Basic Political Developments



NIGERIA COUNTRY BRIEF 080218

Basic Political Developments

• THE Action Congress has called on President Umaru Yar’Adua to immediately probe his predecessor, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, over the alleged wastage of $16bn on the country‘s power sector.

• A rebel group from Nigeria's oil producing Niger Delta wrote an open letter on Sunday to U.S. President George W. Bush, who is in Africa, asking him to mediate talks with the Nigerian government

National Economic Trends

• THE nation's insurance industry may be losing an estimated N100 million premium yearly on third party motor insurance cover to illegal portmanteau insurance agents operations at the local council licensing officer nationwide.

• Consolidation of the Insurance sector has pulled about N300 billion for the sector. The capital base of the 49 companies that survived the exercise is expected to hit N500 billion by the end of this year

Business, Energy or Environmental regulations or discussions

• TWO committees of the Senate appear uncomfortable with the reversal of the sale of the Nigerian Telecommunications (NITEL) Plc by the Federal Government. They are the committee on privatisation and the one on communications.

The chairmen of the committees, at separate interviews, in Abuja yesterday, said that the reversal would be subjected to a review to determine government's level of compliance with the law.

Also yesterday, indications emerged that Transnational Corporation (Transcorp) may go to court to challenge the revocation.

Activity in the Oil and Gas sector (including regulatory)

• Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) has said it is still committed to ending gas flaring, more than a month after the January 2008 deadline expired. An earlier deadline in 2007 was shifted to this year.

• FRESH facts have emerged indicating current crude oil shut-in is now one million barrels per day against 600,000 barrels reported early this year by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

• SHELL Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) has commenced the disbursement of N73.3 million scholarship funds to some beneficiaries in Port Harcourt.

• A wave of violence targeting Nigeria's oil facilities shows no sign of abating and may get worse, analysts and security experts say.

However, high oil prices and tight global supplies are giving energy companies reason enough to stay put in Africa's top oil producer.

Kidnappings, attacks on energy installations/infrastructure

• The Rivers State Governor, Chief Rotimi Amaechi, on Sunday ordered the leader of the Niger Delta Vigilante Movement, Mr. Ateke Tom, to surrender his arms as proof of his genuine interest in peace.

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Basic Political Developments



AC urges Yar’Adua to probe Obasanjo over $16bn energy funds

By Chukwudi Akasike, Uyo

Published: Monday, 18 Feb 2008

THE Action Congress has called on President Umaru Yar’Adua to immediately probe his predecessor, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, over the alleged wastage of $16bn on the country‘s power sector.

The party said that investigation into the management of the sum was necessary in order to put the records straight and let Nigerians know how the funds were spent.

Speaking on Sunday in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State Chairman of the AC, Chief David Ekanem expressed surprise at the deplorable state of the power sector, saying it was difficult for anybody to believe that such a huge amount had gone into the sector without any improvement.

Ekanem explained that Nigerians had suffered a lot as a result of irregular power supply and wondered why a neighbouring country like Ghana could enjoy uninterrupted electricity supply while Nigeria continued to grope in the dark.

The AC chief urged President Yar‘Adua to take the problem seriously and ensure that Nigerians enjoy the regular supply of electricity in no distant time.

He noted that it was wrong for anybody to think that the country would develop without any concerted effort geared towards revamping the energy sector.

He said, ”As a progressive and an activist, I don‘t believe in too much delay especially when the issue at hand concerns the immediate need of the people. It is shocking to hear that the sum of $16bn has been wasted so far.

”The president and the National Assembly should ask Obasanjo and his cronies to tell Nigerians how they wasted over $16bn in eight years without giving us power. This country needs regular power supply for it to develop.”

He stated that though, President Yar’Adua had started on a good note, the AC would have done better, especially in the power sector.

On the party‘s case against the election of Governor Godswill Akpabio at the Appeal Court in Calabar, Ekanem pointed out that the AC would stand by the judgment of the court.

He said the party would continue to respect the judiciary for its uprightness so far, adding that Nigerians were satisfied with the landmark judgments so far delivered by the tribunals and Appeal Courts.

