Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
Oil, gas conference holds in Lagos
NED Conferences, the conference arm of the Nigerian Energy Digest (NED), is to hold the 2007 edition of its yearly National Conference and Exhibition on Gas Development and Utilisation in Nigeria, which began in 2002.
The conference and exhibition, the sixth in the series, holds from Tuesday, October 23 to Wednesday, October 24, 2007 at Eko Hotel and Suite, Victoria Island, Lagos.
With the theme; "Domestic gas environment and the post flare out era," the conference will explore opportunities to appraise the 2008 flare out era, its challenges and the level of expected compliance by operators ahead of next year's deadline, while also charting the way forward for gas utilisation in a post-flare out environment in the country.
Speakers expected at the event include Minister of State (Energy) in charge of gas, Mr. Emmanuel Odusina. He would deliver a keynote paper on Nigerian Gas Vision, while the Director, Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Mr. Tony Chukwueke, will make a presentation on Nigerian gas environment post flare out 2008. The Presidential Adviser on Petroleum, Dr. Emmanuel Egbogah is expected to speak on "Gas flare out deadline: Evolving a win-win scenario through continuous engagement," while the Managing Director, Shell Petroleum and Chairman, Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS) of the LCCI, Mr. Basil Omiyi, will speak on "Flare out deadline and oil industry emerging challenges." Managing Director, Afren Energy Resources Limited, Mr. Egbert Imomoh will chair the opening of the conference.
Remote Sensing Used to Unlock Africa's Hidden Potential
African Continent Awash With Riches - the Next Great Frontier for Exploration
From satellite data coming down to Earth from more than 500 miles, Terra Energy & Resource Technologies, Inc. (OTCBB: TEGR) can provide African nations an invaluable asset that can be used to tap into their vast reservoirs of natural resources.
A country that realizes the advantage of the high-tech method of exploration is the Republic of Cameroon. Charles Sale, the Minister of Industry, Mines and Technological Development has invited representatives from Terra Energy to visit Cameroon to present a plan for the use of the Company's satellite-based data processing technique (STeP(TM)) to assist this West African government identify the locations and nature of natural resources hidden beneath the surface.
"Our technology can provide an analytic and reporting process to discover, confirm, and unify the contrasting information of Cameroon's natural resources," said Dmitry Vilbaum, Terra Energy's CEO. "The end result to the Republic of Cameroon will be that it will have an atlas of Cameroon's resources. Cameroon will benefit greatly by learning about its riches in greater detail, as well as being able to manage its natural resources and mineral rights more effectively."
Sub-Terrain Prospecting Technology (STeP) combines a suite of proprietary techniques, processing satellite-obtained information used to identify viable deposits of hydrocarbons, gold, diamonds, and other valuable raw materials. Perhaps one of the most significant commodities of exploration that STeP supports involves the search for undiscovered blocks with oil and gas potential.
"Last year, Terra Energy provided analysis of potential oil reserves off the coast of another West African country for a major international oil company. Substantial savings to drilling costs can occur when STeP surveys indicate that drilling in a certain location would not be successful. Growing interest from foreign governments demonstrates that there is considerable geopolitical competition for African oil," Mr. Vilbaum said.
The United States, Britain, China, France and India all have increased their investments in exploration for oil and other natural resources in Africa. In 2006, foreign direct investments reached a record $38.8 billion -- an increase of 78 percent from 2004. A United Nations report recently noted that foreign direct investment was divided among a handful of industries, particularly oil, gas and mining. Six oil-producing countries -- Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria, and Sudan -- attracted nearly half of all foreign direct investments in 2006. West Africa supplies about 15 percent of American oil imports, with United States crude imports anticipated to reach 25 percent by 2015.
"Security and political considerations are being put on the backburner as the price of oil rises. Even in difficult political environments oil companies are drilling," said Vilbaum. "Unfortunately, African countries often do not appropriately benefit financially from foreign oil production."
"If STeP can help these countries locate, ascertain, and assess their natural resources faster and cheaper, they would be able to develop their own infrastructure, and in turn put increased proceeds of tenders and royalties from production back into their own economies," he said.
In addition to oil and gas, as well as other commercial minerals, subsurface water is also a commodity found in the African Desert, something unthinkable until only a few years ago.
In 2002, STeP technology was used to accurately predict the presence of water nearly 800 feet beneath the sand dunes of the Western Sahara. The well constructed on the site still provides potable water to more than 50,000 residents of Atar in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania.
"Many were looking for water there unsuccessfully for several decades, but through the use of STeP it was quickly and economically found," said Vilbaum proudly. "STeP peeled away the topography and helped discover the underground river that had been hidden for years."
Safe Harbor for Forward-Looking Statements:
This press release may contain forward-looking information within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and is subject to the safe harbor created by those sections. There are many factors that could cause the Company's expectations and beliefs about its operations or its plans to acquire additional exploration properties, plans to drill or drilling results to fail to materialize, including but not limited to competition for new acquisitions; availability of capital; unfavorable geologic conditions; prevailing prices for oil, natural gas and other natural resources; and general regional economic conditions.
Sao Tome and Principe’s trade deficit totals US$33.3 million in first half [ 2007-10-17 ]
Sao Tome, Sao Tome and Principe, 16 Oct – Sao Tome and Principe has posted a trade deficit of US$33.3 million in the first half of the year, according to the archipelago’s National Statistics Institute (INES).
According to INES, the deficit seen in the first half was the result of total estimated exports of US$34.7 million and exports of US$1.4 million.
The deficit posted in the first half was an increase of 14.5 percent against the same period of 2006.
From January to December 2006, the trade deficit was US$64.3 million, resulting from imports of US$68 million and exports of US$3.7 million.
Despite the prospect of future oil exploration by the archipelago, the percentage increase of the trade deficit over the last few years is essentially due to a fall in exports of agricultural products, mainly cocoa, which is the basis of the country’s economy. (macauhub)
N’Delta: Nigeria Loses $58.3bn Revenue in 9yrs
By Chika Amanze-Nwachuku and Fidelia Okwuonu, 10.17.2007
Nigeria, Africa's largest oil producer has recorded a revenue loss of about $58.3 in nine years, due to the protracted crisis in the Niger Delta.
Chairman, Niger Delta Peace and Conflict Resolution Committee, Senator David Brigidi, who disclosed this yesterday in a paper, "Locating Peace in the Niger Delta," presented at the 2007 pre-conference workshop organised by the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE), stated that the country loses an average of 300,000 barrels per day in oil production since 1999, when violence in the oil-rich region escalated.
D,aily production loss as a result of the militancy, he said, is about $18 million, which translates to an awesome $58.3 billion in nine years.
Lamenting the enormous revenue loss, Brigidi said several multi-national oil companies operating in the region have fled from the on-shore locations, resulting in heavy revenue losses to businesses at the federal and state levels.
Apart from revenue losses, he said thousands of lives had been lost to the persistent crisis and recalled that between May and June 1999 alone, over 200 persons died during a bloody clash between ethnic Ijaw and Itsekiri militias in Delta State, while hundreds were killed and thousands rendered homeless in an inter-ethnic violence which involved Ijaw, Itsekiri, Urhobo and Nigerian security forces also in Delta State.
The crisis, according to him, led to the shut down of about 40 per cent of the country's oil industry for weeks, a development which led to loss of over $500 million by Chevron Nigeria which suffered both production losses and infrastructure damages.
"The cost of this crisis has been colossal in all its ramifications, and we continue to lose as a nation as the crisis remains. The Niger Delta has been an open wound, which has relentlessly weakened our moral standing in the comity of nations, especially since 1995. Whether we like it or not, events of late 1995 bordering on the Ogoni crisis stigmatised Nigeria. The Odi crisis of 2000 similarly had the same effect. Both events unfortunately served to fuel the notion that the only avenue for venting grievance was through violent means.
"It is estimated that Nigeria has lost an average of 300,000 barrels per day in oil production since 1999 to the state of violence and instability in the Niger Delta region,” he said.
This translates to daily production loss of about $18 million translating to an awesome 458.3 billion dollars in nine years. Several multinational oil companies have all but moved out of on-shore locations, resulting in heavy revenue losses to businesses by federal and state governments. All the Niger Delta State governments have colossal revenues to this lingering crisis. To put it mildly, the human cost and the damage to local economies of the region has been mind-boggling.
"There are approximately six million people under the age of 17 in the Niger Delta States who are directly experiencing a prolonged period of concentrated civil disturbances in the most critical formative stages of their lives. the politicization of children and their consequent exposure to violence and the means of violence has been intense in this region and is central to the menace of cultism is the nursery and recruitment grounds for militancy in the region. We are consequently at the risk of losing a generation of youths to mindless violence if we have not already lost them. Our nation is at a cross road, breeding a culture of violence that is fast spreading out of the region to other parts of the country" he said.
He however stated that the solution to Niger Delta problem must be etched in a strategic framework designed to redress years of neglect, give vent to the people's yearning for political representation, address the demand for greater access to resources and focus on a rounded development of the human factor in the region. This he said would require a new strategic approach focusing on confidence building and an all-inclusive dialogue with the people.
Speaking on a topic, "Private-Public Partnership for Peace in the Niger Delta", Managing Director of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) and Chairman of the Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS) Mr. Basil Omiyi noted that the country missed out some $14,4 billion in tax and royalty income to militant insurgency, adding that Shell has shut down production in most of the Western Niger Delta, including the offshore EA Field, shutting in some 477,000 barrels of the oil per day for most of 2006 and this year.
According to him, aside from revenue losses, attacks on flow stations and pipelines have had significant environmental consequences, pointing out that cases abound where oil companies could not secure access to clean up oil spills, repair damaged pipelines or even undertake routine maintenance of facilities.
He also noted that the on going oil and gas projects, including the much needed gas gathering projects are being delayed by the violence and insecurity in the region, which he added, has also led to reduction in the number of skilled contractors willing to work on projects in the region for a reasonable cost.
As a way forward, he canvassed that government at all levels should work together to promote equitable and transparent system of revenue management, as well as sustainable means of livelihood for local communities, through micro-credit and business development. He also advised that all stakeholders, including oil and gas companies and foreign donors must support the implementation of the Niger Delta Master Plan which outlines a plan for economic and social development in the region, to ensure that it delivers real and tangible benefits to the people of the region.
