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(Nigeria) Heritage Energy Operational Services Limited HEOSL, operator of OML30 Assets, Delta State, has presented Starter-Packs to 84 indigenes trained on skills acquisition. The items were presented to the 84 beneficiaries selected from Oleh, Emede and Olomoro communities in Cluster 5 on Tuesday,  at Olomoro Civic Centre, in Isoko South Local Government Area of Delta State. Mr. Adesola Adebawo, General Manager, Government, Joint Venture and External Relations, HEOSL said the Enterpreneurship programme wa s the corporate social responsibility projects supported by company as part of the GMoU initiatives within Cluster 5. He said: "This training program me benefitted 84 youths trained in Fashion Design, Computer Operations (ICT), Hair Dressing, Hair Barbing, and Make-Up Artistry. These persons were selected from host communities of Oleh, Emede and Olomoro communities in Isoko South LGA, De lta State. With th ese new graduands, a total of 532 youths have been trained in vari

*Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (Nigeria) The use of gas as a transition fuel would not only help in stemming deforestation, it would also advance Nigeria's broader development goals, especially because Nigeria has one of the largest gas reserves in the world, according to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN. The same would be true as other developing countries would also benefit from the adoption of gas as a transition fuel. Prof. Osinbajo stated this on Tuesday night when he received at the Presidential Villa, the US Special Presidential Envoy on Climate Change, Mr. John Kerry, who was on a working visit to Nigeria. Prior to his meeting with the VP, Mr. Kerry had also met with President Muhammadu Buhari. Speaking at the meeting with Kerry and the US delegation, the Vice President highlighted the need for Nigeria to continue the exploration and use of gas as a way of arresting deforestation, transiting away from dirtier fuels like diesel, kerosene and petrol, while at the same t

(Nigeria) Coalition of Niger Delta , CND , on Mon day berated Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu over his alleged opposition to the award of the p ipelines s urveillance c ontract to former militant leader, Chief Government Ekpemupolo alias Tompolo. The group in a statement by its National President Tamarapreye Tareware and National Secretary Prince Meshach Bebenimibo wondered why the opposition from the governor when his colleague, the Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa supported the move knowing its positive effect. Governor Akeredolu had recently criticized the award of the pipelines surveillance contract to a private security outfit owned by the former Niger Delta agitator. But the Coalition of Niger Deltans frowned at the outbursts of Governor Akeredolu , noting "We expected the Governor to praise and commend the Federal Government for taking the bold step to increase the fortune of the country by awarding the surveillance contract to Tompolo who, it said, alwa

(Nigeria) Stakeholders from Urhobo host communities to Trans-Forcados Pipeline TFP in Delta State, have asked the Federal Government and Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL to review and award the pipeline surveillance on Urhobo section of TFP to any competent Urhobo indigene. The stakeholders in a statement on Monday at Ughelli, Delta State, issued by D. A Onisiru, said a section of the TFP is situated in Urhobo host communities in OML30, Delta State. "We have competent and qualified Urhobo in OML30 Host communities   that can execute the pipeline security and surveillance on our section of Trans-Forcados pipeline. The Federal Government, Ministry of Petroleum Resources and NNPCL should urgently consider our demands and implement same" They said the NNPCL should immediately review the TFP security   contract to reflect justice and equity as the Urhobo people are capable of securing the pipeline in their communities. According to them, the Federal Gover

The legal advisers to Vigeo Power Limited , the core investors in Benin Electricity Distribution Company Plc , BEDC , have cautioned the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission , NERC , to refrain from alleged illegal means to alter the composition of the BEDC board of directors. They gave the warning in a letter by Kunle Adegoke, SAN, to NERC, its Chairman , Sanusi Garba and Dafe Akpeneye . Adegoke in the letter entitled Re: Notice to the general public on the legitimate and statutorily recognised board of directors /management of BEDC Electricity P lc,” said the y were reacting to an unsigned publication in the media. He contended that, "Whilst we have assumed that the contemptuous publication did not emanate from NERC, not least because it is unsigned, and will amount to a direct affront to the court (for the reasons stated below), we are, out of abundance of caution, and for the avoidance of doubt, constrained to state as follows: "We are aware that the Co

