The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has cancelled the December 31 Deadline for the cessation of the use of old Naira notes as legal tender.
A statement today, November 14, by the Director, Corporate Communications of apex Bank, Dr. Isa AbdulMumin said that all banknotes issued by the CBN, in accordance with Section 20 (5) of the CBN Act 2007, will continue to remain legal tender, ad infinitum, even beyond the initial December 31, 2023, deadline.
“The Central Bank of Nigeria is working with the relevant authorities to vacate the subsisting court ruling on the same subject.”
The statement recalled that the apex Bank introduced the redesign of N200, N500 and N1,000 denominations in October 2022 and that certain deadlines were set for the old design of these denominations to cease as legal tenders.
“Without prejudice, the Central Bank of Nigeria wishes to inform the general public of its desire to extend the legal tender status deadline of the old design of N200, N500 and N1,000 denominations, and infinitum. This is in line with international best practices and to forestall a repeat of earlier experiences.
“Accordingly, all CBN branches across the country will continue to issue and accept all denominations of Nigerian banknotes, old and redesigned, to and from deposit money banks (DMBs).
“The general public is enjoined to continue to accept all Naira banknotes (old or redesigned) for day-to-day transactions and handle these banknotes with utmost care, to safeguard and protect the life cycle of the banknotes. Also, the general public is encouraged to embrace alternative modes of payment, e-channels, for day-to-day transactions.”
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited last week, announced the introduction of Nembe Crude Oil Grade, into the international crude oil market. The announcement of the Nembe Crude Oil Blend, produced by Aiteo, the Operator of the NNPC/Aiteo Oil Mining Lease (OML) 29 Joint Venture (JV), was made at the Argus European Crude Conference in London last week Tuesday. The OML 29, which is an asset located onshore Nigeria, is operated by Aiteo Eastern Exploration & Production Ltd, Africa’s leading indigenous hydrocarbon producer, following a historic acquisition from Shell in 2014. The introduction of the blend is coming at a time when the lingering conflict between Russia and Ukraine has made many European countries to seek for crude oil products that aligns with their market preference. In the past twelve months, the oil market has absorbed the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the sanctions imposed in response by the United States, the European Union and their allies in Asia. Russia’s crude and fuel exports have been redirected to South and East Asia, while former markets in Europe have been backfilled with crude and products from the Middle East and Asia. Since the war, the crude industry has been changing faster than ever before as markets in Europe become more tied in with global crude oil trade. But with the introduction of Nembe grade, Nigeria’s crude oil grade is on its way to becoming a steady preference for many European refiners. From all indication, the move by the NNPC is a significant development for Nigeria, as it will help to diversify the country’s crude oil exports and reduce its reliance on a few key grades. Before the export of Nembe Crude, the crude oil grades peculiar to Nigeria are Bonny Light which is a light, sweet crude oil with a low sulfur content prized for its high quality and versatility; Qua Iboe which which is similar to Bonny Light, but it is slightly heavier and has a higher API gravity. There is also Forcados, which is a slightly higher sulfur content than Bonny Light or Qua Iboe but more viscous than the Bonny Light and Qua Iboe. Similarly, Nigeria’s crude oil grades include Brass River and Escravos which have higher sulfur content than the other Nigerian grades and are also more viscous. But the unique selling point of the Nembe Crude Oil grade with an API gravity is that it has a low sulphur content and low carbon footprint due to flare gas elimination, fitting perfectly into the required spec of major buyers in Europe. Already, about 950,000 barrels each of the Nembe Crude Oil grade have since been exported to France and the Netherlands. With its attractive array of API and low sulphur content, the Nembe Crude Oil grade commands a premium to the global Brent benchmark. This remarkable achievement signals the commencement of activities at Nigeria’s newest crude oil terminal, the Nembe Crude Oil Export Terminal (NCOET), which was licensed in line with the extant laws and Crude Oil Terminal establishment regulations. The terminal was conceived as a Floating Storage and Offloading Vessel (FSO) with a storage capacity of two Million Barrels and the ability to offload crude oil to any export tanker from AFRAMAX to Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCC). Given