Nigerian militants ask Bush to mediate peace talks

Mon 18 Feb 2008, 6:44 GMT



LAGOS (Reuters) - A rebel group from Nigeria's oil producing Niger Delta wrote an open letter on Sunday to U.S. President George W. Bush, who is in Africa, asking him to mediate talks with the Nigerian government.

Bush is not due to stop in Nigeria during his tour of five African nations and there have been no international mediators involved in the Nigerian government's attempts to negotiate with splintered rebel forces in the Niger Delta.

U.S. diplomats were not available for comment. Niger Delta militants often make appeals to the international community but Nigeria has treated the unrest in the delta as an internal matter and no foreign power has publicly questioned that.

Nigeria is the fifth largest supplier of oil to the United States, which has cultivated good relations with the Nigerian government. The U.S. government criticised the disputed elections that brought President Umaru Yar'Adua to power last year, but quickly laid the matter to rest and engaged with him.

The open letter to Bush came from a faction of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) which is angry over the fate of its leader, Henry Okah, who was deported on Thursday from Angola where he was facing gun-running charges.

The MEND said on Friday Okah had been extradited to Nigeria and the state-run Angolan news agency said he had been handed over to Nigerian authorities, but the Nigerian government has yet to comment on his whereabouts or what will happen to him. There has been no official confirmation that he is in Nigeria.

Okah's faction of the MEND is one of many armed groups who say they are fighting to redress injustice in the impoverished Niger Delta, where five decades of oil extraction have polluted the land and water, and enriched corrupt politicians.

But crime and militancy are intertwined in the delta and such groups make big profits from kidnappings for ransom, from a lucrative trade in stolen oil or from providing thugs-for-hire to politicians who use them to steal elections.

Okah was one of the main rebel leaders who organised a wave of attacks on oil production facilities and kidnappings of oil workers in early 2006 that shut down about a fifth of Nigerian output, contributing to the rise in global oil prices.

Since Yar'Adua took power in May last year, his government has promised a 15-year development strategy to address the root causes of the violence in the delta and has tried to negotiate a peace deal with various groups.

Okah's faction was receptive at first and declared a temporary cease-fire, but since he was arrested in Angola in September his loyalists resumed attacks, blowing up pipelines and ships and making frequent threats.

Other militant leaders, however, recently announced they were returning to the talks after a hiatus lasting a few weeks. The MEND has repeatedly splintered and shifting alliances among rival leaders have complicated the government's peace overtures.

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National Economic Trends



Insurers lose N100m yearly to touts on motor insurance cover

By Joshua Nse

THE nation's insurance industry may be losing an estimated N100 million premium yearly on third party motor insurance cover to illegal portmanteau insurance agents operations at the local council licensing officer nationwide.

A visit to Ikeja and Shomolu local council offices in Lagos, for instance, showed touts posing as agents of insurance companies canvassing and selling third party insurance cover for N1, 000 or more depending on the bargaining strength of the buyer to unsuspecting members of the public.

The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) approved rate for third party insurance cover is N5,000. Any member of the insuring public buying the cover below the approved rate maybe holding a fake insurance certificate which may not attract any compensation in the event of an accident.

As a matter of fact, some of the touts selling fake insurance certificates actually issue out receipts bearing names of some of the recently re-certified underwriting companies.

Surprisingly also, the vehicle insurance sticker (VISER) which was suspended from circulation two years ago are still being sold by touts to the public as genuine third party document.

However, an official of the Ikeja licensing office said that third party motor insurance cover sold in the council are genuine and are obtained through a brokerage firm and cost N5, 000, but admitted that touts may also be selling the documents to the public, adding that they could not control the activities of touts, because they operate outside the council premises.

However, the managing director and chief executive of one of the insurance companies in Lagos who pleaded anonymity admitted that the insurance industry might be losing more than N100 million yearly to touting at the local council licensing offices. They are mainly responsible for the bad name that had been attributed to the industry in the past, he said.

According to him: "Touting at the local council offices and the nation's seaports is a big problem to the industry. Honestly, they are responsible for the bad name that the industry has been associated with in the past, because the fake cover notes they are selling out cannot attract compensation in the event of an accident."

