Category: Blog

The U.S. Trade and Development Agency has awarded a grant to Nigerian natural gas supply company Green Liquified Natural Gas Limited (GLNG) to support Nigeria’s increased utilization of natural gas for power generation, local industry and additional economic growth.

“This project will support the diversification of Nigeria’s economic development while creating opportunities for U.S. companies to develop world-class infrastructure,” said Thomas R. Hardy, USTDA’s Acting Director. “It will also build upon USTDA’s commitment to working with our partners in Nigeria to develop and expand the country’s natural gas options.”

Specifically, USTDA’s grant will assess the viability of an LNG liquefaction and distribution facility and associated regasification and distribution stations in Southwestern Nigeria. GLNG selected the U.S. company NOVI Energy LLC to conduct the study.

“We are proud to announce our path-breaking LNG project in Nigeria, which will have a significant impact on Nigeria’s goal of pursuing a sustainable, environmentally friendly, alternate fuel-based economy,” said Mr. Anil Ahluwalia, Director of GLNG.

GLNG has been in discussions with Nigerian financial guarantor InfraCredit to support the project. “We are pleased to have established this strategic relationship with USTDA. By providing project preparatory assistance to our client projects like GLNG, USTDA is helping develop bankable infrastructure projects in Nigeria, which will expand the market for much needed good quality projects that can access long term domestic credit with InfraCredit’s local currency guarantees,” said Chinua Azubike, Chief Executive Officer of InfraCredit.

This project supports the U.S. government’s Prosper Africa, Power Africa and Doing Business in Africa Initiatives.

_{Press Release: USTDA 29th July 2020}

A delegation of investors from Green Fuels Ltd and Green Liquefied Natural Gas Ltd has met with Imo state government on the modalities for the setting up of a compressed Natural Gas (CNG) plant in Imo state. The Deputy Governor, Chief Gerald Irona, in his keynote address at the meeting was happy that Green Fuels Ltd a giant in the industry has found Imo a safe haven for their investments. He promised to communicate the state government, of the desire of the company towards establishing in Imo state. He stressed that the efforts of H.E Rt Hon Emeka Ihedioha is paying off, and called on other investors who are still testing the waters to come and invest in Imo, which has the abundant natural and human resources required to drive Industry and Commerce in the South East. In his response, the head of the delegation, Dheerendra Singh said the meeting was fruitful as the government has agreed in principle to work with their company, and their coming to Imo state is going to open new opportunities and lift Imo from the shackles of darkness.

_{Source: ireporter, September 5 2019}

The federal government has commenced the conversion of official vehicles belonging to Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) from petrol to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) in designated centres in Abuja. It said part of the move was to provide Nigerians with autogas to cushion the effects of rising petrol costs in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s commitment to adopt gas as an alternative fuel for the country. The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, stated this yesterday during a visit to an autogas dispensing station and conversion inspection exercise, at the NNPC autogas dispensing facility in Jahi and Autolady Garage in Abuja, where some government official vehicles were being converted.

Sylva said the conversion underscored the seriousness of the new government initiative.The minister expressed his satisfaction with the conversion process thus far and charged conversion centres to make vehicle and user-safety a priority during the process.

He added that his vehicles and others in the president’s fleet would soon be converted as well.In his remarks during the inspection visit, the Executive Secretary, Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), Mr Abdulkadir Saidu, stated that the government will ensure that autogas will soon be made available all over the country.

“Nigerians can rest assured of the government’s undying commitment to providing a cheaper and cleaner alternative to petrol, as prices have been on an upward climb in recent months following the deregulation of the downstream sector.

“Aside from the fact that autogas is cheaper, we are also concerned about making the conversion of cars affordable so that Nigerians can indeed reap the advantage of this new policy,” he said.The PPPRA boss, after the inspection, also said that some filling stations across the country were already keying into the plan by adding autogas dispensers to their stations.

He urged Nigerians to embrace gas-powered vehicles as they are cheaper and more environmentally friendly than any other fuel available on the market today.
He also noted that the majority of vehicles built in the last two decades were well suited to conversion for dual fuel applications and, therefore, safe for all Nigerians who are willing to convert their vehicles.

Source: thenigerialawyer.com October 9, 2020

As the Federal Government de-emphasises use of petrol to power automobiles, the Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr Mele Kyari, on Monday assured that all its service stations nationwide will be flooded with compressed natural gas in December, for easier access to consumers.

