sweetcrude reports march 2013

032013 March, SweetcrudeReports

FinanceFinance 24

Governor o f Central Bank o f Niger ia , CBN, Mallam S a n u s i Lamido Sanusi, says there is need for governance review of t r a n s p a r e n c y a n d a c c oun t ab i l i t y i n t h e Nigerian oil sector.Sanusi, who spoke at the

Metropolitan Club Luncheon in Lagos, also advised the nation on the management of its external reserves. No one can deny that

between 2010 and 2011, when oil price was going up, we should have saved more than we actually did and we spent more than we ought to. As

Theres need for review of transparency, accountability in oil sectorSanusi

CBN Governor, I spent the whole of those two years t a lk ing about f i s ca l leakages.We cannot deny that

there is need for serious governance review of t r a n s p a r e n c y a n d accountability in the oil sector, he said.Reacting to the recent

debate over the nations external reserves between the Federal Government

and former Minister of E d u c a t i o n , D r . O b y E z e kwe s i l i , t h e CBN governor said the country never had up to $67 billion as external reserves. He said the highest level of reserves attained by the country was $62 billion.The former Minister had

c l a im e d t h e F e d e r a l Government, under former President, YarAdua and P r e s i d e n t G o o d l u c k

J ona than had was t ed external reserves of $67 billion saved under the O l u s e g u n O b a s a n j o s administration.But, Sanusi said: First, let

us talk about the numbers. Nigeria never had $67 billion of reserves in its history. The highest level of reserves was $62 bill ion under late President YarAdua.There is also a certain

truth to a basic proposition that if we saved money when oil price was high, it is expected that when oil price crashes, we would de-save.Look at Germany, US, UK,

after the crisis. They all had huge de f i c i t s . So our incurring of deficit was a reduction in reserves.

We cannot deny that there is need for serious governance review of transparency and accountability in the oil sector

Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi


FinanceFinance 25

Contro v e r s y surrounding the planned procurement of $1.56 billion forward sales agreement package by the management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, t o o f f se t debt obligation was laid to rest recentlyby representative of the consortium of Nigerian banks said to have facilitated the agreement. This was contained in a

statement issued by the NNPC and signed by its acting spokesperson, Tumini GreenIn a presentation at the

renewed hearing of the Joint Committee of the House of Representatives on the alleged transaction, Mr. Ade Adeola, Managing Director, Project and Export Finance of Standard Chartered Bank, who spoke on behalf of the

We never granted NNPC$1.56 billion loan facility Consortium of Banks

Yemie ADEOYE

Consortium of banks restated the fact that the said $1.56 billion facility is not a loan but forward sale of crude oil with advance deposits to be made to the Corporation on standard NNPC sale terms at ruling market prices. Before now, the Honourable

M i n i s t e r o f P e t r o l e um Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke and the Group

Managing Director of the NNPC, Engr. Andrew Yakubu had in separate presentations to the H o u s e C o m m i t t e e e x p l a i n e d t h a t t h e $1.56billion instrument was not a loan but a proposed forward sales agreement to enable the NNPC settle outstanding debt obligations.

Lending credence to this p o s i t i o n , M r . A d e o l a explained that the sales agreement which is being brokered by four Nigerian banks namely First Bank, UBA , E c o B ank a n d Standard Chartered Bank is designed to enable NNPC reduce the debts accruing from petroleum products imports. The key idea is to enable

NNPC immediately raise the sum of US$1.5 billion to pay down outstanding debts. This is based on a forward sale arrangement which allows a sale of agreed quantities of 15,000 barrels per day of crude oil for a period of five years in consideration of an advanced amount of US$1.56billion paid to NNPC, Adeola explained. He explained that the sale

of the crude oil by NNPC will be a true sale for which the sale price is calculated on the basis of the open market

Nigerian crude oil selling price.The structure is the same

as implemented on both international and other recent NNPC Joint Venture transactions and is therefore well understood by the international and local financing market, Adeola told the House Committees .In his contribution, Group

E x e c u t i v e D i r e c t o r , Corporate Services of the NNPC, Dr. Peter Nmadu who stood in for the Group Managing Director in Thursdays session stated that as a public entity, the NNPC is always willing to cooperate with the National Assembly in the execution of t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l prescr ibed over s ight function. Hon. Muraina Ajibola,

Chairman of Petroleum Re s ou r c e s Up s t r e am , announced the indefinite adjournment of the Public Hearing.

The key idea is to enable NNPC immediately raise the sum of US$1.5 billion to pay down outstanding debts. This is based on a forward sale arrangement which allows a sale of agreed quantities of 15,000 barrels per day of crude oil for a period of five years in consideration of an advanced amount of US$1.56billion paid to NNPC

NNPC building, Abuja


FinanceFinance 26

NIGER I A : N i g e r i a s b u d g e t deficit in the 2013 budget passed last month is set to fall to 1.85 percent of gross domest i c p roduc t , the director general of the budget office said on Thursday, from 2.97 percent in last years budget. Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan approved a 4.99 trillion naira ($32 billion) budget last month, after it was passed by parliament, ending two months of disputes over the spending plans.EUROPE: The euro held

onto gains early in Asia on Friday, having posted its second biggest one-day rally this year, after the European Central Bank wrong footed investors who had positioned for a more dovish signal from ECB President Mario Draghi. The euro was at $1.3107 not far from a high of $1.3119 set overnight, after Draghi played down the threat of contagion to other euro members stemming from a political stalemate in Italy.I ND I A : T h e I n d i a n

government has sought parliaments approval to spend an additional 247.74 billion rupees ($4.54 billion) on oil subsidies in the current fiscal year that ends in March. New Delhi expects the

FINANCIAL MARKET UPDATE

Local and international financial market update

Interest rates NIBOR (%) LIBOR (%) O/N 10.2500 USD 1 month7 Day 10.6250 USD 2 month 30 Day 11.0417 USD 3 month 60 Day 11.4167 USD 4 month 90 Day 11.6667 USD 6 month USD 12 month 0.7365Y/Y Consumer Inflation January 2013 : 9%FX Reserves: 4 March 2013 (USD bn) 47.563MPR 12.00%

FX Hi Low Close Prev.Close USD/NGN 156.25/35 157.54/64 157.65/75 158.00/10

Indicative Currency Exchange Rates Bid OfferEURUSD 1.3082 GBPUSD 1.4993 USDJPY 95.34 USDCHF 0.9448 GBPEUR 1.1460 USDZAR 9.1416 USDNGN 157.15 JPYNGN 1.6483 CHFNGN 166.33 EURNGN 205.58 GBPNGN 235.61 ZARNGN 17.19

total spending on oil subsidies for the year to be 968.8 billion rupees.CHINA: Chinas exports

soared past forecast to jump by a fifth in February from a year ago, a sign the countrys modest economic revival is intact and suggesting global demand may also be on the mend. Exports rose 21.8 percent in February from a year earlier and were 20.6 percent higher on a calendar adjusted basis. Export growth to the United States was the strongest in a year and to the eurozone it was the highest in 18 months.Bonds - Bonds are still selling

off in the markets. Yields up 24bps on the 16.39% JAN 22s and 34bps on the 15.10% APR 17s bps in the biggest moves of Thursday. As yields begin to look interesting again we are already seeing some offshore interest begin to come back into the markets.Bills - Rates are up 40bps

across the maturities yesterday in reaction to the spike at

Wednesdays primary auction. The CBN took the opportunity to sell an extra N50billion on the 364day bill which as suspected led to the spike in the rate at the auction. There was an OMO o f f e r ing y e s te rday o f N300billion but failed to make any sales due to technical issues.Money Market - OBB and

unsecured O/N rates eased to 10.10% and 10.15% yesterday. Market is b e ing kep t l i qu id by OMO maturities.

