Page 17 - DMEA Week 47 2020

DMEA FUELS DMEA

Nigeria looks to import

fuels from Niger

NIGERIA NIGERIA has signed a memorandum of under- the market for these products,” he explained.
standing (MoU) on potentially obtaining petro- “Therefore, this is going to be a win-win relation
Niger’s 20,000 bpd leum product supplies from neighbouring Niger, for both countries. My hope is that this is going
refinery in Zinder the former’s petroleum ministry said on social to be the beginning of deepening trade relations
has spare capacity, media on November 19. between Niger Republic and Nigeria.”
according to Nigeria. In statements on Facebook and Twitter, the The ministry did not say when supplies of oil
ministry said the non-binding accord covered products from Niger might commence, however.
the transportation and storage of oil products. Nigeria, although it is Africa’s biggest oil
Talks on this subject have been ongoing for four producer, relies mostly on imports of fuel to
months between Nigeria’s state-owned NNPC meet its demand. This is because its own four
and its counterpart in Niger, SONIDEP. state-run refineries are in a state of disrepair
Niger’s 20,000 barrel per day (bpd) Soraz and cannot operate at profit. They have been
refinery is situated in Zinder, some 260 km from closed down and authorities say they will not
the Nigerian border. According to the ministry, re-open until they have undergone extensive
Niger’s domestic fuel demand is only 5,000 bpd, modernisation.
leaving a surplus of 15,000 bpd of capacity avail- NNPC recently extended an oil-for-fuels
able to provide exports. swap scheme for three years until 2023. The
Nigerian Petroleum Minister Timipre Sylva agreement is with 14 trading companies and
described the MoU as a “major step forward” for refiners on gasoline supplies in exchange for
the two countries. crude oil. Nigeria is also awaiting the launch of
“Niger Republic has some excess prod- a 650,000 bpd refinery in Lekki in 2022, being
ucts which need to be evaluated. Nigeria has developed by private conglomerate Dangote. ™

Uniper to provide maritime fuel

at Fujairah with local partner

UAE GERMANY’S Uniper has teamed up with UAE- making maritime biofuel widely available to the
based Neutral Fuels to provide maritime biofu- shipping industry,” Neutral Fuels’ chief commer-
The pair will mix very- els in Fujairah, a major hub for bunkering in the cial officer Gary Hubbard added. “The UAE was
low sulphur oil with Gulf region. quick to adopt the UN’s sustainable development
biofuel. The pair will blend very low sulphur fuel goals and has been particularly active in working
(VLSFO) supplied by Uniper’s marine fuel unit to cut emissions of CO2.”
Uniper Energy DMCC (UED) with Neutral The IMO imposed new shipping rules at the
Fuels’ biofuel. This will create a fuel that com- start of this year that among other things signif-
plies with International Maritime Organisation icantly cut the amount of sulphur that is permit-
(IMO) standards. ted in marine fuels. The UN body is now looking
The partnership will support the transition to strengthen requirements for vessel energy
to cleaner energy, UED’s managing director Lars efficiency and impose tougher carbon intensity
Liebig said. The company currently supplies up reduction requirements.
to 500,000 tonnes per year of VLSFO from its After manufacturing its biofuels for 10
processing plant in Fujairah. years, Neutral Fuels finally began supplying
“We will leverage our logistics infrastructure it as a maritime fuel in February this year. It
and global customer base, which stretches from develops its biofuels exclusively from used
the Middle East over South/East Africa, and vegetable cooking oil, and its use in vessels
up to India, Singapore and China,” Liebig said. requires no capital outlay, no change to existing
“The fuel will be available for large tankers and engines and no investment in scrubbers that
containers, and for smaller short sea and feeder clean exhaust fumes.
vessels.” “Partnering with UED now is the natural next
“It is fitting for the UAE to lead the way in step for us,” Hubbard said. ™

Week 47 26•November•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P17