(Nigeria) A Niger Delta group, Coalition of Niger Deltans, CND, has assured that former Niger Delta leader of ex-agitators, Chief Government Ekpemukpolo alias "Tompolo" will secure the pipelines crisis crossing the region for the benefit of the country. The group maintained that Tompolo is in the best position to execute the pipelines surveillance contract awarded by the Federal Government noting that he had carried out successfully similar exercise in the past during the Ex- President Goodluck Jonathan's administration. CND, in a communique on Monday, at the end of an emergency meeting in Port Harcourt in Rivers State, by it's National President Tamarapreye Tareware and   National Secretary, Prince Meshach Bebenimibo noted that the Federal Government's decision to award the contract to Tompolo was not misplaced. *Tompolo The group commended President Muhammadu Buhari, the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mele  Kyari and Minister of State Petroleum Resources,

(Nigeria) The Asere, Arogbo Ijaw community of Ese-Odo Local Government Area of Ondo State, has, cried out to the Federal Government that Conoil Producing   Limited was stoking grave threat to peace and security in the oil rich area. In a statement by leaders of the communities, namely Bonsuwe Ominidougha, Chairman, Ijaw National Congress, INC, Akure, Ondo State Chapter,   Pastor Ebitimi Dio- Posibi, Chairman, INC, Lagos State Chapter and Dr. James Ashida, Chairman, Arogbo-Ijaw Community Organisation, AICO, they called the Federal   Government to come to the rescue of the jolted communities. INC and the community leaders alleged that Conoil Producing Limited was forcing itself into operations in the area without adherence to the procedures and regulations guiding the Petroleum Industry Act, PIA. The body said that the movement of the oil firm had caused serious threat to peace and security in the area. The leaders lamented that Conoil blatantly refused to directly negotiate with

*Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, NPDC  (Nigeria) A notable youth leader in Niger Delta, Mr. Odiri Umukoro, has explained that the insinuation that Benin Kingdom has never produced a Managing Director of Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, NPDC since inception, was untrue. Umukoro, reacting to report credited to an unnamed certain Benin social cultural group, said the group should have done more investigation before coming public to claim that no single Benin man has held the position of Managing Director of NPDC. Umukoro, an indigene of major oil and gas producing community in Delta State, in a statement in Asaba, Delta State, yesterday, said: " Two prominent Benin sons have been appointed and occupied the position of Managing Directors of NPDC. They are Engr. Chris  Ogiemwonyi - November  2003  to March 2005; and Engr. George Osahon - April 2005 to November 2008 respectively. "It is wrong and totally misleading for the Benin social cultural group to have er

(Nigeria) The Niger Delta United Group of Presidential Amnesty Programme, PAP, Phase 3 Ex Agitators, has called off their planed protest and plan to close down oil facilities in the Niger Delta region after PAP officials and other relevant agencies of government brokered a truce with them in Abuja. The aggrieved PAP Phase 3 x-agitators called off the planed protest after reaching an agreement, which they hope to further fine-tune in the interest of all parties. A statement  by General Joseph Jericho, Chairman, General Timibra Gabriel, Vice Chairman and General Ivwromon Ogaga, Secretary,  reads: "After due deliberations with the officials of PAP through the Peace Building and Conflict Resolution Department of the Amnesty Office in Abuja on August  8 and 9, 2022, we, hereby, declare unilaterally that  the planed protest, which was earlier slated to commence on August 10, 2022, is hereby, called off in the interest of the country’s  economy and to maintain the prevailing peace in the

(Nigeria) Conference of Nigeria Political Parties, CNPP, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to end the inefficiency and endemic corruption in Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC Limited, formally NNPC, if Nigeria will ever meet its Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, production quota in the near future. The CNPP in a statement by its Secretary General, Chief Willy Ezugwu, said that to continue to see the monetary policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, as responsible for continuing crash of the naira against the dollar amounts to taking the blame game of appointees in the Buhari administration too far, insisting that “the CBN cannot be blamed when the country is not meeting its OPEC production quota as an economy that mainly depends on crude oil revenues. The CNPP was reacting to media reports credited to the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, who confirmed that Nigeria was not meeting its OPEC production quota due to oil the

