Page 16 - AfrOil Week 41 2022

AfrOil NEWS IN BRIEF AfrOil

Now including selections from NewsBase’s partner service

INVESTMENT The private equity fund gained control of Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB)
Assala in 2017, when its energy arm, Carlyle has lauded the Minister of State for Petroleum
Ghana highlights five International Energy Partners, paid $628mn Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva on the national
for the Gabonese portfolio of Shell (UK). Subse-
honour of the Commander of the Order of the
offshore blocks ripe for quently, Assala acquired the exploration rights to Niger (CON) conferred on him by President
additional onshore blocks in 2019 and boosted Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday, October 11,
foreign investment its production levels to about 50,000 barrels per 2022.
In a statement he personally signed, the
day (bpd).
International oil companies (IOCs) should bna/IntelliNews, October 12 2022 Executive Secretary noted that Sylva who was
consider investing in Ghana’s available offshore appointed in 2019 was fully deserving of the
blocks, Deputy Energy Minister Dr. Moham- national honour having worked tirelessly to
med Amin Adam said at the recently concluded POLICY change the Nigerian oil and gas landscape and
Africa Oil Week conference in Cape Town, recorded several accomplishments, which had
Ghana Today reports. NCDMB to collaborate improved the economy of the nation.
Amin noted that Ghana is promoting oppor- He listed some of the notable achievements
tunities in five offshore oil blocks, including with quantity surveyors of the Minister to include working with the
three highly promising sites in the Western Basin National Assembly for the passage of the Petro-
– Offshore Cape Three Points South (OCTPS), for Nigerian content leum Industry Bill (PIB), which was signed
South West Saltpond (SWS) and Shallow Water into law by President Muhammadu Buhari
Cape Three Points (SWCTP). Skills and competencies of quantity surveyors on August 16, 2021, to become the Petroleum
He also reported that the Deepwater Cape have been identified as critical to cost manage- Industry Act (2021), the initiation and launching
Three Points block, originally operated by Exx- ment and local content expansion in Nigeria’s oil of the Decade of Gas Initiative in 2020 and the
onMobil (US), and Expanded Shallow Water and gas industry. That was the kernel of a pres- National Gas Expansion Programme (NGEP),
Tano (ESWT), currently operated by a local entation by the Executive Secretary, Nigerian which is aimed at improving domestic LPG con-
operator known as Base Energy Ghana Ltd, Content Development and Monitoring Board sumption and deepening the use of alternative
offered farm-in opportunities. (NCDMB), Simbi Kesiye Wabote, at a two-day fuels such as CNG for vehicular use. He added
Additionally, he touted the amount of sup- workshop themed “Developing Competencies that the NGEP promotes the use of cleaner and
port available to upstream operators. “Over for Procurement and Cost Management of Oil cheaper fuels and ensures that the impact of sub-
the last decade, as an oil- and gas-producing and Gas Infrastructure,” in Yenagoa, Bayelsa sidy removal from Premium Motor Spirit (PMS)
country, we have built reasonable levels of infra- State on Tuesday. is minimal.
structure to support the provision of services The NCDMB boss emphasised that quantity Other achievements of the minister included
to exploration and production companies,” the surveying is a frontier whose value propositions improving the harmonised data reporting to
deputy minister said, according to Ghana Today. have to be identified and utilised to deepen Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Coun-
Ghana has an active core of local companies, Nigerian Content. Recounting the successes of tries (OPEC) and provision of comprehensive
including SMEs that have gained the on-the- the Board, which have raised local content from technical support for Nigeria’s representation
ground experience in service and supply chain less than five% in 2010 to 47% in the first half of at OPEC and ensuring that the Federal Govern-
operations that is key to reducing contingent and 2022, he noted that “NCDMB is only 12 years old ment took the Final Investment Decision (FID)
operational costs for exploration and production but it has performed creditably in infrastructure, that led to the development of the $7bn NLNG
for investors, Amin said. human capital, and capital retention.” Train 7 project and championing Africa’s posi-
bna/IntelliNews, October 12 2022 He noted that NCDMB’s direct involvement tion for a multi-dimensional approach to energy
in the conceptualisation and development of transition using gas as a transition fuel.
US private equity fund Total Exploration and Production’s gigantic fuel subsidy so that the proceeds could be chan-
The Minister also championed the removal of
multi-billion Total Energies’ Egina Floating Pro-
Carlyle Group preparing duction Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel, neled towards National development, champi-
oning the rehabilitation of the three refineries
handled by Samsung and Ladol, marked a turn-
to sell Gabon-focused ing point in Nigerian content penetration in oil in Nigeria: Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna
and gas industry operations.
to guarantee in-country refining and petroleum
upstream operator ricated and integrated in-country for the first ing the drive for the distribution of COVID-19
products sufficiency in the country and lead-
Six topside modules of the FPSO were fab-
Carlyle Group, a US-based private equity fund, is time in the history of the industry, and Samsung palliatives by the oil and gas sector to states and
gearing up to sell its subsidiary Assala Energy, an and Ladol, a consortium, had to build a $300mn institutions during the COVID lockdown in the
oil and gas producer focused on Gabon, Reuters world-class fabrication yard at Tarkwa Bay, country.
reported on October 11. Lagos, for the purpose, based on insistence by Wabote listed other accomplishments of the
Citing industry sources, the news agency said the NCDMB. The FPSO has a capacity for 2.3mn Minister to include pushing for the resuscitation
that Carlyle Group was likely to launch the sale barrels of crude oil. of the Brass LNG project abandoned over 17
process within the next few weeks. The Citigroup NCDMB, October 12 2022 years ago by sourcing for new investors, launch-
(US) investment bank will be leading the sale, ing the Nigerian Gas Transportation Network
which could attract more than $1bn, the sources Wabote hails Sylva’s award Code (NGTNC) programme. The code ensures
said. fair and non-discriminatory open access to the
As of press time, Reuters’ report had not been of national honours gas transmission network systems in order to
confirmed. Carlyle Group, Assala and Citigroup promote competitiveness and drive economic
have not commented on the matter. The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content growth.

P16 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 41 13•October•2022