Speaking in the same vein, Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State urged that the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) as an interventionist organization should play a major role in harnessing the abundant energies most youths of the region are currently wasting on unproductive ventures.
IPMAN president decries comatose state of Nigeria's refineries
By Sulaimon Salau
PETROLEUM products marketers under the aegis of Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) have raised concern over the under-utilisation of the nation's four refineries which has resulted in importation of larger percentage of products consumed locally over the years.
It, however, tasked the Federal Government to hasten the process of its intending emergency in the energy sector in other to find a lasting solution to the menace, which it claimed caused high cost of petroleum products in Nigeria.
National President of the association, Mr. Tunde Runsewe, who made the call at the meeting of the downstream operators in Lagos recently, said, "the high cost of crude oil (at about $80 per barrel) at the international market made it impossible for importation to match recommended selling price and the existing business parameters in the downstream sector within the country."
He claimed that the Federal Government's Petroleum Support Fund (PSF) initiative had refused to provide an answer due to paucity of fund to meet the short fall in the PSF reimbursement.
According to Runsewe, the source of supply of petroleum products mainly white products into the Nigerian market had been through importation and was mainly as a result of the poor performing stage of our refineries.
He said, "despite Nigeria's top rank as the sixth largest producer of crude oil, we cannot talk of exporting of refined petroleum product when the local demand had not been met. And it is disgusting that with four refineries of installed capacity to refine 455,000 pbd, the government managed refineries has failed to provide the answer to ever increasing local consumption not to talk of exportation which resulted in dependence on importation."
The optimum refining capacity ever achieved by the four refineries is recorded at 360,000 bpd.
Citing the case of Algeria and Egypt, Runsewe said IPMAN don't see reason why Algeria with four functional refineries of about 450,000 bpd and Egypt with nine refineries can be in business and Nigeria being giant of Africa cannot operate successful refineries for a decade.
"The billions of dollars we expend on petroleum product subsidy for the past years can build refineries. It takes only three years to build a new refinery while Nigeria cannot find solution to the decayed Nigerian refineries for over ten years."
He, however, lauded the Federal Government for the reversal of the sale of some refineries to "core investors"
With all major stakeholders as owners of the refineries, the problem of pricing will be a thing of the past as all cost indices will be tabled, analysed to arrive at undisputed prices while nobody can monopolise the system under the name of deregulation.
With the present government of Yar' Adua that believes in rule of law and operational due process, the operators in the downstream can go to sleep with their two eyes firmly closed.
We have tasted the last four months and we have seen that the future is very bright. The non inclusion of IPMAN representative in Energy Council and Oil and Gas Committee recently inaugurated to find lasting solution to Energy Crisis is a minus on the part of the government.
Nigeria Accuses Eastern Europe over Arms in Niger Delta
From Damilola Oyedele in Abuja, 10.12.2007
The Federal Government has traced the proliferation of illegal arms in the troubled Niger Delta to some countries in the Eastern bloc.
This, according to government, has made security control and conflict resolution in the area a lot more challenging.
The problem in the oil rich Niger Delta has become more intractable with the advent of militant groups taking foreign nationals working in the area hostage every now and then.
And allegations abound that militant groups, usually armed with sophisticated weapons, are being supplied arms by some foreign countries.
The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bagudu Hirse, made the accusation in a press release made available to THISDAY yesterday in Abuja.
He specifically fingered countries in the eastern bloc behind the arms deal in the Niger Delta.
Some of the countries in the Eastern bloc particularly Russia played active role in the proliferation of arms across the African continent in the days of the cold war.
According to the release, Hirse was speaking at the 10th Anniversary of the Mine Ban Conventions which recently ended in Oslo, Norway.
The minister urged the meeting to examine the destructive effects of illicit trade in small arms and light weapons on the social and economic aspirations globally, especially in the developing countries.
He implored the meeting to rise up to curb the illegal arms trade in order to advance developmental objectives of developing countries.
Hirse observed that the Anti-Personnel Mines Treaty which came into force in 1999 had yielded significant dividends as Nigeria destroyed a total of 3,364 anti-personnel mines that were retained strictly for military training purposes, between November 2004 and February 2005.
The Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and their destruction is an international agreement that seeks to ban the use, development production, stockpiling and transfer of anti-personnel mines by member-states.
Negotiated under the Ottawa process, the convention came into force on 1st March 1999.
It was established as a result of the enormous humanitarian consequences associated with the use of those weapons, the agreement was signed by a total of 133 states while 153 others, including Nigeria, have formally agreed to conform to the dictates of the convention.
Nigeria eyes 500,000 bpd rise in oil output by July 2008
...as Shell lifts force majeure on Forcados oil field
By Sulaimon Salau
NIGERIA'S oil output may rise by 500,000 barrels a day by July 2008 if security in the Niger Delta continues to improve and a new offshore field starts as scheduled.
The anticipated recovery in oil supply follows almost two years of declining or stagnant exports due to militant attacks that halts oil production from the oil-rich Niger Delta region since February 2006.
Workers are slowly returning to the Forcados and EA oilfields and Shell, one of the most affected multinationals has already restored about 65,000 barrels per day (bpd) of the 477,000 bpd output lost in the region.
Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) on Monday confirmed that it has lifted a month-long force majeure on its Forcados oil terminal in Nigeria, signalling the company is set to begin pumping more oil from the area as violence in the region abates.
Shell spokeswoman, Eurwen Thomas, who confirmed this to an agency said, "The force majeure was lifted last week." She added that the company's force majeure, which indemnifies Shell from litigation if it fails to meet its contractual obligations, was still in place at its EA oil field.
The Forcados platform operated at a capacity of 380,000 barrels a day, prior to militant attacks that shut the terminal in February 2006. Shell, according to another senior official, hopes to see another 270,000 bpd from Forcados and EA by July next year.
"That will be possible if the security environment is stable," the source said.
Besides, Chevron on its part plans to add another 230,000 bpd by June through its Agbami new offshore oil field.
Nigeria pumped a total of 2.16 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil in September, down from 2.46 million at the end of 2005 before the latest phase of disruption began, according to the Reuters monthly OPEC output survey.
If things go to plan, crude supply could reach 2.66 million bpd by the start of the third quarter.
In the draft budget for 2008, the government has used an average oil production of 2.44 million bpd for the year.
For the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the recovery should provide a windfall for the treasury, but will also present a challenge to OPEC, which has set a 2.16 million bpd supply limit for Nigeria from November.
Security has improved in Nigeria's southern oil producing region since the inauguration of President Umaru Yar'Adua in May, when militant groups began a ceasefire to allow for talks with the new government.
However, the prominent armed group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), has threatened to call off the truce over the arrest of one of its leaders last month.
Gunmen killed a Colombian contractor and kidnapped two other foreigners from an industry yard in Port Harcourt after the threat last month.
But violence in the region, where most of Shell's closed oilfields are located, has dropped sharply.
From 65,000 bpd presently, Shell is expected to raise its supply to the Forcados export terminal in Delta State by about 90,000 bpd in December and another 70,000 bpd in July, the senior industry source said.
The company has also begun daily helicopter flights to its 115,000 bpd EA field off the coast of neighbouring Bayelsa State, and this is now expected to return by mid-year, he added.
Sources revealed that Agbami's huge floating production facility left South Korea last week and is due to arrive off the Nigerian coast by December, hoping for a start-up in June.
Nigerian exports will jump again in December 2008 with first oil from Total's 180,000 bpd Akpo field, although this light-density condensate does not count towards Nigeria's crude oil supply limit under OPEC rules.
According to industry sources, expected new oil, NGL and condensate fields in the country by next year is put as: Shell forcados new oil expected by December 2007 is billed to produce 90,000 bpd; Chevron's Agbami, June 2008 to produce 230,000 bpd; Shell Forcados, July 2008, 70,000 bpd; Shell EA, July 2008, 115,000 bpd and Total's Akpo field expected new oil by December 2008 at 180,000 bpd capacity.
Chevron's Human Rights Problems Span Three Continents, According to The Coalition to Defend the Amazon
Oil Giant Under Fire in Burma, Nigeria and Ecuador for Rights Abuses and Environmental Neglect Still No Defined Human Rights Policy Despite Shareholder Pressure
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- The Coalition to Defend the Amazon issued the following statement: Repression in Burma, an environmental disaster in Ecuador's rainforest, and a federal judge's decision last month to force Chevron to stand trial in the U.S. for the massacre of Nigerian villagers highlight the oil giant's growing human rights liabilities around the world.
In Burma, the company's ties to the military junta carrying out a brutal crackdown against peaceful street protests has brought international scorn. As a result of its recent take-over of Unocal, Chevron now owns the Yadana gas operation in Burma. Yadana is allowed to operate by a loophole in existing U.S. sanctions against the country, and has provided significant revenues to Burma's military regime.
Chevron's human rights liabilities are both financial but also to an even larger degree reputational, as Chevron is now the target of multiple grass roots campaigns asking it to withdraw from Burma, say experts in corporate governance.
Simon Billenness, Co-Chair of the US Campaign for Burma, said: "Having a positive brand image is vital for oil companies when searching for supplies in a tightening global market where average citizens have a greater say in investment policies. Chevron's deteriorating human rights image can easily put it at a competitive disadvantage."
In Ecuadorian courts, Chevron (formerly Texaco) is accused of intentionally dumping 18 billon gallons of toxic waste into the Amazon rainforest during the 28 years (1964 to 1992) it operated an oil concession there. Thousands of people are considered at risk of developing cancer, and four indigenous groups report they are on the verge of extinction in areas of the rainforest where Chevron operated.
A decision in the case is expected in 2008. Representatives of the tens of thousands of plaintiffs in the class action say they are seeking more than $10 billion in damages.
Chevron also faces a trial in U.S. federal court in San Francisco on charges it paid Nigerian military and police personnel to fire weapons at villagers staging a protest at a Chevron oil platform in 1998, killing two. Nigerian villagers also charge the company with being complicit in an attack on two villages that left four others dead.
