Page 17 - DMEA Week 40 2022

DMEA NEWS IN BRIEF DMEA

business new africa bna/IntelliNews

“For example, South Africa, the region’s most Delta town of Forcados, it has revealed. Programme (NGFCP), would begin in the near
industrialised country, is projected to reach Nigeria’s oil sector has been plagued by rising future. This will mark the country’s return to a
a demand of only 238 kt by 2030, according crude theft over recent months, causing Nigeria’s process that was stymied by the coronavirus
to South Africa’s national road map. With the average crude production to fall to below 1mn (COVID-19) pandemic, as Nigeria’s government
region’s relatively low demand, the favorable pro- barrels per day (bpd) in August, down from a approved 200 bids for associated gas contracts
duction climate, and the limited impact of trans- previous high of 1.8mn bpd. in 2020 but did not finalise any deals because
port costs, southern Africa is poised to become a As revealed by NNPC managing director of roadblocks stemming from global disease
green hydrogen export hub.” Mele Kyari on October 4, oil theft has even been outbreaks.
Reddy, however, spelt out five factors that, discovered in the sea, with the company discov- Gbenga Komolafe, the CEO of NUPRC, was
if addressed, can drive southern Africa’s green ering an illegal connection running from the quoted in the statement as saying that this year’s
hydrogen potential to reality: The industry must Forcados pipenline system. Kyari estimated that bidding contest would be open to new bidders
gain government support in establishing a con- this pipelines has been around for nine years. and also to companies that had participated in
ducive regulatory environment, participants “We have deactivated 395 illegal refineries; the last round of auctions. To this end, he said,
should establish public-private partnerships to we have taken down 273 wooden boats, we have the commission’s notice of programme relaunch
de-risk the projects, overcome infrastructure destroyed 374 illegal reservoirs, we destroyed also invites interested parties to respond to a
barriers, secure adequate funding as well as 1,561 metal tanks,” Kyari told the Senate ad hoc request for qualification (RFQ).
secure off-takers. committee on oil theft in Nigeria. Komolafe did not say whether Abuja was spe-
Governments set policies that impact both “We have seized over 49 trucks and burnt cifically looking to award future gas contracts to
the speed and the direction of the energy transi- them down; we have discovered illegal oil pits local companies. He did note, though, that the
tion and they create the regulatory environment of 898 so far, and 1,219 cooking sites have been Nigerian government hoped to select winners
that supports the development of production taken down.” and sign contracts before the end of the year.
facilities and the attractiveness of the location In September, Minister of State for Petroleum “The auction process has been streamlined to
for investors, he told Mining Weekly. Resources of Nigeria Timipre Sylva revealed that enable an accelerated delivery schedule for this
“As with any major project, significant the lack of oil revenues had caused a serious hit exercise, with the announcement of winners
amenities are required. Sizable green hydrogen to the Nigerian economy, as the country had planned for December 2022,” he said.
projects, such as some announced gigascale pro- failed to hit its OPEC quota. Additionally, he emphasised that the bid-
jects, also require vast areas of land to produce bna/IntelliNews, October 5 2022 ding contest was in line with Abuja’s ongoing
renewable power,” he said. efforts to encourage domestic gas consumption,
bna/IntelliNews, October 4 2022 NUPRC gears up to launch especially for electric power generation, and to
reduce harmful emissions. NGCFCP “is one of
auctions for gas flaring the strategic initiatives of the federal government
REFINING & FUELS to drive the attainment of zero routine gas flaring
by 2035 and net zero emissions by 2060 in the
Nigeria has shut down reduction contracts country,” Komolafe stated.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory
Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum
365 illegal oil refineries Commission (NUPRC) indicated on October 2 Resources Timipre Sylva has said that associated
that it was gearing up to launch a new round of gas flaring reduction programmes will help cut
linked to Forcados auctions for the right to capture and sell associ- the country’s carbon dioxide emissions by 15mn
tonnes. Other officials in Abuja have pointed out,
ated gas.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company In a statement, NUPRC said that the bid- meanwhile, that these programmes will halt the
Limited (NNPC) has shut down the operations ding contest, which falls within the framework loss of about $1bn per year in gas revenues.
of 395 illegal refineries linked to the Niger River of the Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialisation bna/IntelliNews, October 3 2022

Week 40 06•October•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P17