Nigeria, which has pumped above its OPEC quota for months to the ire of other members, brought down its crude oil production in November to fully comply with its cap, the country’s oil ministry said Sunday.

OPEC earlier this summer quietly reset Nigeria’s quota to 1.77 million b/d, up from 1.69 million b/d previously, which it had not met since March.

“Nigeria’s compliance level has witnessed tremendous progress, month by month, since last August, resulting in 100% compliance in November 2019,” the ministry said in a statement.

Nigeria, Africa’s largest producer, has been under pressure by Saudi Arabia and other OPEC members to improve its compliance to help speed the bloc’s market rebalancing efforts. OPEC and 10 non-OPEC allies are in the midst of a 1.2 million b/d production cut agreement.

Nigerian oil minister Timipre Sylva held a teleconference with Saudi counterpart Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, who also co-chairs the OPEC/non-OPEC monitoring committee tasked with assessing member compliance with their agreed cuts, the ministry said.

Sylva, who also serves on the committee, had pledged in September that his country would meet its commitment within three months.

Nigeria in October self-reported to OPEC a production figure of 1.78 million b/d, though the six independent secondary sources, including S&P Global Platts, used by OPEC to track member output estimated it at 1.81 million b/d.

In June, the country self-reported its highest output in years, at 1.96 million b/d, as production from its new Egina field ramped up.

Nigerian officials have previously said Egina barrels should be counted not as crude but as condensate, which is not subject to OPEC limits.

The OPEC+ coalition is scheduled to meet Thursday and Friday in Vienna to review its production cut agreement, which runs through March.

Source: Platts

Nigeria and other African countries are set to increase their presence in the global energy sphere, where they will contribute as much as 9.2 per cent to global natural gas production by 2040.

By more than doubling their natural gas production by 2040, Africa’s natural gas producers will alter the global energy supply mix in the process.

This will result in an expansion from 255 Billion Cubic Meters (BCM) to more than 505 BCM and corresponding to a compound average annual growth rate of 3.4 percent.

Natural gas growth prospects were outlined during the 2nd Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) International Gas Seminar held last week Wednesday, in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.

The Seminar was aimed at facilitating knowledge transfer, fostering regional cooperation and creating a dialogue on global gas matters among the world’s leading gas producers.

At the opening of the Seminar, global natural gas use was slated to double by 2050; replacing more traditional fossil fuels and facilitating an energy transition towards sustainable development.

According to the GECF’s Global Gas Outlook Model accessed by The Nation, natural gas will be the only hydrocarbon source to increase its share in the global energy mix, remaining the fastest-growing fossil fuel.

The Outlook said GECF member countries currently represent 71 per cent of natural gas reserves, 44 per cent of marketed gas production, 55 per cent of pipeline gas trade and 53 per cent of LNG trade globally.

Commenting on the Outlook, GECF Secretary General Yury Sentyurin said: “Our main message is that natural gas is the destination fuel and will play a central role in energy transitions.

“We will continue to defend the position of the Forum on benchmark prices, stressing that oil indexation is still the optimum choice for buyers and sellers of gas.”

Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons of Equatorial Guinea, Gabriel Mbaga Obiang, also said:  “Natural gas will continue to be in demand and will help us meet the objectives of sustainable development and the energy transition for our country, for Africa and for the world.”

He said his country was already working on the gradual implementation and exploration of various gas fields.

Source: The Nation

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has advised firms in the oil and gas industry to brace up for the full automation of operations at oil rigs.

The Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Simbi Wabote, said this in Port Harcourt, at the foundation laying ceremony of PE Energy Centre of Excellence at Trans Amadi Industrial Layout.

Wabote, after inspecting facilities under construction at the centre, noted that most players in the industry employ about 100 people in each rig today.

He, however, said with advancement in technology and trends in the industry, most rigs would run on full automation in about 10 to 15 years.

He, therefore, called on indigenous firms in the sector to brace up and prepare for the development so that they would not only remain relevant but also reap from the technological advancement.

He commended the management of PE Energy Limited for embarking of the automation and instrumentation aspect of operations, adding that the development was one of the achievement of local content in the oil and gas sector.

Wabote, attribute the resurgence of local industries to the policies of President Muhammadu Buhari whom he said was encouraging local industries.

“The president has been very clear in his commitment to create that environment for industrialisation, that vision for Nigerians, to believe in Nigerians and to make Nigerians realise that that they have more potentials than they can imagine. That is beginning to create some level of trust among the investors.

“In the past one month, we have opened more than 10 facilities in Lagos, Port Harcourt and elsewhere. It is because of that belief. It also fits well with our strategic growth plan that in 2027 we will have attained at least 70 per cent local content in the oil and gas sector.

“Don’t forget that when we started, it was less than five per cent. Of the $21 billion we spent annually in Nigeria, only about three per cent stayed in the country. Today, we have been able to plough back about 30 per cent.

“Our aspiration is to plough back 70 per cent in order to create jobs, create value, give Nigerians a sense of responsibility and enhance the industrial base of the country. That is the overall objective,” he said.

He added that the facility of PE Energy would create more jobs, retain resources in the country and also showcase the industry of Nigerians.

He also said, “Today, the borders are closed. It is also giving people an opportunity to invest in the agricultural sector. We started local content about 10 years ago and that has created that verve in Nigerians that they have a lot of opportunities in them.

“So, if this facility starts to run employing about 300 Nigerians and you multiply that by 10 and then you must also understand the indirect and induced effect of establishing a factory like this: there will be food vendors, transportation and hotels. So the effects will be enormous and Nigerians will feel it.”

The President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of PE Energy Limited, Daere Akobo, in his address, said the company was committed to changing the business landscape of Rivers State and the country.

“We are a solution provider. We focus on automation and controls. In layman terms, we focus on what we call the five fingers. The first one is valve and actuation where we talk about control of fluid flow and all the instrumentation around the valve.

“We will also be doing integration on process equipment such as compressors, pumps, motors, early production facilities, mobile production facilities, and so on.

“We are also doing measurement solutions. This talks about measurement of gas and liquids. Here we are talking about the automation of the entire value chain around metering such as gas comotography, analyser system, analyser house and all the supervisory control systems.

“We also talking electrical and instrumentation. In all of these we are going to do two types of services; clinical and field servicers,” he added.

Source: This Day

Two people have been confirmed dead after a petrol tanker exploded at the old toll gate end of the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, around Sango, Ogun State.

The PUNCH learnt that the fire started around 12.05am.

The spokesperson for the state fire service, Muinat Adeleke-Ashimi, who spoke for the acting Director, Margaret Adeseye, said two bodies were found around 4am.

She said, “The petrol tanker skidded off the road, which resulted in the fire. Our men arrived at the scene at 12.14am.

“The fire was extinguished around 4am when two casualties were found — a male and a female.

“We are presently damping the fire.”

source: The Punch