Unlike most oil companies, Chevron operates without an official human rights policy. A shareholder resolution calling for such a policy has been filed with the company for the last two years, but management has rejected it each time.
"By failing to develop an effective global human rights policy, Chevron is lagging behind most other large oil companies. Given the company's burgeoning human rights problems this might be a calculated effort to avoid being held to account," said Kevin Koenig, of environmental group Amazon Watch.
"It is astounding that the company has let the trials in Ecuador and Nigeria get as far as they have," added Koenig. "These are case studies in how not to handle human rights and environmental lawsuits. They represent a red alert to shareholders, of gross company mismanagement and the failure of basic corporate governance."
Marco Simons, of legal non-profit Earthrights International, which recently won human rights settlement from Unocal regarding its Burmese operations, said: "Chevron's controversial stake in Burmais symptomatic of a general disregard for human rights around the globe. What were once minor distractions for the company in countries such as Ecuador, Nigeria, and now Burma, have evolved into sizable legal and public relations problems for Chevron that could start to affect the bottom line in multiple ways. While Chevron invests millions avoiding responsibility, people on the ground continue to suffer."
The Coalition to Defend the Amazon
Copyright © 2007, PRNewswire
Copyright © 2007, InterestAlert
Nigeria Makes 100bn-Barrel Oil Discoveries Since 1956
By Chika Amanze-Nwachuku, 10.09.2007
Nigeria, the largest oil producer in Africa and 11th largest producer in the world, has made not less than 100 billion oil discoveries since 1956 when oil was first discovered at Oloibiri in Bayelsa State by Shell-BP.
Based on the discoveries, it is estimated that the country ought to have realised about $600 billion from oil and gas so far.
President of the Nigeria Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE), Dr. Emmanuel Enu, who made the disclosure at a press briefing yesterday to announce the association’s forthcoming pre-conference workshop, noted that for Nigeria to achieve its aspiration of attaining 40 billion barrels (bbls) reserves of crude oil and four million barrels per day production capacity by 2010, more oil discoveries have to be made and production capacity improved.
He stated that Niger Delta is the mainstay of the Nigerian economy and that for oil exploration to go on undisrupted, security of the multinational companies and people involved in the exploration activities must be guaranteed.
The NAPE boss, who did not rule out the possibility of the Federal Government achieving this aspiration, however, noted that a country can achieve more or less than its set target depending on certain factors such as the security situation and geological environment.
“We have explored about 100 billion barrels of oil since 1956 when oil was first discovered in Oloibiri, in Niger Delta. Nigeria’s target of 40 billion barrels of crude oil reserve by 2010 and to move from two billion barrels per day production to four billion is an aspiration. It is one thing to aspire and yet another thing to achieve it.
“But one good thing about aspiration is that you will work hard to get there. You may not get the exact target, but somewhere near. You may even get more than the target,” he said.
According to him, “NAPE is in charge of exploration activities in Nigeria. The explorationists will have to work hard to ensure this target is met. It is possible, that was why oil blocks were awarded. Just allow the companies to do their drilling, we may get there.”
While noting that the Federal Government is working hard to restore law and order in the region of Niger Delta by pledging to address the genuine demands by the people of the region, Enu said empowering the youths and getting involved in gainful employment will help in addressing the problem.
“Niger Delta is the mainstay of the Nigerian economy. If people are not allowed to carry on with their activities, it will affect the economy.
But I would not say that the problem has defied solutions, but just that it has been on for a long time.
“The government has taken step to restore peace by involving the Joint Task Force and the genuine demands will be met,” he said.
Also speaking, the President-elect of NAPE, Dr. Kingsley Ojoh, noted that for the nation’s oil reserve to increase, oil discoveries have to be a continuous thing.
“Nigeria is among the few regions where oil discoveries are still being made. If we don’t continue to find more, we will run out of oil. So we have to continue finding oil in order to increase our reserve” he said.
This year’s NAPE’s pre-conference workshop is themed “Security Challenges in the Niger Delta.”
A stakeholders’ workshop, according to Enu, was chosen to deliver to the government and all stakeholders, a deep and incisive articulation of the security challenges in the Niger Delta and to propose practical means of resolving the problem.
The association, which comprises top management staff of oil producing companies in the country, mid-wifed the recent technology used in finding more oil and gas in Nigeria.
Following the discovery of oil in 1956, Nigeria joined the ranks of producers in 1958 when its first oil field came on stream producing 5,100 barrels per day (bpd).
Aside the over $600 billion said to have been realised from oil since the discovery was made, the country has about 36 billion barrels of crude oil reserve and 19.2 billion cubic meters of natural gas. There are also large deposits of tins, gold, talc, gemstone, kaolin, iron, bentonite and barite.
Crude Oil Production to Increase by 500,000 bpd in 2008
By Fidelia Okwuonu with agency report, 10.05.2007
Following almost two years of declining exports due to militant activities, industry insiders yesterday said Nigeria's crude oil output would increase by 500,000 barrels per day in 2008.
Reports showed that workers are slowly returning to the forcados and EA oil fields which were closed by attacks, while Shell has already restored about 65,000 bpd of the 477,000 bpd output lost in the western Niger Delta, implying that the country hopes to see another 270,000 bpd from Forcados and EA.
"Although, the increase would depend on whether the environment is stable and if the Agbami field starts up as scheduled," reports said.
Chevron's Agbami FPSO hull, a new offshore oilfield, with processing capability of 250,000 barrels per day of oil and storage capacity of 2.15 million barrels of oil, is expected to begin production in June, 2008.
According to monthly Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) output survey, Nigeria pumped a total of 2.16 million bpd in September, down from 2.46 million bpd at the end of 2005, before the latest phase of disruption began. If things go as planned, crude supply could reach 2.66 million bpd by the start of the third quarter.
In the draft budget for 2008, government used an average oil production of 2.44 million bpd for the year. The recovery, reports said, should provide a windfall for the treasury, but will also present a challenge to OPEC, which has set a 2.16 million bpd supply limit for Nigeria from November, and Western companies producing Nigerian oil will face much tougher restrictions if government decides to comply with its quota.
Another downside risk for production would be any government enforcement of a January 2008 deadline to eliminate gas-flaring
U.S. opens Africa Command HQ in Germany
By DAVID RISING, Associated Press Writer
BERLIN - The U.S military's contentious new command covering Africa began operating on Monday from a base in Germany, and will be gradually brought to full capacity over the next year, a military spokesman said.
But several African leaders have expressed doubt about the command's necessity, saying they want to avoid foreign troops on their soil.
The U.S. Africa Command headquarters, known as Africom, is being created to help African security forces tackle regional crises and terrorist threats - a nod to the continent's increasing strategic importance.
The command begins with a staff of 120 under Gen. William E. "Kip" Ward and will increase to about 800 over the next year, said Air Force Maj. John Dorrian, a spokesman for U.S. European Command in Stuttgart.
It will initially operate from the U.S. Kelley Barracks in Stuttgart, but diplomatic efforts are still under way to find a permanent location in Africa, Dorrian said.
"No final decisions have been made about the final location of the headquarters," he said.
Liberia is the only country to publicly offer to host the command, though U.S. officials say other nations have made private offers.
Still, the plans have met with sharp resistance from many other African nations, most recently Nigeria, which angled to block the headquarters from being established in the Gulf of Guinea region.
"The Africom initiative has raised a lot of interest and attracted a lot of attention because ... Africa has to avoid the presence of foreign forces on her soil," South African Defense Minister Mosiuoa Lekota said in August.
Last month, however, senior Pentagon official Ryan Henry denied the new command represented a "militarization" of U.S. relations with Africa. "This represents no change in policy," Henry insisted. "There are a lot of myths and rumors out there."
Under the U.S. military's system of regional headquarters, responsibility for Africa has been split between the Pacific Command, Central Command, and European Command.
Over the next year programs currently overseen by those commands - like joint training exercises and humanitarian operations - will be taken over by Africom, Dorrian said.
The U.S. plan foresees a small headquarters, and five regional teams spread around the continent. The Pentagon has emphasized it is not building new bases.
"Plans call for the footprint of U.S. forces to be small," Dorrian said.
Africom is a so-called "unified combatant command" that will be made up of all branches of the military, as well as civilians from not only the Defense and State Departments, but also the Agriculture, Treasury and Commerce Departments, as well as USAID.
US Military Base: Nigeria Begins Diplomatic Inquiries
From Juliana Taiwo in Abuja with agency reports, 10.02.2007
There are strong indications that the Federal Government may have commenced high level investigations into the existence of a United States military base for Africa in far away Stuttgart, Germany.
The military base christened Africom, will mark a significant re-ordering of the US military, and an increased interest that can be explained in three words - oil, terrorism and instability.
Presently, the US gets about 10 percent of its oil from Africa and added that the Pentagon was being careful to stress the aim of the new command.
Further investigations revealed that over one-third of approximately 500 staff of Africom will be diplomats and aid specialists rather than uniformed military, the Nigerian government is said to be “very uncomfortable with the move”.
“The Nigerian government is not taking the issue lightly at all and the government is seeking diplomatic solutions to the development. The whole thing about this Africa Command by the US is all borne out of their interests in the oil rich Gulf of Guinea, which they have all been angling to take over. The Nigerian government would not fold its arms to allow the US government re-colonise it,” one of the sources said.
The source revealed that the meeting by top Nigerian Defence official at thePentagon, a few days ago did not in any way affect the US decisions on the establishment of the base in Germany.
Explaining the choice of Germany by the US, one of the sources saidStuttgart houses the former Air Force base, which served as the facility where over 400,000 US soldiers who fought the Second World War withdrawn between 1948 – 1992 were kept.
The source stated further that those facilities are still being maintained by US and NATO till date. “It is cheaper for them because it has all the communication gadgets you can think of”.
On the implication, he said, “we will be at their mercy. They will guide our gates where the crude goes through, number of crude as well as help arrest the criminals if possible.
“Nigeria cannot do anything because she is behind. We are not committed to what they want. They will use it (Africom) to muscle us up. Libya is the only African country that has the money to put up the kind of facility the US wants but she has no strategic interest in Gulf of Guinea. Her interest is in Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia. The Gulf of Guinea has no economic interest to Libya because if she gets oil from Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia, which is not far from her, it can send it through the Mediterranean Sea. “The implication is that we’ll be at their mercy, they will guide the gate, number of crude as well as help arrest the criminals if possible. The more we delay the more they move faster, the oil companies are even happier with this new development”, the source disclosed.
