocate for best practices.
“There are some categories of plastic even in the global negotiation that are problematic but if we can find solution, we can find alternatives and find other strategies which don’t turn out to be problem to the environment.”
The stakeholders’ consultative session, which was organised by NESREA in partnership with UNEP and funded by GEF, had numerous members of civil society organisations in attendance such as Nigeria National Plastic Action Partnership, and Food and Beverages Recycling Alliance (FBRA), among others.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has pledged to support Nigeria in the development of roadmap on the environment sector.
Minister of Environment, Balarabe Abbas Lawal, and the new Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Ms. Elsie Attafuaw, with Ministry and UNDP officials
This was disclosed during a courtesy visit to the Minister of Environment, Balarabe Abbas Lawal, in his office by the new Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Ms. Elsie Attafuaw, recently in Abuja.
The Minister congratulated the new UNDP country rep. on her new posting to ECOWAS/Nigeria and solicits UNDP’s support in tackling climate change challenges and environmental sustainability.
Balarabe further stated that Nigeria needs UNDP technical assistance to fight insecurity and banditry in the forest.
“Other areas of collaboration and partnership between the Ministry and UNDP include pollution control, biodiversity, erosion and flood control and desert encroachment among others,” he said.
In her welcome address, the new UNDP Resident Representative, Ms. Elsie Attafuaw, congratulated the minister on his appointment as Minister of Environment.
Elsie reiterated that energy is a national security issue and lamented that Nigerian and many African nations are not doing enough on energy, climate change, new innovations, plastic pollution, conservation and biodiversity.
She added that UNDP would support Nigeria in the development of its roadmap on environment and achieving its mandate of its 18 key priority deliverables of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda on environment.
The envoy stated that she feels very much at home being in Nigeria and promised to collaborate with the ministry on the climate change crisis.
Taraba State Commissioner of Environment and Climate Change, Hajia Aishat A. Barde, paid a courtesy visit to the Minister of Tourism, Lola Ade John, on Monday, March 11, 2024. Barde visited alongside the CEO of Sunvila Nigeria, Mr. Ibrahim Pam.
R-L: Taraba State Commissioner of Environment and Climate Change, Hajia Aishat A. Barde; Minister of Tourism, Lola Ade John; and CEO of Sunvila Nigeria, Mr. Ibrahim Pam
The visit was to establish a relationship between the Federal Ministry and the State Government, and to seek a collaboration on certain projects that will encourage local tourism, reduce carbon footprint, and boost the economy of the state.
The partnership proposed is about “Ecotourism and Natural Resource Management” of the Gashaka Gumti National Park. Barde underlined the various environmental, social, and economic benefits of the project, especially on its ability to preserve its biodiversity while encouraging community engagements.
She spoke on the governor’s steadfast effort in ensuring security in the state while encouraging responsible travelling and safety of life within the state.
The Minister, Ms John, was delighted to receive the delegation as she spoke about the importance of federal and state collaborations in establishing strategic innovation in the country. Her enthusiasm to developing projects that encourages domestic tourism was well felt as she spoke extensively on ecovillages and incorporating bamboo farming and trading into the mix. She stated that her interests are to ensure that any tourism project should find a way to create jobs, sustain local livelihoods and generate revenue.
The CEO of Sunvila, Mr. Pam, also spoke on the various benefits of the project to the state and the country at large and confirmed that the concerns of the Minister were well acknowledged.
Sunvila Nigeria is a joint venture involving a Nigerian and Korean corporation to create smart complexes that will provide economic activities in the rural communities of the state after assessing the needs, environmental and social impacts of the project.
Barde reiterated that the project is of considerable importance to her office as she works towards providing solutions in mitigating and adapting to climate change impacts and protecting the environment at large.
The Minister of Power, Mr Adebayo Adelabu, says the Federal Government is addressing power deficit by using alternative energy sources, such as windfall, solar and mini-grids.
Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu
Adelabu, represented by Mr Abdulrasheed Lawal, Director Procurement, Ministry of Power said this in Abuja on Wednesday, March 13, 2024, at the presentation of the proposed 30 Megawatts (MW) Windfall And Solar Hybrid Project at Lekki, Lagos.
The project, after necessary appraisal, would be executed by Crown Resources Development Company Limited (CREDCO) in collaboration with Vergnet, a France-based wind turbine company.
