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Gov. Okowa Tasks FG on Rising Cost of Cooking Gas

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Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta has called on the Federal Government and relevant policy makers to initiate steps towards reducing the rising cost of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) in the country.The governor made the call at a two-day LPG sensitisation and awareness campaign organised by the National LPG Expansion Implementation Plan, Office of the Vice President in conjunction with the State Government on Monday in Asaba.

He said that the theme of the campaign “Stimulating Delta State Socioeconomic Growth Through LPG Adoption And Expansion” was apt as the world moved towards greener sources of energy.
This, according to him, is because of the adverse effects of fossil fuel on the environment.
Okowa, represented by his Chief Economic Adviser, Dr Kingsley Emu, said stakeholders must work to reduce the rising cost of LPG if the objective of the National LPG Expansion plan was to be realised.He thanked the Office of the Vice President for choosing Delta as one of the pilot states for the public enlightenment campaign.“Just recently, world leaders gathered in Glasgow, Ireland, in a Summit (COP-26) to discuss the adverse effects of climate change occasioned by the use of fossil fuels and the need to move towards cleaner energy.“This makes the adoption of LPG as a transition fuel to greener sources exigent, and Delta State is keen to play a vital role in this process and will give this awareness programme maximum support,” he said.Okowa said that Delta was home to 40 per cent of the nation’s natural gas endowments, hence a large number of oil and gas companies operate in the state.He said that there were prospects for the establishment of gas processing plants and gas-related industries in the state.This, the governor said, had implications for employment generation, inclusive economic growth and sustainable development.“However, as we adopt LPG as the fuel to drive the socio-economic activities of the economy, we must acknowledge a big challenge currently confronting the populace, the issue of high price of LPG in the market.“At the rate the price is skyrocketing, LPG is gradually getting out of the reach of the middle class and common man.“The price increase has been linked to several factors including the VAT re-introduction, devaluation of the naira and large importation of LPG vis-a-vis low production locally.“It is imperative that policy makers find a way to mitigate this upward trend in the price of LPG to give succour to our people, and if the goal of the LPG expansion plan is to be realised,” he said.Okowa was unhappy with the continuous flaring of gas by most oil and gas companies and urged them to expand their production facility to include the capacity to convert gas to LPG for use.He said that this was because of the untapped potential in the LPG market.The governor called on investors to come into the oil and gas sector and improve the availability of LPG in the market.He that his administration had carried out significant reforms to create investor-friendly climate in the state, including tax harmonisation, easy access to land and dispute resolution mechanisms to handle conflicts when they arise.“As we embrace the use of LPG in every sector of our economy as the source of energy, safety concerns become paramount.“We cannot forget in a hurry the gas explosion incident at Agbor in January this year, which, sadly, claimed many lives.“As a government, we have put mechanisms in place to avert similar occurrences and that includes the setting up of a committee to advise the government on guidelines for the establishment of gas plants in the state,” the governor said.The Senior Special Assistant to the President on LPG, Mr Dayo Adesina, said Delta State was strategic to the National LPG Expansion plan in view of its contributions to oil and gas development in the country.He said the Federal Government would procure 10 million gas cylinders and give to marketers for onward distribution to end users which would be exchanged from various homes.Adesina said there was no reason why anyone should use firewood, kerosene and charcoal for cooking especially when the country was blessed with abundance of gas.He commended Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa for setting up four training centres for manufacturing of low emission stove in the state.Earlier in a welcome address, the State Commissioner for Oil and Gas, Prince Emmanuel Amgbaduba, said the objective of the sensitisation was to display the economic and sustainability plan for adopting LPG for domestic use, power generation, agriculture and transportation amongst others.He said that the adoption of LPG for clean cooking would mitigate against deforestation, reduce depletion of the ozone layer and boost revenue generation in the state.The commissioner commended Okowa for approving an Annual Sensitisation Campaign on Safety for LPG Retailers in the State, with the maiden edition held in 2020.“By this new vista, oil companies are encouraged to diversify by transforming waste to wealth in place of flaring gas.“As the State gets set to embrace the new frontiers that this programme intends to unveil, government is not unmindful of the associated safety hazards especially when not handled appropriately.“With the establishment of Department of Monitoring and Compliance in the ministry, all hands must be on deck to institute best global practices at keeping every resident of the State safe as we reiterate our resolve to adopt LPG as a transition fuel in the journey towards greener energy,” Amgbaduba said.On his part, Chairman, Isoko South Local Government Council, Mr Victor Asasa, called for the establishment of gas turbine power plant in Irri to be powered from the gas being flared in the area.The event featured paper presentations from stakeholders in the oil and gas sector as well as exhibition of locally produced low emission stoves. (NAN).