*Nigerian Senate (Nigeria) The bill’s passage was sequel to the consideration of a report by the Committee on Power. Chairman of the Committee, Senator Gabriel Suswam (PDP, Benue North East), in his presentation, said the bill seeks to, amongst others, provide an Ideal legal and institutional framework to leverage on the modest gains of the privatisation phase of the electricity power sector in Nigeria. He added that when signed into law, the bill would improve utilisation of generated power through increased investments in new technologies to enhance transmission and distribution of generated power to minimise aggregate value chain loses. According to the lawmaker, the piece of legislation would “reinvigorate the Institutional framework for the reform of the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry, NESI, initiated and implemented by the Federal Government.” He disclosed that the provisions of the bill seeks to promote policies and regulatory measures that would ensure the expansi

*NNPC corporate headquarters, Abuja (Nigeria) Conference of Nigeria Political Parties, CNPP, has said the unveiling of the new NNPC Limited by President Muhammadu Buhari amounts to rebranding and reinforcing corruption by the President without realising the impact of the action on the anti-corruption posture of the Buhari's administration in the eyes of the international community. In its reaction to the newly unveiled commercial brand by President Buhari in Abuja, the CNPP said in a statement by its Secretary General, Chief Willy Ezugwu, that “the time has come for countrymen and women to tell those managing the upstream and downstream sectors of the oil and gas industry in Nigeria the truth.” The CNPP said that while the citizens are groaning under pressure of adverse economic conditions, the NNPC, which does not have other serious businesses except to import petrol into the country to service its subsidy scam, has again increased the pump price of fuel. The CNPP said, “it is dif

(Nigeria) The Receiver/Manager's Nominee of Integrated Energy Distribution and Marketing Company, IEDM, yesterday said it is the legal and beneficial owner of 60 per cent (controlling and managing) shareholding interests in Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company, IBEDC. It advised the public to ignore a statement by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC and Bureau of Public Enterprises, BPE, purporting to take over control and management of IBEDC. It said the purported takeover was announced "in spite of a subsisting order of court in suit No. FHC/L/AMC/92/2021, granted on September 8, 2021, and varied on December 3, 2021, respectively." It made the claims in a statement by Mr. Kinle Ogunba, SAN. The Federal Government through NERC and BPE on Tuesday announced the restructuring of five electricity distribution companies, also known as DISCOs, in the country. NERC and BPE listed the affected companies as Kano Electricity Distribution Company, KEDC

(Nigeria) The management of Benin Electricity Distribution Company, BEDC Plc, has said there is no legal basis for the takeover of the company following the purported activation of the call on its collateralised shares by Fidelity Bank. The purported activation seeks to take over the respective Boards of Kano Electricity Distribution Company, Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company and BEDC Electricity Plc (the DisCos) over the inability to repay the loans obtained to acquire majority stakes in the DisCos in furtherance of the 2013 privatisation exercise. The company said in a statement released in Benin today that, “The referenced report also alleges that certain parties have been appointed as Board Members, Independent Directors and Managing Directorof BEDC Electricity Plc. We understand these appointments have been communicated to the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) and the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission.” However, the management of BEDC stated unequivocally tha

*Federal High Court, Abuja (Nigeria) A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has dismissed a suit seeking to nullify Section 257(2)&(3) of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021. Justice Taiwo Taiwo held that there was no inconsistency in Section 257(2)&(3) of the PIA and Section 36(1) and (2) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), as contended by the plaintiffs. The section concerns whether payments made by a settlor under Section 240(2) of the PIA are deductible for hydrocarbon tax and companies income tax and under what conditions a host oil community will lose its financial entitlements. Section 257(2)&(3) of the PIA reads: “Where in any year, an act of vandalism, sabotage or other civil unrest occurs that causes damage to petroleum and designated facilities or disrupts production activities within the host communities, the community shall forfeit its entitlement to the extent of the cost of repairs of the damage that resulted from the activity with respect to the pr