He continued: "We want to appeal to the general public to always obtain insurance papers from the registered insurance companies or through an insurance broker or a registered agent. The insurance companies are always ready to honour all genuine claims and that is the essence of insurance. Therefore, the public should desist from patronising these crooks for whatever reason."

A source at the commission said that the regulatory authority had advised insurance companies to withdraw thenceforth their cover note certificate from personnel of the local council motor licencing offices to facilitate proper monitoring of fake insurance certificates circulating in the market in order to reduce incidence of faking of vehicles insurance certificates.



Insurance firms'capital base hits N500bn, 7 in liquidation

Written by Omoh Gabriel, Business Editor

Monday, 18 February 2008

Consolidation of the Insurance sector has pulled about N300 billion for the sector. The capital base of the 49 companies that survived the exercise is expected to hit N500 billion by the end of this year.

Operators said it would have been unimaginable, at least two years ago, for an insurance company to aim at N10 billion capital base.

That now appears to be a thing of the past as the least capitalised insurance firm may just have that figure as the minimum. This translates to over N500 billion by year end. Following mergers and acquisitions, only seven companies failed to recapitalise.

They are Metropolitan General Insurance Co. Ltd, Sun Insurance Nig. Plc, Mutual Assurance Ltd, Presidential Insurance Plc, Trustworld Insurance Co. Ltd, Lion of Africa Insurance Co Ltd and Energy & Special Risks Insurance Co. Ltd.

Before the end of recapitalisation, National Insurance Commission had projected that by 2010, insurance market premium would hit N490 billion. At the end of consolidation, Central Bank (CBN) released N183billion in a dedicated account for the recapitalisation.

This figure represents only such monies that were raised by insurers outside the existing capital put at over N100 billion. Put together, the total capital of insurers at post-consolidation is N300 billion.

At an average of N10 billion per each of the 49 certified insurance firms, the calculation is that by end of this year, the total capital available to insurers may be about N500 billion.

Bank affiliated insurers and underwriters owned by other investors outside the banks are in a charged race to get more out of the market.

But the question is, can insurance companies make returns that are commensurate with the volume of capital being raised? Is the ordinary policy holder protected in the bigger insurers? Where will the business to sustain this huge capital come from?

Is the industry regulator ready for the fallout of the exercise it initiated about two years ago? Who are the players? Who have been shoved aside in this unfolding and emerging market?

But the exercise was not without its challenges. The consolidation was done half and half, which forced the then Minister of Finance, Mrs Nenadi Usman to denounce the entire exercise for shoddy conduct.

The Federal Government ordered a reappraisal of the whole process and sacked Emmanuel Chukwulozie, Insurance commissioner, “to restore confidence in the industry and the regulator.”

The exercise has since split the industry as several are in court over the process.

Government had appointed a technical team to immediately undertake post verification of the 71 companies re-certified and the exercise was completed on or before the end of June 2007.

The minister said Chukwulozie was sacked for the shoddy conduct of the exercise, the management of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), and the breach of government rules and procedures.

Mr Olatunde Agbeja, NCRIB past President in an interview in Risk Shield Magazine said of the exercise: “I have been unhappy at the rate of consolidation as to the quality of consolidation and the outcome, a situation where operators are in court.

Because the challenges and the few things which I wanted to achieve but failed were directly linked to this problem of consolidation. I wanted to give more value to my members by increasing the rate of commission on Workmen’s Compensation and Motor Insurance.

I discussed with Nigerian Insurers’ Association (NIA) and it said, allow us to finish consolidation. I also discussed with the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) and it said, you know what is going on. So, let us finish with consolidation and that is a bit frustrating."

One of the fallouts of the Insurance consolidation is the refusal of Jimoh Ibrahim to allow NICON and Nigeria Re to be re-certified by the Technical Committee set up by government to resolve issues of consolidation.

Ibrahim had argued that some members of the panel had vested interest in NICON and Nigeria Re and thus would not be fair to him.

My opinion is that Jimoh Ibrahim has gone to court to protect his interest, his investments in NICON Insurance Plc and Nigeria Reinsurance Corporation. He does not want to lose. I don’t blame him for that.