Oil & Gas

Why we are Recording Increased Oil Production – Edun

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The Federal Government says improved security in the Niger-Delta is responsible for the increased crude oil production to 1.65 million barrels per day as against the 1.25 million bpd previously recorded.

Mr Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, stated this in Abuja at a Podcast hosted by Bruit Costaud in collaboration with Ballard Partners of U.

S.A.

Reports says the immediate past Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed is the Managing Partner of Bruit Costard, a lobbyist and public relations firm and an affiliate of Ballard Partners.

According to Edun, the quickest way to get revenue for critical infrastructure is to shore up oil revenue.

“This is quickest way of giving the government the needed revenue to address our urgent needs.

“The government doesn’t have enough revenue for critical infrastructure and social services which are crucial to Nigerians now.

“The prices are still elevated and as you know in June 2023, the oil production and sales were roughly 1.25 million barrels per day.

“Now, it is up to 1.65 million barrels per day, that is one source of bringing in dollars and revenue into the government coffers that is non-inflationary,’’ Edun said.

Edun added that non-oil revenue as well as revenues from taxation were also critical to government.

“If you know about Mr President’s antecedent, the first thing he did in Lagos as governor was to get hold of the revenue.

“What he did was to deploy digitisation.  He used the latest technology to block the leakages and to improve the efficiency of monitoring and collection.

This is exactly the same thing we are doing at the federal level now.

“The revenue of the Federal government has been totally revamped.

“There has been application of technology to ensure what is due to the federal government, particularly from its various revenue-earning arms,  agencies,  companies, and enterprises is not taken,’’ he said.

The minister said that plans were ongoing to give incentives to small, medium and larger businesses. (NAN)

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Dangote Petroleum Refinery Begins Production of Diesel, Aviation Fuel – Official

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Dangote Petroleum Refinery has commenced production of diesel and aviation fuel.

Mr Anthony Chiejina, Group Head, Corporate Communications, Dangote Group, confirmed this in a statement to newsmen in Lagos.

Chiejina quoted the President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, to have elatedly thanked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his support, encouragement and thoughtful advice towards the actualisation of this project.

Dangote also thanked the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd.

, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and Nigerians for their support and belief in the historic project.

According to him, “We thank President Tinubu for his support and for making our dream come true.

“This production, as witnessed today, would not have been possible without his visionary leadership and prompt attention to details.

“His intervention at various stages cleared all impediments, thereby accelerating the actualisation of the project.

“We also thank the NNPCL, NUPRC and NMDPRA for their support.

“These organisations have been our dependable partners in this historic journey.

“We also thank Nigerians for their belief and support in this project,” he said.

Dangote said: “We have started the production of diesel and aviation fuel, and the products will be in the market before the end of the month.

“This is a big day for Nigeria. We are delighted to have reached this significant milestone.

“This is an important achievement for our country as it demonstrates our ability to develop and deliver large capital projects.

“This is a game changer for our country, and I am very fulfilled with the actualisation of this project.

“The refinery has so far received six million barrels of crude oil at its two SPMs located 25 kilometres from the shore.

“The first crude delivery was done on Dec. 12, 2023, and the 6th cargo was delivered on Jan. 8, 2024,” he added.

He said that the refinery can load 2,900 trucks a day at its truck-loading gantries.