The establishment is coming on the heels of displeasure by some African leaders over the US’s decision to go ahead with the establishment after they have registered their misgivings over the moves.
THISDAY had recently reported that the US had concluded plans to establish a military base in Africa with the intent of protecting the oil rich Gulf of Guinea and also to forestall the economic incursion of China intoAfrica, especially Nigeria.
One of the sources had told THISDAY recently that the Nigerian government was too late in stopping the US moves and Pentagon had already concluded plans to launch the base.
“The US has completed all the ground work and have move into the offshore of Sao Tome and Principe, Angola and Guinea to secure positions for their submarines and other security facilities. Nigeria is the only country that has the minimum requirement and the financial capacity to provide those facilities because the other African countries cannot afford to put down even one per cent of what is required.
“It is a challenge for President Musa Yar’Adua to quickly work within his own defence structure and provide the needed funds if government really want to stop the US establishing military base in the sub-region”, the source had warned.
A delegation of the government of Equatorial Guinea had visited Nigeria in August where they signed a memorandum of understanding with the Nigerian Navy in the area of security, training and equipment.
Media Advisory - America's top oil suppliers to slash exports by 2012: CIBC World Markets
Global supply gap, surging prices will shift attention to oil deposits north of border
NEW YORK, Sept. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - CIBC - Six of the largest oil suppliers to the U.S. are poised to significantly cut exports by 2012, ramping up pressure on supply and price, and intensifying the focus on one of the last great deposits open to private investment: Canada's oil sands.
The forecasted cuts by Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Nigeria, Algeria and Russia are the subject of a keynote address that Jeff Rubin, chief market strategist and chief economist at CIBC World Markets will deliver at the firm's Industrial Conference Oct. 2 in New York City. In his remarks, Mr. Rubin will share his latest research on the global oil supply/demand balance, with specific focus on the size and scope of the oil supply crunch facing the U.S. over the next five years.
Mr. Rubin's calls on oil prices, currency valuations and carbon taxes have garnered international headlines and have been instrumental in bringing key economic issues to the spotlight. Earlier this year, he predicted that oil prices would reach US$80 and that the U.S. and Canadian dollars would reach parity in 2007. He has also renewed a call made in 2005 that oil would reach US$100 a barrel by the end of next year.
In recent reports and at a major oil and gas conference in Ireland this month, Mr. Rubin explained that surging domestic demand is eating into the export capacity of the world's leading oil-producing nations. With production likely to plateau or decline in these countries, he expects global oil exports to fall by seven per cent, or 2.5 million barrels a day by 2010. Mr. Rubin's keynote address Oct. 2 will explore the U.S. ramifications as its major oil suppliers (excluding Canada) will soon be unable able to meet current demand.
Mr. Rubin says diminished supplies and higher prices will lead the markets to rely more on higher cost unconventional deposits, like the Canadian oil sands which he believes will surpass deep water wells as the single largest source of new oil exports by decade end.
Media Attendance
Attendance at the conference is by invitation only. Media wishing to attend are required to register in advance by calling Tom Wallis at 416-980-4048.
About the 2nd Annual CIBC World Markets Industrials Conference
An impressive gathering of leaders from more than 50 public and private companies are also scheduled speak at the investor conference. Attending firms span a range of industrial sectors, namely: aerospace, defense, industrial services, chemicals, building products, steel, industrial multi-industry and industrial diversified.
For more information including a listing of participating companies, go to: http://conferences.cibcwm.com/Industrials07/. An audio web cast of the conference will be available online (enter code: industrials2007). The list of companies presenting is subject to change. The Industrials Conference is organized by CIBC World Markets Institutional Equities.
CIBC World Markets is the wholesale and corporate banking arm of CIBC, providing a range integrated credit and capital markets products, investment banking, and merchant banking to clients in key financial markets in North America and around the world. We provide innovative capital solutions and advisory expertise across a wide range of industries as well as top-ranked research for our corporate, government and institutional clients.
CIBC World Markets
Got Another Partial Fill & They Left The Rest Open, Changing The Expiration Date To Tomorrow. Can't complain about that.
Can Anyone Tell What Me Happens At The End Of The Day If Your Stock Order Is Only Partially Filled? Will I be charged the full Commission Fee? And have to put in a new order tomorrow? (With Ameritrade)
Addax Acquires ExxonMibil’s 40% Stake in JDZ Block
By Chika Amanze-Nwachuku with agency report, 09.26.2007
Swiss firm Addax Petroleum has offered to buy ExxonMobil's 40 percent interest in oil block 1 of the Nigeria-Sao Tome Joint Development Zone (JDZ) in the Gulf of Guinea.
Making the announcement yesterday, the company said it would pay $77.6 million (N10bn) and 2.0 percent of its share of profit oil from Block 1 for ExxonMobil's interest.
Block 1, located about 300 kilometers offshore Nigeria, was awarded during the 2003 licensing round conducted by the Joint Development Authority (JDA) with another US oil major, Chevron as the operator with a 51 percent working interest.
The other partner is Dangote Energy Equity Resources Limited (a Joint Venture between the Dangote Group of Nigeria and Energy Equity Resources AS of Norway), with nine percent equity.
The block, which cost the partners $123 million, is estimated to hold up to a billion barrels of oil and gas reserves. Already, Chevron has drilled the Obo-1 well in Block 01, with considerable success.
The purchase of ExxonMobil's interest in Block 01, adds to Addax’s existing interests in blocks 2, 3 and 4 (were indigenous producer Conoil also has 20percent) in the JDZ.
The Swiss company has a 14.3percent interest in Block 2, a 15percent interest in Block 3. It is also the operator of Block 4 with a 38.3percent interest.
It would be recalled that Addax Petroleum recently increased its Gabon production by over 30,000 barrels per day, one year after the acquisition of the operations of Pan ocean Energy Corporation limited. The company had also in January announces a 45 percent increase in its gross working interest proved plus probable reserves.
Navy destroyer makes historic African visits
Trip intended to help improve military stability in vulnerable nations
By Sandra Jontz, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Tuesday, September 18, 2007
A U.S. Navy ship pulled into Tanzania this month for the first time in 40 years as the 6th Fleet continues its push for maritime security in and around African nations.
The guided missile destroyer USS Forrest Sherman called on Dar es Salaam on Sept. 5 before sailing south to make another notable port visit to Moroni, Comoros, a week later, according to recent Navy press releases.
“Peaceful, secure and prosperous seas are in everyone’s best interest,” said Capt. Nicholas Holman, addressing a group of diplomats and Tanzanian government and military officials, a release stated. “We look forward to building a strong partnership with Tanzania and working together to achieve this very important goal.”
A few years ago, Naval Forces Europe/6th Fleet began a maritime security push to enhance a naval presence in African waters to the south of Europe and the Black and Caspian seas to the east.
The aim is that those nations’ militaries establish stability on their own for their respective nations, which in turn would breed stability throughout the world. If vulnerable nations can protect themselves, Navy leaders have said, the United States won’t have to.
The visit to Comoros, a nation of three islands in the Mozambique Channel between Madagascar and the east coast of Africa, marked the first time a U.S. Navy ship visited in more than 30 years.
“We look forward to partnering with Comoros and other countries in Southeast Africa to combat maritime security threats like piracy, unlawful fishing and smuggling,” Holman said in a release.
Holman is commander of U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa’s newly established Southeast Africa Task Group CTG 60.5.
During the Tanzania visit, Forrest Sherman sailors worked with Tanzanian military personnel aboard the ship and at the country’s Maritime Institute, sharing techniques for ship damage control, force protection and basic first aid.
“We’re interacting and they’re asking a lot of questions,” said Petty Officer 3rd Class Jenny Staggs, a hospital corpsman, who showed Tanzanian sailors how to treat a sucking chest wound and compound fractures. “It’s going well.”
The Forrest Sherman and its crew of more than 320 sailors left its homeport of Norfolk, Va., on July 9, and operated in the Black Sea before sailing to Tanzania.
United States supports economy of Sao Tome and Principe [ 2007-09-17 ]
Sao Tome, Sao Tome and Principe, 17 Sept – The United States government has provided US$8.6 million to Sao Tome and Principe to improve the archipelago’s economic indictors, the Sao Tome Minister for Planning and Finance said Friday in Sao Tome.
Maria Tébus told journalists that the decision taken Wednesday in Washington by the board of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), aimed to help introduce fiscal and customs reforms in Sao Tome and Principe for the country to benefit, within two years, from the Millennium Compact program (a specific financing program for the country selected by the MCC).
The minister said that, under the guidance of the US authorities, the fund would be applied to increasing customs revenues by applying a program of incentives to the customs administration and taxation directorate.
The program is also aimed at restructuring some judicial sectors in order to reduce costs and time for creation of a company, to encourage foreign investment in Sao Tome and Principe, she said.
The minister added that the US treasury department would be responsible for implementing the Millennium program for Sao Tome and Principe, while on the Sao Tome side it would be the Ministry for Planning and Finance.
The MCC is a body of the United States government aimed at supporting some poor countries, based on pre-set criteria and with a view to sustainable development through investments in education, health, infrastructures, industry, agriculture and fishing. (macauhub)
Kidnapped Shell Staff’s Daughter Released
From Ahamefula Ogbu in Port Harcourt, 09.17.2007
The two and half-year-old girl, Miss Nuselba Usman, kidnapped by armed robbers who stormed her residence at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corpora-tion (NNPC) quarters, at Apajo where his father, Anibasa Usman, a Shell Petroleum Develop-ment Corporation worker lives hasbeen released.
According to the Public Relations Officer of the Joint Task Force (JTF), Major Musa Sagir, the girl was released to the State Security Services (SSS) at about 11.30 p.m. weekend, and re-united with her parents at the early hours of today.
Musa said no ransom was paid for the release of the girl who was in good health and has been handed over to the parents who have expressed appreciation to the security services.
for the prompt release.