the absence of Russian Urals and diesel, product such as Forcados Blend, Escravos Light, Bonga, and Egina appear to be the most popular but Nigeria’s latest addition — Nembe Crude – has also fit well into this basket. This was a strong factor behind the NNPC Limited choice of London and the Argus European Crude Conference as the most ideal launch hub for the grade. Before now, the lingering conflict between Russia and Ukraine has impacted Nigerian crude oil inflows in the international oil market, leading to a dip in demand from the once-dependable Asian market at the onset of hostilities in the Eastern bloc. In addition to the substantial price shocks impacting commodity and energy prices globally, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has triggered a situation where India, a primary destination for Nigerian grades, increased its appetite for discounted Russian barrels to the detriment of some Nigerian volumes. To illustrate the extent of this shift, Nigeria’s crude exports to India had dwindled from approximately 250,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the six months preceding the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine to 194,000 in the subsequent six months afterwards. This year, only around 120,000 bpd of Nigerian crude volumes have made their way to India. It is instructive to state that the Nigerian crude flow to Europe has increased in a bid to fill supply gaps left by the ban on Russian crude, because six months before the war, 678,000 bpd of Nigerian crude grades went to Europe, compared to 710,000 bpd six months later and 730,000 bpd so far this year. This trend makes it evident that Nigerian grades are increasingly becoming a significant component in the post-war palette of European refiners. Like many other oil-producing countries, Nigeria had faced production challenges aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic, including reduced investment in the upstream sector, supply chain disruptions impacting upstream operations, ageing oil fields, and oil theft by unscrupulous elements. But with the reforms being implemented by the Group Chief Executive Officer of the NNPC Limited, Mele Kyari, the challenges are fast becoming a thing of the past. Kyari had led the NNPC Limited to implement a new framework for the domestic petroleum industry (the PIA of 2021), rejuvenated the business landscape, and re-positioned NNPC Limited to adopt a more commercial approach to the management of the nation’s hydrocarbon resources. Under the leadership of Kyari, NNPC Limited has secured vital partnerships with notable financial institutions to promote upstream investments to restore and sustainably grow production capacity in the coming years. Also, through concerted efforts and partnership with host communities and private stakeholders, the NNPC has been able to address the security and environmental challenges in the Niger Delta to further fortify production growth. The partnership, which started two years ago to end the menace of crude oil theft in the country, saw Kyari leading a delegation from the oil and gas industry to the Niger Delta to seek support for the protection of oil and gas installations in the country. Before the commencement of the coalition in 2021, crude oil theft cost Nigeria around 470,000 barrels of crude estimated at $700m daily as of that time. A report by the Nigerian Extractive International Transparency Initiative had estimated that Nigeria lost 619.7 million barrels of crude oil valued at N25trn between 2009 and 2020. Suffice it to say that since the coalition, Nigerians have started seeing results as crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism have reduced drastically. This has made the Nigerian oil and gas industry to achieve its highest crude oil and condensate output in nearly 18 months, with a production of 1.72 million barrels of crude and condensate in the month of September this year. This improvement is the result of months of collaboration with operators to co-create unique solutions to peculiar challenges, mainly evacuation issues faced by individual operators, stakeholder management, political will, and support from government institutions. The increase in crude oil production is also directly attributable to the reopening of operations along corridors with a history of security challenges, the restart of production from facilities that have been shut down for extended periods due to evacuation challenges, the completion of Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) of some assets, completion, and hook-up of infill wells, and critical well intervention projects With the acceptance of the Nembe crude oil grade in the European market, it is expected that Nigeria will earn more revenue from oil, thereby boosting the NNPC Limited’s ability to continue to guarantee energy security for the nation. Onuba, a Chartered Accountant, wrote in from Abuja.