Kyari gave the assurance at the 3rd Valuechain Annual Lecture and Awards in Abuja. The NNPC boss stressed the need for quick passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), saying that Nigeria’s current laws have not responded to the changes and recent happenings in the petroleum industry.

Kyari, who chaired the occasion, expressed optimism that the renewed collaboration between the executive and the legislative arms of government will bring to closure the passage of the PIB, which has lingered for more than 20 years. ‘The Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) is still not yet over the line after two decades. It however gladdens my heart that there is a renewed commitment on the part of everyone to get it passed,’ he said.

Speaking on the theme “The Role of Media in the Nigerian Petroleum Sector Reform and Investment”, the Kyari said the Corporation will sustain its unflinching support to the government and the media in efforts at educating the public on ‘this very important legislation, (PIB).’

Umor Farouk, the Secretary-General of the African Petroleum Producers’ Organisation (APPO), the key speaker at the event, highlighted major challenges faced by the Nigerian media to include dearth of funds, lack of training and non payments of salaries by the media owners.

According to him, these among other factors, have hindered the media from playing effectively their roles in campaign for the passage of PIB. Farouk advocated for the establishment of trust fund to support the media and strengthen it to effectively play its primary roles.

Some notable Nigerians were honoured with Award of Excellence for their contributions to the development of the oil and gas industry in Nigeria. The Award recipients are; the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, His Excellency Chief Timipre Sylva, the Group Chief Executive officer (GCEO) of Oilserv Group, Engr Emeka Okwuosa, Former Group Executive Director, NNPC Alh Aminu Baba-Kusa, and the Managing Director of Spectrum Engineering, Dr Abubakar Isah.

_{Source:Sun news online}

The Federal Government has revealed that vehicle owners in the country will have to pay N250,000 to have their cars converted to autogas from petrol. This disclosure was made on Wednesday, December 2, 2020, by the Technical Adviser on Gas Business and Policy Implementation to Minister of State for Petroleum, Justice Derefaka, while on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, which was monitored by Nairametrics.

While stating that the conversion of vehicles from petrol to autogas will take at least 7 hours at the various conversion centres, Derefaka also pointed out that vehicle owners will have different payment plans to perform the conversion.

Derefaka, who is also the Programme Manager, Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialization Project, said: “The cost varies. So, in terms of cost implication, it depends on the cylinder of the vehicle and of course, for a typical SUV cylinder, it is a bit higher. On the average, it is around N200,000 to N250,000 and this is for a four-cylinder vehicle, but it becomes a little bit higher for a six-cylinder SUV vehicle.”

Nairametrics earlier reported that the Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mele Kyari, disclosed that the corporation is going to provide free conversion services in some selected NNPC retail filling stations across the country. Derefaka further explained that there will be different payment plans for making the conversion, adding that vehicle owners can have agreement with commercial banks to get the conversion done.

The Federal Government has revealed that vehicle owners in the country will have to pay N250,000 to have their cars converted to autogas from petrol.

This disclosure was made on Wednesday, December 2, 2020, by the Technical Adviser on Gas Business and Policy Implementation to Minister of State for Petroleum, Justice Derefaka, while on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, which was monitored by Nairametrics.

While stating that the conversion of vehicles from petrol to autogas will take at least 7 hours at the various conversion centres, Derefaka also pointed out that vehicle owners will have different payment plans to perform the conversion.

Derefaka, who is also the Programme Manager, Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialization Project, said:

“The cost varies. So, in terms of cost implication, it depends on the cylinder of the vehicle and of course, for a typical SUV cylinder, it is a bit higher. On the average, it is around N200,000 to N250,000 and this is for a four-cylinder vehicle, but it becomes a little bit higher for a six-cylinder SUV vehicle.”

Nairametrics earlier reported that the Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mele Kyari, disclosed that the corporation is going to provide free conversion services in some selected NNPC retail filling stations across the country.

Derefaka further explained that there will be different payment plans for making the conversion, adding that vehicle owners can have agreement with commercial banks to get the conversion done.

He also said, “The owner of the car basically will decide to say I want to run on autogas or CNG or LNG and like the Honourable Minister had mentioned as well, conversion basically has different strands, you can partner with your bank and then the bank will now agree with the conversion centre to say ‘Convert this our customer’s car for free.“

“Not free in its entirety, but you now go and covert your vehicle. What happens is that the installer will put some form of mechanism, that each time you buy the gas; a certain amount will be deducted to pay for the conversion kits.”