Commodities Brent futures fell below $111 a barrel on Friday

as a restart of a crucial North Sea pipeline weighed on prices, with forecast-beating Chinese exports helping stem further losses.

il and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) is set Oto start its maiden

exploratory drilling on an onshore oil block in West Bengal."We have decided to dig two

exploratory wells in villages L a dh i a n d D ang i n e a r Chakaliya in Uttar Dinajpur district of West Bengal for which we have just applied to the state government for necessary approval," an official of the state-owned oil and gas explorer told DNA Money.The area in Uttar Dinajpur

falls under Block PA-ONN-2005/1 of the Purnea basin, which ONGC bagged under the seventh round of auction under the New Exploration Licensing Policy, or Nelp VII, in 2008. The production sharing con t rac t was s igned in December 2008, while the explorat ion l i cence was

ONGC plans oil exploration in Bengal

granted a year later. The block covers an area of 1,069 square km.Bharat Heavy Electrical Ltd's

Pollution Control Research Institute at Haridwar has already completed the environment impact assessment on behalf of ONGC for this onshore block.

T h e e n v i r o n m e n t a l approval for exploration would be given following a public hearing of the project t o b e h e l d i n A p r i l . Explorator y dr i l l ing is undertaken to establish the presence of hydrocarbons

indicated by seismic survey and interpretation of data. "This activity would take around 3-4 m o n t h s u n d e r n o r m a l conditions," the official said.T h e d r i l l i n g s i t e i s

surrounded by agricultural field and ONGC has assured

the state government that the well head facilities would be located in such a manner avoiding settlements.According to the petroleum

ministry, gas discovery in Salbanhat, Bangladesh, close to the Indo-Bangladesh border, up to which the Purnea block extends suggests that the equivalent sediments would be prospective in this part also.Focus on exploring the

P u r n e a o n sho r e b l o c k covering West Bengal and Bihar comes at a time when ONGC has not been quite successful in striking any major oil and gas find in the country in recent times at a scale achieved by private sector rival Reliance and when some of its own onshore blocks in the north-east basin is set to peak in two years.

Exploration tools


LabourLabour 27

DE A N o f Faculty o f S o c i a l S c i e n c e , Lagos State University, LASU, Professor Abubakar Momoh, has a c c u s e d t h e F e d e r a l Government of pitching Nigerians against workers of Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, in i ts desperate bid to conclude the illegal and unconstitutional sale of PHCN.Momoh who spoke while addressing leaders of the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), at the unions National Executive Council (NEC), meeting in Abuja, told the union leaders that there was no alternative to struggle to get their rights. According to him, A lot of rumour has been going round about how many billions that you have paid or released for payment to you. I am aware that anywhere

electricity workers go today, people will say, you have been settled. Money that you have not seen, even a penny. The government and its agents have been propagandizing about how much that have been paid, released and so on. All of us know it is not true. It is fictitious, it is rumour mongering, the money has not come. The question is why is

government doing all these? The idea is to set the people of Nigeria against electricity workers , t o make the environment hostile and to portray you as ungrateful and opportunistic and people who are not desirous of any other thing but contempt because you have not r e c iprocated the g ood gesture. But like Nelson Alter, a civil war writer, he wrote an article in the News Magazine in July 1980. he said the greatest problem with Nigeria is that people accept not what is true, but what is popularly in the public perception. That is a

Govt pitching Nigerians against PHCN workers Prof Momoh

Eluonye KOYEGWAEHI

Professor Abubakar Momoh

tragedy because people will not ask questions, people will not seek to know. That is not r i g h t . W h a t d i d t h e constitution of Nigeria say about electricity generation? What did constitution say about the control of the economy? It is there in the constitution. It is a constitutional matter.

What President Goodluck Jonathan and all of them are doing, is in actual violation of the Nigerian constitution. This brings me to the next question about citizenship. All the issues about rights can only make sense when you are a citizen. You call right rights because they are constitutionalised. W h e n r i g h t s a r e constitutionalised, what you then f ight for are your entitlements. When you say something is an entitlement, it means it must be given to you. It is a matter of must. So, why are they not given electricity workers their entitlements? If the law says your entitlement is

a right and as a citizen, your rights are contained in the constitution and t h e y a r e constitutionalised, why are your entitlements not be given to you? What you are asking for is not a privilege, it is not hand-out, not some crumbs, it is your entitlement. Why are

they not given it to you? The answer lies not in the

c o n s t i t u t i o n , b u t i n po l i t i c s . There i s no alternative to struggle. I will give you my own example. I am the most published lecturer in my university. This not arrogant and it is

not boasting. Everybody in my university knows that

but I was kept as a senior lecturer for 15 years because I was the youngest senior lecturer in my university. We have to wage a struggle through my union, the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU that led to a visitation panel being constituted. It was the visitation panel

that said injustice was done to me and that my papers s h o u l d b e s e n t o u t immediately and back dated to 2006 and the arrears fully paid. So, I collected arrears in millions. So, what I am saying to you is that I am a leaving example of struggle. People came to me to advice against struggle, we can do it this way, drop this struggle, we can talk to the Vice Chancellor and so on. That is why I so much cherish the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS slogan which say dare to struggle, dear to win.

It was the visitation panel that said injustice was done to me and that my papers should be sent out immediately and back dated to 2006 and the arrears fully paid


LabourLabour 28

NATIONAL U n i o n o f E l e c t r i c i t y Emp l o y e e s ( N U E E ) , after its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Abuja, handed down a March 1 5 , d e a d l i n e t o t h e Government to address several grievances, chief a m o n g t h e m i s t h e controversial N384 billion Government claimed it had released for the payment of Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN)s staff terminal benefits ahead of the p r i v a t i z a t i o n o f t h e companys assets.In a chat with the unions General Secretary, Comrade Joe Ajaero, he gave insight why the union and members cannot accept government figure.Excerpts:

Has the payment of your members terminal benefit begun as promised by government officials when they announced the N384 billion? The issue is that the figure is not even correct in the first instance and there is no way payment can be made on that. So, payment has not been made, and nobody can pay that amount. If you pay that amount, it is not workers terminal benefits. Maybe there is another money they want to pay PHCN workers. Nobody pays you without giving you even a l e t t e r t o s a y , y o u r entitlement is N20 and this is how it was calculated. That is how it is done all over the world. Before anybody is disengaged, he must have gotten letter to that effect before that time to tell you that your benefit is based on A B C D. So, so, so amount of money is being credited into your account. As it is, if anybody pays any amount into any workers account, the person is given such a worker a bonus. What I am saying is that we have not e v e n c o n c l u d e d t h e negotiations and there is a committee that should work on the figure. They have not worked. What we now saw was that somebody made an announcement that N384 billion was approved and that they were paying the following day. What do you pay? The issue is clear.What is your figure if you

said N384billion is a wrong figure?