Nigerian Actor, Beverly Osu, sits with Chude Jideonwo, host of #WithChude to share about how her father left and refused to take her with him; how her mother left for a while and how that led to her dating older men as well as how she learnt to forgive them, healing and freedom. Beverly shared what she thought about her mum leaving: “She said she had some issues, and she has apologized severally. But there is some damage done. I feel like I have healed from that part of my life because I can’t really blame her. This is because I am growing, and I am faced with decisions. Her age and her circumstances make me think that she did what she knew how to do best. So, I can’t really blame her. There was a time I used to be really angry at her but now she is my best friend, and business partner, unlike some of my siblings who still believe that there are some of the things she could have done. There’s something they call ‘Trauma bonding’. My siblings went through that when my mum was away. We went through a lot, and because they had a better share of my mum’s experience, they felt abandoned, and rejected. Like with how smart and how they glorified her, they believed she could have made a backup plan. I didn’t have that vibe with my mum, even though I was the only girl. I was always with my brothers or my dad. I think they still really blame her.” Speaking on her delicate family dynamic, she said: “My mum acted as daddy and mummy, so the boys expected so much from her. I feel the boys really wanted so much from her. She was our guardian and protector. She always comes for our PTA meeting and was always available. My brothers couldn’t believe she could ever make that kind of mistake”. Beverly shared about neglect she faced with her dad while growing up, ‘My dad was in Surulere while we were in Ojuelegba, and he never really came by. I chose my dad over my mum, but he disappointed me. My mum returned to us in 1999, having been away for like two years. She came back, and said she was leaving my dad. She told us to pick who we would be going with, so it doesn’t look like she took his children without their consent. You know now, me that I’m free spirited, I went with my daddy. I thought I could have chilled with daddy because mummy was very strict. My dad then said, ‘oh, go with your mum I will come and visit you.’ That was the first disappointment. I believed in my dad, but he never came. My dad has his problems, he is egocentric. The first time he came, he came to see me in my new school, then he showed up again while I was in the university. He just showed up to use me to brag. “Also, when I came back from Big Brother, his was the first phone call I received when I put on my phone. I picked up and he said, ‘You have to come and start taking care of me’. I was like, ‘okay dad, I will call you back’. I have forgiven him. I buried him nicely, but I didn’t cry when he died. We never got to talk about how I felt when he was alive because anytime we met it was more about how he wanted to be, and more about him, so I listened”, she added. On how her background affected her life, Beverly said: “I think I have outgrown the daddy issues, but I have always dated guys way older than I am. I don’t think it is daddy issues, I feel that I am surrounded by boys, and all the men in my life are confident. If we must be together you have to be confident enough to stay in the midst of family. In the past, I always wanted to date people who could control me. Even my girlfriends are standalone chics. I love confident people. She also shared on how her desire to be with older men can be misconstrued to having sugar daddies. “All the older men I have dated, were ‘boyfriends’. I do not want to be another person’s sadness. I love attention, so in that way it has never worked out with another woman’s man for me.” Source: WithChude, a network of media products across TV, Film and podcasts, telling stories that enable and strengthen the mind, the heart, and the spirit.
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) in partnership with SLB, a global technology company has launched Technology Enhancement Program (N-STEP), a platform whereby students of higher institutions develop software plugins for diverse oil field applications. The launching, which took place today, November 14, in Lagos unveiled, is the first three products of their joint program, under the acronym NCDMB-SLB. The programme was unveiled at the sidelines of the 2023 Nigerian Association of Petroleum Geologists (NAPE) and it showcased nine students representing three universities in Nigeria, who had developed software solutions that would address live oil and gas challenges. The unveiling ceremony, according to a statement from the NCDBM media outfit, was witnessed by industry stakeholders, academia and representatives of the beneficiary institutions. The statement said that the N-STEP program provides a unified framework for the rapid development and deployment of software solutions to address oil and gas challenges. “Deployed through a phased, multidimensional approach, the program is focused on the development of software plugins by students for diverse oil field applications. “As part of its 2023 cohort, the projects highlighted machine learning, Artificial Intelligence and new innovations that could unlock potentials in the Nigeria oil & gas sector.” The statement said that the universities represented were University of Lagos, Federal University of Petroleum Resources Effurun and Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Bauchi. The statement quoted Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote as having said that the N-STEP program is an industry-education partnership under NCDMB’s Adopt a Faculty Initiative for STEM courses. “It is designed to drive collaboration between industry, universities, and Government through Research and innovation, curriculum review, infrastructure, and equipment, and learning and knowledge exchange in Nigeria. “Nigeria spends an estimated $400 million annually on foreign software, which is a huge drain on our Forex. We embraced the NSTEP to demonstrate our commitment to reverse this trend. “The program has also targeted undergraduates because we believe Nigerian youths have the innovation drive, to be solution providers and not job seekers.” Speaking on the impact of the N-STEP program, the Group Managing Director, West Africa at SLB, Sops Ideriah, said: “We want to empower software developers to create and deploy plug-ins that extend the utilization of E&P software platforms. “This is why we collaborated with both the public sector and the best of academia to deliver a structured training program, where selected students will gain the knowledge and skills necessary to apply their expertise to develop innovative software solutions that address specific E&P industry challenges. “The program also provides mentorship, internship opportunities, and cutting-edge training tailored to industry needs, empowering future generations of innovators and leaders for the energy industry of tomorrow. “Our joint ambition in this collaboration is to extend the program scope to cover a minimum of one university in each key region in Nigeria.” The statement said that the N-STEP program will not only serve to foster education, but also to detect and eventually tap into local talent. “At the forefront of global technology, we are relentlessly looking for exceptional individuals with the potential to revolutionize the energy landscape. “This program provides us with a strategic opportunity to identify and nurture future leaders within our organization,” Ideriah added. The N-STEP program, which was signed into effect in March 2023 commemorating SLB’s 70 years of operations in Nigeria, is a groundbreaking industry-education partnership aimed at bridging the gap between academia and the professional world, fostering a pipeline of skilled talent and driving innovation for the energy industry.
