NCDMB, NUC Synergizes To Link Oil Industry With Nigerian Universities

Partnership talks are currently on going between the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and the Nigerian Universities Commission (NUC) to link the oil and gas industry with the university curricula so that both sectors can improve their operations for the benefit of the economy, The Nation reports.

The management of both agencies met in Abuja, they agreed to the initiative tagged “Adopt A Faculty (AAFac) programme and a committee was constituted to develop a detailed action plan within four weeks.

Mr. Denzil Kentebe, Executive Secretary of NCDMB, described the AAFac Programme as a capacity development initiative of the Board intended to use academic institutions as a catalyst for local content development.

 

Kentebe, said the programme is aimed at facilitating partnerships between the academia and the oil and gas industry to align the university curriculum to industry technology and skill requirements to enable them train their students in courses and programmes relevant to the needs of the industry.

The Executive Secretary of the NUC, Prof Julius Okojie, praised the Board for initiating the programme and engaging the commission first rather than going to various institutions. He said Nigeria has 142 universities with 610 academic programme, assuring the commitment of NUC to partner with NCDMB in the implementation of the AAFac.

Ecuador Declares Interest To Buy 100,000 Barrels of Nigerian Sweet Crude

According to a recent report by Daily Trust, a firm working for the government of Ecuador has said it has plans to discuss with the NNPC over a potential investment to buy light sweet crude from Nigeria amounting to about 100,000 barrels.

The NNPC recently commenced an open tendering process for the 2015/2016 Crude Oil Term Contract for the purchase and sale of Nigeria’s crude oil.

 Ecuador which is the smallest member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), according to Victor M. Rojas, president of Power-Tech Engineers, a company that provides engineering services for Ecuador’s refinery has said that the country is looking at a potential to tender to do business directly with the NNPC for as much as 100,000 barrels of Nigerian low sulfur content crude.

Domestically, Ecuador produces around 500,000 barrels of oil per day, they produce the heavy sour Napo and Oriente grades of crude, of which the Nigerian crude is sweeter and lighter than. This is the reason they are looking at importing low sulfur Nigerian crude grades. The oil producer could be importing oil for the first time since a 1987 earthquake that destroyed pipelines in the country.

In an attempt to maximize diesel and gasoline production, Ecuador’s state oil company, Petroecuador was recently reported to have issued a tender to import 30 million barrels of light sweet crude, pending when its Esmeraldas refinery comes back on stream later this year.

Nigeria To Renegotiate PSC Contracts With Oil Majors

The NNPC has stated plans to review and renegotiate its production sharing contracts (PSC) with major multinational oil companies in Nigeria, as part of efforts by the current administration to reform and clean up the sector which is the major source of income to the nation’s economy, Business Day Reports.

Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, the new boss of the nation’s owned oil company (NNPC), has said in a statement that “we intend to begin the process of the renegotiation of the PSCs to see what value chain and improvements we can have from these contracts”.

In order to extract as much benefits as possible for the nation’s economy, the NNPC has disclosed that in the weeks and months ahead, that it would overhaul its contracts with companies like American majors; ExxonMobil and Chevron, Dutch major; Shell and Italian major; Eni.

Nigerian economy gets about 70 per cent of government revenues from oil, has been hit hard by the plunge in global oil prices and has recently spent billions trying to defend its currency, which the market believes needs to be devalued for the third time in less than a year.

The need for the PSC review is needful “Some of the contracts were negotiated over 20 years ago and they have since been overtaken by new realities in the industry,’’ said Kachikwu, speaking while in France on a state visit with Buhari.

Nigeria Increases Crude Production Volume by 70,400 bopd in August

Nigeria been the largest producer of oil in the African Continent, experienced an increase in her crude oil output which increased by about 70,400 barrels per day (bpd) to 1,857,000bpd in August 2015, from its July output of 1,787,000bpd going by the current figures released by OPEC in its latest monthly oil market report, Business Day Reports.

The August 2015 records, in comparison to the output of August 2014, which stood at 2,008,000bpd shows a massive drop of 151,000bpd. Despite the challenges in the global oil market, Nigeria still maintained the record as Africa’s largest oil producer in August, with Angola at 1.735 million bpd ranking second and Algeria ranked third with an output of 1.109 million.

Total recorded OPEC Crude oil production in August averaged 31.54 million bopd which showed an increase of 99,000bpd over the previous month. The increased volume reflects higher output from Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. “Crude oil output increased mostly from Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, while production in Iraq and Angola showed the largest drop,” the report said.

Global oil supply decreased by 53,000bpd to average 94,620bpd in August 2015, compared with the previous month. This decline was due to the drop in non-OPEC supply. OPEC said it expected non-member supplies to grow by 880,000 barrels a day, down by 72,000 barrels a day from last month’s report, because of “lower-than-expected output” from the United States.

Early Start-Up Experienced By Erha North Phase 2

The Erha North Phase 2 Project, a deepwater subsea development located 60 miles offshore four miles north of the Erha field, in 3,300 feet of water saw its oil flow ahead of schedule. The field been operated by Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria, a local unit of American Oil Giant, ExxonMobil, as reported by Petroleum Africa.

The Erha North Phase 2 project includes seven wells from three drill centers tied back to the existing Erha North FPSO, reducing additional infrastructure requirements.

The project is estimated to develop an additional 165 million barrels from the currently producing Erha North field. Peak production from the expansion is currently estimated at 65,000 bpd of crude and will increase total Erha North field production to approximately 90,000 bpd.

Neil .W. Duffin, president of ExxonMobil Development Company, said that “executing successful projects such as Erha North Phase 2 ahead of schedule and under budget results from ExxonMobil’s disciplined project management approach and expertise”.

“We are able to create additional shareholder value by optimizing existing infrastructure, which reduces capital spending requirements and improves capital efficiency”, he further added.

 

Strong performance from Nigerian contractors, which accounted for more than $2 billion of project investment for goods and services, including subsea equipment, facilities and offshore installation supported the ahead of schedule start up. “These contracts are bringing direct and indirect benefits to the Nigerian economy through project spending and employment, consistent with project objectives” Duffin disclosed.