The girl was kidnapped by the armed robbers who had after serially raiding the estate where NNPC workers live, proceeded to the area occupied by SPDC staff and when Usman was convinced that the robbers were coming for him, he bolted leaving the wife and his baby.
Gulf of Guinea: Nigeria Soft-pedals on US Military
From Juliana Taiwo in Abuja, 09.17.2007
A senior government official has given reasons why the Federal Government may soft-pedal on its moves to frustrate the plan by the United States to establish a military base in the Gulf of Guinea.
THISDAY had reported last week moves by the Nigerian government to checkmate the military adventure of the United States in the oil-rich region.
But the official told THISDAY yesterday in reaction to the story that Nigeria cannot ward off the US because Nigeria “has not shown enough commitment in securing the region”.
He disclosed that Nigeria government was expected to have invested $1 billion from excess crude account into the coastal security and safety arrangement in the last two years but had failed.
“The point is this, the former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, had seen the wisdom as a former military head of state to secure the area and immediately ordered strategic surveillance of the costal zone and the Niger Delta.
“But the Nigerian officials were not comfortable with the way he was going about it because it was supposed to be subjected to debate at the floor of the National Assembly. And Obasanjo knowing that anything on national defence and security issues cannot be subjected to debate went ahead to mobilise the Navy and the Air Force for what the US called minimum security requirement for that zone because oil is important to US,” he disclosed.
The senior government official said the US government expected Nigeria to have minimum-security provisions but unfortunately in the last four months the US department discovered that the process was suddenly slowing down and the new government may not go at the speed it expected.
“The US government has completed all the ground work and has moved into the offshore of Sao Tome and Principe, Angola and Guinea to secure position for their submarines and other security facilities. Nigeria is the only country that has the minimum requirement and the financial capacity to provide those facilities (vessels for the Navy and satellite communication facilities amongst others for the Air Force) because these other African countries cannot afford to put down even one per cent of what is required.
“It is a challenge for the President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua to quickly work within his own defence structure and pump the money as well as continue with that his predecessor was doing if indeed it is serious about security that area though I really doubt if they can match the US now,” he said.
A senior military official had disclosed to THISDAY last week that the Federal Government had begun moves to frustrate the plan by the United States to establish a military base in the Gulf of Guinea.
Defence sources had further disclosed that the Federal Government was already discussing with heads of government of the African Union and leaders of the sub-regional body, the Economic Community of West African State, on how to block any move by US to establish a base in the gulf.
"Nigeria is not taking the issue lightly at all and the government is not going to allow the US establish any military base anywhere in the ECOWAS region. The interest of the US government in the Gulf of Guinea has reinforced the commitment of the government to intensify its efforts at providing the needed security in the sub-region," the source had said.
The gulf’s oil and gas deposit is put in the region of 10 billion barrels.
Japan supports Sao Tome and Principe’s food imports [ 2007-09-14 ]
Sao Tome, Sao Tome and Principe, 14 Sept – Japan has donated US$1.6 million to Sao Tome and Principe to support the archipelago in its imports, especially of food products, officials said in Sao Tome Thursday.
The donation from Japan is part of an agreement signed Tuesday between the Sao Tome government, represented by the minister for planning and finance, Maria Tebus, and a representative of the United Nations Development Program, which represents Japan in this donation process.
According to the document, the UNDP, which will be an intermediary in this process, will manage the fund according to the conditions imposed by the Japanese authorities and in line with the needs of the Sao Tome government.
Sources from the Ministry of Planning and Finance told Macauhub that the funding would be handed over to Sao Tome retailers in the form of repayable loans in order to boost imports of food products, which are considered of primary need to the country.
This is the second time Japan has provided a donation of this kind to Sao Tome and Principe, after a similar process in 1997.
The Sao Tome archipelago is currently undergoing a rice shortage, which is one of the staple foods in the Sao Tome diet.
As well as supporting the fishing sector by providing equipment, Japan has also provided food aid in the form of rice to Sao Tome and Principe in annual deliveries worth an estimated at some US$1.3 million. (macauhub)
Nigeria Moves to Halt US Military
From Juliana Taiwo in Abuja, 09.14.2007
Gulf of Guinea
The Federal Government has begun moves to frustrate the plan by the United States to establish a military base in the Gulf of Guinea.
The oil-rich gulf is bordered by Nigeria, Angola, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and Sao Tome and Principe
US has been desperately wooing some countries in the West Africa sub-region to allow her establish a military base to protect the strategic gulf for sometime now.
The move, according to US, is to protect the area from alleged external aggressions but with America now looking in the direction of Africa for her energy needs given the instability in the Middle-east, many analysts say the move is to protect her oil interests. .
Defence sources, however, told THISDAY last night in Abuja that the Federal Government was already discussing with heads of government of the African Union and leaders of the sub-regional body, the Economic Community of West African State, on how to block any move by US to establish a base in the gulf.
"Nigeria is not taking the issue lightly at all and the government is not going to allow the US establish any military base anywhere in the ECOWAS region. The interest of the US government in the Gulf of Guinea has reinforced the commitment of the government to intensify its efforts at providing the needed security in the sub-region," the source said.
It was learnt that the Federal Government was worried by the terror alert raised by the US authorities last week and saw it as a ploy to label Nigeria and countries in the sub region as unsafe in order to get the opportunity to create a military base in the region.
As a first step to checkmate that plan, the FG has vowed to frustrate the campaign by the US to establish a base in the gulf.
"The government of this country is not ready for any blackmail. What they cannot get through the back doors they want to get through blackmail. We are not going to succumb to that game,” the source said.
THISDAY also learnt that the Defence Headquarters has concluded plans to visit Pentagon, in Washington, to further discuss the issue with the US government.
"In a few weeks from now, some top military personnel will be in the US to present papers on the plans by the African Union to establish an African Command, which will be charged with the responsibility of providing the needed security in the continent.
"We really want to let the US and other countries of the world know that we are capable of protecting the resources within our continent. Nigeria is one country that will continue to move against any plans by the US government to establish a military base in our sub-region. We cannot afford to allow them do that, otherwise we will be finished as military,” he said.
Last month, a delegation of the Government of Equatorial Guinea had visited Nigeria and signed a memorandum of understanding with the Nigerian Navy in the area of security, training and equipment.
Currently, US has some presence in the Gulf of Guinea and its forces have been engaging in frequent patrol of the gulf.
However, US interest in the gulf has been increasing amid rising oil exploration in the region.
It was being alleged that West African Navy fleet lacks the capacity to protect oil platforms in the gulf.
As far back as June last year, US explained that its presence in the Gulf of Guinea was aimed at protecting an area regarded as one of the richest sources of hydrocarbons in the world from international criminals.
"We hear a series of stories for our presence in the Gulf of Guinea, but I want to say that we are concerned for Nigeria and we want to help her protect the region from the hands of maritime criminals," said the Commander of US Naval Forces in Europe and Commander of the Allied Joint Force Command in Naples, Italy, Admiral Henry Ulrich.
"In all parts of the world, the US and any good nation want a safe coast for those countries who are supplying energy, and that is why we are often there. So there is nothing to fear for Nigeria," Ulrich said during a Seapower Africa Symposium in Abuja in June last year.
Ulrich had also disclosed that the US planned to increase its naval presence in the Gulf of Guinea in order to ensure maritime safety in the region.
US Naval official said it was necessary to secure the area from international criminals, including terrorists, sea pirates and smugglers.
The gulf’s oil and gas deposit is put in the region of 10 billion barrels.
Statistics show that as of 2004, Africa as a whole produced nearly nine million barrels of oil per day, with approximately 4.7 million barrels per day coming from West Africa.
Also, African oil production accounted for approximately 11 percent of the world’s oil supply, while the continent supplied approximately 18 per cent of the US net oil imports.
Both Nigeria and Angola were among the top 10 suppliers of oil to the US.
Crude Oil Price to Crash as OPEC Raises Output
•Nigeria’s output to increase by 40,000 b/d
From Chika Amanze-Nwachuku in Vienna, Austria, 09.12.2007
The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Coun-tries (OPEC) at its 145th meeting yesterday in Vienna, Austria, announced an increase in crude oil output by 500,000 barrels per day with effect from November 1, 2007.
The decision, which the Secretary-General of the cartel, Abdalla El Badri, said was a sign that OPEC “cares” about its customers, is expected to bring down the price of crude oil, although the organisation was not specific on what price range the cartel would consider “optimal”.
After OPEC's announcement, light, sweet crude for October delivery fell 25 cents to $77.24 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after earlier rising above $78. In London, October Brent crude gained 18 cents to $75.66 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
The expected fall in price may not affect Nigeria’s 2008 budget as it has already been benchmarked at $53.83 per barrel, although it may mean a significant reduction in the excess crude oil revenue and transfers to foreign reserves.
With the planned increase, OPEC’s total crude oil output will rise to over 27.2 million b/d. Nigeria's total output is expected to rise by eight per cent, which translates to 40,000 b/d.
OPEC supplies about 40 percent of world’s total crude oil needs.
El Badri, who briefed newsmen after the meeting yesterday, explained that the decision to increase output was as a result of a consensus reached by the member countries.
Nigeria’s production allocation before the rise in output stood at 2.3 million b/d, but the figures have remained unstable between 2.1mb/d and 2.2million b/d owing to the crisis in the Niger Delta which has often resulted in production shut-in.
The communique issued at the end of the conference observed that "the high demand winter season necessitates keeping the market adequately supplied.
“To this end, the conference decided to increase the volume of crude supplied to the market by OPEC Member Countries (excluding Angola and Iraq) by 500,000 b/d, effective 1 November 2007,” it said.
The conference also noted that ongoing “tightness” in the US products market continues to affect the level of product stocks and prices, and reaffirmed its long standing commitment to ensuring sound supply fundamentals at all times and to offering an adequate level of spare capacity for the world at large.
“The conference also recorded the readiness of member countries to swiftly respond to any developments which might jeopardise oil market stability and their interests. For this purpose, in addition to the organisation vigilantly monitoring supply/demand fundamentals, the conference agreed to reassess the market situation at its 146th (Extraordinary) Meeting, to be held in Abu Dhabi , UAE, on December 5, 2007.”