Although I blame him for going to court in the first place for not wanting to subject himself for re-certification, that is the crux of the problem. If he has subjected himself for re-certification, we will not be here," Olatunde Agbeja said.

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Business, Energy or Environmental regulations or discussions

Senate panels query reversal of NITEL sale

Transcorp may sue govt

By Sonny Aragba-Akpore (Lagos), Azimazi Momoh Jimoh and Nkechi Onyedika (Abuja)

TWO committees of the Senate appear uncomfortable with the reversal of the sale of the Nigerian Telecommunications (NITEL) Plc by the Federal Government. They are the committee on privatisation and the one on communications.

The chairmen of the committees, at separate interviews, in Abuja yesterday, said that the reversal would be subjected to a review to determine government's level of compliance with the law.

Also yesterday, indications emerged that Transnational Corporation (Transcorp) may go to court to challenge the revocation.

The Chairman, Senate Committee on Privatisation, Ayo Arise, on his part declared that the reversal did not conform with the norms and standards acceptable internationally.

According to him, the Senate might review the privatisation law if it was discovered that there was a breach by the government in effecting the reversal of NITEL.

"I want to read the details and talk with the minister and see the justification for this action at this time. If the rules were not followed, we in the Senate may have to look at the privatisation law and amend it. I have no doubt that with the reversal, the government may be compelled to pay back the money Transcorp paid to acquire NITEL; it doesn't just happen," he said.

Arise said that he was surprised that the government chose this time to announce the revocation despite the agreement it entered into about two months ago with Transcorp and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), which mandated Transcorp to turn around the fortunes of NITEL in six months.

"I would want to discuss with the minister and the NCC to give details of what has transpired in the last two months to warrant the revocation of the sale," the senator said.

"You can't just take such decisions without following acceptable norms and standards worldwide. If you have 49 per cent stake in a company and another person has 51 per cent, you can't just reverse the sale. How do you defend that?" he queried.

Arise said that his committee had studied the situation of NITEL and discovered that the company was down and nearly out, but that in an era of due process, the laid down procedure which is acceptable worldwide should be followed.

He argued that government was not the best suited authority to turn around a company, adding that it should have taken back NITEL from Transcorp by buying it back at the market price instead of reversing the sale, which he said, could send wrong signals to investors.

"I have the fears that it is an agenda to get back NITEL and give it to cronies. Because it would have been cheaper for Transcorp to have a licence for N200 million and take the remaining N500 million into the operations of the company," adding that the government may have to pay back Transcorp to justify the acquisition.

In his own reaction, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Communications, Sylvester Anyanwu, said his committee would meet today to examine the revocation of the sale of NITEL, adding that government's decision becomes more questionable because it had not made any financial commitment to justify its 49 per cent equity in the company.

"I am being told that the Federal Government has not put in one dime into the operations of NITEL to justify its 49 per cent equity in the company. I am going to talk with the minister, the NCC and other stakeholders," he stated.

Meanwhile, there are indications that Transcorp may challenge the reversal in court.

Transcorp last night said "its board and management is critically reviewing this development, especially as it relates to the interest of our over 250,000 shareholders."

A statement by Transcorp's Vice President (Communications), Mr. Adedayo Ojo, said it would challenge the revocation through the rule of law and due process which this government prides itself in.

"Ironically, the purported reversal comes at a very crucial period in the actualisation of Transcorp's efforts at revitalising both NITEL and Mtel. Among other initiatives, Transcorp had indeed identified and reached final stages in negotiation with potential technical partners", the statement declared.

The statement also craved "the patience and understanding of the firm's shareholders, financial and technical partners as we go through this rather stormy period of our corporate existence."

But The Guardian learnt last night that the minister may have revoked the sales contrary to advise.

The Guardian learnt from BPE sources that following a series of meetings between the minister, the BPE and Transcorp, a compromise position had earlier been reached on how to get out of the woods.

"Transcorp actually admitted that it had failed to revive the place due to paucity of funds. It also agreed to what is commonly referred to in investment circles as dilution of shares, whereby it had agreed to cede 27 per cent of its 51 per cent to a new core investor, while it keeps the remaining 24 per cent,." a source said.

