Business
Aviation Crisis Deepens As Marketers, Operators Fail To Agree On New Jet Fuel Price
There is uncertainty over the threat by the airline operators to shut down operation following the skyrocketing price of aviation fuel known as Jet A1.
Óil marketers and operators failed to agree on a new pricing template, Daily Trust can report.
A meeting of the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) and the aviation fuel marketers to develop a new pricing template for the Jet fuel which has disrupted flight operations in the last few weeks ended without the two parties arriving at a favourable pricing framework.
The meeting, which held physically and virtually, had the airline operators and many fuel suppliers in attendance with the Executive Director, Distribution Systems, Storage & Retailing Infrastructure of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Mr Ogbugo Ukoha, coordinating.
Also at the meeting was the Group Executive Director, Downstream of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr. Adeyemi Adetunji.
It was a follow-up to the stakeholders’ meeting held at the instance of the House of Representatives where it was agreed that jet fuel would be sold at N500 per litre for three days while operators would be given license to import fuel.
To come up with an acceptable pricing template, the AON and the fuel marketers represented by the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) and Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) and the NNPC representatives met and both parties made their positions known.
Chairman of United Nigeria Airlines, Chief Obiora Okonkwo, who spoke on behalf of the airlines, insisted that buying fuel for over N500 per litre is not sustainable, saying no Nigerian would be able to fly if the airlines increase ticket fares.
Okonkwo said aviation is a social service and the shutdown would affect every sector of the economy, stressing the need for any form of intervention from the federal government to avert the looming crisis.
Findings by Daily Trust showed that aviation fuel sells between N570 and N607 per litre across the country.
A breakdown of the pricing across regions indicated that it was N570 in Lagos; N579 in Abuja and Port Harcourt and N607 in Kano.
But the Chairman/CEO of Nepal Oil and Gas Services Limited, Ngozi Ekeoma, debunked the insinuation that aviation fuel marketers have become a cartel, saying the parameters for determining the price remain unambiguous.
She said, “Aviation fuel is not a cartel based product. The parameters for determining prices are there. As of today, a vessel costs $25,000 per day at the port. There is the marine cost, we have problems even loading the ATK (the jet fuel). We use trucks that run on diesel. This also adds to the costs. We will have to put all of these costs. For every litre, I am paying FAAN (Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria) N3:50k.”
However, both parties were asked to submit three names each which would work overnight with the NNPC representatives to come up with a new pricing framework.
On the part of airlines, CEOs of Arik Air, Aero Contractors and the United Nigerian Airlines, were appointed while the fuel marketers would be represented by Joseph Olanipekun; Farouk Mogaji; Samuel Ekpese for MOMAN as well as Yusuf Mohammed and John Abegunda for DAPMAN. Also a representative of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) would be in attendance.
The meeting however agreed to reconvene by 4 p.m on Wednesday.
Ukoha who stated that the team would work overnight to agree on a new price said, “First is that before the end of today, we will revisit the issue about yesterday’s decision that wasn’t abided with today. You will hear from us.
“By tomorrow, we can come up with figures that are agreeable to everybody upon which we can base the framework.”
DAILY TRUST
Aviation
Disaster averted as bird strike hits Abuja-Lagos Air Peace flight
Disaster averted as bird strike hits Abuja-Lagos Air Peace flight
An Abuja-Lagos flight was on Thursday aborted following a bird strike on the airplane belonging to Air Peace, forcing the authorities to ground the aircraft.
The bird strike experienced in the early hours reportedly prompted a ramp return to ensure the safety of passengers onboard.
All the passengers quickly disembarked and were calmed down before they were moved into another plane for the one-hour journey.
A bird strike is a collision between a bird and an aircraft, or other airborne animal, while the aircraft is in flight, taking off, or landing. And it can be a significant threat to aircraft safety.
Air Peace in a statement by its Head of Corporate Communications, Ejike Ndiulo, said the bird strike occurred at 6:30am, and all passengers disembarked normally.
The statement read, “We wish to inform our esteemed passengers that our Abuja- Lagos 06:30 flight experienced a bird strike before take-off, prompting a ramp return as a safety measure. All passengers disembarked normally.
“We have deployed a replacement aircraft for the affected flight in order to minimize disruptions, thus ensuring that passengers continue their journeys promptly.
“We appeal for the understanding of our valued passengers impacted by this development, as well as those on other flights that may experience delays.
