Page 7 - AfrOil Week 02 2020

AfrOil PRODUCTION AfrOil
 But he did assert that the country had fully com- plied with its OPEC-plus quota of 1.77mn bpd. Separately, the NNPC head declared dur-
ing a panel discussion at the conference that Nigeria had not exceeded the cap on its crude production in December. He also explained that NNPC was classifying output from Egina, a new offshore field, as condensate.
Some industry observers have raised ques- tions about this decision. Platts, citing an anon- ymous source, reported on January 11 that liquid hydrocarbons from Egina had a specific gravity of 27.5 degrees API and a sulphur con- tent of 0.17%. This would make it significantly heavier than most condensates, which typically
have a specific gravity of 45 degrees API or higher.
Nigeria has a long track record of exceed- ing the production ceilings set by the OPEC- plus group, but officials in Abuja say they have stepped up efforts to comply in recent months. According to Suhail al-Mazrouei, the energy minister of the United Arab Emirates, OPEC has taken note of these changes. He told jour- nalists during the event in Abu Dhabi that both Nigeria and Iraq had done better in the last month of 2019.
“December compliance[s] of both Iraq and Nigeria have improved, and we thank them for that,” he remarked. ™
POLICY
South Sudan tenders environmental audit
SOUTH SUDAN
THE government of South Sudan has called a tender for an environmental audit of the coun- try’s oilfields. In a statement announcing the start of bidding, it said it hoped to work with an independent international company to accom- plish this task.
The winner of the tender will be tasked with carrying out a comprehensive audit of all pro- ducing oilfields in South Sudan. Additionally, it will be responsible for drawing up proposals covering best practices for future exploration and development and plans for rehabilitation of areas that have already suffered environmental damage.
The ministry did not comment on the value of the contract. It did say, though, that it had posted pre-qualification documents on its web- site for potential bidders. The documents will remain available to the public from January 13 to January 20, it added.
South Sudan’s government has stated its commitment to environmental protection and has formalised its position in the Petroleum Act, which contains many provisions address- ing questions related to the management of environmental risks related to oil and gas devel- opment. The act was adopted in 2012, the year after the country gained independence.
Shortly thereafter, though, South Sudan fell into civil war. As a result, it has had limited opportunities to uphold its pledge. Addition- ally, it has had little time to address the extensive problems resulting from oil and gas develop- ment prior to independence.
According to Petroleum Minister Awow Daniel Chuang, the country is now in the posi- tion of needing to assess the damage before it tries to bring production back up. Gathering more information will help the government establish the systems and structures needed to prevent environmental disasters, he said.
South Sudanese President Salva Kiir has said
that his government will work to ensure that future generations do not suffer because of fall- out from exploration and development projects. At a press conference held last August, he said that Juba would be taking stronger measures to prevent pollution in oil-producing regions. “I will not tolerate irresponsible activities in the oil sector,” he declared. ™
Oil spill in South Sudan’s Unity state (Photo: Gurtong)
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