Government on the other hand was also encouraged to cede 24 per cent of its 49 per cent so that the BPE could now muster 51 per cent that could be sold to a new core investor in another round of privatisation exercise.

The BPE reportedly gave the advice due to its belief that if Transcorp continued to hold on to 51 per cent, it may not be able to raise enough funds to grow NITEL/Mtel and make the two organisations competitive.

"So, the BPE thinking is that a new and more vibrant core investor should be encouraged to come in and revive the place and while it gets 51 per cent, Transcorp and government keep 24 per cent and 25 per cent respectively and still remain shareholders."

The Guardian sources explained that the proposal was ready and that the minister was supposed to present it before the Federal Executive Council (FEC) after due consultation with the National Assembly "but now we are not even sure of the situation," another BPE source said last night.

Now, a blanket cancellation may lead to litigation.

Officials of BPE kept sealed lips. They claimed they did not have knowledge of the minister's statement except through the newspapers.

But an aide to the minister, who declined to be named, confirmed that the statement emanated from the "office of the Honourable Minister of Information and Communications and it had a presidential endorsement."

Activity in the Oil and Gas sector (including regulatory)



Hofmeister: Shell Committed to Ending Gas Flaring

>From Constance Ikokwu in Washington, D.C., 02.18.2008

Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) has said it is still committed to ending gas flaring, more than a month after the January 2008 deadline expired. An earlier deadline in 2007 was shifted to this year.

The January deadline saw oil companies lobby hard to have it pushed to another year, raising doubt about their commitment to ending the harmful practice.

President of Shell in the United States (US), Dr John Hofmeister, has explained that the multinational oil company is determined even after it failed to achieve this important objective for more than 30 years of drilling oil in the country.

“Our commitment was and remains genuine. Conditions have changed during the course of time. We have spent billions of dollars in attempting to end gas flaring. We are prepared to spend more funds to end the gas flaring. But because there are areas we can no longer operate or where we can protect the infrastructure that is necessary to end the flaring, we have to take more time.

“And we regret that it takes more time, but we can’t ask our staff to work under unsafe conditions. We will simply work with the communities and the government. Our goal remains the same, to end flaring,” he stated.

Responding to questions after the presentation of his report titled: “A National Dialogue on Energy Security: The Shell Final Report,” at the US Chamber of Commerce in Washingon, D.C., Hofmeister said the issues in Nigeria were complicated.

‘Criminal gangs’ that ‘arm themselves’ make operations in the Niger Delta difficult for oil companies, he stated.

He said the inability of Shell to gain access to destroyed oil fields for the purpose of rebuilding undermined efforts to end gas flaring.

Gas flaring however predates the existence of militant groups in the Niger Delta. Their activities, mostly hostage-taking and kidnapping have only become common in recent years.

Asked if Shell has a new target date, Hofmeister simply said: ìWe are determined to be a positive player in Nigeria.î

While the Nigerian government waits for Shell and other oil companies operating in the region to get their act together on the issue, the people of the Niger Delta suffer the immediate and long-term consequences.

Gas flaring burns off gas and releases poison into the atmosphere. Some communities do not know darkness as huge balls of fire from flaring gas burns non-stop for many hours. Some of the fires are reportedly close to farms and homes that people feel the heat.

Nigeria is second to Russia in flaring the highest quantity of gas in the world. About 2.5 billion cubic feet per day of gas is flared on a daily basis. The World Bank estimates that Nigeria loses about $2.5 billion a year to this practice.



Crude shut-in hits 1m barrel per day

By Yakubu Lawal

FRESH facts have emerged indicating current crude oil shut-in is now one million barrels per day against 600,000 barrels reported early this year by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

>From when this figure hit one million barrels per day is not clear even to the auditors at the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS).

This development, The Guardian source said, was due to the unending crisis in the Niger Delta region of the country, which has affected both major and independent oil-producing companies.

Considering the high price of crude in international market, Nigeria and its joint venture partners both in joint venture and PSC may be losing $90 million (N10.8 billion) on a daily basis from this shut-in the countries.

The price of oil has been hovering between $89 and $96 per barrel in the international markets.

