Conoil Grows Earnings To N145.8bn In 2022

Conoil Plc has reported gross earnings of N145.8 billion for the 2022 financial year. The amount represents an increase of 5.3 per cent against N138.2 billion in the corresponding period of 2021. The major oil marketer in a statement at the weekend on its audited results for the year ending December 31, 2022, said despite the massive developmental challenges in the country and the tough operating environment, its Profit Before Tax (PBT) grew by 60.1 per cent to N6.13 billion in 2022 from N3.83 billion in 2021, while Profit After Tax (PAT) increased by 60.1 per cent from N3.08 billion to N4.96 billion in the same period. With the significant improvement in profitability in the petroleum-marketing subsector, Conoil’s earnings per share rose to N7.14, representing a 60.8 percent increase over the N4.44 earned in 2021. The company also recorded an increase of 22 per cent in net from N53.98 billion to N65.91 billion. Thrilled by the impressive all-round performance, shareholders at the company’s 53rd Annual General Meeting at the weekend, unanimously approved the proposed final dividend payout of N1.734 billion, which translates to N2.50 per share, for the 2022 financial year. Conoil had assured the shareholders of its commitment to continue to deliver strong and sustainable performance that would enhance returns to its shareholders. The Chairman, Conoil Plc, Dr. Mike Adenuga (jnr), in his address to the shareholders at the meeting, said that company remained motivated in creating excellent value for its shareholders, while also ensuring that its share price remained on the rise. He said, “We have shown a consistent ability to improve our operating margin and grow our volumes across all our locations. We have a great brand portfolio with energized and talented personnel with a reach pan-Nigerian. Our overriding goal is to ensure the continued delivery of excellent services to our customers and ultimately ensuring that our shareholders are rewarded. “Conoil Plc plans to consolidate on the progress made in the previous years to deliver a strong and sustainable performance that enhances returns to our shareholders. “Regardless of the odds, the company is marching forward in the year with confidence and optimism, as it strategically and continuingly positions its business to take advantage of key opportunities,” Adenuga assured the shareholders. Looking ahead, the Conoil Chairman noted that while there might be challenges posed by the rapidly changing geopolitical and socio-economic environment, Conoil would, however, concentrate on the strategies that have given it the greatest dividend. He said the Federal Government has stated critical reforms, such as the elimination of the petrol subsidy and reforms in the foreign exchange market.  Towards this end, he said Conoil would concentrate on the strategies that have given it the greatest dividend. “The Company will grow its earnings, improve profitability and asset quality and deliver competitive returns to its esteemed shareholders.”

Crude production plunges to 1.22mbpd in Q2 2023 -Report

Hope for increased crude oil production deemed with second quarter figures plunging to 1.22 million barrel per day (mbpd), Nigeria’s statistics bureau, has said. The decrease is coming in spite of the restoration of fragile peace in the Nigeria Delta region; the second quarter of 2023 recorded an average daily oil production of 1.22 million barrels per day (mbpd). This according to the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) was much lower than the daily average production of 1.43mbpd recorded in the same quarter of 2022 by 0.22mbpd and lower than the first quarter of 2023 production volume of 1.51 mbpd by 0.29mbpd. The real growth of the oil sector was 13.43 per cent (year-on-year) in the second quarter of 2023, indicating a decrease of 1.66 per cent points relative to the rate recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2022 (-11.77 per cent). Growth also decreased by 9.22 per cent points when compared to the first quarter of 2023 which was –4.21 per cent. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the oil sector recorded a growth rate of -14.12 per cent in the second quarter of 2023 and contributed 5.34 per cent to the total real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the second quarter of 2023, down from the figure recorded in the corresponding period of 2022 and down from the preceding quarter, where it contributed 6.33 per cent and 6.21 per cent respectively. The statistics bureau further said the non-oil sector grew by 3.58 per cent in real terms during the reference quarter (Q2 2023). This rate was lower by 1.19 per cent points compared to the rate recorded in the same quarter of 2022 and 0.81 per cent.