The House of Representatives, suspecting financial foul play, has ordered the Industrial Training Fund (ITF), to account for over N12 billion difference recorded in its accrued budget actuals as at December 31st, 2022.
The Chairman of the House committee on Finance, James Falake,
gave the order for the probe when the management of ITF appeared before the Committee for the 2024-2026 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper interactive session in Abuja.
He expressed grave concern over the failure of the management of the Industrial Training Fund to embark on revenue generation from over 128,000 private and public quoted companies operating in Nigeria.
After scrutinizing various financial statements submitted to the Committee, Hon. Faleke queried the disparity with the audited report submitted by ITF, revealing a deficit of over N12 billion
Faleke observed that the difference was noticed in the accrued budget actuals as recorded in the Auditor General’s report for the same period.
He queried the operating expenditure of N39.8 billion in 2022 with a total revenue of N45.1 billion by the ITF, with only 2,691 staff nationwide.
He warned that if ITF failed to account for the difference after 24 hours, it would be forced to refund the entire N3 billion to government coffers.
The Director of Finance and Accounts in ITF, Mrs. Safiya Mansur, said that the fund sourced it’s revenue from the one per cent training contributions from public and private companies.
According to her, there are 128,000 registered companies contributing employers to the ITF, out of which only 57,000 are up to date in their contribution.
To ensure compliance, she said, the ITF intensified monitoring of the defaulting companies, where some resorted to litigation but was later resolved due to the intervention of the previous house committee.
The Nigeria House of Representatives has raised an alarm over the sum of N39 billion paid by the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to an unqualified company to supply prepaid metres to consumers.
The House therefore gave an ultimatum to the NERC to explain why it registered a company without capacity to deliver but was given N39 billion to supply prepaid meters for distribution to consumers.
It said that the company, Ziglasis, was contracted by the Federal Ministry of Power and paid N39 billion to supply prepaid meters, but failed to do so after collecting the money for the project.
It queried the Electricity regulator for licensing the company which has not delivered on the contract as signed and collected tax payers money.
He asked the Vice Chairman of NERC, Musiliu Oseni to bring the Managing Director of Ziglasis and officials of the Ministry of Power before the House on Nov 14 to explain why the company had not delivered on the contract.
However, the commission said that the contract for the supply of the meters was not awarded by the Ministry even as the House insisted that since they gave the license to the company that qualified them for the contract, the commission should produce the management of the company.
The House also queried the agreement entered into between the Nigeria Bulk Electricity Company and Azura power company in the table or pay agreement which committed the country to 30 million dollars power purchase agreement.
It said that the agreement with Azura is such that whether or not the company supply power to turn national grid, the country must pay them $30 million monthly, adding that the agreement has a world Bank guarantee.
The Nigerian Presidency has described the nationwide strike action called by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) over attack on the NLC President, Joe Ajaero in Imo State, as a call to civil disobedience to the government of the federation. In a statement today, November 14, by the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on information and strategy, Bayo Onanuga said that the strike action is illegal, immoral, unjustifiable and irresponsible. The two unions have scheduled a nationwide strike by workers, commencing from midnight of today, November 14, despite a restraining order issued last week by Justice Benedict Backwash Kanyip of the National Industrial Court. Onanuga said that the decision by the NLC and TUC to call out workers on strike, other than being an ego tripping move, is clearly unwarranted. “It is an attempt to blackmail the government by the leadership of the NLC. “We are still at a loss as to why the NLC and TUC decided to punish a whole country of over 200 million people over a personal matter involving the NLC President, Mr. Joe Ajaero, whose error of judgment led to assault on him in Owerri while he was planning to incite the workers in Imo State into a needless strike.” Onanuga said that while the Federal government does not condone any form of violence and assault on any citizen of Nigeria regardless of his or her social and economic status, but that calling out workers on a national strike over a personal issue of a labour leader despite a clear court order against any industrial action amounts to an abuse of privilege. He recalled that the Inspector General of Police had since ordered investigation into what happened to Ajaero even as the Commissioner of Police in Imo State under whose watch the incident happened has been transferred out of the state. The Presidency insisted that power at any level should never be used to settle personal scores, saying “rather, it should be used to promote collective progress and advance national interest. “Our national economy and social activities should not suffer because of the personal interest of any labour leader. “This flagrant disobedience to court order and lack of respect for the judiciary should not be what the organised Labour would champion. “The labour movement has always been a champion of rule of law and respect for the judiciary. It is a sad irony that the current labour leaders have shown disdain and utter disregard for court order. “We reiterate that this strike action is illegal, immoral, unjustifiable and irresponsible. What the strike notice issued Monday night after official hours suggests is it’s designed for a sinister and hidden agenda to cause undue hardship and cause civil disturbance in our country. This is unacceptable.”