(Nigeria) The Federal Government on Tuesday, lost its $1.7 billion claim against JP Morgan Chase Bank over the transfer of proceeds from the sale of OPL 245 in 2011, operated by Malabu Oil and Gas Limited. In the judgment delivered by the Business and Property Courts of England and Wales Commercial Court, said there was no proof that Nigeria was defrauded in the deal. FG had sued JP Morgan on the grounds of “Quincecare duty,” alleging that the bank “ought to have known” that there was corruption and fraud in the transaction which saw Malabu Oil and Gas Limited sell its 100 per cent in OPL 245 to Shell and ENI for $1.1 billion. Nigeria argued that there were enough “red flags” for JP Morgan to have halted the transfers. However, the bank rejected Nigeria’s claims, maintaining that all due processes were followed and money laundering checks were done, arguing that allegations of fraud only came up after a new government took over in Nigeria. In the judgement, Sara Cockerill rul

(Nigeria) Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice, ANEEJ, in collaboration with several other Climate Justice Activist groups and the people of Niger Delta, have called on Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC, to stop exploring fossil fuel in Nigeria and clean up areas affected by its operations in the Niger Delta. The groups made the call at a peoples' Annual General Meeting, AGM, held ahead of Shell's 2022 AGM in London and Netherlands, during which they also urged Shell investors, particularly the Church of England, to withdraw its moral support to the company, until it was ready to revise its 2021 Energy Transition Strategy, and align with the Paris Agreement, which stipulates 'limiting increase in global temperature to 1.5 degrees celcius above pre- industrial level.' The groups specifically urged participants at the London / Netherland AGM, to prevail on Shell Nigeria to comply with the Paris Agreement as they called on the Federal Government

*Charred remains of vehicles at the scene of Imo illegal refinery explosion (Nigeria) The Senate, Wednesday, mourned the deaths of those killed by an explosion at the site of an illegal refinery in Abaezi community, Ohagi-Egbema Local Government Area of Imo State on April 22, 2022. The decision to do so was reached sequel to a point of order raised by Senator Rochas Okorocha representing Imo West senatorial district. Okorocha, while relying on order 42 of the Senate Standing Order, 2022 as amended, informed his colleagues during plenary that the incident led to the death of 110 persons. According to him, the tragic incident has thrown the state into mourning. He disclosed that the explosion was caused as a result of illegal refining. The lawmaker, called on the Federal Government to consider a legislation to provide for local technology for artisanal and modular refinery considering the gap in Nigeria’s refining capacity. Commenting on the incident, the Senate President, Ah

(Nigeria) The Senate, on Thursday, approved the total sum of 3.55 trillion for PMS subsidy in 2022, forwarded in two separate requests by the President to the National Assembly for approval. It also approved a revised budget of N17,319,704,091,019 trillion for the 2022 fiscal year. The approval came with the passage of a bill to amend the 2022 Appropriations Act transmitted to the National Assembly on February 10, 2022, by President Muhammadu Buhari for consideration.The Senate, in December, 2021, passed a budget of N17,126,873,917,692 trillion. The revised sum of N17.3 trillion,  in contrast with the 2022 budget of 17.13 trillion passed last year, represents a N193 billion naira increase. The passage of the Appropriations Act, 2022 (Amendment) Bill, Thursday, followed the consideration of a report by the Committee on Appropriations. Out of the total sum of N17,319,704,091,019 trillion naira passed, N817,699,410,210 billion is for Statutory Transfers; N3,978,087,110,437 trillio

(Nigeria) Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd, Mele Kyari is seeking support from the National Association of Petroleum and Engineering Gas Workers, NUPENG, National Association of Road Transport Owners, NARTO, and other stakeholders in the oil and gas sector to tackle the issue of crude oil theft in the Niger Delta region. He stated this on Tuesday, at the 5th quadrennial delegates’ conference holding in Asaba, Delta State. The conference with theme, "Just Energy Transition: For Oil and Gas Workers Social Welfare and Security," was attended by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, represented by the President of the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, Ayuba Wabba; Governor of Delta State, represented by his Deputy, Kingsley Otuaro,  Group Executive Director (Upstream), NNPC Ltd, Engr. Adokiye Tombomieye and other senior government officials. The theft of crude oil has been having a negative effect on the revenue of the Fe