The Guardian source noted that an audit of the nation's oil production profile carried out by NAPIMS shows that the volume of oil in the shut-in wells has peaked at one million barrels per day.

Apart from the major oil companies like Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) whose output level was affected by this development resulting in shut-in of about 600,000 barrels per day, the source said other operators, including the third party producers who rely on the facilities of the major producers for export of their crude oil put together, bring the figure to one million barrels per day.

The source noted further that now, Nigeria does not have spare capacity as the country put all its available producing fields on stream in order to meet production quota allocated by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

The officer explained that in actual fact, Nigeria's capacity hovers around 3.2 million barrels per day but that the situation in the Niger Delta has brought this level down to about 2 million barrels.

"The OPEC quota is 2.1 million barrels per day which the country was able to meet last year but in terms of spare capacity, it is currently not there", the officer said.

"What the NNPC has done is to look at its operations with the partners both in the joint venture arrangement and Production Sharing Contract (PSC) model and we can say that our capacity is now down by about one million barrels in a day", the officer said.

According to the source, before the crisis in the Niger Delta got to this stage, Nigeria had spare capacity that it could even overshoot OPEC quota if she so wished but the situation is so bad now that the country has to rely on deepwater fields to be able to build this extra capacity again.

Nigeria's Minister of State for Energy responsible for petroleum matters, Mr. Odein Ajumogobia, told agency reporter early this year that total shut-in now runs over 600,000 barrels due to the Niger Delta crisis.

Nigeria targets a reserve base of 40 billion barrels and daily production of 4 million barrels for year 2010.

The Guardian reported early last week that the crisis in the Niger Delta may have gotten the country into the black books of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) with very adverse consequences for the country's economy.

The body has issued a warning to Nigeria that if the safety of the territorial waters continued to be threatened by the crisis, no foreign vessels will be allowed to come to the country to lift crude oil or gas.

Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Abubakar Lawal Yar'Adua, who disclosed this in Abuja at a Gulf of Guinea oil and gas conference, said if the world body was not satisfied with the security situation in the region, there would be no vessel to lift crude oil.

"A warning has been issued to Nigeria and by April, they will come for final inspection and if the situation persists, we may be blacklisted as unsafe region and no foreign vessels will come to Nigeria", Yar'Adua stated.

According to him, because of the risk associated with the crisis in the Niger Delta, insurance companies are foot-dragging in insuring vessels coming to Nigeria and since there will be no insurance cover for the vessels coming to Nigeria, then it will be a big problem for the country.

The NNPC boss said though the Federal Government had set up a committee comprising stakeholders in the maritime world, including the NNPC, the IMO would be around again in April to ascertain the security situation in the country.

Yar'Adua said the committee was working hard on this, adding that officials of the NNPC were meeting with other oil companies with a view to addressing the issues raised by the IMO. He stressed that pipeline vandalism; hostage-taking and attacks on vessels on the high sea would worsen Nigeria's position on this issue.



Shell disburses N73.3m scholarship funds

Monday, 18 February 2008

SHELL Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) has commenced the disbursement of N73.3 million scholarship funds to some beneficiaries in Port Harcourt.

A representative of SPDC, Mrs Gloria Udoh, who presented the awards, said the amount was for the 2007/2008 academic session.

The first phase of the scholarship award, which took place in Port Harcourt, she said started for 64 students drawn from three communities of Elikahia, Oroije and Oroabali.

The beneficiaries include 39 undergraduates, drawing N75,000 each per session, as well as 25 post-primary students, receiving N30,000 each per session, she said.

Udoh congratulated the beneficiaries and advised them to make good use of the opportunity at their disposal.

She described the award as unique because it was based on the 2007 Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMOU) the company had with communities.

Udoh urged the scholarship recipients to work hard in their academic pursuits and do better in their own time than the present generation.

Also speaking, the Managing Director of the consulting firm, Mr Kalada Apiafi, thanked the communities for coming together to decide what they wanted.

The consultants have been facilitating the process of community development, needs assessment

and projects implementation among host communities of SPDC.

