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Energy

Delayed IPO: We will make initial public offering soon – NNPCL GCEO

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…tasks stakeholders on deliberate plans, partnership to boost efficiency

By Mathew Dennis, Abuja

The Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mr Mele Kyari has provided updates on the NNPCL’s intention to make an initial public offering (IPO).

Stating some of the reasons behind the push for an IPO, Kyari noted that the NNPC Limited operates in a dynamic market landscape.

He highlighted that the NNPCL will operate as a Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) company, will declare its shares to the public.

Kyari made the disclosure at the Nigeria Oil and Gas (NOG) Energy Week, Nigeria’s foremost international energy conference.

The 2023 Energy Week is the 22nd edition of the annual event holding at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.

Earlier in September 2021, Mele Kyari revealed that the NNPCL may not be able to offer its shares to the public by 2022 or 2023 due to certain bottlenecks that had lingered over the years.

He had said: “But when you want to get ready for IPO, you need to do things different. You need to get your books correct; you need to recapitalise; you need to shape your portfolio and many more things that you have to do until you get IPO ready.

“Surely, it is not what we will do in 2022 or 2023; probably the earliest consideration will be in three years’ time.”

Lamenting about the non-payment of servjce offered by the NNPCL, Kyari said, “We supply gas, we don’t get payment for it; we supply power and we don’t get payment it. So, you can’t run any business this way. You cannot be sustainable.”

“So it’s a multiple issue that is for all of us and I’m happy to say this moment that this country is changing and by the way, I can tell you where the competition. We are NNPCL. We don’t create rules anymore. We are the competition.

“We will pay taxes; we will pay royalties like anyone; we will also pay dividends to our shareholders which many of you. So we are in business and business means competition. We are a private sector – forget about the fact that we are own by the government 100 per cent.”

Highlighting other key initiatives being embarked on by the NNPCL, Kyari asserted that affordability, accessibility and sustainability are the drivers of Nigeria’s energy future.

Speaking on the theme “Powering Nigeria’s Sustainable Energy Future” Kyari said we are here to discuss and debate strategies that will increase investment flows into the country and enhance Industry operations,and promote international partnership.

“The gathering draws together policymakers, regulators, and leaders from the private sector to discuss Nigeria’s vital energy agenda.

“Over 30 per cent don’t have access to electricity. So, is energy available or is it the problem of affordability. Is it that we have an unsustainable situation or is it combination of all of them? I think we are dealing with the combination of all.”

According to him many issues have made affordability of energy a matter of concern for everybody not just the consumer.

Key initiatives disclosed by the NNPCL GCEO yesterday include expanding gas infrastructure to deliver gas across West Africa and potentially, Europe, expansion of liquefaction capacity of NLNG and enabling availability of LPG as a cooking fuel and CNG as alternative fuel for automobiles.

Reaffirming Nigeria’s status as a gas nation with associated oil, Kyari reiterated the need to bridge the skilled manpower gap, ensure asset security, and invest in infrastructure to transform challenges into opportunities. For the GCEO, strategic decisions like subsidy removal have already paved the way for positive change in the sector, while freeing up capital for powering the sustainable supply of energy.

Kyari also assured stakeholders in the oil and gas sector of more strategic plans and partnerships to enhance productivity in the industry.

Energy

Alake unveils gender strategy for mining, steel sector

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The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake, has unveiled a document for Women in Mining in Nigeria (WIMIN) strategy document.

Speaking at the event, he described the strategy as a significant mile stone in the sector.

He said that the move was a demonstration of the commitment of the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development (MSMD)‘ and Ministry of Steel Development in fostering diversity.

He said that the strategy is aimed at promoting gender equality and women‘s empowerment, adding that its focused on driving productivity for the nations‘ sustainable development.

“It also focuses on improving the opportunities for women to benefit from both sectors sustainably in policy, regulatory, operational, and commercial (large scale, medium scale, small scale, and artisanal levels), and value and supply chain roles.

“This strategy is not just a document but a call to action and a blueprint for all stakeholders to create a more inclusive and gender-balanced mining and steel sector.

“It provides a guideline and framework to guide both ministries, their agencies, and stakeholders to integrate gender equality and women’s empowerment priorities in their policies, programmes, and initiatives,” he said.

He acknowledged the indispensable contributions of women to the success and sustainability of the mining sector, saying that their talents, expertise, and perspectives are critical to the success and growth of the industry.

According to him, Nigeria is not immune from the biases perpetuated against women in these two sectors.

In addressing the situation, he said that the Federal Government has prioritised gender equity and female participation in its “Roadmap for the Growth and Development of the Nigerian Mining Industry.”

He said as part of the efforts of MSMD and Ministry of Steel Development to implement the roadmap, the Mineral Sector Support for Economic Diversification (MinDiver) engaged a consultancy to develop the gender strategy.

He said that to achieve the objectives of the strategy, its institutional capacity would be strengthened for effective gender mainstreaming.

He added that that women’s participation in leadership and governance roles within the mining sector and communities would be increased.

“Promoting women’s economic empowerment and rights and eliminating all barriers (structural and systemic) that hinder women’s meaningful participation, access and control over mining resources and benefits,” he said.

