Business

New agreements with IOCs will unlock opportunities in upstream sector, says Kyari

Published

2 years ago

August 14, 2022

Group Chief Executive Officer, NNPC, Mele Kyari

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has said the signing of the new Production Sharing Contracts (PSC) is a key milestone achievement which will unlock opportunities within the Nigeria upstream sector.

It noted that the execution of the PSCs would deepen investment and development of Nigeria’s rich petroleum resources and ensure that the trifold mandate of the NNPC Ltd to ensure energy availability, sustainability, and accessibility was achieved.

The Group Chief Executive Officer, NNPC, Mele Kyari stated this during the signing of agreements with international oil companies in Abuja on Friday.

In a bid to increase the production of crude oil in the country and increase revenue, the NNPC Ltd and international oil companies operating in Nigeria had signed various agreements.

The agreements would see the production of about 10 billion barrels of crude oil and generation of over $500bn revenue to all parties involved.

NNPC officials and their counterparts from the IOCs including Shell, Chevron, Texaco, Sinopec, Sapetro, Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited, among others, renewed their agreements in five Oil Mining Leases that included OMLs 128, 130,132, 133, and 138.

The agreements renewed by the parties were Production Sharing Contracts, as well as Dispute Resolution Agreements, among others at a signing ceremony held at the Abuja headquarters of NNPC.

Speaking at the event, Kyari said: “The signing of the new PSCs is a key milestone achievement by NNPC Ltd which would ultimately unlock opportunities within the Nigeria upstream sector.

“The execution of the PSCs will deepen investment and development of Nigeria’s rich petroleum resources and ensure that the trifold mandate of the NNPC Ltd to ensure energy availability, sustainability, and accessibility is achieved.

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“Ultimately, the new PSCs will provide an inflow of Foreign Direct Investment, expanded access to affordable energy, job creation and socio-economic development.”

The NNPC Ltd chief explained that the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 gave NNPC the legal backing to renegotiate all its existing PSCs in conformance to the provisions of the new Act within a one-year period.

The PIA became law on August 16, 2021 after it was signed into law the same day by President Muhammadu Buhari.

The PIA in Section 311(2) stipulated that new PSC agreements under new Heads of Terms will be signed between NNPC Ltd as concessionaire and its contractor parties within one year of signing the PIA into law, giving a deadline of August 15, 2022.

The NNPC Ltd chief noted that this provision paved the way for the resolution of lingering disputes which created investment uncertainty and stifled new investments in the nation’s deep offshore assets.

According to him, the NNPC leveraged on the near end term of the PSCs and the parties’ interest to renew the PSCs as a negotiation currency in bringing the contractors to work towards trading the past for the future.

“These renewed PSCs would provide several benefits such as improved long-term relationships with contractors, elimination of contractual ambiguities especially in relation to gas terms, enable early contract renewal, among others,” he stated.

The Group General Manager, National Petroleum Investment Management Services, Bala Wunti, who spoke during the signing, said: “Cumulatively we hope to produce and monetise over 10 billion barrels of oil with these signatures that we had today.

“And this by no means will give significant revenue for all the parties. We expect over $500bn of revenue for all the stakeholders.”

The Nation

Related Topics:agreements IOCs Kyari upstream sector

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Railway

Lagos Rail Mass Transit part of FG free train ride – NRC

Published

1 day ago

December 21, 2024

Trends Admin

Lagos Rail Mass Transit part of FG free train ride – NRC

The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has disclosed that the Lagos Rail Mass Transit (LRMT) trains are included in the Federal Government’s free train ride initiative for the Christmas and New Year celebrations.

The LRMT, which currently includes the Phase 1 Blue Line Rail and the Phase 1 of the Red Line Rail, operates under the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA).

This announcement was made by Ben Iloanusi, the Acting Managing Director of the NRC, during an interview on NTA News TV on Friday, following the launch of the initiative earlier that day.

While Iloanusi stated that Phase 1 of both the Blue Line and Red Line Rail projects are part of the program, LAMATA has yet to confirm this inclusion.

