The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria is poised to commission a cutting-edge facility for converting petroleum-powered vehicles to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) within its Industrial Complex in Idu Layout, Abuja. CNG is emerging as a preferred option for MSMEs focused on reducing operational expenditures.

Under the stewardship of Mr CharlesOdii, , SMEDAN is dedicated to providing MSMEs with expert guidance, resources, opportunities, and workplace support to enhance their global competitiveness. Interested parties are invited to reach out and initiate the vehicle conversion process. SMEDAN remains steadfast in its commitment to fostering prosperity.

Credit:
Corporate Affairs Unit,
SMEDAN

NNPCL halts N24 trillion in fuel imports and sources directly from Dangote refinery.

Mele Kyari, the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC, revealed this information on Monday during the current conference hosted by the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists in Lagos. The conference is focused on the theme ‘Addressing the Nigerian Energy Trilemma: Energy Security, Sustainable Growth, and Affordability.’

He said, “Today, NNPC does not import any product, we are taking only from domestic refineries.”

Kyari refuted the claims suggesting that the NNPC was undermining the operations of the Dangote refinery.

“The point is very far from it and I’m going to speak to it straight. We are very proud part-owners of Dangote refinery, no doubt about it. We saw an opportunity that there is a clear market for at least 300,000 barrels of our production; we know that as time moves on, people will start struggling to find markets for their production.

“It will happen, It’s already happening. Oil is found, as you know, in many unexpected locations across the world and people have choices. Therefore we saw an opportunity to log supply to the domestic refinery, not just Dangote but any other refinery that operates in the country, so it was a very informed business decision.

“Therefore, from day one, we knew that it is to our benefit to supply crude oil to the domestic refinery, so we don’t need to be persuaded; we don’t need anyone to talk to us, there is no need for any pressure from the streets for us to do this. We are already doing this.

“We should never forget that Nigerian crude is ’Lamborghini crude’, if we choose that every product that we have in this country must come from domestic production, then we must deal with pricing. Otherwise, out there in the global market, everybody buys Nigerian crude and blends it with dirtier crude to process, a lot of you will confirm this. So, no one takes Nigerian crude except one or two refineries that I know. Straight processing of Nigerian crude, nobody does this, because you do have a gap in value if you do this.

“Therefore, as a country, and I believe this strongly also, that we must process all the crude that we produce in the country to the optimum. You can do intermediate products and sell to the market, you are still adding value. You don’t have to sell gasoline that is coming from Nigerian production.

“You can do something different so you can process it domestically, but it’s going to be high quality. As we all know and it’s very clear in the media that we are selling high-quality products, that’s very true but you need not do this. You are driving a Keke-Napep and you want Lamborghini fuel, you do not need it. So, the quality issue is a relative thing, it’s by geography, by location, and we will do everything possible to make sure that we domesticate this.

“Today, NNPC does not import any product, we are taking only from domestic refineries. But I also know that we are working jointly with the government to make sure that we manage the issue around prices if we have to source all our supply from the domestic market. It will be an issue and we are already resolving it. I can confirm that substantial work has been done and this will no longer be an issue.”

The NLC is evaluating the call for a fresh assessment of the minimum wage in light of the increasing cost of living.

The NLC has indicated that it might call on the federal government to undertake a new review of the minimum wage in response to the rising cost of living.

President Joe Ajaero shared this information during the 8th Quadrennial Delegates Conference of the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM). He emphasized that organized labor will firmly advocate for the government to fulfill its commitment to recommission the Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries.

He said: “As it is today, our choices are very limited. It is either we find a way to collectively overcome the forces that are bent on keeping us down as a people or we completely surrender to them while wringing our hands in hopelessness.

“The forces of neoliberalism must be challenged and the trade union movement remains the only viable force in Nigeria and in the world that can creatively engage it and mitigate its stranglehold on our nation.

“We must offer strong counterpoise to their prebendal logic and must proffer newer arguments to triumph over their quest for profit at the detriment of the social will. It is only by remaining strong and united that we can hope to achieve that.

“It is sad, but we cannot afford to keep our public refineries shut while still importing refined petroleum products. We demand a review of our salaries in lieu of its eroded values.

‘’We must together demand the re-commissioning of Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna refineries in keeping with the agreement we had with the federal government on the 5th day of October, 2023.