IPMAN opposes state governments’ bid for downstream regulatory control

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has expressed strong disapproval towards the recent endeavours of various State governments to assume the role of regulators in the Southeast’s downstream petroleum operations. Mr. Chinedu Anyaso, the Chairman of IPMAN’s Enugu Depot, which oversees Anambra, Ebonyi, and Enugu States, conveyed these concerns during an interview in Awka on Sunday. Anyaso underscored that State governments lack the necessary standardized and approved equipment essential for accurately measuring dispensing machines. Moreover, he asserted that these governments do not possess the authority to oversee the intricate operations within the downstream petroleum sector. IPMAN has vehemently criticized the actions of state governments, which have involved entering marketers’ establishments under the pretense of price enforcement and dispensing machine monitoring. Anyaso highlighted that the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) remains the sole constitutionally-empowered entity responsible for regulating downstream sector activities. He emphasized that if states intend to collaborate in this sphere, they should work in conjunction with NMDPRA. In his explanation, Anyaso reinforced that state governments lack the requisite authority to perform regulatory functions concerning downstream operators. Their lack of expertise is evident, and even the instruments they employ—termed “seraphim bottles”—have not been certified as properly calibrated for accurate measurements. “NMDPRA is the only body empowered by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), Sec 48 (1), to carry out all the regulatory activities in the sector. “IPMAN Enugu depot condemns the invasion of our filling stations; Anambra government did it and we protested but most recently, the Enugu State government is doing the same thing with deliberate effort to blackmail some of our members. “This is sheer overzealousness on the part of some aides of governors. We call on our governors to call these people to order, to avoid putting IPMAN on a collision course with state governments,” he warned. Anyaso said IPMAN was not absolving its members of sharp practices but insisted that state governments should collaborate with NMDPRA, established by the Federal Government to supervise the sector if the need arises. “IPMAN is not by any means saying that all our members are free from malpractice. We are not holding brief for them either; all we are saying is that things should be done properly by the appropriate authority. “NMDPRA has offices in almost all the states, so state governments should work with them. On our part, IPMAN has a taskforce as an internal mechanism to check infractions by our members,” he said.

Port Harcourt refinery to resume operations by December -FG

*We’re committed to ending fuel importation, says Minister The Federal Government has reiterated its commitment to ending petroleum product importation soon, as efforts are being redoubled to restore the nation’s local refining capacity. According to a statement on hits X handle, Chief Corporate Communications Officer NNPC Ltd. Garba Deen Muhammad, said the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, made this known during an inspection tour of the rehabilitation work progress at the Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC) Ltd. plant, in Port Harcourt on Friday. The Minister, who was in the company of his counterpart, the Minister of State for Petroleum (Gas), Hon. Ekperikpe Ekpo; Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Ambassador Gabriel T. Aduda, and the Group CEO, NNPC Ltd., Mr. Mele Kyari, said considering the level of progress recorded in the PHRC rehabilitation project, the plant will come back on stream by December this year. “Our objective in coming here today is to ensure that in the next few years, Nigeria stops fuel importation. From what we have seen here today, Port Harcourt Refinery will come on board by the end of the year, Warri will come on stream by the end of the first quarter of next year, and Kaduna will also come on board towards the end of next year. If you add that to the Dangote Refinery, we will be able to stop fuel importation, and Nigerians will enjoy the full benefits of deregulation,” the Minister assured. The Minister also said he was satisfied with the ongoing rehabilitation work at the Port Harcourt refinery, noting that once all the refineries are back on stream, Nigerians will enjoy a better supply of petroleum products, and foreign exchange will be domesticated, leading to an improved economy. Earlier in his remarks, the Group CEO, NNPC Ltd., Mr. Mele Kyari, said bringing back the refineries to their optimal levels is a national aspiration, and the Company remains focused on delivering that. “We are aware of our nation’s challenges in terms of fuel supply. But we are not here to give excuses. We are focused on delivering this rehabilitation project, our two other refineries, and all other investments towards revamping the nation’s refining capacity. We are hopeful that in 2024, this country will be a net exporter of petroleum products,” Kyari stated. Also speaking, the Minister of State for Petroleum (Gas), Hon. Ekperikpe Ekpo said: “We are here to go into the field. Yesterday was the era of subsidies. Today, we don’t have subsidies. Today, people are in a desperate situation to heave a sigh of relief; and see how to live. You all know that petrol is very vital to our economy. All hands must be on deck to ensure that the refineries are working,” he stated. During the visit, the two Ministers also participated in the Refineries’ Rehabilitation Steering Committee meeting and held a meeting with the refinery’s Engineering, Procurement & Construction (EPC) Contractors.

