Page 15 - AfrOil Week 07 2022

AfrOil NEWS IN BRIEF AfrOil

According to Ukaegbu, “the plant is a great made significant progress in improving and systems and the operation of floating produc-
opportunity to showcase a Nigeria company’s strengthening Ghana’s regulatory regime and tion, storage and off-loading (FPSO) vessels, had
capacity and we are poised to continue to meet legal framework to ensure that the fuel sector begun on Thursday (February 10). Representa-
the industry needs and demands with timely meets global standards. tives of 40 Nigerian firms selected for the second
delivery and at the right cost.” The NPA chief also called on local adminis- round of the Project 100 programme were pres-
In his remarks, the Chairman, Petroleum trative assemblies to collaborate with the rele- ent, it said.
Technology Association of Nigerian (PETAN), vant state agencies to ensure proper setup of fuel Speaking at the opening session in Port Har-
Mr. Nicolas Odinuwe asked industry opera- filling stations in hazard-free environments, the court, NCDMB’s Executive Secretary Simbi
tors to give the opportunity to members of the report indicated. Wabote stressed the importance of offshore
association as they possessed capacities and bna/IntelliNews, February 14 2022 operations for Nigerian OSPs. “As you are aware,
capabilities to deliver. He said, we have the best most activities in the upstream section of the oil
equipment, and if there is no opportunity you Nigerian president instructs sector are now moving offshore, and as service
cannot build competence.” companies, you need to understand the techni-
The event was attended by some members of Senate to fund gasoline calities and identify opportunities where you can
NCDMB’s management, representatives of the participate,” he commented.
international oil companies (IOCs), represent- subsidy in H2-2022 Meanwhile, Ama Ikuru, the general manager
atives of service companies, PETAN executive, of NCDMB’s capacity-building division, pointed
and other oil and gas industry stakeholders. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has out that the training programme was in line with
NCDMB, February 13 2022 instructed the Senate, the upper chamber of the the goals of Project 100, which is designed to
National Assembly, to allocate NGN2.557 tril- build up the capacity of local OSPs. “Our dream
lion ($6.15bn) in funding for the gasoline sub- is to build companies that will take the oppor-
POLICY sidy in the second half of 2022. tunities in delivering services in [the] offshore
The federal government had previously space and compete with the big multinationals,”
NPA head warns local planned to eliminate the subsidy as of the end he said. “The board believes in developing indig-
of June but is now planning to keep the current enous capacities to support the Nigerian oil and
consumers against Ghana’s pricing policy in place indefinitely. gas operations.”
However, the 2022 budget does not reflect
bna/IntelliNews, February 11 2022
“table-top” fuel sellers this about-face, and Finance Minister Zainab
Ahmed has said that Abuja has only NGN443bn
Operators of “table-top” filling stations have ($1.07bn) worth of budget funds available PROJECTS & COMPANIES
been warned against continuing their opera- to cover the cost of the subsidy programme
tions, with the National Petroleum Authority between July and December. Sonatrach signs deal for
(NPA) saying they may face penalties under As such, Buhari has directed the Senate to
Ghanaian law, according to the Ghanaian Times. amend the budget and make additional funding oil production in Niger
The trade falling under scrutiny is reported to available. He issued those instructions in a letter
be widespread in rural communities across the that was read to members of the upper chamber Sonatrach International Petroleum Explora-
country. However, NPA officials have described on February 15. tion and Production, a subsidiary of Algeria’s
it as a recipe for disaster, the report noted. The sum specified by the president, in com- national oil company (NOC) Sonatrach, has
Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, the CEO of bination with the money mentioned by Ahmed, signed an agreement with Niger’s Ministry of
NPA, expressed similar concerns while speaking will bring the total amount of budget funds Petroleum on joint production at Kafra, a block
to reporters in Sunyani on February 11. During available for the subsidy up to NGN3 trillion in the latter country.
a working visit to the Bono region to familiarise ($7.21bn) in the second half of 2022. This is The Algerian company issued a statement to
himself with local conditions in the downstream equivalent to the sum of NGN3 trillion that that effect following the discovery of oil at two
sector, Abdul-Hamid stressed that illegal stations Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. (NNPC) has exploration wells drilled at Kafra, KFR-1 and
could not guarantee that the fuel they were sell- requested for this purpose. KFRN-1. The two wells are reported to contain
ing was safe or free from possible contamination. bna/IntelliNews, February 16 2022 reserves of 168mn barrels and 100mn barrels
He urged the general public not to patronise respectively.
such sellers, pointing out that fuel from “table- NCDMB begins training The deal supersedes an earlier agreement
top” stations was more likely to cause damage to signed in 2015 and will allow a better assessment
vehicles. local service providers of the hydrocarbon potential of the Kafra block,
Additionally, he said that his agency had the statement added.
in offshore operations KFR-1, in 2018 and then began the drilling of the
Sonatrach spudded the first exploration well,
The Nigerian Content Development and Mon- second well, KFRN-1, in 2019.
itoring Board (NCDMB), which monitors Sonatrach International Petroleum Explo-
investors’ compliance with local content laws, ration and Production is involved in upstream
has launched a training programme for oilfield activity in several countries in Africa, including
service providers (OSPs) seeking to expand Tunisia, Libya, Mali and Niger. It is also active
their capacity to operate in the country’s offshore in the South American country of Peru, where
zone. it holds interests in several oil and gas projects,
In a statement, NCDMB reported that the acting both as an investor and operator.
training programme, which focused on subsea bna/IntelliNews, February 14 2022

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