Why we cant accept govts N384bn terminal benefits PHCN Workers Figures are drawn on certain

premise. That was the whole essence of having a technical committee in place. We do not want to start joggling figures as they claim billion, we claim trillion. What that will create is confusion and controversy. That was why they appointed Alexander Forbes to do the real valuation. We have our own committee that is working with them so that we will calculate and know the exact figure. Before the committee met, Alexander Forbes came with this N384 billion and when members of the committee from our union saw it, they faulted the figure. They told them that they cannot be talking about 35,000 and 36,000 workers that gave you N384 billion, when we have 50,000 workers. It means, you have not included almost 16,000 workers. You cannot

also be talking about this figure without the 4000 casual workers that have not been regularized for them to be captured by this figure. They also went further and did it in a way

that some people who are General Managers, they calculated their entitlements based on senior managers, thereby reducing their grades by two steps and ultimately reducing what

they are supposed to get. These were some of the anomalies through which they arrived at N384 billion. They went further to calculate life expectancy for PHCN workers to be 117 years. You and I know that Nigerias life expectancy is not 117 years. Even that of United Kingdom and South Africa which is over 70, we could take. But somebody c a nno t c a l c u l a t e o u r entitlements based on 117 years in order to reduce the amount of money accruing to the workers. So, these are some of the basis upon which the N384 billion came about. When we engaged them with BPE, they acknowledged that it was false and they said they were going back, and that instead of relying on that data, they were going to administer a data form in all PHCN installations for workers to fill their names, p o s i t i o n s , s a l a r i e s , promotions, grades and so on. The data form is being collated. As we speak, they have not finished collation to go back to the committee. Then, they came out and still announced that false figure. That is the situation.After the December agreement, we were in the process of setting up the technical committee to work out the figure. it was expected that when the technical committee finished its work, we would have implementation committee, which would involve some level of leadership, there we could determine if somebody was wrongly paid, if there were issues not covered and things like for us to a have smooth implementation of the process. That did not happen till January, when they now agreed for the technical committee and they came to Lagos for m e e t i n g w i t h t h e i r c onsul tant ; A lexander Forbes. We held the first meeting that I spoke about and after that, nothing. It was during the first meeting that we dictated those issues we raised. We are supposed to reconvene, till now we have not reconvened. There is the biometric exercise that started over one year on the issue of casuals, it has not been concluded. We still have about 4000 casual workers not regularized. Early this year, we wrote a letter to BPE and BPE acknowledged

CONTINUES ON PAGE 30

The issue is that the figure is not even correct in the first instance and there is no way payment can be made on that. So, payment has not been made, and nobody can pay that amount. If you pay that amount, it is not workers terminal benefits

Comrade Joe Ajaero,


LabourLabour 30

MARITIME Workers Union of N ige r ia , MWUN , h a s t a k e n s o m e multinational oil companies and shipping companies to court for alleged refusal to engage the services of registered Dockworkers in their midstream operations as stipulated by the law.President-General of the

union, Comrade Anthony Nted who, who disclosed in said, however that some have indicated interest to settle out of court.According to him, some of

the issues with oil companies have been settled while some are in the courts. The tragedy of the Nigerian state is that when these oil companies commit atrocities, they will run to law courts. The sad thing about these cases is that some of the lawyers are j u s t m i l k i n g t h e o i l companies even when they know the case cannot stand the test of legal scrutiny. In other cases, the lawyers do not know anything about maritime law. They will be talking about Economy Zone (EZ), the nautical miles where the vessel berthed and that dockworkers are not supposed to work there.

Why we cant accept govts N384bn terminal benefits

the letter. The Director-General signed the letter back to my office, to say that they are sorry and that they are going to reconstitute the committee to conclude their work. They reconstituted a committee, it met and adjourned. The day the committee meeting, to r e c onvene , t h ey s en t message across that the meeting would not hold, only for them to announce this figure. That means, they are not giving room for any engagement. What do you do in such a situation? We can say the government is not committed to resolving labour issues. If government officials were committed, they would not have played

p o l i t i c s w i t h i t . T h e announcement was to deceive investors to sign agreement with them the following morning. No reasonable i nves to r w i l l s i gn tha t agreement when he knows that labour issues have not been addressed. So, they hurriedly announced the figure that evening, saying they had released money and that they were commencing payment the following morning. You can move round to see if there is anybody that has been given a letter of his entitlement talk less of payment commencing. You do not operate that way in a sensitive sector like this. No investor can walk into any of these plants when these issues are not addressed. The whole essence is to pitch Nigerians against workers of PHCN to say

even when we have given them this amount, they are not sincere, they are not satisfied and they are asking for more. Why are they protesting? No serious

government treats its people this way. You just came out that you have release money, you are paying tomorrow, how can you do that? Because you have given the so-called investors

some weeks to pay 25 percent, they hurriedly signed and believing that if they pay that 25 percent, you can get something with which to commence payment.How are we sure that your

planned to begin strike on March 15, is not an empty threat? The whole essence of giving

notice is for the matter to be addressed within the period of the notice. If you have told me that the notice expired and nothing happened, I would have asked for instances where such took place. But if you are now saying 15 days, 14 days, which is the provision by law statutorily, we did not take anybody by surprise.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 28

We can say the government is not committed to resolving labour issues. If government officials were committed, they would not have played politics with it

Maritime workers drag oil firms to court over mid-stream operations

Eluonye KOYEGWAEHI

When you ask them how do they do the off-loading, who off-loaded the vessel and how did those who did the off-loading how did they get there? They will have no answer. In most of the cases already judged, they lost almost all of them. One

w o n d e r s w h y t h e s e company whether Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC, Elf Mobil and so on, do not ask que s t i on f r om t h e i r lawyers, whether the lawyers understand the

law and the issues involved.Some o f them have

perfected the act of delay tactics and other tricks to ensure that they continue to milk these companies in court. What they now do is that they will continue to

employ delay tactics for the case not to be heard. When the case is eventually heard and they lost, they would proceed to appeal among others. An example is SHELL. They raised so many irrelevant objections such as that the gazette was outdated, it is not correct, it was not properly signed, it was not signed by who was supposed to signed it, it did no t g o through s ome processes and so on. At the end of the day, we won the case at the high court. They went to the appeal court, when they lost, they went to the Supreme Court. The managements of these companies are not asking them questions in spite of the huge amount of money being spent on these cases.As we speak, we are in

court with a lot of the multinational oil companies. L i k e SHELL , P a c i f i c Drilling, TransOcean and so on. But Transocean has agreed to settle out of court and agreed to engage a register stevedore.

