Energy
NNPC to support NIPCO in promoting natural gas for auto fuel
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has pledged continuous support to the Nigerian Independent Petroleum Company (NIPCO) in its renewed efforts at increasing her investment in gas infrastructures to promote compressed natural gas as preferred auto fuel.
Speaking while visiting the stand of the company at the recently concluded 2021 Gas Sector Stakeholders Forum in Kano, Chief Operating Officer, Gas & Power, Engr. Usman Yusuf who led other big wigs in the industry including the Managing Director, Gas Aggregation Company of Nigeria, Mr Olalekan Ogunleye said the corporation is delighted with the company’s efforts towards providing more facilities to enhance natural gas utilization across the nation .
He was particularly delighted with the company’s endeavour in the inauguration of several compressed natural gas stations especially in the city of Benin, Edo State, a feat that has provided access to thousands of motorist to get gas to power their vehicles.
Usman described NIPCO as a very reliable partner of the corporation in the overall drive to improve on the existing gas infrastructures with a view to making government achieve the Decade of Gas initiative being championed by the minister of state for petroleum resources.
According to him, the corporation would stop at nothing to continue to support organizations like NIPCO to properly harness the abundant gas resources in the country stressing the firm has shown requisite capacity to improve the natural gas value chain in all its areas of operations so far .
Usman urged the management to key into the Ajaokuta – Kaduna – Kano [AKK] gas pipeline project which he said has a lot of business potentials for stakeholders like the company adding that with the knack exhibited in Benin, Edo State and Ibafo axis in Ogun state as well as the ongoing project in Ajaokuta, the scheme would be beneficial when fully completed.
He maintained that as the corporation is making giant strides to ensure AKK project completion, it expects operators to plan ahead and fashion ways of putting in requisite infrastructures that will enhance access to gas for potential users as well as creating massive employment opportunities .The Assistant General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Lawal Taofeek itemized some of the major landmarks of the company in the gas sector, which he said include the plethora of infrastructures put in place to enable motorists access to cleaner fuel – gas to power their vehicles.
He equally told the visitors the company’s efforts in supplying piped natural gas to industries to power their machines for higher productivity at relatively cheap rates when compared to using fossil fuels
According to him, “The subsisting gas supply partnership with one of the strategic business units of the corporation – Nigerian Gas Marketing Company Ltd [NGMC] has assisted in the actualization of the lofty achievements of NIPCO over the years even as the firm looks forward to more beneficial relationship with NNPC.”
He informed that NIPCO entry into the gas terrain over a decade ago has provided avenue for employment opportunities and transfer of technical know to Nigerians especially in the of realm of vehicle conversion to use gas as alternative auto fuel
The AGM Corporate Affairs pointed out that no fewer than ten CNG stations and workshops have been inaugurated by the company across the country with more in the pipeline to improve access to natural gas as energy fuel.
The event with the theme : Optimizing the Economic Development Capacity of the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano ‘’AKK’’ Gas Pipeline Project attracted key operators in the sector who exhibited their efforts in the industry with a view to ensuring more collaboration and was declared open by the minister of state for petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Silva.
Mr Tayo Aduloju, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), says with targeted approaches, Nigeria can still meet some of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) indicators.
Aduloju said this on Friday in Abuja, at a news conference to announce the Policy Innovation Center’s (PIC) annual Gender and Inclusion Summit.
According to him, though Nigeria is not on course to meet the SDGs target set for 2030, there are few indicators it can reach because as there are 17 SDGs with 169 targets and indicators.
“I would say right now we are not on course to reach anyone, but we can still achieve some milestone going forward.
“For example, we can turn around birth registration in 12 months; there are a few other indicators that I think Nigeria can reach.
“We have recommended a mother and child compact between the Federal Government and the Minister of Health and Social Welfare seems willing to push it.
“This is because we think that if we met those ones, some of the SDGs will be met automatically,” he added.
According to Aduloju, there is a parallel relationship between multi-dimensional poverty and gender inequality, with countries performing poorly on the Global Gender Report also exhibiting high severe multi-dimensional poverty.
He said that multi-dimensional poverty encompasses deprivations in health, education and living standards.
“The World Bank points out significant gender disparities in labour participation in Nigeria, with about 65.5 per cent of men participating compared to around 52.1 per cent of women.
“The National Bureau of Statistics indicates that about two-thirds of Nigerians are multi-dimensionally poor, lacking income and basic amenities like healthcare, education, and clean cooking fuels,” he said.