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyeson Wike has admitted that he is one of the Foot-soldier for the realisation of the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu. He said: “we are here as his (President Tinubu’s) foot soldiers to complement his efforts to see that the Renewed Hope agenda is fulfilled.” The minister, who received in audience, the Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Salem Saeed Al-Shamsi, in his office in Abuja, said: “I know the President; for him, governance is business. “For him, whatever that is going to make Nigeria great is what he stands for.” The minister said that the FCT Administration will be part of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s delegation to the UAE soon to seek foreign investments. He said that the FCT also intends to complement the efforts of the President in the area of tourism.
The Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Nigeria, Salem Saeed Al-Shamsi has said that his country visa restriction for Nigerians is not total. According to him, the travel restrictions were introduced to close existing gaps. Ambassador Salem Saeed Al-Shamsi, who spoke when he visited the minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyeson Wike in Abuja today, November 11, stressed that the door to the UAE is not entirely closed to Nigerians “Regarding the Visa issue, I would say that the door is not closed, but it’s not widely open “We issue a lot of visa daily. A lot of people from Nigeria go to the UAE and come back with very easy access to get the visa.” The Ambassador was responding to the minister request for the review of the visa ban on Nigeria. Wike referred to the lingering issue of travel bans and flight restrictions imposed on Nigerians by the UAE, saying that Nigerians love the UAE, especially Dubai. He requested for a quick resolution of the process of Visa allocation, which he said us becoming too cumbersome and hindering smooth relations. “We also hope that the issue of visa ban and flight restriction of the United Emirates will be resolved as soon as possible. “Nigerians love UAE, Dubai especially. We believe that we will not have hindrance in terms of visa procurement.”
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European Market Embraces Nigeria’s Nembe Oil Blend, Kudos To NNPCL’s Kyari, By Ifeanyi Onuba
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited last week, announced the introduction of Nembe Crude Oil Grade, into the international crude oil market.
The announcement of the Nembe Crude Oil Blend, produced by Aiteo, the Operator of the NNPC/Aiteo Oil Mining Lease (OML) 29 Joint Venture (JV), was made at the Argus European Crude Conference in London last week Tuesday.
The OML 29, which is an asset located onshore Nigeria, is operated by Aiteo Eastern Exploration & Production Ltd, Africa’s leading indigenous hydrocarbon producer, following a historic acquisition from Shell in 2014.
The introduction of the blend is coming at a time when the lingering conflict between Russia and Ukraine has made many European countries to seek for crude oil products that aligns with their market preference.
In the past twelve months, the oil market has absorbed the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the sanctions imposed in response by the United States, the European Union and their allies in Asia.
Russia’s crude and fuel exports have been redirected to South and East Asia, while former markets in Europe have been backfilled with crude and products from the Middle East and Asia.
Since the war, the crude industry has been changing faster than ever before as markets in Europe become more tied in with global crude oil trade. But with the introduction of Nembe grade, Nigeria’s crude oil grade is on its way to becoming a steady preference for many European refiners.
From all indication, the move by the NNPC is a significant development for Nigeria, as it will help to diversify the country’s crude oil exports and reduce its reliance on a few key grades.
Before the export of Nembe Crude, the crude oil grades peculiar to Nigeria are Bonny Light which is a light, sweet crude oil with a low sulfur content prized for its high quality and versatility; Qua Iboe which which is similar to Bonny Light, but it is slightly heavier and has a higher API gravity.
There is also Forcados, which is a slightly higher sulfur content than Bonny Light or Qua Iboe but more viscous than the Bonny Light and Qua Iboe.
Similarly, Nigeria’s crude oil grades include Brass River and Escravos which have higher sulfur content than the other Nigerian grades and are also more viscous.
But the unique selling point of the Nembe Crude Oil grade with an API gravity is that it has a low sulphur content and low carbon footprint due to flare gas elimination, fitting perfectly into the required spec of major buyers in Europe.