FG to leverage Nigerian Electricity Act to boost power supply –Adelabu

The new Minister of Power, Mr Adebayo Adelabu has assured that the federal government will empower Nigerians through stable and accessible power. The minister, who gave the assurance when he assumed office on Monday in Abuja stressed that every home, industry, school, and business will benefit from the government’s efforts. To achieve the feat, Adelabu said the ministry will leverage the Nigerian Electricity Act of 2023 to boost the power supply in the country. The Nigerian Electricity Act, 2023 provides a comprehensive legal and institutional framework for the operation of a fully privatized, cost and service-reflective tariff contract. The Act also provides a rule-based competitive electricity market in Nigeria and repeals the following Acts: Electric Power Sector Reform Act, 2005. According to the minister, the ministry will diligently provide optimal solutions for Nigeria’s power needs across the nation. He said the task was not merely a requirement, but an expectation from both the President and the Nigerian populace who had endured years of power challenges. “This responsibility weighs heavily upon us, and it is with conviction, divine guidance, and the support of President Tinubu, the National Assembly, government agencies, and Nigerians that I pledge my commitment to achieve success in the power sector. “Recognising that there are numerous deserving and qualified Nigerians for this role, I am truly humbled that the President has entrusted me with this vital task, as we collectively envision the growth and prosperity of our nation,” he said.

Lokpobri vows to ensure Nigeria meets OPEC’s production quota

The new Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobri, has said his mission to the ministry is to ensure Nigeria’s crude oil is ramped up on a sustainable basis.  Lokpobri, who said this when he met chief executives of the ministry on Monday in Abuja after his swearing-in at the Presidential Villa, added that he was not in the ministry to sit in the office but rather to ensure that Nigeria meets its Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) production quota.  According to him, everybody has to work together to increase production.  “This is not time for speeches. There is only one agenda that I have come to this ministry to achieve and that is to ramp up crude oil production on a sustainable basis for the benefit of all Nigerians,” Lokpobiri said. Lokpobri, who will be in charge of ensuring the country’s crude oil production meets OPEC’s quota, stressed that he is a creek boy and would ensure through constant visit to the creeks that he provides the leadership that would ramp up crude production.  According to him, with everybody working together, “we will write a new story for the oil industry,” he added.  Earlier, the Minister of State Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpo Ekpo, said that the full utilization of the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) by Nigerians would help cushion the adverse effect of petrol subsidy removal by the government.  Ekpo insisted that with its abundance of gas deposits, it was time the country maximises its use in order to provide a better life for the citizenry.  He said he would with collaboration with stakeholders work strategically to translate Nigeria’s enormous gas resources into reality to address the challenge of power.  In his introductory remarks, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Gabriel Aduda said the breakdown of the minister is part of the requirement of the Petroleum Industry Act of 2021.  “This shift has ushered in a new era of transparency and independence,” he said. He noted that with the present challenge of ramping up production, the new leadership the two ministers will bring to the sector will help the country navigate the challenge.

Allow us fix moribund refineries, female engineers beg Tinubu

The Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria (APWEN), at the weekend appealed to President Bola Tinubu to give female engineers an opportunity to fix the nation’s moribund refineries. Newly-elected APWEN Lagos Chapter Chairman, Mrs Atinuke Owolabi, made the call during the association’s public lecture and Annual General Meeting in Ikeja. Owolabi assured that female engineers spread across the various arms of the profession could fix the refineries within a year. “All women engineers are ready to come together and see how we can proffer solutions, making sure that we revamp these refineries. “So, we call on our president to challenge female engineers to revamp and rehabilitate these refineries, and I want to assure you that, within a year, just challenge us, we will make sure that the refineries would be put to operation by the grace of God,” she said. She said any nation aspiring for development must empower its indigenous engineers and manpower. “It is imperative that our homegrown engineers are empowered and granted the right opportunity to showcase our competence,” she said. She said women had inbuilt natural qualities of being good managers and being excellent, adding that their talents should also be explored in building roads and other critical infrastructure. Owolabi said Nigeria should reduce reliance on foreign experts and give opportunity to local engineers who are equally or more competent than their imported counterparts. “I want to also implore our leaders, especially our president and governors, to empower indigenous engineers because we are very good. “A country without engineers cannot develop,” she said. Owolabi, a Fellow of the Nigerian Institution of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, promised that her administration would focus on mentorship and skill development for young engineers. She also pledged collaboration with other NGOs while reeling out planned development programmes for three Lagos communities. “Together, we shall shatter barriers and triumph over challenges in reaffirmation of the fact that gender should never constrain one’s potential in any domain,” she said. The guest speaker, Mrs Olayinka Abdul, speaking on the theme, “The Role of Female Engineers in Building Sustainable Infrastructure”, said rising fuel prices required urgent measures for green alternatives. Abdul, a former APWEN President, said green buildings reduce wastes, conserve energy and ensure huge energy savings and enormous long-term benefits. She said Lagos was investing heavily in renewable energy while listing completed and ongoing interventions in various sectors, including health, education, housing and transportation. Abdul said the various options available were wasting because some Nigerians have a class mentality not allowing them embrace local researches. She cited examples of viable technologies, developed by “our forefathers”, being ignored because people want to move with trending foreign technologies. Abdul advised APWEN to adopt communities and train them on how to generate power from their wastes. She also enumerated measures female engineers could adopt against work place discrimination and how to receive mentorship from male counterparts without bruising their ego. Panelists at the event proffered solutions to the multifaceted problem of inadequate water supply in Lagos State. They enumerated ways mentorship and advocacy could grow capacity of female engineers.