The conference also elected Dr. Chakib Khelil, Minister of Energy and Mines of Algeria and Head of its Delegation, as President of the Conference for one year, with effect from 1 January 2008, and Mr. Desidério da Graça Verissímo e Costa, Minister of Petroleum of Angola and Head of its Delegation, as Alternate President, for the same period.
It appointed Dr. Falah J. Alamri, Governor for Iraq , as Chairman of the Board of Governors for the year 2008, and, Ms. Siham A. Razzouqi, Governor for Kuwait , as Alternate Chairman for the same period, with effect from 1 January 2008.
The conference decided that its next Ordinary Meeting will convene in Vienna , Austria , on Wednesday, March 5, 2008.
Reviewing the current oil market conditions and prospects, members observed that the action taken by OPEC member countries to increase production over the preceding several years has led to a comfortable build-up in inventory levels, especially of crude.
El Badri however remarked that there was no particular price level where the organisation can say that it is comfortable, noting that “OPEC does not determine oil prices”.
On the plans by the US congress to outlaw OPEC, the Secretary-General said the bill had not been passed into law and declined comments on the ground that he would not like to speak on US internal affairs.
“We are concerned about security of supply; that is why we are investing about $140 billion on over 40 projects,” he said.
FG to Expedite Action on West African Gas Pipeline Project
From Juliana Taiwo in Abuja, 09.11.2007
President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua yesterday assured visiting Togolese President Faure Gnassingbe that his administration would expedite action on the West African Gas Pipeline Project and ensure its completion in the shortest possible time in order to solve the energy problems being experienced by Togo and other neighbouring countries.
He also assured that Nigeria would continue to play a leading role in promoting peace and political stability in the West African sub-region.
He gave the assurance while speaking at bilateral talks with a Togolese government delegation led by President Gnassingbe.
While responding to concerns raised by his Togolese counterpart, Yar’Adua assured that his administration would do everything within its powers to ensure that the relative peace now existing in the sub-region is maintained and built upon.
“We must not allow fresh disruptions of the peace in West Africa,” he said.
He also reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to the co-prosperity zone established with Togo and Benin Republic, adding that he expected the next summit of the group to, among other things, adopt a coordinated approach to curb the illegal traffic in small arms within the zone.
Speaking earlier, President Gnasssingbe thanked Yar’Adua for the warm and brotherly reception accorded his delegation, and spoke of his desire to build on the cordial relationship between Togo and Nigeria established under his father, the late Gnassingbe Eyadema.
He told President Yar’Adua that Togo expected the West African Gas Pipeline to boost its power supply and would welcome its early completion.
All Refineries Back By December, Says NNPC
•FG awards contract for repair of Chanomi pipeline
From Chika Amanze-Nwachuku in Vienna, Austria, 09.11.2007
The Federal Government has awarded a contract of $52 million for the repair of the Chanomi Creek Pipeline, the main feeder pipeline that supplies crude oil to Warri and Kaduna Refineries, which was blown up by Niger Delta militants in February last year.
Acting Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corpor-ation (NNPC), Engr. Abubakar Lawal Yar’Adua, said yesterday that all refineries would be back at near full capacity when the repair is concluded by December 2007.
He disclosed this to journalists after an introductory press briefing yesterday by the Minister of State for Petroleum, Mr. Odein Ajumogobia, at the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Secretariat in Vienna, Austria.
The acting GMD stated that the Port Harcourt, Kaduna and Warri Refinies were all technically sound, but the Warri and Kuaduna Refineries were operating below their installed capacities because of the vandalisation of the Chanomi Creek pipeline.
He said the contract for the repair of the pipeline had been awarded to company owned by an indigene of Niger Delta as part of the strategies put in place by the Federal Government to resolve the protracted crisis in the oil-rich region.
According to him, the initial value of the contract was about $100million, but after a renegotiation with the firm, the amount was brought down to $52 million.
He assured that as soon as the repair work was completed, the refineries would be restored to normal, adding that the contractor had the technical expertise to handle the project and would complete the repairs within four months.
The GMD regretted that the issue of shortage of gas had continued to be an impediment to power supply in the country notwithstanding the over N2 billion expended on the repair of gas supply pipelines.
He attributed the shortage of gas supply to Egbin power station by the Nigerian Gas Company (NGC) to the vandalism of the supply pipe by militants, explaining that after the initial repair work, five new vandalised points were discovered.
But President Umar Musa Yar’Adua, who has been informed about the development, has directed that those points be repaired immediately, he said.
“All the refineries are technically sound. The refineries are technically ready and in good shape. Port Harcourt is operating. Today it was operating at about 60 percent capacity, we are going back to 70 to 80 percent. The Kaduna refinery was operating at 85 per cent capacity. Warri was operating until the 18th February, 2006. That was when the crude oil pipeline was vandalised. I have just got approval for the project that will repair the pipeline.
“Immediately I get back to Nigeria now, we will sign the contract. The community, Niger Delta people, have assured us of access to the place, we have evaluated the contract, we have signed agreement with the community and we expect to finish this in four months. But I am putting pressure to see if we can reduce this to three months. We are looking at the possibility of bringing the refineries back on stream maybe before the end of December to see if we can give Nigerians a Christmas present.
“What I did when I took over was to give the indigenes of the community an opportunity. It is no more Wilbros or any other big firm. It is going to the indigenes of the place. That is my strategy for resolving the situation. The firm has the technical expertise. What they will do is cut the line and weld it back to standard, that is what is required. And yes we pre-qualified them. They have been working for Shell and Mobil. We got them from the oil industry. So it is not as if we picked a group without pedigree. The value of the contract was over $100 million but I have successfully negotiated it down, with the use of the indigenes to around $52 million.
“This issue of gas which has continued to bedevil the Nigerian power sector especially supply of gas from the NGC, as a subsidiary of the NNPC to the Egbin thermal power plant, the line was vandalised by the militants and we just repaired it and restored gas supply to Egbin. We achieved this a few days ago after spending more than N2 billion. Now we have found five new vandalised points. I then had to go back to the President and he has approved that the vandalised points should be repaired. So really, the gas is available but the line is being vandalised,” he said.
He assured that gas flaring would end by 2008, adding: “The economy is on gas now. There are even independent people who want to take gas, compress it into LPG or LNG, so definitely the flaring will reduce. Not only the major oil producers, even there are independent producers… even yesterday here, around 10 people have met me that they wanted to come and invest in compressing the gas. So flaring is going to reduce considerably.”
On the steps to stem vandalism, he said what “the oil industry has tried to do is sign a surveillance contract with the communities. But you can’t be sure, you know. Even among the communities, there are factions. As I said, you just pray it will not happen again, we are trying our best to be their friends, show them that they belong and get them involved in the industry. But to say you are sure, you are guaranteed, you can’t say that.”
Earlier, the minister had explained that the National Energy Council set up by the Federal Government would review all issues affecting the refineries as contained in the Oil and Gas Reform Implementation Committee (OGIC) report.
He said his priority for now was to fix the existing refineries, adding that the need to return the existing plants to their full capacity became necessary in order to meet domestic needs.
The minister said, however, that even if the refineries were restored to full capacity, they could not refine enough products to meet the domestic needs, even as he noted that the modalities for the building of the Greenfield refineries are still sketchy.
On production shut-ins as a result of militancy in the region, he said there was a net decrease in shut-ins as, according to him, between 40 and 50 million of the shut-in 700 million barrels per day have come back on stream.
The minister is the leader of Nigerian delegates to the 145th meeting of the OPEC, which comes up today in Vienna, Austria.
OPEC Seen Leaving Crude Production Alone
By WILLIAM J. KOLE
Associated Press Writer
OPEC is almost certain to maintain its current production target this week - but analysts say the cartel could be forced into action if rising crude oil prices start having a chilling effect on the global economy.
With the summer driving season over and demand for gasoline and diesel fuel slackening, the 12-nation Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is feeling little pressure to raise its official output quota of 25.8 million barrels a day when oil ministers meet Tuesday in Vienna.
OPEC Secretary-General Abdalla Salem El-Badri and at least two cartel members, Iran and Libya, have said they believe there is plenty of oil to meet world demand and no compelling reason to boost production.
All that could change - and quickly - if markets clamor for more crude and prices already hovering near $75 a barrel edge much higher.
'OPEC faces a real dilemma,' said John Kingston, global director of oil at Platts, the energy research arm of McGraw-Hill Cos.
Kingston said the cartel, which produces about 40 percent of the world's crude oil, must balance projections of a tight market in the next few months against concerns about the crisis in the U.S. subprime mortgage industry and worries 'that a significant slowdown in demand could be around the corner.'
Subprime mortgage lenders have cut loans to prospective U.S. home buyers, feeding a housing slump that has stoked fears among energy investors of a wider economic slowdown and reduced demand for oil and gasoline.
The Paris-based International Energy Agency has urged the group to raise crude output, arguing that global demand is likely to outstrip supply with the approach of winter in the Northern Hemisphere.
OPEC already is quietly pumping over its official output target, Platts said in a survey released Friday.
Production by the 10 cartel members that adhere to the quota 'has been steadily creeping up over the summer' and is now about 1 million barrels a day over, it said.
Other estimates suggest the 10, which exclude Angola and Iraq, are pumping closer to 30.3 million barrels a day.
'It doesn't seem there would be any need for a hike in OPEC oil supply,' said Hojjatolah Ghanimifard, director of international affairs at Iran's state-run National Iranian Oil Co.
Analysts said an increase could come before the next OPEC meeting Dec. 5 in the United Arab Emirates if crude prices move closer to $80 a barrel, winter comes cold and early, or a hurricane knocks out a key refinery in the Gulf of Mexico.
Crude hit a record $78.77 a barrel in early August on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Many market-watchers see $80 as the new threshold.
'$80 is the mark they'll be looking at,' said Eshan Ul-Haq, chief analyst at PVM Oil Associates in Vienna.
John Hall, of London-based John Hall Associates, said he thinks prices are $15 higher than they ought to be. OPEC, he contends, is being 'a little bit greedy.'
The 12 OPEC members are Algeria, Angola, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Venezuela.