Containers at the Port


LabourLabour 31

AHEAD of the M a r c h 1 5 , d e a d l i n e leaders of the N a t i o n a l U n i o n o f E l e c t r i c i t y Employees, NUEE, issued the Federal Government to a d d r e s s a 1 0 - p o i n t grievances, the union has begun massive mobilization of its members across the c o un t r y f o r e f f e c t i v e industrial action should government fail to meet its demands.This came the Federal

Government pleaded with the union for understanding in the current face-off triggered of by government announcement of the release and commencement o f payment of N384 billion for Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) workers, which the union said is fictitious.It would be recalled that

leaders of NUEE at their National Executive Council, NEC, meeting in Abuja, issued a 14-day strike notice within which for government to address some identified grievances including the controversial N384 billion.S p e a k i n g o n t h e

preparation for a showdown with government over the issues, President of NUEE, Comrade Mansur Musa, said leaders of the union at all levels had been directed to go back and mobilize members for effective industrial action should government fail to address members concern.According to him, They

said they have released N384 billion for the payment of the terminal benefits for the sacked PHCN workers. It is a lie. They said they would start payment the next day, which is another lie. What they have succeeded in doing, is to ask kidnappers to go after our members. No matter the amount o f blackmail, the government knows that our entitlements must be paid in full before any handover or take over. These companies are our own. We have directed our members to get prepare to do the right thing if they are not ready to do the right thing, we will show them how to do the right thing. We have given them a reasonable time within which to commence a n d c o n c l u d e implementat ion o f a l l agreements. The time we

ational Union of Petroleum and Natura l Gas N

Workers, NUPENG, has implored the members of the National Assembly not to play politics with the Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, saying such will be dangerous for the nations economy which depends on the Oil and Gas sector for survival.The union however

l a u d e d p r o g r e s s i v e minded members in the senate for their efforts at

ULTIMATUM: PHCN workers step up preparation for strike *Govt pleads for understanding

Eluonye KOYEGWAEHI

consider as reasonable, is over. They are politicians and we work in electricity industry. We are going to do give them electric shock to do the right thing.Announcing the ultimatum to

government after the NEC meeting, the unions General

Secretary, Comrade Joseph Ajaero, said the NEC -in-session expressed worry and disappointment at the p a c e t h e F e d e r a l G o v e r n m e n t i s misinforming the general public over payment of staff emoluments in the Power

sector thereby exposing our members to serious security threats . NEC- session condemns in the delay in completing the biometric reconciliation committees assignment which should have been concluded within t w o w e e k s o f i t s

inauguration. Consequently, the union demands that the committee winds up its a c t i v i t i e s f o r t h e regularisation of casuals by 15th of March , 2013.

NUPENG warns against playing politics with PIB Eluonye KOYEGWAEHI e n s u r i n g t h a t t h e protracted Bill sees the

light of day in the interest of Nigeria as a nation.NUPENG in a statement

by its Acting General Secretary, Comrade Isaac Aberare, said members were worried about the dilly-dallying of the PIB passage at the National Assembly, stating that the delay and politicking over its passage does not a u gu r w e l l f o r t h e advancement of the oil and gas industry.The union calls on the

National Assembly to e x p e d i t e n e c e s s a r y legislative actions and pass the bill into law so

that the oil and gas industry can move forward. We are not happy at the delay in the passage of the PIB bill which is robbing the country of billions of dollars of new investments into the oil and gas industry that will bring a b o u t e m p l o y m e n t opportunities. The delay is also leading to divestment by some of the oil companies. We condemn in its entirety the negative reaction of some Northern Senator, that it will not give support to the passage because of some provisions, like the host community fund.The union states that they

should allow reason to prevail, as their plan is

unpatriotic, selfish and unnecessary, knowing fully w e l l t h e e x t e n t o f environmental degradation caused by oil exploration activities in the oil producing communities. The union urges the Northern Senators who are working against the passage of the PIB to exercise restraint and canvass for the extension of s u ch mon i e s t o h o s t communities in the North, where hydro-electricity installations are situated along their rivers and where solid minerals are tapped. In that way a balance can be maintained.

PHCN workers preparing for a showdown with the government


Solid MineralSolid Mineral 32 A B U J A C a n a d i a n mining giants have indicated i n t e r e s t t o

invest in the development of Nigerias mining and steel industry, giving positive impetus to the various efforts of the Federal Government at attracting foreign direct investments, FDIs, into the nations mining industry.The investment intension

was made known when the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Arc. Musa Mohammed Sada, received in his office the Canadian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Chris Cooter and the Deputy High Commissioner, Jean J. Gautheir.T h e M i n i s t e r , w h o

described the meeting as timely, said the Federal Government was working proactively at diversifying the economy of the country to other sectors, particularly solid minerals and metal sector.H e n o t e d t h a t t h e

regulatory frameworks which are being operated in the nations mining industry are Canadian-based, adding that, draft copies of the mining regulations were circulated to prospective mining investors at the last Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada, PDAC, Forum in Canada for additional inputs in order to have regulatory frameworks that conforms to international best practices for the nations mining industry.Arc. Sada informed the

delegation that the Federal Government has already put in place a Committee on Bitumen for the country to develop its bitumen belt.He disclosed that he had

directed the chairman of the committee to liaise with the Canadian Embassy on the w a y f o r w a r d f o r t h e exploration of the bitumen resources.The Minister reiterated

F ede ra l Gove rnment s readiness to collaborate with state governments and the p r i va t e s e c t o r i n t h e sustainable growth of the minerals and metal sector.He assured the delegation

t h a t t h e N i g e r i a n government would do the necessary things to facilitate

Canada eyes Nigerias mining resources

Oscarline ONWUEMENYI

the operations of investors in the minerals and metal sector for the benefit of investors and Nigerians.On t h e i n v i t a t i on f o r

participation at international Convention, Trade Show and Investors Exchange under the auspices of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada, PDAC, in Canada next year, the Minister assured that the ministry would attend.PDAC is a yearly event and

since its inception, 39 years ago, to present the opportunity of sharing of ideas and networking on new development in the mining industry, it attracts over 100 countries.Speaking earlier, the High

Commissioner of Canada said

the purpose of their visit was to indicate their interest as well as seek for area of collaboration in the development of the nations mining industry.

The High Commissioner commended the existing h e a l t h y e c o n o m i c r e l a t i o n s h i p b e tw e en Canada a nd N i g e r i a , expressing the preparedness

of his government to foster i n c r eased c o opera t i on between the two countries.He said Canada is the

second largest mining country in the world with about 250 mining operators dotted around the globe in countries l ike Zambia, Tanzania, Liberia, Congo, among others.He extended the invitation

of the Canadian Government t o t h e M i n i s t e r f o r p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n t h e forthcoming, PDAC, forum in Canada, stressing that this would go a long way at boost ing the economic relationship between the two countries.