Revive idle wells to meet revenue shortfall, expert urges FG

Industry expert, Dr Victor Ekpenyong has urged the Federal Government to revive idle oil wells to boost oil production in order to meet revenue shortfalls. Ekpenyong, who is the Chief Executive of Kenyon International West Africa Limited, said this during an interactive session with journalists in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State. Kenyon International is a Well Control Services firm. Ekpenyong noted that vandalism and oil theft have hampered the country’s oil production and kept the nation from harnessing its full production capacity. He explained that oil production was being limited by breach of pipelines that evacuate crude from oilfields to export terminals. He noted that with the rebound of the Forcados Export Terminal which has been out of service, there will be an increase of export capacity by at least 350,000 barrels per day (bpd) when scheduled repairs on the export trunkline is completed in the next one week. Ekpenyong commended the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) for ongoing repairs on major oil export pipelines, noting that upon conclusion of repair schedules, export capacity would rise significantly. He said that there was the need to revive idle assets to boost oil production to meet the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) quota of 1.8 million bpd quota for Nigeria. Ekpenyong noted that there was existing production capacity to meet the shortfall in production from a little over one million bpd current output. “Reports available from NNPCL have it that repairs on Trans Forcados Export Trunkline is almost concluded and the Forcados Export Terminal will be up again and it has capacity to handle up to 400,000 bpd of oil export. “The sections of the Trans Niger Delta Pipeline (TNP), which feed the Bonny Crude Export Terminal, are also scheduled to be ready as well, so we need to revamp the idle wells to produce enough to meet our OPEC quota and earn more revenue,” Ekpenyong said. He noted that the country is yet to produce more and leverage the supply cuts occasioned by the Russian-Ukrainian crisis which has pushed up international crude oil prices. He noted that proposed divestment by the government from oil assets in non producing oil reserves would provide opportunities for investors to enter into partnerships with the government to increase oil production. “The efforts being made by the government to increase local refining is very massive. I learnt that the rehabilitation work at the Port Harcourt refinery has gone far for the President to promise that the plant will be back in December. “There is also ongoing work in Warri Refinery and these will increase local production of refined petroleum products and reduce imports and subsequent pressure on the naira at the foreign exchange market,” Ekpenyong said. He said that NNPCL remained the dominant importer of refined petroleum products saying the $3 billion facility being put in place by the government would enable more private sector players to augment the supply deficit. 