While dismissing the notion amongst many Nigerians that the conversion fee is expensive, the ministerial aide noted that payment can be done within 5 to 7 months, in addition to saving up 45-50% cost associated with petrol.

_{Source: Nairametrics News, December 2nd 2020}

The federal government has expressed its plan to have up to one million vehicles – mostly passenger and haulage vehicles that run on Nigerian roads to start using gas instead of petrol or diesel by the end of 2021, in its new push to enthrone gas as a preferred fuel for the domestic economy. To accomplish this, it explained that it is optimistic that the N250 billion financial facility recently earmarked by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to fund the Autogas programme amongst other gas initiatives in its National Gas Expansion Programme (NGEP) would help fast-track vehicle conversion and deployment of required infrastructure for the initiative.

Speaking on the progress of the plan, the Justice Derefaka who is the Technical Adviser (TA) on Gas Business and Policy Implementation to the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr. Timipre Sylva, said Nigeria’s switch to gas as a transport fuel has gained a steady momentum. Derefaka who doubles as the Program Manager (PM) in charge of the Autogas sub-committee in the NGEP, explained at a TEDx meeting that so far the government working with key stakeholders such as gas processing companies and transport unions, have identified 9,000 service stations across the country to co-locate Autogas dispensing facilities. Forty six of these, he noted are owned by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and will host the dispensing facility by the fourth quarter of 2020.

Furthermore, Derefaka stated that about one thousand conversion kits for trucks and smaller vehicles would be deployed nationwide by third parties in the programme while 50 conversion centers are currently been upgraded for mass conversion and trainings.

According to him, there are also auto assemblers supported in the country to produce fit-for-purpose dual fuel vehicles, with over 30,000 vehicles already running on dual fuels in Nigeria.

While the government equally targets to create two million new jobs per annum from the programme, Derefaka explained that by the second quarter of 2021, 600 NNPC-leased and affiliate co-location stations would have been brought into the scheme.

By then, he said that, “about 1 million conversion kits for trucks and smaller vehicles will deployed, 1 million vehicles expected to run on Autogas.”

He stated that the government recognised that infrastructure deficit such as inadequate public recharging and re-fuelling locations, consumers’ lack of awareness of the benefits using gas as transport fuel as well as inadequate capacities for conversion and financing acquisition of conversion kits could derail the programme and as such continued to find solutions to them including the N250 billion CBN facility.

Speaking on the expected benefits of the switch, Derefaka noted that a price comparison analysis done by the NGEP put Autogas at N75 litre while petrol is at N161 per litre.

He also said that: “It allow drivers and fleet managers to reduce PMS use, minimise emissions, decrease of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Better fuel price stability and reduced fuel costs in the long run, displace gasoline and diesel use, which reduces reliance on PMS.”

“Shifting from PMS to Autogas gas provides increased flexibility for an oil-dependent transportation system. [It is] highly economical to run. Saves running cost by up to 40-50 per cent than that of petrol.

“The total cost of the conversion can be recovered easily from the savings accrued by use of Autogas in lieu of petrol. There is no spilling when filling the tank and no possibility of theft or pilfering. Complete adulteration free fuel as compared to petrol or diesel. Reduce dependence on foreign exports and create a more stable energy market less susceptible to supply price volatility,” he stated while noting that the scheme will be self-financing.

_{Source: This Day News October 13th 2020}

Five Governors of the South-East, Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Mr Timipre Sylva, Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and other stakeholders in the gas sector will converge on Owerri on October 14 for the Gas Utilization Forum (GUF) powered by the Gas Aggregation Company of Nigeria Limited (GACN) – the National Strategic Gas Aggregator.

The event, according to GACN, serves as a fulcrum to boost economic growth of the South-East and ultimately Nigeria by facilitating optimal use of natural gas to drive industrialization.

The Chairman of GACN, Mr Mansur Sambo (who also doubles as the Managing Director of Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), noted that the forum would enable critical Gas to Power stakeholders proffer practical end-to-end energy solutions to industries in the South East and unlock additional Investments for gas development, gas pipelines and others, which is consistent the economic development agenda of the Federal Government and host States.

While the Forum will be hosted by the Governor of Imo State, Mr Hope Uzodinma, the four other Governors of Anambra, Mr Willie Obiano; his Ebonyi counterpart, Mr David Umahi; Enugu Governor, Mr Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and that of Abia State, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu will be co-hosts.

