Business
Grid Collapse: Lawmakers Lambast Power Minister, Demand Improved Electricity Supply
•Say Nigerians want actions not theories
•Mull return of NBET to power ministry
Members of the House of Representatives Committee on Power yesterday criticised the Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu mandating him to take concrete actions aimed at solving the current nationwide blackout rather than always presenting theories that do not translate into power supply to Nigerians.
The Committee, led by Hon. Magaji Da’u Aliyu at a meeting with the minister, expressed disappointment over the lackadaisical attitude of the ministry towards power issues whenever there was national emergency, saying there was nothing in his presentation to show that the ministry was solving the challenge of increased power outages being experienced by the country.
The minister, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Nebolisa Anoka, had enumerated the challenges facing the sector, ranging from low gas supply, low hydro levels, high cost of gas, as well as disequilibrium between power generation, transmission and distribution. This, he said had led to the collapse of the national grid and as well what the ministry was doing to salvage the situation.
He explained that in response to the challenges facing power generation, the ministry recently hosted an emergency meeting with key stakeholders in the gas-to-power value chain, during which far-reaching resolutions were arrived at on key measures needed to ameliorate the situation.
Reacting to the presentation, Aliyu, who earlier explained that the special interactive session was necessitated by the fact that Nigerians were facing the worst energy crisis in recent times, lamented that the situation had affected businesses, both small and large, which according to him had been attracting huge public outcry.
He called for the return of the Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading Company (NBET), under the supervision of the Power Ministry, saying that there was not much both the Ministry and the Committee could do if the agency remained elsewhere.
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According to him, these were part of the sectoral problems affecting the country in terms of power, as the agency which was tasked with the responsibility of evacuating unused electricity and bridging the gap debit gap between Gencos and Discos is not properly supervised.
He said, “There is nothing on ground to show that there will be light or generation of up to 5000 megawatts, but we keep hearing about 30,000 megawatts of installed capacity across the power stations.
“It may be recalled that Nigerians whom we represent experience one of the worst moment of electricity supply across the country. This development has caused variety of problems affecting peoples’ welfare which makes social living condition very uncomfortable.
“It has caused collapse of small businesses whose operations depend on stable electricity supply. The situation has also aggravated increased process in commodities and services especially those that require electricity supply.
“The overheated socio-economic environment due to very poor electricity supply attracted huge public outcry for immediate solutions, especially given the contractual nature of provision of power and energy services in the post privatization era by the Nigerian Power Supply Industry.
“Against this background and acting as peoples’ representatives, this interactive session is organised to request the Minister to among others: Explain the remote and immediate causes of the current deplorable power supply across the country; explain the technical, operational and administrative measures taken by the ministry to address the challenges and its devastating consequences against life, welfare and economy; and suggest in your highlight the areas which the House of Representatives or indeed the National Assembly can provide legislative support to overcome the challenges apparently disturbing all Nigerians.”
Corroborating Aliyu statement, members of the Committee, took turns to lament the unending projections by the Ministry that have never come to fruition.
In his contribution, Hon. Sada Soli (APC, Katsina), noted that the concern raised by Gencos as the major reason for the blackout, was the N1.4 trillion debt NBET was owing them as cost of generated but unused electricity.
He also noted three major concerns ranging from the quantity, quality and cost of gas delivered to them for their operations. Also, Hon. Aisha Dukku wondered if the ministry won’t be able to resolve the problem till end of next year
She said: “Mr. Chairman, what the Permanent Secretary is telling us is end of next year. So, that means we will continue to be in darkness until end of 2023? Haba! No, no!”
On his part, Hon. Muraino Ajibola, said, “These problems are not starting now. For instance, we know, every year, there will be shortage of water. We also know that most of time during the period of January to March, there is always this shutdown.
“We have abundance of gas but we are not making use of it. What we do is fire brigade approach. Mr. Chairman, the summary of it is that we are not prepared to give our power and I think it’s very sad. They also bring light when they want to send estimated bills to us.”
Thereafter, the Chairman of the Committee ruled that the Permanent Secretary should return on Friday with more practical evidences of intended interventions.
THISDAY
Business
Shell, partners employ 133 young graduates after internship engagement
Shell, partners employ 133 young graduates after internship engagement
Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd (SPDC) and its partners have offered jobs to 133 young graduates after their engagement in internship programme.
They are part of 170 young graduates that benefitted from the NCDMB/PETAN/SPDC JV Graduate Internship programme attached to indigenous technical oilfield service companies in the upstream and downstream sectors for hands-on experience.
A statement obtained on Monday said the 133 employed by the companies indicated the success of the programme as a talent pipeline for the oil and gas industry in Nigeria.
It disclosed that the latest batch of 49 intakes graduated at a ceremony in Port Harcourt early this month after completing their internship which began in 2022.
Speaking at the ceremony, Chairman of the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN), Wole Ogunsanya, commended the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd (SPDC) Joint Venture for the support for the programme, helping to build local manpower for a critical sector of the economy.