Canada is the second largest mining country in the world with about 250 mining operators dotted around the globe in countries like Zambia, Tanzania, Liberia, Congo, among others

Mining site


Solid MineralSolid Mineral 33

ABUJA - The F e d e r a l Government has disclosed i ts p lan to drive local participation in the exploration, exploitation and processing of solid minerals resource in the country to develop the nations mines and steel sector which was been taken over by foreign operators.The Minister of Mines and

Steel Development, Arc. Musa Mohammed Sada, who disclosed this when he received in audience a delegation of officials of the Association of Professional Bodies of Nigeria, APBN, in Abuja, observed that the local content initiative in the petroleum industry has recorded modest successes, adding that it was time the mining and steel sectors got more local participation.The Minister noted that

there efforts are on to develop the nations mines and steel sector by the foreigners, adding that, efforts to encourage local participation by creating home-made professionals in the sector g a v e b i r t h t o t h e e s t a b l i s hmen t o f t h e Nigerian Institute of Mining and Geosciences in Jos.He said: The idea is to

generate people that will come up and go into the site and do the actual operations themselves, what they do is practical to add value.Arc . Sada expressed

appreciation for the visit of the association, noting that his Ministry is highly professional with four (4) technical departments and six (6) agencies to transform the sector into one of the revenue earners for the country.He added that periodic

t ra in ing and capac i ty d e v e l o p m e n t w e r e p a r a m o u n t t o t h e development of the nations mines and steel sector, saying the sector has a control body, which is the Council of Nigerian Mining Engineers and Geoscientists,

FG wants local content for development of mining sectorOscarline ONWUEMENYI

COMEG, over the professional bodies such as Nigerian Mining and Geoscientists Society, Nigerian Metallurgical Society, among others.The Minister lamented that

none of the professional bodies in the sector was listed among members b o d i e s o f t h e association, assuring that he would encourage

them to partner with the association.Arc. Sada disclosed that

P r e s i d e n t G o o d l u c k Jonathan has approved the board members of the

Council of Nigerian Mining Engineers and Geoscientists, COMEG, which would be inaugurated by the Minister next week

u s a u - A n internat ional o rganisat ion , G

Medicines Sans Frontier, M S F , s a y s i n f a n t mortality rate resulting from lead poisoning in Zamfara has dropped from 40 per cent in 2010 to

Lead poisoning: Mortality rate drops from 40 to 3 per cent in Zamfara

three.The MSF official, Dr

G e o r g e M b a t o t o , announced this on at a one day sensitisation workshop in Gusau, organised for stakeholders on the control of lead poison in the state.It was organised by an

A b u j a b a s e d n o n -governmental organisation, Community Emergency Response Initiative.The hitherto frightening

scourge of mortality rate of children below five years which stood at 40 per cent when lead poisoning was

discovered in 2010 has been b r o u g h t d o w n t o a manageable three per cent.We will not relent our

efforts in the seven affected villages in Bukkuyum and Anka local government areas until we make the environment safe enough for the children to survive, Mbatoto said.

Quilpie boulder opal


FreightFreight 34

Effor t s a r e currently on, on the part of the Nigerian government to woo the countrys northern neighbours, the Republic of Niger, to import goods and ship out its newly discovered crude oil through Nigerian ports.T h e t a s k i s b e i n g

undertaken by the Nigerian Shippers Council, NSC, and the efforts are already yielding fruit.Before now, Niger was importing goods through Nigerian ports. Before privatisation, all the inefficiencies in the ports made them to move to what t h e y c a l l e d s a n e r jurisdictions like Ghana and so on, said Barrister Hassan Bello, the Acting Executive S e c r e t a r y a n d C h i e f Executive Officer of the NSC, who headed a team of maritime operators that visited the French-speaking country recently.

Niger Republic to export oil through Nigeria

The move is part of efforts by the new leaders of the NSC to woo back Nigerias landlocked neighbouring nations, which allegedly abandoned doing business at Nigerian ports in the last decade due t o unfriendly nature of the ports. Barrister Bello said his team

got assurances from the authorities in Niger Republic that the country would be returning to Nigerian ports for business. According to him, many o f the landlocked countries around Nigeria, were a b o u t n i n e y e a r s a g o , conducting their businesses

through Nigeria before the business environment in N iger ia deprec iated , forcing those nations to explore other countries as options. He maintained that

e f f i c i e n c y h a s n ow returned to the ports as a result of the reform efforts of the Federal Government and the NSC. It does not make any economic sense for Niger leaving Nigeria that is closer and going to Ghana or Burkina Faso to bring in goods. What the N i g e r i a n S h i p p e r s

Council has said is efficiency is a function of competition; no matter how near you are, people like to take their goods in time. Time is money in shipping.

So because of the internal impediments like roadblocks, they abandoned Nigerian ports. There are more roadblocks from Nigeria to Niger than there are from Burkina Faso to Niger and so many things. It is an economic decision;

but when the Federal Government privatised the ports, efficiency is back only

one or two things are yet to be resolved. So, Niger is now about to transport its cargo through Nigeria. Nigerian Shippers Council rallied round terminal operators for this big one. This is because if the

country returns to Nigeria, it will increase the terminal operators capacity, it will make it more profitable if you have such tonnage, Bello stated. Speaking further on the impending return of Niger Republic to the Nigerian ports, he said: Niger is now an oil exporting country. It is unlike before when you talk about Niger as a dry region. They are generating so much economic activities.

Barrels of oil


FreightFreight 35

The Nigerian M a r i t i m e Administration and Safety A g e n c y , NIMASA, has said it is targeting to train over 5,000 seafarers in the next 10 years following the big emphasise on training under the N a t i o n a l S e a f a r e r s Development Programme, NSDP.D i s c l o s i n g t h i s t o

SweetcrudeReports at the send forth party for 191 young Nigerian cadets being sent to the Arab Academy for Science Technology and Maritime Transport in Alexandria Egypt, NIMASAs Director General, Mr. Patrick Akpobolokemi, stated that t h o u s a n d s o f y o u n g Nigerians would have gone through the training in the next 10 years.This, according to him,

would further boost the countrys Gross Domestic Product, GDP.Akpobolokemi said the

agency would be dedicating a large chunk of its budget to the sea time training aspect of the programme, adding that the training would be a complete package that would s ee these ca tegory o f Nigerians well-equipped for the future.The agency boss also

e x p l a i n e d t h a t t h e government is developing maritime institutions along side the NSDP projectAt the pace we are going,

all things being equal, a few thousands of Nigerians would have been trained at the end of the decade, he added.The coordinator of the

N a t i o n a l S e a f a r e r s Development Programme, Mrs Irene Macfoy, also told SweetcrudeReports that over a thousand cadets have been sent abroad for the training and that they went to the Philippines and other parts.Macfoy explained that the

NIMASA budgets N30bn to train 5,000 seafarers

*Sends 191 cadets to Egypt for trainingToju VINCENT

move to embark on the training project was to fill the expected 250,000 vacancies that will exist in the seafaring profession by the years 2025. This has b e e n p r o j e c t e d b y t h e I n t e rna t i ona l Mar i t ime Organisation, IMO.She stated that all things

being equal, about 5,000 Nigerians would have g o n e t h r o u g h t h e programme by the end of the decade.The NSDP coordinator

further stated that the government, through the agency, introduced the

training project in 2009 with a view to bridging the projected employment gap in the seafaring profession.You are aware of the

liquidation of the Nigerian National Shipping Line and ever since then there has been a dearth in the human capacity in the maritime sector.NIMASA being the apex

maritime regulatory agency had to take the bull by the horn by finding a way of filling that vacuum and this was how the National S ea f a r e r s Deve l op ing Programme was conceived, she said.The NSDP was initiated in

2009 by the then NIMASA Director General, Dr. Ade

Dosunmu.Nigerian cadets for Egypt

maritime academyAt the send-forth party for

the 191 young Nigerian cadets to the Arab Academy for Science Technology and Maritime Transport in A l e x a n d r i a , E g y p t , Akpobolokemi, NIMASA DG, warned the cadets to be good ambassadors of the country, urging them not to waste government investment on them.He told them that the

agency decided to take this initiative on them with a view to creating a brighter future for young Nigerians so as to contribute to the economic development of the country.