The Minister added that they were committed to building partnerships across a wide range of stakeholders in achieving the vision of the strategy.

He said that the WIMIN strategy was firmly rooted in the principles of equality, diversity, and empowerment, and  a call to action for stakeholders mobilisation toward a more inclusive and gender-balanced industry.

Earlier in her remarks, the National President of WIMIN, Dr Janet Adeyemi, described the launch of the strategy as an opportunity to galvanise support and implement actions to address the entrenched gender disparities within the mining and steel sectors.

Represented by the National Secretary, Mrs Emily Ofodile, she said that women within these industries continue to encounter multifaceted barriers that hinder their full participation and advancement.

On her part, the Permanent Secretary of MSMD, Dr Mary Ogbe, urged, women to be change agents at all levels, and urged all organisations to have gender focal persons to help in coordinating all related matters.

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Energy

Tree4Life Project: NEPL/Seplat JV, Edo sign reforestation agreement

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The NNPC Exploration and Production Ltd/Seplat Energy Joint Venture and the Edo State Government have signed an agreement that will see the state government allocate 6,000 hectares of land from its protected forest reserves to enable a large-scale tree planting initiative by Seplat Energy Plc.

This is in furtherance to the Seplat Tree4Life Initiative and the Edo State Government’s identification of the need to increase forest cover and carbon sequestration efforts within the region.

Seplat Energy has been selected as the partner to implement this reforestation project, which aims to plant millions of indigenous trees on the allocated land over the next five (5) years. This project represents a significant investment in environmental conservation and sustainable development for the state.

Speaking at the agreement signing ceremony, which happened in Edo State Government House, the Managing Director, Seplat West Limited, Seplat Energy, Ayodele Olatunde, said the partnership will contribute in the global efforts around mitigating the effects of climate change, whilst providing economic, social, health and other environmental benefits to the region.

“This will stir more advocacy as far as climate change is concerned and put the Edo State Government with the Seplat JV on the map as change agents. The partnership is well aligned with our Tree4Life Initiative and has the capacity to boost our economy and the environment; advance our soil health and drive carbon capture; preserve our ecosystem; enhance biodiversity; create jobs; conserve our forests; and promote physical and mental wellbeing of our people,” Olatunde said.

The Commissioner for Environment & Sustainability, Edo State, Joshua Omokhodion, said the synergy between Edo State and the Seplat JV is a huge attempt at mitigating the impacts of climate change in Nigeria.

“Beyond the economics of this move, the science of it is very important to us because it is an attempt to deliberately create an ambience that will be conducive for humans and other creatures here.”

The Director, External Affairs & Social Performance, Seplat Energy, Chioma Afe, in her address, thanked the Edo State Government for partnering with the NEPL/Seplat JV on this sustainable journey of reforestation.

She said, “This will drive forward our shared goals of environmental conservation and sustainable land use.”

“These 6,000 hectares of land being allocated today, we believe, will provide a major boost to efforts at increasing tree cover and also to sequester carbon in our region. We believe also that this will not only tackle climate change, but will promote the local economy as well as local wildlife. The agreement demonstrates the NEPL/Seplat JV strong commitment to supporting impactful environmental projects,” Afe explained.

The Managing Director, NEPL, Nicolas Foucart, represented by Mr. Uzoma Ezulu, DM Operations Management Seplat, NEPL, said the partnership between the state government and NEPL/Seplat JV is a laudable response to the global warming crisis.

“The world is turning around for the worst; human activities in the name of development have done more harm than good to the environment. The Tree4Life project, therefore, is a conservative effort for all of us,” he said. Teasoo Consulting Limited was also among the facilitators of the agreement signing ceremony,” Nicolas said.

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Energy

Fuel queues will end soon — Reps assure Nigerians

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The House of Representatives, has reassured that the long queues at filling stations in the country, will soon fizzle out soon.

Chairman, Petroleum Downstream, Rep. Ikenga Ugochinyere, said this at a joint news conference in Abuja on Wednesday.

“We hereby express our concerns over the temporary presence of fuel queues in petrol stations across the country.

“However, we are convinced that this is temporary based on our investigation, and in a couple of days, we shall get over it,” he said.

Flanked by Rep. Henry Okojie, the Chairman, Petroleum Midstream, Ugochinyere said that investigations had revealed that the scarcity was artificial.

“We have discovered that there is availability of petrol products. We have it on good authority that we have in our storage facilities at least, about 1.5 billion liters of petrol,” he said.

He said that 1.5 billion litres can last for 30 days.

“We have gotten assurances from the regulators in the distribution value chain that these bottlenecks have been cleared. In the course of this public holiday, more grounds will be covered.

“From our findings, the issues that necessitated the disruptions that led to the appearance of fuel queues in petrol stations have been cleared.

“They said that it would take a few more days for things to return to normalcy, while calling on Nigerians not to panic over this development.

“We have gotten assurances from the regulators and the unions that these challenges will be cleared in a few days,” he said.

Ugochinyere added, “It will require more time, like two to three days, for products to be distributed to all stations nationwide.

“As a committee that is charged with downstream and midstream oversight, we have been monitoring this development.”

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