SPDC and PETAN had jointly set up the programme in 2014 whereby young graduates are attached to the over 100 member companies of the organisation with SPDC paying them monthly stipends.
From 2022 when the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) joined the collaboration, the programme has run for two years with 100 intakes.
The NCDMB/PETAN/SPDC JV Graduate Internship programme has been lauded as a key human capital development initiative which is central to the promotion of Nigerian content in the oil and gas industry.
SPDC’s General Manager Nigerian Content, ‘Lanre Olawuyi, said, “The internship is more than a learning opportunity. It provides fresh graduates with technical expertise, equipping them with the practical skills needed to excel in their careers.
“It aligns with SPDC’s broader educational initiatives, contributing significantly to the actualisation of the UNESCO ‘Education for All’ agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals in Nigeria, particularly in the Niger Delta.
“We owe the success of the programme to the untiring support of our JV partners, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL,) TotalEnergies and Nigerian Agip Oil Company Limited for which we’re grateful.”
Business
Warri refinery now operational, doing 125,000bpd – NNPCL boss
Warri refinery now operational, doing 125,000bpd – NNPCL boss
Warri Refining and Petrochemicals Company (WRPC) in Delta State has commenced production after a major rehabilitation of the facility.
Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Mele Kyari, disclosed this on Monday.
Kyari said the refinery is not fully completed but is producing 125,000 barrels per day.
He spoke to journalists during a tour of the facility on Monday, attended by key stakeholders.
The announcement is coming about a month after the old Port Harcourt refinery idle for five years resumed full operations, producing petrol, kerosene and diesel.
There are also expectations that the other state-owned Kaduna Refining and Petrochemicals Company (KRPC) currently undergoing rehabilitation would bounce back soon.
The NNPCL in April promised restore the Kaduna refinery to 60 percent of its production capacity by the end of this year.
Business
Real reason Dangote, NNPC drop petrol price — IPMAN
Real reason Dangote, NNPC drop petrol price — IPMAN
Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, has attributed the fierce competition between Nigeria’s two refineries owned by Dangote and NNPC Limited for the recent drop in the pump price of premium motor spirit, PMS, also known as petrol.
Checks by Vanguard yesterday showed that most petrol retail outlets have reduced their pump prices in response to a drop in ex-depot prices by Dangote Refinery and the Port Harcourt Refinery.
Findings showed that while NNPC Retail reduced its price from N1,030 to N965 per litre, other retailers, such as AA Rano and AYM Sharfa, dropped their pump price from N1,070 to N1,020 per litre.
However, despite these reductions, it was observed that pump price at Conoil remained at N1,090 per litre, the same as it was in November.
Speaking to Vanguard, Public Relations Officer, IPMAN, Chief Chinedu Ukadike, said competition between the local refineries and the smooth flow of the product have resulted in the reduction in prices.
He said: “It is a good development for independent marketers and for consumers too. Now, because of increased demand, price normally goes up during this period but right now the opposite is the case. ‘’Availability has been taken care of and we are now seeing price war among the gladiators, NNPC and Dangote.
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“By next year when the Warri and Kaduna refineries are expected to come onstream, things will even be more interesting”.
Ukadike noted that independent marketers were now able to buy directly from both refineries because “there is a slight increase in turnover. When the price was around N1,300/litre most of our members barely sold 5,000 litres daily but we are doing far better than this.
“We are also now able to get products directly. NNPC portal is open now for marketers to take as much product as they want. Dangote has also heeded our call and reduced the volume for bulk purchase eligibility.
“Initially it was limited to 10 million litres but now they sell at two million litres which is about N2 billion. This is more bearable for independent marketers who are now able to come together to place orders for the product.’’
There were indications that the coming on stream of the Port Harcourt Refinery and Dangote Petroleum Refinery would impact Nigeria’s foreign exchange rate in 2025.
The old Port Harcourt refinery and Dangote Petroleum refinery have the capacity to process 560,000 barrels per day, bpd and 60,000 bpd of crude oil respectively.
Before the coming on stream of the two refineries, Nigeria used to depend on the international market for its petroleum products.
However, the Director/CEO, Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, CPPE, Dr. Muda Yusuf, who expressed the optimism in his Outlook, yesterday, said: “The Import substitution effect of the Dangote and Port Harcourt refineries with the consequential easing of demand pressure on the forex market.”
Marketers adjust pump prices
Meanwhile, checks by Vanguard, weekend indicated that oil marketers continued to adjust pump prices following the provision of new ex-depot prices by both NNPCL and Dangote Refinery at N899 per litre and N899.50 per litre, respectively, last week.
Further checks by Vanguard showed that both NNPCL and MRS filling stations involved in marketing Dangote Petroleum Refinery have started adjusting the pump prices.
Real reason Dangote, NNPC drop petrol price — IPMAN
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