He added that conflict, climate change, inflation, and increasing food prices were among the pathways contributing to the rise in high food insecurity and malnutrition rates.
He, however, said that the solution remains a collective effort by all stakeholders to tackle the issues as it could no longer be achieved by government alone.
On her part, the Executive Director, PIC, Mrs Osasuyi Dirisu, said that Nigeria was facing unprecedented times owing to a weak and non-inclusive economy, volatile macro-economic environment, security challenges and weak economic competitiveness.
She, however, said that addressing poverty in Nigeria could not be business as usual.
“Ending poverty and reducing inequality are part of the SDGs and a wide range of approaches have been identified to reduce poverty and inequities.
“To design effective poverty reduction programs, it is important to understand pathways to poverty, evidence based approaches that work and linkages to multi-sectorial inequities.
“We need to identify what works for poverty reduction in Nigeria and sustain the commitment to poverty reduction by intentionally designing and implementing contextually relevant solutions driven by a policy enabling environment,” Dirisu said.
Speaking about the summit, she said that it would hold from Sept. 4 to Sept. 5 with “Reimagining Gender-Inclusive Pathways and Partnerships for Poverty Reduction” as theme.
She said that the summit was expected to explore the impacts of multi-dimensional deprivations on health, education, livelihood, and living standards.
Conceptualised in 2022, the summit is an annual event to provide an inclusive platform to explore transformative ways to advance gender equity, inclusion and gender-responsive governance in Africa.
The 2024 summit is expected to leverage the collective power of government, development partners, civil society, academia, and the private sector, highlighting the importance of strategic partnerships for inclusive development.
PIC, an initiative of NESG is an institutionalised behavioural initiative in Africa supporting the delivery of better policies and innovative solutions for social impact.
Chevron Nigeria Ltd. has restated commitment to its partnership with Nigeria in ensuring safe, reliable, and efficient operations in the country.
Chevron’s General Manager, Policy, Government and Public Affairs, Mr Esimaje Brikinn, made this known in a statement on Friday.
Brikinn said also that the company remained committed to delivering affordable, reliable, ever cleaner energy supply that was critical to the development of the Nigerian economy.
“At Chevron, we believe oil and gas will remain a viable component of the energy mix.
“The company believes that the future of energy is lower carbon even as it continues to add incremental volumes to its oil production, and support gas development in a clean manner, “ he said.
The manager said that over the years, Chevron had encouraged the participation of Nigerian companies in the oil and gas industry.
He said that the company, working with the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, continued to foster competence and competitiveness among Nigerian indigenous contractors and suppliers.
According to him, the company does this by adopting the participatory-partnership model.
“Chevron Nigeria believes that by investing in local communities, we can create a sustainable future for all.
“Our local content strategy is focused on three key pillars: capacity building (training, mentoring among others), local procurement, and social investment (community development projects mainly in health, education and economic development), “ he said.
Recently , the company was awarded the Best Exhibitor award at the 2024 edition of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Energy Week conferences and exhibition held on July 3 in Abuja.
Nigeria’s debt to petrol traders has surpassed $6 billion, doubling since early April, as the state oil firm, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), struggles to cover the gap between fixed pump prices and international fuel costs, according to six industry sources.
This is according to a report by Reuters on Thursday, which tracks data on international petrol prices.
Sources confirmed to the American media outlet that NNPC has capped the pump prices of petrol shortly after the removal of subsidy in May 29, 2023.
The cap on fuel prices has resulted in stability at the pump despite increases in international crude oil prices and the devaluation of the naira against the dollar.
This situation has led many to speculate that the government might have reinstated some form of petrol subsidy, given the discrepancy between market prices and the steady price of the commodity.
According to data from Reuters, NNPC began facing difficulties early this year when late gasoline payments exceeded $3 billion.
The company has yet to pay for some January imports, with traders stating that the late payments now amount to between $4 billion and $5 billion.
Under the terms of their contracts, NNPC is required to pay within 90 days of delivery.
“The only reason traders are putting up with it is the $250,000 a month (per cargo) for late payment compensation,” one industry source said.
At least two suppliers have already stopped participating in recent tenders after reaching their self-imposed debt exposure limits to Nigeria, the sources said.
This means they will not send more gasoline until they receive payments.
The tension to reconcile the international landing cost of petrol and the fixed price of N617 has deepened the debt of NNPC to the traders, the sources confirmed.
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