Also commenting on the planned forum, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of GACN, Mr. Olalekan Ogunleye, stated that the firm was very pleased with the good opportunity to collaborate with the South-East business communities and stakeholders to further boost economic development in Nigeria. He noted that the South-East brims with commercial hubs and industrial clusters, expressing hopes that the over 500 industries scheduled to attend the event will be provided practical and efficient energy solutions that would significantly reduce their operating cost, thereby freeing up more resources for expansion and profit.

More so, the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Mr Timipre Sylva is scheduled to attend personally given the obvious economic benefits of the event and its linkages with his prioritization of gas development for economic growth nationwide, further underpinned by the declaration of year 2020 as the Year of Gas.

The organisers further stated that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) was fully supportive of the event, adding that the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mr Mele Kyari will lead stakeholders in the petroleum sector to the Forum.

Furthermore, key Gas to Energy participants are enthused by this upcoming value-yielding event.

Speakers confirmed to make presentations at this historic event include; the Chief Operating Officer (COO) Gas and Power at the NNPC, Mr Yusuf Usman, the President of Nigerian Gas Association, Mrs. Audrey Joe- Ezigbo, the Managing Director of Shell Nigeria Gas, Mr. Ed Ubong, MD of Nigerian Gas Marketing Company, Mr Faruk Usman, MD of ND Western, Mr Eberechukwu Oji, the Managing Director and CEO of Century Power Generation, Chukwueloka Umeh and Group General Manager, Crude Oil Marketing Department (COMD) of the NNPC, Sir Billy Okoye, amongst others.

The GACN held a Workshop on the 16th of September 2020, to update the Master Gas Sale Agreements to reflect current market realities and ensure equitable risk allocation between parties to such agreements.

GACN’s decision to host these events are in recognition of the increasingly dynamic nature of the Nigerian domestic gas market and a demonstration of its commitment to ensure balanced growth in the domestic gas market.

The September 16 Forum further deepened the collaborative platform set up by the GACN for stakeholders in Nigeria’s domestic gas industry to have in-depth discussions and update the existing Gas Master Agreements as well as proffer solutions to identified challenges.

_{Source: Naijaonpoint news, October 11 2020}

The Senate yesterday denied ever dumping the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), saying it is committed to expeditious passage of the Bill and the N13.08 trillion 2021 budget estimates.

Senate spokesman and chairman of its Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Ajibola Basiru (APC, Osun Central) made this known at a press briefing shortly after the presentation of the 2021 Appropriation Bill by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Basiru was reacting to media reports that the upper legislative chamber had suspended consideration of the PIB till next year because of the 2021 budget, to which he said “this is not true.”

“This is not true because the Bill is central even to the realisation of revenue and putting our oil in competitive international market.

“On October 20, the Bill will be listed for second reading after which it will be sent to the relevant committees of the Senate. That is committees on petroleum upstream and downstream sector. So, that the work being done on the 2021 appropriation will be done at the same time on the PIB,” he said.

On the 2021 Appropriation Bill, Basiru said “we will make sure that copies of the presented budget are made available to Senators latest by Monday. So, on Tuesday, the Senators will take turns to discuss the general principle of the budget and make their views and comments known publicly before it is sent to the relevant committees under the coordination of Appropriation Committee.”

LEADERSHIP Friday reports that earlier in the day before adjourning plenary, the Senate President Ahmad Lawan had announced that the PIB will be debated on Tuesday, October 20, 2020.

According to Lawan, early debate on the Bill is expected to avert any delay in consideration, resulting from the upper chamber’s decision to suspend plenary for one month to enable Ministries, Departments and Agencies of Government defend their respective budgets for the year 2021.

Lawan added that the critical piece of legislation, after the debate on the floor by lawmakers, would then pass for second reading and be referred to the Joint Committees on Petroleum; and Gas for further legislative work.

“For the PIB, we need to get the document to our Joint Committee before we suspend plenary, otherwise, the document will remain unattended to throughout the time that we would be handling the budget; and that means we can only come back to it around November or December, and that would be late.

“Everybody is waiting for the PIB to be attended to, but we will take sufficient time to work on it because it is a very sensitive document.

“Nevertheless, we should take the debate and Second Reading of the PIB by the upper week, Tuesday 20th, 2020, and refer the document to our Joint Committees on Petroleum (Upstream and Downstream); and Gas.

“So, while we are working on the budget, they can keep work on the PIB warm. We are not going to rush on it since we have the budget before us.

“Our Joint Committee must do everything possible for us to have a document or report that we would work with in the Senate and something that Nigerians and investors will be happy with,” the Senate President said.

^{Source: Leadership news, 3rd November 2020}