Gas Flare Reduction Award Won by NDPR

Niger Delta Petroleum Resources Limited (NDPR), an indigenous petroleum company has been commended by The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), for the significant reduction of gas flaring activities in its facilities, according to reports by Leadership.

NDPR won the award tagged “2015 Global Gas Flare Reduction Excellence Award by the Global Gas Flaring Reduction”. DPR also commended the company for its excellent achievement as being the first indigenous company with a fully integrated oil & gas operation across the entire value chain of the Nigerian oil & gas sector.

According to DPR, this achievement is even more remarkable as the company prepares to celebrate the anniversary of its 10th year of production in the oil & gas sector. It is further testimony of Nigeria’s progress in its effort to strengthen indigenous capacity in adhering to international best practices while exploiting our natural resource.

A statement by DPR said; “We commend the relentless efforts of the management and members of staff of Niger Delta Petroleum Resources Limited in ensuring gas flare reduction in the Ogbele Gas Field Project, in line with Government’s flare down policy, which has led to this global recognition”.

Elephant Discovery Made Offshore Egypt May Be One Of World's Largest Natural Gas Finds Ever

Italian major Eni has discovered what could become one of the world's largest natural gas finds. The company said Sunday that the discovery offshore Egypt could hold a potential of 30 Tcf of lean gas in place (5.5 BBoe in place). Covering an area of approximately 100 square kilometers, it's the largest gas discovery ever made in Egypt and in the Mediterranean Sea, according to reports by Jeff Reed on Oilpro.

Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi characterized the discovery as a game-changer in a Monday interview with CNBC. "It is changing the game for Egypt…It is very important for Egypt, but also for the Mediterranean in terms of stability," he said.

After its full development, the field will be able to satisfy Egypt's natural gas demand for decades, the Italian major said. The announcement comes amid a more than six-decade alliance between the Italian major and Egypt.

The discovery well Zohr 1X NFW is located in the economic waters of Egypt’s Offshore Mediterranean, in 4,757 feet of water depth, in the Shorouk Block, signed in January 2014 with the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum and the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) following a competitive international Bid Round.

Zohr 1X NFW was drilled to a total depth of approximately 13,553 feet and hit 2,067 feet of hydrocarbon column in a carbonate sequence of Miocene age with excellent reservoir characteristics. Zohr’s structure has also a deeper Cretaceous upside that will be targeted in the future with a dedicated well.

In the CNBC interview, Descalzi did not give a timeline for when the natural gas might hit the market. However, he said developments would be rapid as the gas field was situated near Eni's processing facilities.

3,000 Employees Engaged By Kaduna Electric

According to reports by Daily Trust, a total of 3,000 newly employed staff has been engaged by Kaduna Electric, operator of the power distribution franchise in Kaduna, Zamfara, Sokoto and Kebbi states, as part of its strategy to improve services to its customers.

In a statement issued by Abdulazeez Abdullahi, Head, Corporate Communication, he said that the new staff are scheduled to attend a two-day induction exercise in Kaduna and Sokoto states simultaneously.

Over 50,000 candidates - both internal and external - applied for the various vacancies on the company’s recruitment portal back in April this year after the company announced plans for the creation of about 15,000 direct and indirect jobs.

The statement said, that the new employees from Kaduna and other non - franchise states are to be inducted in Kaduna while all successful intakes in the franchise states of Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara states shall be inducted in Sokoto, it said.

The induction will be followed by an intensive training programme to fully immerse the new employees into the culture and systems of the company, the statement added.

Nigeria’s Focus Should Be on Asian Markets for Crude Export

The Senior Editor of Platts Europe and Africa Oil, Mr. Eklavya Gupte, who is an energy expert has advised Nigeria to expand its market for crude towards the Asian region, which is now increasingly a major target market for many oil exporters amid the sustained oil price decline, The Punch reports.

In an Oil Forum recently held in Lagos which was organized by Platts, a US-based publication that provides information on energy and metals data. Mr. Gupte said that falling production in the North Sea and Libya had boosted Europe’s import of Nigerian crude. He however stated that Nigeria should focus more on the Asian markets as refining in Europe had been falling in recent times.

He further said that, “One of the biggest challenges for Nigeria is to find new buyers and keep its regular buyers. Europe is the biggest regional market for Nigeria. The refineries in Europe are not doing well. Refining is falling, and to have a region like that as your biggest market is not a very positive thing”.

“Asia is where the demand is now. The biggest challenge will be to attract a lot of demand from Asia,” Gupte added. The increase in freight rate is another challenge facing Nigerian crude”, he added.

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.