Business
DPR offers Rano, Matrix, others marginal oil field licences
The Department of Petroleum Resources on Monday awarded marginal oil field licences to a number of indigenous oil firms including A.A. Rano, Shafa Exploration, Matrix Energy and Vhelblerg Exploration
Other are Sigmund Oil Field, Emadeb Energy, Casiva Ltd, Duchess Energy and Duport Midstream.
The award came a year after 2020 marginal field bid round began with 591 companies applying to win 57 oil fields on offer.
The oil fields are located onshore, swamps and offshore.
The DPR estimates that Nigeria would produce additional 100 million barrels of crude oil from the 57 fields, in the coming years.
The DPR Director/CEO, Auwalu Sarki, said at the award ceremony in Abuja that the fields would boost Nigeria’s daily oil production capacity beyond the current three million barrels per day.
He said after undergoing lengthy and vigorous process, 161 companies were shortlisted as potential awardees out of which 50 per cent met all conditions.
He noted that the department would not abandon the companies after the award but would work with them to ensure immediate development and attainment of first oil in record time.
He said, “The journey began exactly one year ago, June 1, 2020 with the launching of the bid round registration portal. The portal eased the registration and application process and ensured a transparent exercise.
“It also provided the platform for the virtual data room. It is important to state that the industry-enabled National Data Repository provided all the requisite technical and logistics support for the successful conduct of the exercise.”
He said the DPR would ensure that the indigenous companies face minimal challenges from the International Oil Companies, the original lease owners for the fields.
He explained that the challenges that hindered the attainment of full development of the last marginal fields award 17 years had been considered and tackled.
He added that of the 24 fields awarded in 2003, 11 fields remained undeveloped locking in over 40 million barrels of oil.
Sarki said, “With the lessons of the previous exercise we want to refocus, change the approach, we have developed strategy to ensure you (the companies) and the awarded fields achieve early development.
“The DPR will continue and guide all of you every step of the way. For instance, the guiding template for working agreement has been drafted for joint awardees and discussions have reached advance stage between DPR and lease holders on the farm out agreement.”
The DPR boss expressed optimism that the development of the oil fields would stimulate job creation because “all the awardees have to recruit people which mean more taxes and revenue to government and at the same time it enhances the GDP because the contribution of the industry to the GDP is very low.”
Chairman of Vhelblerg, Bank Anthony Okoroafor. Who spoke on behalf of other winners, expressed gratitude to the DPR for holding a transparent bid exercise.
He said, “It was open to everybody; there was communication established with everybody and they did their own work very well.”
He urged the DPR to support the winning firms by talking to the IOCs to allow the operators use their facilities if considered the most effective options.
Business
PH refinery: 200 trucks will load petroleum products daily, says Presidency
PH refinery: 200 trucks will load petroleum products daily, says Presidency
No fewer than 200 trucks are set to load petroleum products at the government-owned Port Harcourt Refinery, the presidency has said.
A presidential spokesperson, Sunday Dare, made this known in a statement through his official X handle on Tuesday.
Newstrends had reported that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company on Tuesday announced that Port Harcourt Refinery has resumed operations and crude oil processing after years of inactivity.
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Reacting, Dare said, “200 trucks are expected to load products daily from the refinery, Renewing the Hopes of Nigeria.”
He added that “the Port Harcourt refinery has two wings.
“The Old Refinery comes on stream today with an installed production capacity of 60, 000 barrels per day of crude oil.”
PH refinery: 200 trucks will load petroleum products daily, says Presidency
Business
Breaking: CBN increases interest rate to 27.50%
Breaking: CBN increases interest rate to 27.50%
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has raised the lending interest to 27.50 per cent from 27.25 per cent.
This latest increase in the Monetary Policy Rate came after a meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Monday and concluded Tuesday.
The Monetary Policy Rate measures the benchmark interest rate.
The CBN Governor, Yemi Cardoso, announced this in Abuja on Tuesday after the MPC meeting, last for the year, held at the apex bank’s headquarters.
He said the MPC voted unanimously to raise the MPR by 25 basis points from 27.25% to 27.50%; and retain the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) at 50% for Deposit Money Banks and 16% for Merchant Banks.
The CBN governor also said the MPC retained the Liquidity Ratio (LR) at 30% and Asymmetric Corridor at +500/-100 basis points around the MPR.
Business
Nigeria’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.3% in Q2 – NBS
Nigeria’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.3% in Q2 – NBS
Nigeria’s unemployment rate stood at 4.3 per cent in the second quarter of 2024, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said in its latest report.
The report released on Monday said the unemployment rate decreased compared to the 5.3 per cent recorded in the Q1 of 2024.
The NBS defined the unemployment rate as the share of the labour force (the combination of unemployed and employed people) who are not employed but actively searching and are available for work.
“The unemployment rate for Q2 2024 was 4.3%, showing an increase of 0.1 percentage point compared to the same period last year,” the report stated.
“The unemployment rate among males was 3.4% and 5.1% among females.
“By place of residence, the unemployment rate was 5.2% in urban areas and 2.8% in rural areas. Youth unemployment rate was 6.5% in Q2 2024, showing a decrease from 8.4% in Q1 2024.”
Report also said the unemployment rate among persons with post-secondary education was 4.8 per cent; 8.5 per cent among those with upper secondary education, 5.8 per cent for those with lower secondary education, and 2.8 per cent among those with primary education in Q2 2024.
Employment rate – 76%
The report showed that the employment-to-population ratio, which measures the number of employed workers against the total working-age population, increased to 76.1 per cent in Q2 2024.
“In Q2 2024, 76.1% of Nigeria’s working-age population was employed, up from 73.1% in Q1 2024,” the report stated.
Self-employment – 85.6%
The report further showed that Nigeria’s labour market saw a notable shift as the proportion of self-employed individuals increased in Q2 2024.
It stated, “The proportion of persons in self-employment in Q2 2024 was 85.6%.”
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