2nd conference on deep water surveying and production held in Luanda [ 2007-09-07 ]
Luanda, Angola, 7 Sept – The second conference and regional exposition on surveying and production in the deep waters off the West African coast, is scheduled for October 2 to 6 in Luanda, in the Talatona Convention Center.
According to a statement from the event's organizers, cited by Angolan news agency Angop, Angola will open its doors to the international oil industry and demonstrate its leadership capacities in Africa, as well as the success it ahs achieved in this area.
The conference will be promoted by Sonangol and the Oil Ministry. (macauhub)
T.T.9042 Careful What You Wish For.
African financial institution grants Sao Tome and Principe US$1 million [ 2007-08-31 ]
Sao Tome, Sao Tome and Principe, 31 Aug – The African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF), an African sub-regional financial institution, has provide US$1 million to Sao Tome and Principe to carry out studies on the archipelago’s economy, the Sao Tome Economy minister said Wednesday.
Maria Tébus told journalists that the financial aid from the ACBF was essentially needed to continue the work of the Sao Tome and Principe Center for Research and Political Analysis for Development(CIAPD).
Amongst other responsibilities, the CIAPD aims to provide Sao Tome staff with skills in managing and analyzing economic policies in order to support decision-makers as part of the archipelago’s good governance process, she added.
“The center will go into operation to support the government in the area of economic and financial research,” said Tebus, who is also Sao Tome’s deputy prime minister.
The financial support from the ACBF for a four-year period, follows another US$1 million provided just over two years ago, which was invested in the education and health sectors as part of the program to combat poverty.
The African Capacity Building Foundation, which is based in Harare, Zimbabwe, was set up in 1991 based on a multi-institutional agreement involving several African countries and bilateral donors such as the African Development Bank and the World Bank. (macauhub)
Chinese companies invest US$480 million in Africa in first half [ 2007-08-29 ]
Beijing, China, 29 Aug – Direct investment by Chinese companies in Africa totaled US$480 million in the first half, the deputy trade minister, Wei Jianguo said Tuesday in Beijing.
The figure for the first half of 2007, exceeded that of 2006, a year in which Chinese companies invested US$370 million in Africa.
According to the ministry, trade between China and Africa totaled US$32 billion in the first half, a year on year rise of 25 percent.
China has become Africa’s third largest trading partner with trade increasing at an annual rate of 30 percent since 2000. (macauhub)
Nigeria urges cooperation among Niger Basin member-countries
NIGERIA has urged member-countries of the Niger Basin Authority(NBA) to forge a working relationship on all projects and programmes being executed at both national and regional levels.
Dr. Abba Ruma, the minister of Agriculture and Water Resources, made the call recently in Abuja.
He spoke at a meeting of the Regional Steering Committee on Silting Control Programme in Niger Basin project.
The nine-member countries are Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cote D'ivoire, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Chad and Nigeria.
Ruma said that such cooperation would have positive impact on the socio-economic costs of the projects' implementation "as they carry positive externalities and economies of scale."
He noted that the impact on environmental degradation in the Niger Basin on the well being of its population was a major concern to the governments.
The minister stressed the need to further strengthen cooperation within the NBA to ensure "a fair and equitable sharing of costs and benefits of our resources."
He commended ADB, the World Bank and Global Environment Facility (GEF) for financing the NBA projects.
The projects, he said, would contribute to poverty alleviation in the Niger Basin countries.
Mr. Linus Awute, the NBA coordinator in Nigeria, said that the organisation's projects would help to achieve "ecosystem balance and sustainable development in the basin."
He added that the Silting Control Project (SCP) being funded by the ADB at N48 million dollars, would last for seven years.
Awute said that the project would help to "interpret changes in the upstream hydrological situation and predict effects of upstream projects on the downstream."
Mr. Mohammed Tuga, NBA executive secretary, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the organisation had been working in member-countries to address the problems of degradation and desert encroachment.
He said: "We have also taken steps to solve the problems by developing a master plan that will cover the whole basin."
N’Delta Crisis: FG Plans New Taxes
From Michael Olugbode in Maiduguri, 08.29.2007
To make up for the shortfall in oil revenue as a result of the crisis in the Niger Delta, the federal government is planning to introduce a new tax regime.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 117th edition of the Joint Tax Board meeting in Maiduguri, Borno State, yesterday, Ms. Ifueko Omoigui, the Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and Chairman, Joint Tax Force, said Nigerians would have to carry an “extra burden” to meet the shortfall in the nation’s revenue profile.
It is estimated that Nigeria loses 600,000 barrels of oil daily owing to the crisis which has led to the closure of 25 percent of the oil fields in the country.
Last year alone, Nigeria lost about $4.5 billion in revenue as a result of the shut-downs.
Ms Omoigui said “events in the Niger Delta, which the President is resolute in addressing, bring home the urgent need to diversify our revenue base away from dependence on oil revenues.”
She lamented that the hostilities in the oil rich Niger Delta region “immensely” affected the 2007 budget, which was based on $40 benchmark oil price.
The actual oil price as a result of the withdrawals from the domestic excess crude oil account to augment budget shortfalls hovered at about $63.80 oil price mark as at July this year, she disclosed.
She expressed worries that “there have been little or no accruals to the domestic crude account this year, which in prior years was used as a saving buffer,” and asked: “What if we did not have oil prices that high? Can we continue to depend on high oil prices? How do we achieve sustainable development without a serious look at how to raise tax revenues?”
She therefore said the nation has to grow tax collections in non-oil sectors to arrest this ugly situation before it gets out of hand.
“Apart from the fight against corruption which must be deepened and sustained, as it eats into the funding that could otherwise have been available for development through such scheme as over-pricing and diversion of monies met for the state to private pockets, another source of sustainable development funding is to deepen our focus on making taxation the pivot of national development,” she said.
This, she said, could be achieved through a relentless focus on making tax authorities at federal and state levels institutions of excellence, stressing that taxation provides a reliable option which is not exhaustible as it is derived from the individual and corporate citizens and, if well managed, guarantees an ever increasing yield.
She, however, decried the situation where tax consultants take over the primary responsibilities of tax officers by assessing, collecting and accounting of taxes. She described their activities as not only illegal but “a leakage to tax funds which normally should have accrued to the government”.
The federal chief tax officer appealed to all tiers of government to resist the temptation of double taxation, stressing that it is a major disincentive to investment and also inimical to the growth of the economy.
Governor Ali Modu Sheriff of Borno State, while declaring the occasion open, said most of his colleagues employed the services of tax consultants due to inefficiency of the tax administration, which has contributed immensely to depletion of revenue of states.
Though he admitted that he has not employed the service of tax consultants, Sheriff said “most of my colleagues do not want to employ the services of tax consultants in tax matters but would like to depend on their staff, but because of the ineffectiveness in the discharge of their duties they were compelled give the job out to tax consultants.”
The governor, however, urged the chairmen of all the State Internal Revenue Boards to come out with proposals on how to effectively collect revenues, stressing that “I am sure that they can do it if they are given necessary support and machinery to work with.”
Gulf of Guinea The List: The World’s Most Valuable Disputed Turf (From Link Provided By Rambus)
Who’s fighting: Angola, Cameroon, the Republic of Congo-Brazzaville, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and São Tomé and Príncipe, whose maritime borders remain largely unsettled.
What’s it worth? West Africa could be the new Middle East. Today, about 4.7 million barrels of oil per day come from the region; overall, the Gulf of Guinea could be home to over 24 billion barrels of crude oil. Oil fields discovered in the 1990s have turned impoverished Equatorial Guinea into an energy powerhouse, and some analysts speculate that the nearby island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe is also sitting on huge reserves.
Who’s done what: So far, the nations surrounding the Gulf of Guinea are resolving their disputes peacefully. Joint development zones (JDZ) have allowed several neighboring countries to share the area’s mineral wealth. Equatorial Guinea is still at loggerheads with Gabon, which in 1972 occupied three small islands now thought to be near large undiscovered oil and gas fields, but in the past few years Nigeria has settled border disputes with Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, and São Tomé and Príncipe. In 2006, leaders from around the Gulf of Guinea set up a regional forum to arbitrate oil-related disputes. The future could be far less stable, though, as ongoing violence in Nigeria and several recent coup attempts in São Tomé and Equatorial Guinea attest. Moreover, grossly corrupt West African governments could face a backlash from their publics, who have yet to see the Gulf of Guinea’s growing oil wealth improve their lives.
The JOG To The 30's Maybe
So Our Board Is Collectively $3,500,000 Richer Today?
Cape Verde to propose regular sea route to and from Sao Tome and Principe [ 2007-08-20 ]
Sao Tome, Sao Tome and Principe, 20 Aug – the head of the Cape Verde government, José Maria Neves, is to make a proposal to the government of Sao Tome and Principe to set up a regular sea route between the two countries in order to boost trade relations.
The opening of the route between the countries would create conditions for importing Sao Tome agricultural products, while cape Verde could export products such as medication, mineral water and coffee.
The route could also make it possible to distribute sao Tome agricultural products to foreign markets, especially Europe, via the capital fo Cape Verde, Praia.
The Cape Verdean prime minister is on a week-long official visit to Sao Tome and Principe accompanied by the Foreign Minister and Secretary of State for Agriculture, as well as a group of businesspeople.
Speaking to Macauhub last week, the Cape Verdean consul said that Neves’ visit would focus on a joint analysis with Sao Tome and Principe on how to set up partnerships in the fisheries and agricultural sectors..
Silva also said that a partnership that would essentially focus on the preservation and sale of fish would involve fishing for tuna and other species available in the waters of Sao Tome and Principe.
As well as the contribution of Sao Tome, the fishing interests of Cape Verde may involve private Cape Verdean company Atlantic Tuna, which specializes in treating and canning fish. (macauhub)
L.M.L.T. Wasn't Saying Anything Different. Just bringing his prediction to the forefront. If he's wrong again, posters are more likely to recall his bad batting average.
From One Of His Previous Posts Angry Asian Is Predicting A Quick Rise In 0 To 7 Days (Counting From Monday). We shall see.
A Free-For-All Over Oil Money in Nigeria
By HEIDI VOGT
Associated Press Writer
The fire burned strong for 45 days and 45 nights, blanketing the village with ash and torching the young cassava plants in Ada Baniba's field. As she weeded, the flames flared out of the leaking oil pipeline behind her.
