NNPC Temporarily Shuts Down Warri Refinery

The Warri Refinery has been temporarily shut down due to operational challenges emanating from insufficient crude oil supply in the system as disclosed by Mr. Ohi Alegbe, Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division for the Nigerian National Petroleum Commission (NNPC) according to reports by Reuters.

Mr. Alegbe further informed that the refinery would be reopened again for operations on Tuesday and that "they are supposed to have at least a 25-day sufficiency in the supply of crude. So because of the depletion in the volume of crude they have had to temporarily shut down," said Alegbe.

The state oil company also said on Thursday it has reduced the number of off-takers that will emerge after a competitive bid for the proposed 2015/16 crude oil term contract to 16 from 43.

NNPC, which announced a raft of measures aimed at rooting out mismanagement in Nigeria's oil sector, said it had extended invitations to Mobil and Forte Oil, in addition to an earlier published list, to bid for the new proposed offshore processing agreement.

Cote D’ Ivoire Declares Interest In Nigerian’s LNG Supplies

In view of the rising energy demands in the West African Country of the Republic of Cote D’Ivoire, the nation has signaled her intentions to procure Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from Nigeria according to a statement disclosed by Ohi Alegbe, the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Department, NNPC, Vanguards Reports.

The delegation from the Ivorien Ministry of Energy to the NNPC Towers in Abuja was led by one of the directors, Kone Moussa. The statement by Mr. Alegbe informed that the package, which was the first of its kind in the West African sub-region, would see Nigeria commit a small chunk of its daily LNG output which stood at over three billion cubic feet of gas per day to its sub-regional neighbour.

The Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Dr Joseph Dawha, while receiving the delegation, said the corporation was ready to cash in on the opportunity in line with its overall strategic expansion drive for Nigeria’s LNG market.

“As you know, the West African Gas Pipeline terminates in Ghana; so Cote D’Ivoire has come to request that we bring gas to them in the first instance by LNG and ultimately in the future by extension of the pipeline’’ he said. “What this means is that in future we don’t have to go as far as Europe or Asia to supply LNG when we can do so next door,’’ he added.

Team Kaduna Polytechnic Emerges Champion During Sahara Alternative Energy Competiton

The “Sahara Light Up Nigeria Challenge” which is an initiative of the Sahara Group in the recently concluded second edition held in Lagos created a platform for young dynamic inventors with the zeal to proffer alternative and renewable energy sources that have the potential to enhance eco-friendly and sustainable energy supply in Nigeria as reported by This Day.

The challenge serves as Sahara’s contribution to the growth and development of Nigeria’s power sector where it has affiliates, and also a yearly event hosted by the Sahara Group in partnership with ENACTUS Nigeria. The Sahara Light Up Nigeria Challenge provides the opportunity for young minds to stretch their creativity as they seek to find solutions to the challenges affecting the power in Nigeria.

Young inventors in this year’s edition gathered with the aim of developing simple power models that can reduce production cost and encourage the extensive utilization of different energy sources to power schools and communities. Projects were received from 28 schools that participated in the event and Kaduna Polytechnic’s Renewable Energy Advancement Project (R.E.A.P) emerged as the winning entry in the competition.

The Kaduna Polytechnic team created a self-running hydro-power system that runs solely on the kinetic energy of water, the technology is made from locally modified and recycled parts to ensure that it is environmentally friendly and the energy produced is stored in a 75-litre enclosed water tank that houses a pump and other materials required to drive generation of electricity.

The institution will represent Nigeria at the Enactus World Cup 2015 scheduled to hold in Sandton Convention Centre, South Africa later in the year.  In a remark, one of the participants from the winning school, Gibson Emmanuel said that “we are excited about our performance and want to thank the Sahara Group for giving us a platform to express our abilities. With more support, we believe we can contribute immensely to efforts aimed at improving power supply in Nigeria”.

NDPHC N40m NIPP Power Transmission Tower Vandalized In Abia State

Activities of vandals in Abia State that attacked and cut off the transmission lines and tower, worth N40 million belonging to the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) who is responsible for handling the ten (10) National Integrated Power Plants (NIPP) has crippled the transmission of 1,397 megawatts of electricity which should have been supplied from three of the plants according to reports by This Day.