Nigeria needs political will to benefit from oil resources – Expert

An international oil and gas expert, Alhaji Sadiq Abubakar  Adamu, has urged the federal government to appoint technocrats familiar with the working of the oil and gas industry as minister. In a chat with journalists in Abuja, Adamu said appointing the right caliber of people into strategic positions in the sector would help formulate the right policies and ensure the sector is stirred in the right direction to achieve its full potential. According to him, Nigeria has the capacity and expertise to transform the oil and gas sector. Adamu, who played a leading role in the success recorded by Qatar in the development of its oil industry, stressed that with the right political will, Nigeria can turn the challenge of gas flaring into an advantage. Data from the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) revealed that between January and November 2022, Nigeria flared an estimated 5.6 billion standard cubic metres of gas valued at $685m. Nigeria’s natural gas is low in Hydrogen Sulphide and Carbon Dioxide impurities, gas flaring is still estimated at nearly $2m/day. According to data, Nigeria generated 22 million tonnes of LNG yearly as of 2020.  The oil and gas expert emphasized the need for the authorities to stop wasting its huge gas resources by converting it into a source of energy to address the perennial power supply challenge. He further stated that Nigeria has huge natural gas potential and is in fact often referred to in geological terms as a gas country with few oil deposits. He said, “Even with the horrors of gas flaring and the few LNG and NGL projects so far developed, Nigeria is yet to tap into two percent (2%) of its proven 192 TCF of natural gas. With global demand currently at 120 TCF and growing, Nigeria could deftly play the go-bridge in this huge demand pool with significant benefits for the nation. All that is needed is the political will and expert deployment of management skills to turn this energy of the future to Nigeria’s fattest revenue cash cow and solid foundation for industrialization.” Adamu, who is a member of the Multi-Billion Dollars RasGas and Qatar natural Gas team, who led the Committee that structured and developed the Qatar  Condensate Refinery, also said, it is time for the country to harness its huge oil and gas deposits for the benefit of the citizenry. The Taraba State born Harvard -trained oil and gas guru, whose sojourn in the industry spans over two decades, began his blossoming career with Mobil Corporation, Virginia, in the United States of America (USA), after his graduating top of his class from the prestigious Harvard University in 1992 with a Masters Degree in Law, has also worked for the multi-national oil and gas firm in several countries including the United Arab Emirate (UAE). He explained that Nigeria needs to urgently utilize her huge gas deposits by initiating policies and innovations that would monetize its enormous unassociated gas and to, as a matter of national urgency, permanently end gas flaming and convert these rich resources to benefit its generations yet to come. According to him, it is only by driving friendly initiatives and also appointing thorough-breed professionals with the requisite skills, exposure, and commitment that the populace will enjoy the natural resources that nature has endowed the country with. A skillful negotiator, Alhaji Adamu, has successfully brokered multi-billion dollar financing for Exxon Mobil projects in several countries across the globe. The legal luminary cum oil and gas technocrat has provided legal support for procurement from the International financing market of more than 15 Billion Dollars for Exxon Mobil projects in Nigeria. Adamu who is the Chairman Board of Directors of Oil Dyanmix Limited, and a Director of Sidler Dynamic Engineering Limited, an International Oil and Gas firm, among several other businesses, commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his decisive actions, saying that such policies would engender growth and development in the oil and gas sector of the economy. He canvassed support for the Administration and said all well-meaning citizens should support the government to deliver on its lofty campaign promises of; jobs creation, building of infrastructure, and social safety nets for the less privileged. The Taraba  State-born oil mogul who is also a philanthropist of repute, has experience in the hydrocarbon development industry, cut across Management, Legal support, Upstream and Midstream, Natural Gas monetization -domestic, International Planning, and Sales.

lPMAN supports FG on mitigating effects of fuel subsidy removal

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) says it is ready to support the Federal Government in mitigating the impact of subsidy removal on Nigerians. Alhaji Debo Ahmed, a former Vice Chairman, IPMAN Western zone, gave the assurance on Tuesday in Lagos. Ahmed also expressed IPMAN’s willingness to collaborate with the government in developing alternative sources of energy to alleviate the effects of subsidy removal. “We expect FG to call critical downstream stakeholders to fathom a design of alternative sources of energy and how this can go around the country within the shortest possible time. “IPMAN is ready to synergise with the government in this respect because of our spread and ability to deliver whenever called upon by the government,” he said. He highlighted the importance of exploring Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) as competitive and viable options. Ahmed emphasised that IPMAN’s extensive network of filling stations could facilitate the installation of CNG and LPG facilities across the country. He called on the government to swiftly address this urgent matter by providing financial support and establishing CNG vehicle conversion centers. “It is an urgent issue that bothers on economic expediency, the government should not delay. “With this huge money realised government should be able to provide busses that use CNG and normal fossil oil but fare reduction to the barest minimum in order not to kill huge investments in the fossil oil business. “The National Gas Expansion Programme Committee should be call back to continue their good work of bringing sellers and suppliers of CNG equipment together and also the quality assurance,” Ahmed said. He suggested reviving the refineries under close government supervision and urged the National Gas Expansion Programme Committee to continue its commendable work. Mr Joe Nwakwue, an oil and gas consultant and former Chairman, SPE Nigerian Council, said that the implementation of subsidy removal requires careful planning. Nwakwue said this would ensure the timely rollout of palliatives and judicious use of the saved funds, thereby benefiting all Nigerians. He said that the subsidy savings remained the best solution, noting that its real implementation would reduce borrowing by the government. “In essence, we were hitherto funding subsidies from borrowings, the elimination should reduce the fiscal pressure to borrow;” he said. Mr Tunji Oyebanji, the Chief Executive Officer of 11 Plc said that it was obvious, that the savings was made possible because the government through NNPCL was no longer bearing the cost. According to him, the government should be wary of slipping back into the subsidy regime because prices are still rising. “It should ensure judicious use of the saved funds and the timely rollout of palliatives,” Oyebanji said. Recall that President Tinubu on Monday during a nationwide broadcast, said that for over two months, the government had saved over a trillion Naira from subsidy. Tinubu said that the money would be used more directly and more beneficially for all families. According to him, for several years, he has consistently maintained the position that the fuel subsidy has to go.