Already, about 950,000 barrels each of the Nembe Crude Oil grade have since been exported to France and the Netherlands.
With its attractive array of API and low sulphur content, the Nembe Crude Oil grade commands a premium to the global Brent benchmark.
This remarkable achievement signals the commencement of activities at Nigeria’s newest crude oil terminal, the Nembe Crude Oil Export Terminal (NCOET), which was licensed in line with the extant laws and Crude Oil Terminal establishment regulations.
The terminal was conceived as a Floating Storage and Offloading Vessel (FSO) with a storage capacity of two Million Barrels and the ability to offload crude oil to any export tanker from AFRAMAX to Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCC).
Given the absence of Russian Urals and diesel, product such as Forcados Blend, Escravos Light, Bonga, and Egina appear to be the most popular but Nigeria’s latest addition — Nembe Crude – has also fit well into this basket.
This was a strong factor behind the NNPC Limited choice of London and the Argus European Crude Conference as the most ideal launch hub for the grade.
Before now, the lingering conflict between Russia and Ukraine has impacted Nigerian crude oil inflows in the international oil market, leading to a dip in demand from the once-dependable Asian market at the onset of hostilities in the Eastern bloc.
In addition to the substantial price shocks impacting commodity and energy prices globally, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has triggered a situation where India, a primary destination for Nigerian grades, increased its appetite for discounted Russian barrels to the detriment of some Nigerian volumes.
To illustrate the extent of this shift, Nigeria’s crude exports to India had dwindled from approximately 250,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the six months preceding the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine to 194,000 in the subsequent six months afterwards.
This year, only around 120,000 bpd of Nigerian crude volumes have made their way to India.
It is instructive to state that the Nigerian crude flow to Europe has increased in a bid to fill supply gaps left by the ban on Russian crude, because six months before the war, 678,000 bpd of Nigerian crude grades went to Europe, compared to 710,000 bpd six months later and 730,000 bpd so far this year.
This trend makes it evident that Nigerian grades are increasingly becoming a significant component in the post-war palette of European refiners.
Like many other oil-producing countries, Nigeria had faced production challenges aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic, including reduced investment in the upstream sector, supply chain disruptions impacting upstream operations, ageing oil fields, and oil theft by unscrupulous elements.
But with the reforms being implemented by the Group Chief Executive Officer of the NNPC Limited, Mele Kyari, the challenges are fast becoming a thing of the past.
Kyari had led the NNPC Limited to implement a new framework for the domestic petroleum industry (the PIA of 2021), rejuvenated the business landscape, and re-positioned NNPC Limited to adopt a more commercial approach to the management of the nation’s hydrocarbon resources.
Under the leadership of Kyari, NNPC Limited has secured vital partnerships with notable financial institutions to promote upstream investments to restore and sustainably grow production capacity in the coming years.
Also, through concerted efforts and partnership with host communities and private stakeholders, the NNPC has been able to address the security and environmental challenges in the Niger Delta to further fortify production growth.
The partnership, which started two years ago to end the menace of crude oil theft in the country, saw Kyari leading a delegation from the oil and gas industry to the Niger Delta to seek support for the protection of oil and gas installations in the country.
Before the commencement of the coalition in 2021, crude oil theft cost Nigeria around 470,000 barrels of crude estimated at $700m daily as of that time.
A report by the Nigerian Extractive International Transparency Initiative had estimated that Nigeria lost 619.7 million barrels of crude oil valued at N25trn between 2009 and 2020.
Suffice it to say that since the coalition, Nigerians have started seeing results as crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism have reduced drastically.
This has made the Nigerian oil and gas industry to achieve its highest crude oil and condensate output in nearly 18 months, with a production of 1.72 million barrels of crude and condensate in the month of September this year.
This improvement is the result of months of collaboration with operators to co-create unique solutions to peculiar challenges, mainly evacuation issues faced by individual operators, stakeholder management, political will, and support from government institutions.
The increase in crude oil production is also directly attributable to the reopening of operations along corridors with a history of security challenges, the restart of production from facilities that have been shut down for extended periods due to evacuation challenges, the completion of Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) of some assets, completion, and hook-up of infill wells, and critical well intervention projects
With the acceptance of the Nembe crude oil grade in the European market, it is expected that Nigeria will earn more revenue from oil, thereby boosting the NNPC Limited’s ability to continue to guarantee energy security for the nation.
Onuba, a Chartered Accountant, wrote in from Abuja.