Speaking in Abuja while notifying the press about the illicit incidence, the Executive Director, Legal and Company Secretary of NDPHC, Mr Abdullahi Salisu, told reporters that the company still contends with such developments and many court restraints in the state and its environs.

Mr. Salisu further said that the incidence occurred in Ikwuano town where the 132/330KV transmission tower weighing about 30 tonnes was tampered with using a generator and chainsaw , even after the community was duly compensated after NDPHC obtained a Right of Way (RoW) for the over 200 kilometres line to Ikot Ekpene in Akwa Ibom State. He added that the reason for the act could be likened to perceived inadequate health compensation and alleged threat to their health.

The causes of delay in completing the North-South transmission loop connecting the 563MW Calabar plant, 330MW Egbema plant in Imo, and 504MW Alaoji plant in Abia state, were also traced to similar actions as this.

Africa Oil Corp Kenyan Development Plans

Africa Oil Corp. and its partner in Kenya, Tullow Oil, are making progress in drafting a field development plan for their discoveries in the South Lokichar basin. Africa Oil said discussions are under way with the government regarding the submission of a draft and are progressing positively.

There is also progress being made on the East African pipeline route to export oil from Lake Albert in Uganda and the South Lokichar Basin in Kenya. The company said progress has gained pace in recent months. The governments of Uganda and Kenya are working closely together and the pipeline studies undertaken by a joint government-appointed independent technical consultant have progressed well.

The government’s decision on the pipeline route is expected in Q3 2015. The overall ambition is to achieve a combined project sanction of the export pipeline and Kenya upstream projects by the end of 2016.

Production Activities Begins At Kaduna Refinery

Great achievement has been recoredrd at the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemicals Company (KRPC), as it is now refining about 60,000 barrels of crude per day following the rehabilitation of two of the company’s production lines, according to a report by ThisDay.                  

       

The company said it was currently working with a target to release two million litres of petrol daily into the market by October.

The Managing Director of the company, Mr. Saidu Muhammed said on that the company was on a phased rehabilitation,with a target to hit 60 per cent of its local refining capacity, which is about 2 million

litres daily, in the next few months, stating further that there is no reason why the company cannot achieve 6 million litres by early next year.

The company has an installed production capacity of 110,000 barrels of crude per day. The managing director said rehabilitation work on the remaining two production lines of the company would be completed by March 2016.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has announced that the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries had also resumed full production after the phased rehabilitation.

Techno Oil To Build N3 Billion Gas Plant In Lekki, Lagos.

According to a recent reports by the Guardian, Techno Oil Limited has unfolded plans to build a N3 billion gas cylinder manufacturing plant, to fully maximize the utilization of gas resources in the nation. The plant would be located in the Lekki area of Lagos State.

The company said that the proposed structure of the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (cooking gas) cylinder manufacturing plant, unveiled in Lagos recently, would have the capacity to produce five million units of cylinders yearly. The construction of the plant, which is expected to offer about 1,000 jobs to Nigerians has since commenced at Lekki, Lagos and expected to roll out its first batch of cylinders in the next 90 days.

 

During the plant's unveiling event in Lagos, the Executive Vice-Chairman, Techno Oil, Mrs. Nkechi Obi, said that the plant was being constructed in partnership with an European firm, which has built similar plants in over 15 African and Asian countries.

Solar Energy To Be Harnessed In Nigeria's Energy Mix

According to a report by The Guardian, the Ministry of Power through its Permanent Secretary; Dr. Godknows Igali, has said that plans are on ground for Nigeria to fully harness the vast solar energy potential it has been blessed with and also as a way to assist in aligning the energy mix imbalance which is currently tending in the favour of thermal plants.

During the launch of Nigeria’s National Renewable Energy Plan, Energy Efficiency Action Plan and the Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) Action Agenda, Dr. Igali said that these policies have been fashioned under the auspices of the Inter-Ministerial Committee drawn from agencies like, Environment, National Planning, Finance, Energy Commission and Standard Organization of Nigeria. While donor agencies like the European Union and German International Donor Agency–GIZ, have provided the facilities which created the template for sustainable rural electrification projects.

Dr. Igali also urged Governors of the various states of the Federal Republic to facilitate access to vast areas of land for solar projects, as the building of solar plants which is the future of increased power supply in the country, would require large expanses of land for these projects.