“We therefore counsel the leadership that will emerge today, remember that your role is critical to securing the welfare of our healthcare workers. True leadership transcends titles and positions; it is reflected in the impact you have on the lives of those you serve.

“Advocating for fair working conditions, championing healthcare workers’ rights, and striving for equity are not just duties—they are the marks of meaningful leadership.”

According to the NMDPRA, Nigeria has a daily petrol consumption of 50 million liters.

The Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has reported that the daily petrol consumption in the country is presently between 45 million and 50 million litres.

Farouk Ahmed, the Chief Executive Officer of NMDPRA, shared this information during a conversation at the 18th Africa Downstream Energy Week taking place in Lagos.

Ghana is considering sourcing fuel from the Dangote oil refinery.

Ghana may purchase petroleum products from Nigeria’s Dangote Petroleum Refinery once it reaches its full operational capacity, which would allow for a reduction in the costlier imports from Europe, according to the head of the country’s oil regulatory authority, who spoke on Monday.

Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, the Chairman of the National Petroleum Authority in Ghana, indicated that this initiative might eliminate the necessity for $400 million in monthly fuel imports from Europe. He made these remarks during the OTL Africa Downstream Oil Conference in Lagos, as reported by Reuters.

He said, “If the refinery reaches 650,000 bpd a day capacity, all that volume cannot be consumed by Nigeria alone, so instead of us importing as we do right now from Rotterdam, it will be much easier for us to import from Nigeria and I believe that will bring down our prices.”

The oil markets have addressed a letter to the President, dated October 21, in which they are requesting a grant of N100 billion to assist in preventing the closure of impacted 10,000 marketers’ businesses in the coming weeks.

Dr. Joseph Obele, the National Public Relations Officer for PETROAN, stated that the price of a truckload of PMS has surged from N7 million to N47 million over the past 16 months.

He said, “Three days ago, there was a meeting at the national headquarters of PETROAN. At the meeting, there was, an indication that about 10,000 of our members would quit business in the next 45 days because their trading capital had been severely affected.

“That was why we wrote a letter to Mr President, dated October 21, requesting a grant of N100bn to save the affected marketers’ businesses from shutting down in the next few weeks.”

Abubakar Maigandi, the President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, acknowledged that there has been a decline in fuel consumption. He noted that the union's members have also been impacted by this situation.

“There is a drop in consumption and the price of a truckload is higher now. So, we have reduced the quantity of fuel we buy. For instance, someone who bought 10 trucks before can only buy eight now. So, we haven’t been getting the right quantity that we are supposed to get. We sell only the little quantities we get,” he said.

The leadership of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers has highlighted that the failure of oil marketers to purchase fuel has led to job losses for truck drivers and employees at petrol stations across the nation.

Mr. Afolabi Olawale, the Secretary-General of NUPENG, stated, “The economy is not smiling at all. Many petrol station owners cannot even buy a single truckload, and this has affected our members. Those of them that are truck drivers hardly get loads to carry anymore. Many petrol stations have closed down and our members who are petrol station workers have lost their jobs.

“This is an unfolding situation. It’s evolving, so I may not be able to give you the actual number of people affected now because we have those in the informal and formal sectors. We have people in the upstream, downstream, and midstream. But I don’t have the statistics right here with me to give you.

“Though everybody is affected, those in the downstream are the most affected. It affects those in the downstream sector directly because they are truck drivers, station workers, and the representatives of the marketers at different depots.”

The FG has granted approval for the distribution of one million science textbooks intended for secondary schools.

On Wednesday, the Federal Executive Council gave the green light for the printing of one million science textbooks to be distributed to every public secondary school across the country.

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, informed reporters that the initiative aims to address gaps in essential subjects including physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and computer science.

This came after a memo was presented by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Heineken Lokpobiri, on behalf of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund.

He clarified that the initiative aims to close the divide, empowering Nigeria to align its engineering and technology advancements with those of the global community.

He said, “We brought a memo on behalf of the PTDF that had initiated a program called the PTDF stem fund.

“Some time ago, the PTDF, which is the creation of law, you know, with the mandate to build the capacity, of Nigerians in the oil and gas industry came up with a program called PTDF Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Programme.

“They sought to obtain presidential approval. And today, we brought a memo to the council to be able to print 1 million science textbooks.