Under the GMOU, the communities formed a board called Greater Port Harcourt Cluster Development Board, comprising nine communities, for the purpose of informing SPDC of their needs.



Nigeria earns N1.36trn from crude oil in 2 months | Print | E-mail

Written by Hector Igbikiowubo with agency reports

Monday, 18 February 2008

A TOTAL of $11.707 billion (about N1.369 trillion based on exchange rate of N117 to the US dollar) accrued to Nigeria from crude oil exports between December 2007 and the end of January 2008.

Also last month, the 13-member Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) pumped an average 32.25 million barrels per day (mb/d) of crude oil, a 220,000 b/d increase from December’s rate of 32.03 million b/d, a Platts survey of OPEC and oil industry officials has confirmed.

In December 2007, Nigeria exported 2.2 million barrels of crude oil per day, amounting to 68.2 million barrels sold at $87.19 per barrel for delivery to consumers within the period under review.

This fetched the economy a total $5,946 billion (about N695,723 billion) with Nigerian government getting $3.567 billion (about N417,434 billion) or 60 per cent of the total amount in line with the Joint Venture (JV) agreement.

The JV partners on the other hand, earned a total $2.378 billion (about N278,289 billion) or 40 per cent of the total revenue.

In January, the country exported 2.1 million barrels of crude oil per day, amounting to 65.1m barrels per day, sold at $88.50 per barrel.

There are five major multinational exploration and production companies operating in Nigeria which maintain a Joint Venture agreement with government. They are Shell Petroleum Development Company, Mobil Nigeria Unlimited, Chevron Nigeria Limited, Elf Petroleum Nigeria Limited and the Nigeria Agip Oil Company.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) maintains 57 per cent equity interest in the SPDC Joint Venture and 60 per cent equity in the other Joint Ventures on behalf of government.

OPEC pumps 32.25mb/d crude oil in January

It was gathered that the biggest single increase came from Saudi Arabia, which boosted volumes to 9.2 million b/d in January from 9.02 million b/d in December.

The UAE boosted production to 2.59 million b/d from 2.5 million b/d in December after a field maintenance program reduced output to 2.15 million b/d in November. Other smaller increases came from Angola, Iran and Kuwait.

“OPEC ministers meeting in Vienna earlier this month opted to leave production targets unchanged, ignoring pleas from major consuming countries for more oil,” said John Kingston, Platts global director of oil.

“Despite this, however, January production was nearly 290,000 b/d higher than the official target. But the big part of this increase came from Saudi Arabia, which supports the view that virtually all of OPEC’s spare capacity lies within one country.”

Kingston says the ability to repeat these numbers in February may be tested by new politically-driven problems in Nigeria. Platts estimates that the amount of oil offline in the country has climbed a few hundred thousand barrels per day and now stands at one million b/d.

Excluding Iraq, the 12 members bound by output agreements produced an average 29.96 million b/d in January, up 230,000 b/d from December’s 29.73 million b/d and 287,000 b/d in excess of their 29.673 million b/d target.

Output increases totalling 340,000 b/d were partly offset by 120,000 b/d of decreases.

Nigeria's production slipped after Shell was forced to declare force majeure on crude shipments from its Forcados export terminal following a pipeline attack.

Iraqi volumes were marginally lower, despite higher exports, after fires at two refineries reduced the volume of crude used domestically.

Indonesian production was also slightly lower than December levels.

OPEC’s 29.673 million b/d output target incorporates allocations, agreed at a December meeting in Abu Dhabi, of 1.9 million b/d for Angola, which joined the group in January 2007, and 520,000 b/d for Ecuador, which rejoined in November after it left in the early 1990s.

At its most recent meeting, on February 1, ministers decided to leave output targets unchanged and to review the situation on March 5.



Nigeria attacks may rise but oil firms stay put

Mon 18 Feb 2008, 8:38 GMT

[-] Text [+]

By Randy Fabi

ABUJA (Reuters) - A wave of violence targeting Nigeria's oil facilities shows no sign of abating and may get worse, analysts and security experts say.

Nearly a fifth of Nigeria's oil supply capacity, or some 515,000 barrels per day (bpd), is shut in due to violence in the Niger Delta region in southern Nigeria, where nearly all of the West African country's hydrocarbons are produced.