Seafarers receiving instructions

At the pace we are going, all things being equal, a few thousands of Nigerians would have been trained at the end of the decade


FrightFright 36

The U n i t e d S t a t e s o f America has given Nigeria six 25-feet light patrol boats and spare parts valued at $1 million.They came through the

United States Governments Joint Maritime Security Training Centre, JMSTC, established to boost maritime security in Nigeria.The training centre was

specifically initiated as a capacity building assistance from US government to train Nigerian security personnel, in conjunction with the Nigerian Armed Forces, in the area of maritime security, and littoral and riverine operations. At the graduation ceremony

of 25 personnel of the Nigerian Navy at the JMSTC and the commissioning of two additional speed patrol boats at Navy Town, Ojo, Lagos, United States Consulate General, Jeffery Hawkins, said the assistance from his government was part of the U S s l o n g s t a n d i n g relationship with Nigeria and its contribution to collaboration in securing the nations maritime domain.The delivery of the six boats

from the US was facilitated by its embassy through the Foreign Military Sales, FMS, programme.H e a d d e d t h a t t h e

American training team had tutored 25 personnel of the Nigerian Navy (five officers and 20 ratings) in basic boat handling, basic outboard engine maintenance and trouble shooting of outboard engines, among others.Responding, the Chief of

Defence Staff, Admiral Ola Saad Ibrahim, said the purpose of the centre was to provide a focal point to the maritime security training activities across the Armed Forces as well as law enforcement agencies in Nigeria in order to assist in enhancing their effectiveness in conducting joint littoral, r iverine and marit ime operations.I b r a h i m w h o w a s

represented by Air Vice Marshal Moses Akinsanmi, the Commandant, Nigerian Armed Forces Resettlement Centre, NAFRC, in Oshodi, Lagos, announce that plans were on to make the centre a regional training centre of excellence for the West African Sub-region.

he Nigerian P o r t s Authority is T

set to play host to a two-day course with t h e t h e m e , P r o t e c t i n g Nigerians Seaports.The course, billed to

hold this March, is designed to provide

US donates $1m, six boats in aid of Nigerian maritime security

Taking delivery of the b o a t s s h o w s t h e c o mm i tm e n t o f t h e Nigerian Government in

curbing maritime crimes, growing threat of terrorism and enhancing maritime security within the country

and the Gulf of Guinea through training of its armed forces with state of the art equipment, he said.

NPA organises course to protect port from terrorists

the Nigerian Maritime Community with the needed information to protect on-shore, and sub-s e a f a c i l i t i e s f r om potential terrorist and criminal threats.The inaugural course is

targeted on Nigerias military, intelligence, law-enforcement agencies

and maritime administrators while the private sectors would take its turn at another forum in April.The courses are the

initiative of the Trade Facilitation Centre, TFC, a creation of the office of the President of Nigeria in c o o p e r a t i o n w i t h t h e Ministry of Transport and

the Nigeria Ports Authority.The Trade Facilitation

Cen t r e i s t o manage information flow within Nigerias maritime domain in an effort to deliver efficiency, effectiveness, s a f e t y a n d s e c u r i t y throughout the seaports and waterways.

Boat on the sea


FrightFright 38

More young Nigerian f ema l e s h a v e embraced the National Seafarers Development Programme, NSDP, of the Nigerian Maritime Administration a n d S a f e t y A g e n c y , NIMASA, as over a hundred of them are currently undergoing training to b e c om e p r o f e s s i o n a l seafarers.S p e a k i n g t o

SweetcrudeReports on the increased number of young N i g e r i a n f e m a l e s , coordinator of the NSDP programme, Mrs Irene Macfoy, said she could not

More females embrace NIMASAs seafaring training programme

Toju VINCENT say exactly how many female cadets had been admitted into the programme but that the number was quite high.Macfoy explained that the

current trends in the world has thrown up opportunities for both men and women and that women in some cases were doing better than their male counterparts.In the world today, you find

that women are making more waves , we have women becoming Presidents of nations, we have women becoming Chief Executive Officers, there is no limit as to how far the woman of today can go, she said.It was gathered that a woman

got the best graduating student award from AMET University in India where some of the cadets underwent training.She disclosed that the current

batch of participants have completed their sea time training and were heading back to the class room for t h e i r c o m p e t e n c e examination.Some of the female

beneficiaries, who spoke to

SweetcrudeReports said that they decided to go into this dominated profession to make a difference.There were over twenty

females in the batch of cadets going to the maritime institute in Alexandria in

Egypt.Miss Oyewole Oyebola said

she was grateful to the g o v e r nmen t f o r t h i s opportunity to study her dream course.E i g h t e e n y e a r s o l d

Oyebola, who plans to s p e c i a l i s e i n ma r i n e engineering, also said she was aware of the rigors the t r a i n i n g e n t a i l s b u t promised to face whatever cha l l enges tha t were involved.Another female cadet,

twenty years old Miss Labaran Fatima from Kogi State, disclosed that she was p s y c h o l o g i c a l l y a n d mentally prepared for the programme.

In the world today, you find that women are making more waves, we have women becoming Presidents of nations, we have women becoming Chief Executive Officers, there is no limit as to how far the woman of today can go

Seafarer women ready for training


TechnologyTechnology 39Solar power is the conversion of sunlight into e l e c t r i c i t y , either directly

using photovoltaics (PV), or i n d i r e c t l y u s i n g concentrated solar power (CSP). Concentrated solar power systems use lenses or m i r ro r s and t ra ck ing systems to focus a large area of sunlight into a small beam. Photovoltaics convert light into electric current using the photoelectric effect.Commercial concentrated

solar power plants were first developed in the 1980s. The 3 5 4 MW S E G S C S P installation is the largest solar power plant in the world, located in the Mojave Desert of California. Other large CSP plants include the Solnova Solar Power Station (150 MW) and the Andasol solar power station (150 MW), both in Spain. The over 200 MW Agua Caliente Solar Project in the United States, and the 214 MW Charanka Solar Park in India, are the worlds largest photovoltaic power stations.ApplicationsS o l a r p ow e r i s t h e

conversion of sunlight into electricity. Sunlight can be converted directly into e l e c t r i c i t y u s i n g photovoltaics (PV) , or indirectly with concentrated solar power (CSP), which normally focuses the sun's energy to boil water which is then used to provide power. Other technologies also exist, such as Stirling engine dishes which use a Stirling cycle engine to power a generator. Photovoltaics were initially used to power small and medium-sized applications, from the calculator powered by a single solar cell to off-grid h omes p owe r ed b y a photovoltaic array.Concentrating solar powerConcentrating Solar Power

(CSP) systems use lenses or m i r ro r s and t ra ck ing systems to focus a large area of sunlight into a small beam. The concentrated heat is then used as a heat source for a conventional power plant. A wide range of concentrating technologies exists; the most developed are the parabolic trough, the concentrating linear fresnel reflector, the Stirling dish