He said, “We are aware that presently there is energy deficit in the country, so we are doing everything possible to address the issue by investing in alternative sources.
”We have to think out of the box to achieve energy sufficiency; we have to look at using mini-grids, solar and wind to achieve this.
”We are already doing 10MW using Windfall in Katsina and we are trying to replicate same in Lagos in order to ensure reliable and steady power supply in the country,” he said.
On his part, Mr Barney Ojiah, Chief Executive Officer of CREDCO, said that they were in the Ministry of Power to make a presentation on the project and to discuss how to further improve power supply for Nigerians.
He emphasised that power was important in the lives of all Nigerians no matter how it comes.
”This is a collaborative effort between the ministry of power and CREDCO on how to achieve reliable and steady power supply,” he said.
Also, Mr Frederic Cheve, Subsidiaries Manager, Africa, Vergnet, while making his presentation, said that the project was a renewable and innovative solution to Lagos energy needs.
According to him, the project aims to harness the abundant wind and solar resources to generate clean and reliable power while mitigating the risks associated with relying on a single source of energy.
He said that the proposed capacity of the project was 20/30 megawatts wind and solar hybridised system.
Cheve, who said the project would be developed in phases, added it would have a number of significant benefits for Lagos and the country.
He listed the benefits to include improved energy security and grid stability.
”It will create green jobs and boost the local economy, reduce the reliance on fossil fuels and curtail greenhouse gas emissions.
”This project will contribute to achieving Nigeria’s national energy goals,” he said.
Cheve further said the project aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s Presidential Power Initiative (PPI), which aims to add 12,000 MW of electricity to the national grid and to provide 24-hour electricity for Nigerians.
”The project is in line with the renewable energy plan that is based on Nigeria’s commitment to carbon neutrality by 2060,” he said.
Some experts have advocated for urgent efforts in cutting down methane emissions in Nigeria.
Human emissions of methane are second only to carbon dioxide in contributing to global warming
The experts made the call at a capacity-building workshop and stakeholders engagement on methane emissions reduction in Nigeria.
The workshop was organised by the Centre of Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) and the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NGRI).
Speaking at the workshop, TJ Conway, an Energy and Climate Expert, said that methane contributed to about 30 per cent of global warming.
Methane is a greenhouse gas whose presence in the atmosphere affects the Earth’s temperature and climate system.
“Methane is more than 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide (CO2) over a 20-year period.
“The global oil and gas industry emits more than six billion tons of CO2 equivalent to methane over a 20-year period.
“This is about 25 per cent of human-made emissions,” Conway said.
According to him, there is an urgent need for concerted efforts involving government, communities, media, and the oil and gas industry to address the situation.
He said that it was crucial for the media and civil society organisations (CSOs) to understand the impact of methane on climate change to advocate for appropriate actions.
Speaking, the Editor of Pluboard, a media company, Mr. Ini Ekott, said that Nigeria was among the world’s top 10 methane emitters, mainly due to leakages and flaring.
He said that Nigeria flared an estimated 5.3 billion cubic meters of natural gas, equivalent to 177 million 12.5 kg gas cylinders.
According to Ekott, the media and CSOs should hold the government and oil companies accountable for such emissions, which are mostly not in compliance with best practices.
Dr. Charles Ofori, the Policy Lead at the African Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), stated that reducing emissions from oil and gas was an effective way to mitigate methane.
Ofori explained that existing technologies could be deployed for mitigation, such as replacing pneumatic units in oil and gas systems, capturing and utilising methane, and detecting and repairing methane leaks.
“Limited political will is hindering effective implementation of methane management.
“Weak coordination among government agencies affects effective regulatory oversight.
“The required actions include governments taking responsibility for their emissions and implementing realistic plans to eliminate methane emissions.
“Government, companies and other stakeholders must design specific policies to deal with methane abatement,” Ofori said.
Similarly, Alexander Sewell, Advocacy Manager at Stakeholders Democracy Network, stated that methane emissions affected agricultural productivity and contributed to climate change.
He underscored the importance of appropriate data on gas emissions which could be used to hold organisations accountable.
A project in Nigeria to replace fossil fuel generators with solar-powered alternatives to meet the energy needs of weak grid or off-grid Nigerian SMEs emerged one of the two winners for the ZE-Gen Demonstrator – a £2 million funding competition to show the capability, applicability, and scalability of integrated renewable alternatives to fossil-fuelled generators.