He added that the products from the refinery will conform to Euro V specifications.

Dangote boss said that the refinery design complies with the World Bank, US EPA, European emission norms, and Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) emission/effluent norms. State-of-the-art technology.

“I must extend our sincere appreciation to our Bankers and financiers, both local and offshore, who demonstrated a great deal of patience, in seeing us through many difficult times.

“In the same vein, we thank the Government of Lagos State, under the leadership of Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who has been incredibly proactive in ensuring that the many challenges we encountered in the course of executing this project were quickly resolved.

“I thank him immensely.

“I also sincerely thank our host communities and their traditional leaders for their sustained patience, forbearance, and admirable willingness to work with us to find amicable and win-win resolutions to the many issues we have had to deal with as the construction of this huge facility progressed.

“Our staff have also contributed so immensely to the success of this project. I thank them profusely,” Dangote added.(NAN)

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Refinery Rehab: Don’t Expect Immediate PMS Price Crash, Experts Tell Nigerians

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Some Oil and Gas Experts have said that the coming on stream of both Port Harcourt and Dangote refineries may lead to some marginal reduction in the cost of petroleum products and not a significant price crash.

The experts made this known in an interview on Sunday in Abuja.

According to them, some ancillary costs such as freight and port charges, among others would have been eliminated to achieve the marginal reduction.

The Federal Government had on Dec.

21, announced the mechanical completion and flare start-up of the Port Hacourt Refining Company Limited (PHRC) and the subsequent streaming of its phase two in 2024.

This, according to the Minister of State Petroleum (Oil), Sen.

Heineken Lokpobiri, will herald the commencement of the production of petroleum products after the Christmas break.

The PHRC comprised of two refining units, with the old plant having a refining capacity of 60,000 barrels per day (bpd) and the new plant 150,000 bpd, both summing up to 210,000 bpd.

Reacting to the development, an Associate Professor of Energy and Natural Resources, University of Abuja, Olanrewaju Aladeitan, said there should be some marginal reduction in petrol prices as some ancillary cost would have been eliminated.

However, he explained that the price of petroleum products may not come down significantly as to describe it as crashing.

“The price may not come down significantly considering the fact that crude oil and condensates supply for the domestic market under the Petroleum Industry Act is going to be based on a willing supplier and a willing buyer basis.

“And the fact that the supply of crude oil will be commercially negotiated having regard to prevailing international market price for similar grades of crude,” he said.

With this provision, he said there would be no dedicated percentage of crude for local refineries.

“Hence international market price which of course is denominated in dollars will still be the determinant of cost of the crude oil that would be refined.

“So I do not see how the price of Petroleum products will crash,” Aladeitan said.

Also speaking, Mr Yushau Aliyu, an Economic Expert, said reaching to a mechanical test of the refinery after a very long fruitless effort was an indication that part of our refined Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) deficit would be attended.

Aliyu described it as a good signal of recovering in the forex deficit which dominated the dwindling liquidity crisis.

“In addition, the new Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) is responding to the immediate solution for availability of PMS in the economy.

“We are expecting the NNPC Ltd.’s retail stations to reduce their pump price due to absence of landing cost in the short term effects,” he said.

Another oil and gas expert who preferred to remain anonymous said it was obvious that some people in the oil and gas sector were engaged in an act of sabotage.

He frowned at the situation where the government preferred to spend so much, including foreign currency, to import fuel, rather than fix it refineries.

“They claim that the 60,000 barrels capacity refinery in Port Harcourt is back on stream, while the 150,000 barrels capacity will work soon.

“We are waiting to see them work, including that of Warri and Kaduna. When they are put to use, let’s see why fuel prices will not crash,” the expert said.

NAN reports that pump price of PMS has increased to N660 per litre at various fuel stations, while NNPC Ltd.’s retail outlets sell at N617 since the removal of subsidy in May 2023 due to high crude cost and high foreign exchange rate.

The after effect of the removal and high cost of fuel brought untold hardship and suffering on Nigerians due to inflation, increase in goods and services, among others. (NAN)

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