Solar powerand the solar power tower. Various techniques are used to track the Sun and focus light. In all of these systems a working fluid is heated by the concentrated sunlight, and is then used for power generation or energy storage. Thermal storage efficiently allows up to 24 hour electricity generation.A parabolic trough consists of

a linear parabolic reflector that concentrates light onto a receiver positioned along the reflector's focal line. The receiver is a tube positioned right above the middle of the parabolic mirror and is filled with a working fluid. The reflector is made to follow the Sun during the daylight hours by tracking along a single axis. Parabolic trough systems provide the best land-use factor of any solar technology. The SEGS plants in California and Acciona's Nevada Solar One near Boulder City, Nevada are r epresenta t ives o f t h i s technology. Compact Linear Fresnel Reflectors are CSP-plants which use many thin mirror strips instead of p a r a b o l i c m i r r o r s t o concentrate sunlight onto two

tubes with working fluid. This has the advantage that flat mirrors can be used which are much cheaper than parabolic mirrors, and that more reflectors can be placed in the same amount of space, allowing more of the available sunlight to be used . Concentrat ing linear fresnel reflectors can be used in either large or more compact plants.The Stirling solar dish

combines a parabolic concentrating dish with a Stirling engine which

normally drives an electric generator. The advantages of S t i r l i n g s o l a r o v e r photovoltaic cells are higher efficiency of converting sunlight into electricity and longer lifetime. Parabolic dish systems give the highest e f f i c iency among CSP technologies. The 50 kW Big Dish in Canberra, Australia is an example of this technology.A solar power tower uses an

array of tracking reflectors (heliostats) to concentrate light on a central receiver atop a tower. Power towers

are more cost effective, offer higher efficiency and better energy storage capability among CSP technologies. The PS10 Solar Power Plant and PS20 solar power plant a r e e xamples o f t h i s technology.PhotovoltaicsA solar cell, or photovoltaic

cell (PV), is a device that converts light into electric c u r r e n t u s i n g t h e photoelectric effect. The first solar cell was constructed by Charles Fritts in the 1880s. In 1931 a German engineer, Dr Bruno Lange, developed a photo cell using silver selenide in place of copper o x i d e . A l t h o u g h t h e prototype selenium cells converted less than 1% of incident light into electricity, both Ernst Werner von Siemens and James Clerk Maxwell recognized the importance of this discovery. Following the work of Russell Ohl in the 1940s, researchers Gerald Pearson, Calvin Fuller and Daryl Chapin created the silicon solar cell in 1954. These early solar cells cost 286


A parabolic trough consists of a linear parabolic reflector that concentrates light onto a receiver positioned along the reflector's focal line

Solar power tower


TechnologyTechnology 40

Solar powerCONTINUED FROM PAGE 39

USD/watt and reached efficiencies of 4.56%.Photovoltaic power systemsSolar cells produce direct

current (DC) power which fluctuates with the sunlight's intensity. For practical use t h i s u sua l l y r e qu i r e s conversion to certain desired voltages or alternating current (AC), through the use of inverters. Multiple solar cells are connected inside modules. Modules are wired together to form arrays, then tied to an inverter, which produces power at the desired voltage, and for AC, the desired frequency/phase.Many residential systems

are connected to the grid w h e r e v e r a v a i l a b l e , especially in developed countries with large markets. In these grid-connected PV systems, use of energy storage is optional. In certain a p p l i c a t i o n s s u c h a s satellites, lighthouses, or in d e v e l o p i ng c o un t r i e s , batteries or additional power generators are often added as back-ups. Such stand-alone power systems permit operations at night and at other t imes of l imited sunlight.D e v e l o p m e n t a n d

deploymentThe early development of

solar technologies starting in the 1860s was driven by an expectation that coal would s o o n b e c om e s c a r c e . However, development of solar technologies stagnated in the early 20th century in the face of the increasing availability, economy, and utility of coal and petroleum. In 1974 it was estimated that only six private homes in all of North America were entirely heated or cooled by functional solar power systems. The 1973 oi l embargo and 1979 energy c r i s i s c a u s e d a reorganization of energy policies around the world and brought renewed attention to d e v e l o p i n g s o l a r technologies. Deployment s t ra t eg i e s f o cused on incentive programs such as the Federal Photovoltaic Utilization Program in the US and the Sunshine Program in Japan. Other e f f o r t s i n c l u d e d t h e f o rmat ion o f r esearch

facilities in the US (SERI, now NREL), Japan (NEDO), and Germany (Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE).Between 1970 and 1983

photovoltaic installations grew rapidly, but falling oil prices in the early 1980s moderated the growth of PV from 1984 to 1996. Since 1997, PV development has accelerated due to supply issues with oil and natural gas, global warming concerns, and the improv ing e conomic position of PV relative to other energy t e chno log ies . [22 ] Photovoltaic production growth has averaged 40% per year since 2000 and installed capacity reached 39.8 GW at the end of 2010, of them 17.4 GW in Germany. As of October 2011, the largest photovoltaic (PV) power plants in the world are the Sarnia Photovoltaic Power Plant (Canada, 97 MW), Montalto di Castro Photovoltaic Power Station (Italy, 84.2 MW) and Finsterwalde Solar Park (Germany, 80.7 MW).There are also many large

plants under construction. The Desert Sunlight Solar Farm is a 550 MW solar power plant under construction in Riverside County, California, that will use thin-film solar photovoltaic modules made by First Solar. The Topaz Solar Farm is a 550 MW photovoltaic power plant, being built in San Luis Obispo County, California.[26] The Blythe Solar Power Project is a 500 MW photovoltaic station under construction in Riverside County, California. The Agua

Caliente Solar Project is a 2 9 0 m e g a w a t t p h o t o v o l t a i c s o l a r generating facility being built in Yuma County, Arizona. The California Va l l ey S o l a r Ranch (CVSR) is a 250 megawatt (MW) solar photovoltaic power plant, which is being built by SunPower in t h e C a r r i z o P l a i n , northeast of California Valley. The 230 MW Antelope Valley Solar Ranch is a First Solar photovoltaic project which is under construction in the Antelope Valley area of the Western Mojave Desert, and due to be completed in 2013.EconomicsD e s p i t e t h e

overwhelming availability of solar power, little was installed, compared to other power generation, prior to 2012, due to the high installation cost. This cost has declined as more systems have been installed, and has followed a typical learning curve.Photovoltaic systems use

no fuel and modules typically last 25 to 40 years. The cost of installation is almost the only cost, as there is very little maintenance required. Installation cost is measured in $/watt or /watt. The electricity generated is sold for /kWh. 1 watt of installed photovoltaics generates roughly 1 to 2 kWh/year, as a result of the local insolation. The product of the local cost o f e lectr ic i ty and the

insolation determines the break even point for solar power. The International C on f e r e n c e o n S o l a r Photovoltaic Investments, organized by EPIA, has estimated that PV systems will pay back their investors in 8 to 12 years. As a result, since 2006 it has been economical for investors to install photovoltaics for free in return for a long term power purchase agreement. Fifty percent of commercial systems were installed in this manner in 2007 and over 90% by 2009.As of 2011, the cost of PV