Solar panels
This emerged on Wednesday, March 13, at the Transforming Energy Access (TEA) Forum 2024 in Kigali, where funding for innovative interventions to replace fossil fuel-powered generators with renewable energy-based alternatives in Africa, South Asia, and the Pacific Islands was announced as part of the Zero-Emission Generators (ZE-Gen) initiative.
This included a £250,000 investment by ZE-Gen to the Green Genset Facility, which will make it simpler and more transparent for distributors to buy solar-powered generators in Africa.
An expandable, solar generator for Nigerian businesses from off-grid renewable developer BioLite was chosen as one of the projects to receive the ZE-Gen Demonstrator funding. Building on BioLite’s deep technical expertise in solar generators the company will develop EverPower, an expandable, zero-emissions solar generator, to replace fossil fuel generators to meet the energy needs of weak grid or off-grid Nigerian SMEs.
The other winner is a project in Côte d’Ivoire and Fiji for wind-generator technologies to charge approximately 400 e-mobility batteries a day for electric motorbikes, scooters, small boat outboards and drones.
Led by British e-mobility charge-point developer Aegis Energy, the Zephattan project will showcase the readiness for wind powered generators to meet remote and off-grid African and Pacific Island Country electricity needs.
With the potential to save around 500-tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions in six-months of field testing, the project is a collaboration with Abidjan-based local gender and social inclusion programming specialist and community-wind entrepreneur KOC Bridges to Peace, and Suva-based renewables development finance specialist Leaf Capital.
ZE-Gen announced at the event its collaboration with the Green Genset Facility (GGF), a spin-off from the Access to Energy Institute. ZE-Gen’s investment of £250,000 into the GGF is said to align with its commitment to supporting sustainable energy initiatives that will replace fossil-fuelled generators. This contribution underscores ZE-Gen’s ongoing efforts to promote innovation in renewable energy alongside existing funders BGFA, DOEN Foundation, Good Energies Foundation, IKEA Foundation, NEFCO and Sida.
The GGF aims to make it simple and transparent for distributors to buy solar-powered generators, accelerating a move away from fossil fuel alternatives. The facility, supported by Open Capital Advisors, will address the lack of accessible and affordable working capital — seen as the biggest obstacle that distributors face in procuring solar generators from suppliers.
Through digital tracking of repayment and usage patterns, the facility will make it easier to buy stock to serve customers and grow distributors’ businesses, with the aim of improving livelihoods and reducing emissions and pollution in Africa. In a market due to exceed $20 billion in Nigeria alone, the facility will focus on unlocking the market for solar powered generators with the aim of raising $100 million in funding.
Dr James Coombs Obrien, Innovation Lead – Energy at Innovate UK, said: “We are delighted to announce these interventions at the Transforming Energy Access Forum, as part of ZE-Gen’s holistic approach to displacing fossil-fuelled generators.
“The Green Genset Facility and the winners of the ZE-Gen Demonstrator will drive forward the renewable energy-based generator landscape in Africa, South-Asia and the Pacific Islands, tackling the barriers to meet the growing market – and need – for renewable-based solutions. This supports ZE-Gen’s mission to enable the replacement of millions of polluting and expensive fossil-fuelled generators by accelerating the transition to renewable energy-based alternatives.”
The Centre for Climate Change and Development (CCCD) at Alex Ekwueme Federal University, in collaboration with the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) London, is holding an online event to present the key messages emanating from recent national research on Nigeria’s subsidy reform and its energy transition agenda.
Professor Chukwumerije Okereke
The CCCD and ODI conducted research that aimed to understand the realities unfolding because of the impacts of fuel subsidy reform and their potential near-term consequences.
The research, which is based on an extensive literature review, economic modelling techniques, and interviews with several leading thinkers in Nigeria, explores the opportunities and challenges associated with subsidy reform in relation to Nigeria’s energy transition agenda.
It also offers a suite of guides for a politically smart, socially inclusive reform and reallocation of public funds, which in the long term could be the first step to planning towards a just and equitable transition away from fossil fuels.
It will be recalled that, in May 2023, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu announced the immediate removal of Nigeria’s petroleum subsidy, leading to dramatic increases in end-user fuel prices. While there are compelling justifications for subsidy reform, considerable problems exist about the method, consequences, and sustainability of reform.