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Iloanusi outlined the other routes benefiting from the scheme, which include the Lagos-Ibadan Train Service, Kaduna-Abuja Train Service, Warri-Itakpe Train Service, Port Harcourt-Aba Train Service, and the Bola Ahmed Tinubu Mass Transit in Lagos. Notably, little was previously known about the Bola Ahmed Tinubu Mass Transit service until this disclosure.

“Let me mention the routes where this free train service is happening. We have the Lagos-Ibadan Train Service, we have the Kaduna-Abuja Train Service, we have the Warri-Itakpe Train Service, we have the Lagos Rail Mass Transit trains, we have the Port Harcourt-Aba Train Service, and we have what we call the Bola Ahmed Tinubu Mass Transit, which is also in Lagos,” he stated.

Iloanusi provided operational updates, stating that passengers nationwide can access free tickets online or, for those unable to do so, at train stations where they will be profiled and validated.

He noted that passengers using NRC-managed services (excluding the Lagos Rail Mass Transit) should reserve tickets via the official website, www.nrc.gov.ng, with a valid ID required. He also advised travelers to plan, arrive on time, and bring valid identification.

Lagos Rail Mass Transit part of FG free train ride – NRC

Business

NNPC denies claim of Port Harcourt refinery shutdown

Published

1 day ago

December 21, 2024

Trends Admin

Port Harcourt refinery

NNPC denies claim of Port Harcourt refinery shutdown

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has denied claims in media reports that the newly refurbished Port Harcourt refinery has shut down.

The national oil company denied the claim in a press release issued by its Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye, on Saturday.

Soneye said the claim was false and urged Nigerians to disregard it. He stressed that the Port-Harcourt Refinery is fully operational.

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The statement read, “The attention of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) has been drawn to reports in a section of the media alleging that the Old Port Harcourt Refinery which was re-streamed two months ago has been shut down.

“We wish to clarify that such reports are totally false as the refinery is fully operational as verified a few days ago by former Group Managing Directors of NNPC.”

He noted that preparation for the day’s loading operation is currently ongoing, and added that claims of the shutdown are “figments of the imagination of those who want to create artificial scarcity and rip-off Nigerians.”

NNPC denies claim of Port Harcourt refinery shutdown

Business

CBN permits BDCs to buy up to $25,000 FX weekly from NFEM

Published

2 days ago

December 20, 2024

Trends Admin

CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso

CBN permits BDCs to buy up to $25,000 FX weekly from NFEM

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has granted Bureau de Change (BDC) operators temporary permission to purchase up to $25,000 weekly in foreign exchange (FX) from the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM).

This move, detailed in a circular dated December 19, 2024, is designed to meet seasonal retail demand for FX during the holiday period.

The circular was signed by T.G. Allu, on behalf of the Acting Director of the Trade and Exchange Department.

The arrangement will be in effect from December 19, 2024, to January 30, 2025.

Under the directive, BDCs may purchase FX from a single Authorized Dealer of their choice, provided they fully fund their accounts before accessing the market.

Transactions to occur at the prevailing NFEM rate

The transactions will occur at the prevailing NFEM rate, and BDCs are required to adhere to a maximum 1% spread when pricing FX for retail end-users.

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All transactions conducted under this scheme must be reported to the CBN’s Trade and Exchange Department.

The circular read in part:

“In order to meet expected seasonal demand for foreign exchange, the CBN is allowing a temporary access for all existing BDCs to the NFEM for the purchase of FX from Authorised Dealers, subject to a weekly cap of USD 25,000.00 (Twenty-five thousand dollars only).

This window will be open between December 19, 2024 to January 30, 2025.

“BDC operators can purchase FX under this arrangement from only one Authorized Dealer of their choice and will be required to fully fund their account before accessing the market at the prevailing NFEM rate. All transactions with BDCs should be reported to the Trade and Exchange department, and a maximum spread of 1% is allowed on the pricing offered by BDCs to retail end-users.”

The CBN assured the general public that PTA (Personal Travel Allowance) and BTA (Business Travel Allowance) remain available through banks for legitimate travel and business needs.”

These transactions are to be conducted at “market-determined exchange rates” within the NFEM framework.

This initiative reflects the CBN’s strategy to stabilize the FX market and manage seasonal surges in demand.