The Nigerian Senate has given strong backing to efforts to improve rural electrification even as it has vowed to ensure funds are released for execution of rural electrification projects. The Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, who stated this when he hosted officials of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, in his office, noted that a…

Africa has about 70 years of natural gas production going by the volume of gas available on the continent and the current production rate, a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers has revealed. The PwC 2015 report on Africa’s oil and gas put the continent's proven natural gas reserves as at the end of 2014 at about 500…

Total E&P Nigeria Ltd has announced the appointment of Mr. Victor Bandele as Executive Director, Joint Ventures District, and Mr. Patrick Olinma as Executive Director, Oil & Gas Commercial, with effect from September 1, 2015. Mr. Bandele joined then Elf Petroleum Nigeria Limited (now Total E&P Nigeria, TEPNG) as a trainee reservoir engineer in 1993.…

KUNLE KALEJAYE The proposed Dangote's refinery, with capacity to refine 650,000 barrels ‎of crude oil per day, will be completed in 2017 and will commence full operations in 2018 - its set deadline, the company has said. Senior General Manager, Civil and Structure, Dangote Petrochemicals Ltd, Mr. Madhav Kelkar, disclosed this in Lagos, saying ‎the…

KUNLE KALEJAYE The Nigeria Content Development and Monitoring Board, NCDMB, says Nigerian-built and owned vessels would as from January 2016 be given first consideration in tenders. ‎Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Mr. Denzil Amagbe Kentebe, ‎who disclosed this at the recent 5th edition of the Practical Nigerian Content event held in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, saying the…

Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, has spoken of the challenges working against easy passage of the controversial Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, in the National Assembly, saying a break up of the bill would likely help its passage. According to him, “As long as we continue to want…

KUNLE KALEJAYE Nigeria flared about $783.88 million-worth of natural gas in 2013 and 2014, according to a report by Stakeholder Development Network, SDN, supported by the National Oil Spill Detection Response Agency, NOSDRA‎. The report also indicated that the value of the gas flared during oil production has the potential to generate over 27, 000…

…The Malabu oil deal example …Group seeks UK intervention to recover funds International concern is mounting over the mismanagement of Nigeria's oil industry funds, with the corruption watchdog, Global Witness, urging the help of the United Kingdom to recover funds lost by Africa's leading oil and gas producer in the famous but controversial Malabu oil…

The immediate-past and new commanders of 2 Brigade, Nigerian Army Barracks in Port Harcourt, Brigadier General Koko Essien and Brigadier General Stevenson Olabanji, have commended the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, for co-operating with security agencies working in the Niger Delta region. The two commanders were recently at the commission’s headquarters in Port Harcourt on…

The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, says it is opposed to the total removal of petrol subsidy, maintaining that the Federal Government should rather concentrate on recovery of looted funds and eliminating corruption in the subsidy regime. NLC president, Mr. Ayuba P. Wabba, who disclosed this, maintained that the current arrangement in the nation's downstream oil…

The Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, NEITI, has said it welcomes with hope and optimism the courageous steps taken so far by President Muhammadu Buhari to reform the oil and gas industry and to restructure the management and administrative organs of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC. NEITI also endorsed other major decisions by President…

Gas exports from Ghana's Jubilee field has reached 100 million cubic feet per day, according to independent producer Tullow Oil. The company disclosed this as it announced the resumption of gas exports from the field, located offshore Ghana. Resumption of exports followed the completion of work on the gas compressor on the FPSO vessel Kwame…