However, high oil prices and tight global supplies are giving energy companies reason enough to stay put in Africa's top oil producer.

"What is happening now in the Niger Delta is bad, but it's not the worst it has ever been," said Kissy Agyeman, Africa security analyst at Global Insight. "The lure of the natural resources in Nigeria still outweigh the risk at the moment."

The violence has helped support world oil prices, which surged to a record high above $100 a barrel in early January.

In the last two years, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has bombed oil facilities, kidnapped foreign workers and attacked shipping in what it says is a bid to secure regional control over the area's oil wealth.

But the rebel group has broken into several factions, making it increasingly difficult to hold peace talks with the government.

"The situation in the Niger Delta is difficult and it probably won't get any better anytime soon. If anything, we may see a deterioration," said Tony McClenaghan, senior analyst at security company Control Risks.

A group of Niger Delta rebels and activists said earlier this month that they would resume peace talks with the government, but a key faction of MEND refused to join -- accusing the government of insincerity.

DECLINING PRODUCTION

Nigeria's average output in 2007 declined 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) compared to the previous year to 2.14 million bpd due to a rise in militant attacks, according to the International Energy Agency.

This year has started off badly, with production expected to briefly dip below 2 million bpd in March due to security concerns and planned maintenance work.

Royal Dutch Shell, long the top oil operator in Nigeria, has been forced to shut down some output at its Bonny Light and Forcados export terminals, as security problems have made it difficult for workers to operate in parts of the delta.

Shell has now been surpassed by Exxon Mobil as the top operator due to the outages, according to industry sources.

But oil companies continue to invest in Nigeria because much of the country's future output lies offshore, miles away from the violence of the Niger Delta.

"Nigerian oil is highly prized around the world," said Lillian Wong of London-based think-tank Chatham House. "There is no indication that investment is drying up and in fact more money is going to offshore and gas exploration."

Oil from Shell's Bonga and Exxon's Erha offshore oilfields have helped offset losses from their more vulnerable onshore counterparts.

Chevron and Total were expected to add their own offshore oilfields later this year, boosting production by more than 500,000 bpd.

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Kidnappings, attacks on energy installations/infrastructure



Amaechi orders Tom to surrender weapons

By Ibanga Isine, Port Harcourt

Published: Monday, 18 Feb 2008

The Rivers State Governor, Chief Rotimi Amaechi, on Sunday ordered the leader of the Niger Delta Vigilante Movement, Mr. Ateke Tom, to surrender his arms as proof of his genuine interest in peace.

Tom had, on February 13, joined the Niger Delta Non-Violent Movement as a gesture of his willingness to embrace peace.

The NDVM’s leader said he had seen the need to embrace a non-violent approach in the struggle for the development of the region.

He therefore urged his men to equally join the Niger Delta Non-Violent Movement, saying that it was the only viable option available to them.

He however said that he had no confidence in the on-going peace process initiated by the government, on the grounds that government might later haunt him down like it did to Alhaji Mujaheed Asari-Dokubo.

But the governor, who spoke through his Director of Press Affairs, Mr. Ogbonna Nwuke, said that Rivers State did not need the peace of the graveyard.

Nwuke said that the governor had on several occasions advised gun-wielding youths in the state to lay down their arms, noting that amnesty could only be considered for them, after they drop their arms.

He said that the people of the state were not very comfortable with the situation in which some people who were not trained to handle arms were in possession of large quantities of weapons of mass destruction.

He said, “If Ateke says that he is tired of fighting, we welcome such a decision. It has confirmed what I have always said that violence cannot yield any positive result. Even when men go to war, it is at the dialogue table that peace is (finally) made.

“The condition, however, is that he must surrender weapons of violence. He does not need to surrender them to the government or the JTF. He can do that to chiefs in his community. The governor has said that and repeated it when traditional rulers from Okrika visited him.

“It is our own offer for peace but we don’t want a situation in which somebody picks a gun and shoots into the midst of people or picks dynamite and detonate it where defenseless citizens are carrying out legitimate businesses. We want peace that is holistic and not that of the graveyard.”

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