“At Air Peace, we are committed to providing safe, comfortable, and reliable air travel for all our passengers.”
Business
NNPC achieves 1.8mbpd crude oil production
NNPC achieves 1.8mbpd crude oil production
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) and its partners have revved up crude oil and gas production to 1.8million barrels per day (mbpd) and 7.4standard cubic feet per day (scfd).
The company which announced this at a press briefing said the feat was achieved in compliance with the mandate of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Speaking on the development, the Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Mele Kyari, congratulated the Production War Room Team that anchored the production recovery process.
“The team has done a great job in driving this project of not just production recovery but also escalating production to expected levels that are in the short and long terms acceptable to our shareholders based on the mandates that we
have from the President, the Honourable Minister, and the Board,” Kyari explained.
Giving details of the efforts of the Production War Room, the Chief War Room Coordinator and Senior Business Adviser to the Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Lawal Musa, disclosed that the feat was achieved through the collaborative efforts of Joint Venture and Production Sharing Contract partners, the Office of the National Security Adviser, as well as government and private security agencies.
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He said the interventions that led to the recovery of production cut across every segment of the production chain with security agencies closely monitoring the pipelines.
He stressed that when the Production War Room team was inaugurated on 25th June 2024, production was at 1.430mbpd, but the team swung into action, culminating into sustaining the production recovery to 1.7mbpd in August and hitting the current 1.808mbpd in November.
“We are confident that with this same momentum and with the active collaboration of all stakeholders, especially on the security front, we can see the possibility of getting to 2mbpd by the end of the year,” he stated.
Also speaking on the development, Chairman of the NNPC Ltd Board of Directors, Chief Pius Akinyelure, who also congratulated the team, said he was happy to be part of the production recovery process, adding: “today, I will leave this place with my heart full of joy”.
He charged the Company’s Management to come up with a cashflow projection based on the new production figures to facilitate planning, stressing that he was looking forward to further production increase to 3mbpd.
On his part, the Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, expressed satisfaction with the performance of the team and pledged the Federal Government’s support for the company to do more.
NNPC achieves 1.8mbpd crude oil production
Business
FG gets fresh $134m loan from AfDB for agric projects
FG gets fresh $134m loan from AfDB for agric projects
The Federal Government has secured a loan facility of $134million from the African Development Bank (AfDB) to help farmers boost seeds and grain production in the country.
This is contained in a statement issued by Anthonia Eremah, Chief Information Officer, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, on Thursday, in Abuja.
Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Abubakar Kyari, made his know at the unveiling of the 2024/2025 National Dry Season Farming in Calabar, Cross River State capital.
Kyari explained that with the re-introduction of the national dry season farming to boost year-round agricultural production, the loan would be handy and guarantee national food security in the country.
The minister said the initiative is under the National Agricultural Growth Support Scheme-Agro Pocket (NAGS-AP) Project.
He said the federal government had declared an emergency on food production to enable all Nigerians to get easy access to quality and nutritional food at affordable rates.
Kyari also said government wants to use the agricultural sector for national economic revival through increase in production of some staple food crops such as wheat, rice, maize, sorghum, soybean, and cassava during both dry and wet season farming.
He added that 107,429 wheat farmers were supported under phase 1 of the 2023/2024 dry season, and 43,997 rice farmers under the second phase of the 2023/2024 dry season.
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The minister said recently, government supported 192,095 rice, maize, sorghum/millet, soyabean and cassava farmers under the 2024 wet season across the 37 States including the FCT.
He said Cross River was leading 16 other states in wheat production, adding that over 3000 wheat farmers have been listed to benefit from the support to grow the grain.
Kyari noted the Cross River government’s commitment to wheat production.
He said it informed why the federal government is partnering with the state to kick start the maiden wheat production and enlisting them among states commencing the current 2024/2025 dry season farming.
“The 2024/2025 dry season farming, the project is targeted to support 250,000 wheat farmers across the wheat-producing states with subsidised agricultural inputs.
“This is to cultivate about 250,000 hectares with an expected output of about 750,000 metric tonnes of wheat to be added to the food reserve to reduce dependence on importation of the product and also increase domestic consumption.
“Equally the programme will provide support to 150,000 rice farmers under the second phase to cover all the 37 states, including FCT, with an expected output of about 450,000 metric tonnes,” he said.
FG gets fresh $134m loan from AfDB for agric projects
(NAN)
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