It wasn't that no one could put the fire out. It was that no one would - not the oil company that owned the pipeline, not the government and not the villagers breathing the fumes.
The tale of Kegbara Dere's fire shows just how desperate the long-neglected communities of Nigeria's oil-rich river delta have become.
The average Nigerian still survives on less than $2 a day, despite the country's $20 billion rise in oil exports to the United States over the past five years. And so Kegbara Dere villagers saw the fire less as an environmental crisis than as a negotiating tool - risking their health, land and even lives to grab their bit of the spoils from the multinational oil companies that rule the region.
Such fires are common - Royal Dutch Shell PLC said it was hit by more than 16 fires in Nigeria between August 2006 and June 2007. At least six of those fires were on the Trans-Niger pipeline, which runs underneath Kegbara Dere. Pipeline explosions have killed hundreds of Nigerians in past years, including more than 400 last year in the main city of Lagos.
Oil firms blame criminals who tap the line to steal crude, while villagers argue that aged pipes rupture on their own. But in the case of Kegbara Dere, it was village youths who confessed to sabotaging the line, and it was village leaders who refused to let the fire be extinguished without a payout.
___
When the fire burst out in the fields, it didn't surprise Monday Komene. He had heard a few days earlier that some of his friends planned to cut the pipe to wring money out of Shell.
It takes planning and serious tools to sabotage an oil pipeline. Shell's Trans-Niger line is six feet below ground, with walls more than a quarter-inch thick.
But anger gives strength, and the roughly 1 million people of Ogoniland - the area that includes Kegbara Dere - are angry. This was one of the first places foreign companies drilled for oil in the 1950s, and they left the land riddled with polluted waterways and half-cleaned-up spills. No one can plant cassava any more in a large field soaked with oil from a 1972 wellhead explosion.
Oil companies continue production in the rest of the delta, making Nigeria the fifth-largest supplier of oil to the United States. But here in Ogoniland, residents ran Shell out in 1993, leaving behind the pipeline and the pollution.
The story of the latest fire in Kegbara Dere goes back to early May, when Komene and 39 other young men closed off pipe valves for six days to extract money from Shell. The closure cut output by about 170,000 barrels a day. The pressure from the stopped-up pipes was so intense that the ground shook.
The rest of the village banded together to reopen the valves. Shell, in its turn, invited the youth involved to a training session on environmental cleanup in a fancy hotel. They expected lucrative cleanup contracts to follow. None did.
So the young men, calling themselves 'Militant/Commando 2000,' sent a letter to Shell in early June warning 'the situation would be bad' if the company failed to give them contracts. When no contracts came, the fire started.
'They promise that they are going to give us some contracts. They have not paid anything,' Komene muttered as he sat slumped in a chair.
Youth leader Amstel Gbrakpor said the boys were wrong to cut the pipes. But he said villagers now wanted 5 million naira (about $40,000) to let Shell put out the fire and repair the leak, as reparation for their earlier work on the valves.
'We want that fire to be extinguished. But they will do what we want them to do,' Gbarakpor said in his headquarters, a room with Jesus posters and worn, low-slung couches circling a coffee table on which stood a bottle of brandy.
Village ruler Baridi Gberesuu agreed, saying Shell had failed to clean up past spills and fires properly despite its promises.
And so the fire raged on, and took the cassava, the yam, the coconut, and finally, Barikuma Sunday's 75-year-old father.
He was near the line when it exploded. He developed a cough that never got better and died a few weeks ago.
'This fire killed my father,' Sunday spat out, as he watched the smoke near the blackened orange tree. 'It burned all the things we had planted.'
Sunday, 30, and his mother and younger siblings stopped sleeping in their house at night because the smoke was too overwhelming.
On the nearby road, smoke billowed overhead as a young girl in an orange dress ran barefoot through a puddle of oil and water.
___
Far from the black smoke, in the commercial towers of Lagos, the fire was still a problem for Shell. An oil company in Nigeria doesn't need any more bad blood.
The oil companies say it's not their job to pave roads or build schools like a surrogate government. The Nigerian government owns 55 percent of Shell's venture in Nigeria. Shell says it can't be held responsible for corruption that keeps the money from reaching villages like Kegbara Dere, where roads are still dirt and houses are made from cement or mud cubes.
Yet oil workers in the volatile delta are regularly kidnapped by militants demanding a greater share of oil wealth or straight-out criminal gangs demanding ransoms. And Ogoniland still remembers the government's execution of activist Ken Saro-Wiwa and seven others in 1995, which led to international outcry.
Shell spokesman Precious Okolobo said this is not a region where an oil company can force its way into a village, not even to put out a fire.
'How shall we enter? How will we work? How will our men and materials safely return to base?' Okolobo said in an e-mail.
In a posh hotel in the regional capital of Port Harcourt, a young man from Ogoniland offered his own answers.
Marvin Yobana runs a contracting company that helps get oil companies into villages to clean up spills - the type of deals the Kegbara Dere youth were after. But he said he won't work in Ogoniland any more because of accusations that he profits off his people's misery.
Yobana said Shell needed to do what others do - pay 15 to 30 men about 1,000 naira a day ($8) to guard the pipeline, a pittance compared with what they'd have to pay for a broken pipe.
'It's not a bribe,' said Yobana, who gestures with a hand that sparkles with rings. 'We're thinking about the environmental impact.'
A few weeks into the standoff, the government ordered the village to let Shell fix the pipeline. The state's environmental commissioner visited impoverished Kegbara Dere in an air-conditioned black sedan.
But nothing changed.
Adolphus Nweke, director of inspection for the environment ministry, said oil spills or fires in villages always take a bit of negotiating, because of disputes over who's to blame and a history of mistrust. He added the real problem was companies that approached cleanups from the cheapest angle rather than the best.
'We would like them to use the methods that they use in Houston here,' he said. 'But they would like to use a crude method.'
When the Nigerian government told oil companies to stop flaring gas from oil drilling in local communities, many simply paid fines instead. And there are no proper waste treatment plants. So young men in Kegbara Dere talk of using buckets to scoop up spilled sludge that they bury in a hole, or dump in a truck that takes it somewhere else, perhaps to a hole farther away.
Activist Ledum Mitee, head of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People, said the government should force Shell to shut off the pipeline if the company cannot control fires that break out - a move Shell said would solve nothing.
'Our people are dying, it's only when oil stops that they take notice,' Mitee said.
___
About two weeks ago, Shell paid the village youth 100,000 naira ($800) to let the cleaners in. The men came with five big trucks to wrestle down the fire and suffocate the life out of it with spray. Finally the fire was snuffed out as the people watched.
In two nearby villages, smoke continues to fill the air - from pipeline fires that haven't yet been negotiated out.
Nigeria's oil reserves now 35 billion barrels, says Kupolokun
NIGERIA'S crude oil reserves grew from 22 billion barrels in 1999 to 35 billion barrels this year, Mr. Funso Kupolokun, former Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), has said.
Kupolokun made the disclosure on Tuesday in Abuja in a 16-page valedictory speech titled, "My Journey: Traversing the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry''. He attributed the growth to NNPC's major foray into the deep-water frontier. Kupolokun added that a full portfolio of projects had been compiled to increase the capacity to four mmb/d by 2010 to meet national aspiration.
" Huge discoveries such as Bonga, Erha, and Yoho increased production capacity from 2 million barrels per day to about 3 million barrels per day,'' he said.
He listed funding, rising cost of development and production, contractor and human capacity shortages, as some of the challenges that might constrain the ability to sustain current pace of growth.
Kupolokun said NNPC had designed an innovative funding mechanism with its partners. He stressed the need for the Ministry of Finance, NNPC and Joint Venture partners to collaborate and quickly implement the scheme expeditiously.
" Similarly, intervention efforts through the national content initiative, is aimed at increasing highly skilled labour capacity in the sector,'' Kupolokun added.
He said NNPC had also adopted a two-prong, focused strategy to re-awaken the hitherto dormant gas sector.
One of the strategies, according him, is to position the country's gas in key export markets both regionally and internationally.
The other, he said, was to " catalyse the rapid growth of the domestic market by putting key commercial, legislative and physical infrastructure in place''.
Kupolokun noted that in exports, the country's position in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) had been consolidated through the NLNG. " Between 2003 and 2007, NNPC has worked with its partners to expand from three trains to five trains already, and a sixth train by 2008."The NLNG is now able to supply 22 MTPA to global markets,'' he added.
Kupolokun said the OK-LNG and Brass LNG projects progressed significantly, and would approach the final investment decision by the first quarter of 2008. He said the completion of the projects would help to ensure the delivery of 32 MTPA by 2011.
These would collectively position the country as the second fastest LNG growing capacity in the world, the former chief executive said.
Kupolokun said NNPC's focused Greenfield LNG strategy aimed to capture a narrow window of market opportunity that was expected to mature in 2011, thereby consolidating Nigeria's market share.
He said Nigeria would, through the West African Gas Project (WAGP), deliver about 200mmscf/d of gas to Ghana, Benin and Togo by 2008.
" This is part of a concerted strategy for NNPC and Nigerian gas to penetrate the rapidly evolving regional market,'' he said. Other regional projects under evaluation, Kupolokun added, include supply of 650 mmscf/d to Equatorial Guinea and about 2bcf/d through the Trans Sahara Gas pipeline to Algeria and Europe by 2015.
He said: " Perhaps, the most profound effort has been in the development of the domestic market. " We have initiated the Nigerian Gas Master Plan, which takes a comprehensive view of the gas sector and proposes solutions that will catalyse a fast growing gas market.
" Through the gas master plan, a structured sector-based framework for gas pricing was developed.''
Kupolokun said the Nigerian petroleum industry now boasts of about 6,000 wells and almost 10,000 km of pipelines onshore. The country, he noted, was also endowed with about 3,000 km offshore, in addition to 112 flow stations, six FPSOS and three FSO.
He declared: " From a production of 1.5 million barrels per day in 1971, the nation now has an installed capacity of about 3 million barrels per day.
" Nigeria has risen to become the world's seventh largest exporter of oil.''