“The science courses that were identified that Nigerians have deficiency, physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, computer science.”

Lokpobiri said, “This program is meant to print 1 million science textbooks that will be distributed to all the local government, 74 local government areas in the country, and also to support the 104 unity schools that we have in the country, and then 122 special schools, that we have in the country.

“This memo was approved by Council. Essentially, this is a support at the secondary school level. To catch up with the rest of the world in terms of technological and engineering development, we need to lay a very solid foundation.

“Some time ago, we found that we are lagging, and so we decided that look, we are going to build both physical and digital libraries.”

Nigeria has granted approval for Exxon Mobil Corp. to sell its oil and gas assets to the local energy company Seplat Energy Plc, bringing to a close a prolonged two-year delay in finalizing the $1.3 billion deal.

President Bola Tinubu, granted ministerial approval for this agreement along with three others, according to Gbenga Komolafe, the chief executive officer of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission.

On Monday, during an event in the capital city of Abuja, Gbenga Komolafe, the CEO of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), announced that the ministerial approval has been secured.

Under the agreement, Seplat will acquire a 40% interest in four oil mining leases and the related infrastructure, which includes the Qua Iboe export terminal. Additionally, Seplat will hold a 51% stake in the Bonny River natural gas liquids recovery plant that was formerly operated by Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, the local division of Exxon.

Petrol marketers have imported 123 million liters and are in ongoing discussions with Dangote.

A minimum of four ships transporting imported petrol, docked at seaports located along the nation's borders from Friday, October 18, to Sunday, October 20, as per the Punch.

The dealers have mentioned that the output from the Dangote is currently inadequate to satisfy local demand.

They alleged that the facility was generating approximately 10 million liters of petrol each day, which falls short of the initial commitment to produce 25 million liters daily.

The initial delivery of 35,000 metric tonnes of PMS designated for West African Port Services arrived at the ASPM jetty on Friday, October 18, at 10:13 AM.

Subsequently, at 3:37 PM, 37,000 metric tonnes of fuel were designated for Intership. It also docked at the ASPM terminal jetty.

At 3:59 PM on the same day, another ship, transporting 10,000 metric tonnes of fuel, arrived at the dock. Peak Shipping has been appointed as its agent for this operation.

On Sunday at 8:02 am, a ship docked at the Eco Marine Terminal in Calabar, bringing with it a cargo of 10,000 metric tonnes of fuel.

George Ene-Ita, the spokesperson for the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, stated that marketers who possess valid import licenses are permitted to import PMS.

He emphasized, however, that the agency must conduct three essential tests on the products.

He said, “The products must be subjected to our testing protocols at the ports. The products must conform to stipulated standards before we authorise them to offload to their terminals.

“Also, before the smaller vessels bring it further inland to Nigeria, our people will fly to the place to see the product and carry out some tests to ensure the right specification is upheld.

“Tests are also done at the products’ origins. And when the products come in before they are released to the market, further tests would be conducted to ensure that they meet the specifications.”

The NNPCL has reached an agreement to sell petrol to the members of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria for N995 per litre.

This occurred after the Department of State Services intervened in the dispute between the two parties.

Hammed Fashola, the National Vice President of IPMAN, stated that the involvement of the DSS has addressed numerous challenges encountered by marketers.

“We really appreciate their intervention. They are doing their job. Anywhere they have seen that there may be a crisis, it is their duty to intervene. And their intervention brokered peace and understanding between the parties, and everybody agreed to work together.

“For now, tentatively, I think they are offering us N995 per litre.

“Our members sell at N1,200 or so and this depends on the location. I think with the N995, there will be a little reduction. Don’t forget that if you transport a product from Lagos to a far distance, you will pay for transportation and other charges.

“We want to work on that because we want to have a common ground. When we sit down and look at the price analysis offered to us, and factor in all our expenses, we want to have a uniform price as much as possible.

“So, I will not be able to tell you the exact price now, but we are working on it, especially in the Lagos axis and other zones. We will look at the transportation cost and all that. At the end of the day, we will fix the price for ourselves.

“The price disparity has been a disadvantage between us and the NNPC Retail and major marketers. So, we are trying to look at how to close that gap so that we come back fully into the business. The lack of direct supply has been our problem, and now that we are solving that problem, I don’t think that disparity will be there again.”