Failure to mitigate the short-term socioeconomic effects of subsidy reform will have multi-level consequences across Nigeria’s economy and populations. It could harm the most vulnerable segments of Nigeria’s population and introduce political risks to the sustainability of reform, as experienced by similar attempts by former governments.
A real or perceived lack of transparency in the sector could also make it difficult to determine the various other ways in which state revenues are being lost, which can further hinder sector reform and cause a range of environmental, social, and economic harms.
The workshop will be held on the March 14, 2024, 12:00–13:30 WAT, and will be hosted by Dr. Nwajiku-Dahou, Director of the Politics and Governance Programme at Overseas Development Institute, and Professor Chukwumerije Okereke, Director of the Centre for Climate Change and Development at Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu-Alike, Nigeria (CCCD-AEFUNAI).
Sam Onuigbo, a member of the governing board and Chairman of the Committee on Climate Change of the North East Development Commission, and Eng. Solomon Bulus Maren, National Coordinator of the African Parliamentary Network on Climate Action, are the guests of honour for the event.
Speaking ahead of the event, the Director of the Centre for Climate Change and Development, Professor Chukwumerije Okereke, said that the research is in keeping with the mission of the Centre to collaborate with top-level international partners to undertake high-quality research to generate knowledge that will contribute to climate- resilient and sustainable development of Nigeria and Africa more broadly.
He expressed the hope that the Federal Government would utilise the findings of the research to reform the fuel subsidy in ways that will be fairer, more progressive and better advance the energy transition objectives of the country.
By Elochukwu Anieze, Research Fellow at CCCD-AEFUNAI
The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Felix Omatsola Ogbe, on Monday, March 11, 2024, applauded President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for announcing three Presidential Executive Orders directed at incentivising the Nigerian oil and gas industry, encouraging new investments in the sector, reducing contracting costs and timelines, and promoting cost efficiency in local content requirements.
The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Felix Omatsola Ogbe
The Executive Orders are the Oil and Gas Companies (Tax Incentives, Exemption, Remission, ETC) Order 2024; Presidential Directive on Local Content Compliance Requirements, 2024 (EO 41); and Presidential Directive on Reduction of Petroleum Sector Contracting Costs and Timelines, 2024 (EO 42).
Speaking at the Nigerian Content Tower in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, the Executive Secretary stated that the policy directives had reinforced the implementation of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act and codified the Service Level Agreements (SLA), which the NCDMB first introduced in May 2017 to fast-track approvals for the Nigeria LNG Limited Train 7 project, before expanding it to the entire industry after signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) and five international oil-producing companies in September 2023.
Ogbe clarified that the Presidential Executive Orders did not whittle down the powers of the NCDMB or abrogate the schedule of the NOGICD Act. Instead, according to him, the Executive Order 41 mandates the Board to ensure the patronage of local companies with domiciled proven capacities and capabilities to achieve cost competitiveness and project delivery within schedule.
He equally pointed out that Executive Order 42 reemphasised NCDMB’s obligation to fast-track approval processes as required by the SLA and section 23 of the NOGICD Act, which mandates the Board to review projects’ documentation within 10 days and advise the concerned operating company.
He assured that the Board would comply with the terms of the Presidential Executive Orders, insisting that the Board had always been pragmatic with its implementation of the NOGICD Act and mindful of the cost competitiveness of projects and schedules.
He maintained that the objectives of the Executive Orders and the SLAs were directed to shorten the oil industry’s contracting cycle to six months or less, engender speedy development of new projects, contribute to increased oil production, and improve the national economy, expressing delight that President Tinubu had put his stamp of authority on the noble objectives of the SLAs.
He commended Mr. President for acknowledging the giant strides recorded in Nigerian Content development, particularly the impressive capacities built by local oil and gas service companies in key areas of the industry and the substantial benefits that had accrued to the Nigerian economy and her citizens through local content implementation.
The NCDMB boss assured that the agency would continue to serve as a business enabler and maintain the recognition conferred by the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), which awarded the Board the most efficient agency amongst all Federal Government’s MDAs in 2022 and the Platinum rating by the Bureau for Public Service Reforms in recognition of the self-imposed reforms of Board’s processes.