has fallen well below that of nuclear power and is set to fall further. The average retail price of solar cells as monitored by the Solarbuzz group fell from $3.50/watt to $2.43/watt over the course of 2011, and a decline to prices below $2.00/watt seems inevitable.A U.S. study of the amount

of economic installations agrees closely with the actual installations.F o r l a r g e - s c a l e

installations, prices below $1.00/watt are now common. In some locations, PV has reached grid parity, the cost at which it is competitive with coal or gas-fired generation. More generally, it is now evident that, given a carbon price of $50/ton, which would raise the price of coal-fired power by 5c/kWh, solar PV will be cost-competitive in most locations. The declining price of PV has been reflected in rapidly growing installations, totalling about 23 GW in 2011. Although some consolidation is likely in 2012, as firms try to restore profitability, strong growth seems likely to continue for the rest of the decade. Already, by one estimate, total investment in renewables for 2011 exceeded investment in carbon-based electricity generation.Additionally, governments

have c r ea ted var i ous financial incentives to encourage the use of solar power, such as feed-in tariff programs. Also, Renewable portfolio standards impose a government mandate that utilities generate or acquire a certain percentage of renewable power regardless o f i n c r e a s e d e n e r g y procurement costs.

Geesthacht energy park

Solar stiring engine


CommunityCommunity 41Niger-Delta Coalition demands scrap of oil blocsThe Federa l Government h a s b e e n urged by the Niger Delta

coalition to scrap ownership of all oil blocks in the country to ensure equity and fairness in the country.The group is part of the

United Niger Delta Energy Development Security Strategy, UNDEDSS. Secretary General of

UNDEDSS , Mr T ony Uranta, told newsmen in Lagos: Nigeria should scrap ownership of all oil blocs and begin at zero point to re-allocate them in the spirit of fairness and equity.According to him, oil blocs

should now be allocated based on federal character principle since the nation is reluctant to give us either total control or make sure the Niger Delta gets what it deserves.Uranta explained that the

decision of UNDEDSS was coming on the heels of the division in the Nigerian Senate over the proposed Petroleum Industry , PIB, aimed at reforming the oil sector.The UNDEDSS scribe

noted that the 83 per cent oil b l o c k o w n e r s h i p b y Northerners was not news t o t h e c o a l i t i on bu t expressed shock over the Northern Senators strong opposition to a bill that would ensure justice and equity to the Niger Delta people who have suffered and are still suffering so much degradation and other health related issues f rom explorat ion and exploitation of oil in the region for too long.Uranta described the

inability of the National Assembly to pass the PIB as unfair to the Niger Delta region, saying whilst we talk of derivative principle of 13 per cent to the Niger Delta, we must remember that over 60 per cent of the f edera l a l l o ca t i on t o

councils in Nigeria go to the North.He stated that a lot of

monies are being paid to the northern states

b a s e d o n t h e l o c a l government councils, while Bayelsa for instance, gets an allocation indirectly derived from the oil it

produces for eight councils, Kano gets allocation for up to 44 councils.

FPSO

MOSOP gives condition for oil exploration in Ogoniovement for t h e Survival of M

Ogoni People, MOSOP, has listed autonomy for the area among issues that must be addressed before oil exploration can resume in any part of Ogoniland.In a statement by

C h a i r m a n , MO SOP Kingdom Coordinators and chapter leaders, Mr. F r a n k J o n a h , t h e movement said challenges o f e n v i r o n m e n t a l protection and payment of compensation for long years of pollution should also be tackled.M O S O P s a i d t h e

implementation of the

recommended clean-up of Ogoni by the United Nations Environment Programme, UNEP, was not enough to allow resumption of oil exploration in the area.The group threatened to

resist any move to resume oil exploration in the area, if the conditions it gave were not met, adding that any attempt to ignore the issues raised by

MOSOP c o u l d c r e a t e another round of conflict and tension in the area.We understand that the

Nigerian government has little value for the lives of Ogoni people, and we have seen this during the years of General Ibrahim Babangida, General Sani Abacha and General Olusegun Obasanjo as Heads of State.


CommunityCommunity 42

Rt. Hon. Femi Akinyemi is a f o r m e r Speaker of the Ekiti House of Assembly and Chairman, S t a t e Imp l emen ta t i on Committee, SIC, of the Subs idy Re inves tment Programme, SURE-P, in Ekiti State. Akinyemi spoke recently to some journalists in Ado-Ekiti. . What is SURE-P about

and how does it work in Ekiti State?SURE-P is part of the

transformation agenda of P r e s i d e n t G o o d l u c k Jonathan administration. It is a special intervention programme speci f ical ly designed by the Federal G o v e r n m e n t f o r t h e eradication of poverty, upliftment and development of the 36 States of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory. You remember the plan last

year by the government on partial removal of fuel subsidy. Fund that ought to have been spent on the subsidy is now being shared among the three tiers of government; federal, state and local governments. The President decided to use the special fund from the subsidy withdrawal as intervention fund so that if, for instance, a community has urgent need for a health centre, by putting some funds from SURE-P, you can accelerate the provision of the health centre and save peop le f rom avoidable deaths. It is the federal government share of the fund that is being used for the SURE-P empowerment p r o g r amme s l i k e t h e Community Services, Youths and Women Employment S c h e m e , G r a d u a t e Internship Scheme among others. In all sates of the federation,

t h e r e a r e S t a t e Implementation Committees, which have chairmen, vice c h a i r m e n a n d t h r e e senatorial coordinators. We have people manning all

SURE-P is about transformation, reduction of poverty, crimes Akinyemi

these positions. I am the chairman.

Benefits of the schemesUnder the Communi ty

Services, Youths and Women Employment Scheme, each State of the federation is to employ a total of 15,000 youths. The youths are engaged in community services l ike

clearing of drainages, sewage disposal, filling of pot-holes on township r o a d s , c l e a n i n g o f markets, palaces, schools and other public places. Benef ic iar ies o f the scheme are to be paid N10,000 per month. In Ekiti, we have recruited t h e f i r s t 3 , 0 0 0

beneficiaries under this scheme while another 2,000 will be recruited this month. Hopefully, before June this year, we would have recruited the 15,000 allocated to Ekiti State. The other one, which is the Graduate Internship Scheme, is a scheme for our young graduates. Graduates to be employed under this scheme will be deployed to companies that have registered with the SURE-P. They will be paid N18, 000 per month in addition to whatever the company is able to pay them. The companies will require CAC registration, Tax Clearance and VAT number to qualify for the programme.

How are these people being recruited?Forms were distributed to

i n t e r e s t ed c and ida t e s throughout the State. The distribution was done in the palaces of our traditional rulers with officials of the National Directorate of Employment serving as our field officers.

But, there is allegation by the Action Congress of N i g e r i a t h a t o n l y supporters of Peoples Democratic Party are being considered for the scheme. What do you say to this?That is politics taken to the

Forms were distributed to interested candidates throughout the State. The distribution was done in the palaces of our traditional rulers with officials of the National Directorate of Employment serving as our field officers

Rt. Hon. Femi Akinyemi addressing beneficiaries of the Subsidy Reinvestment Programme (SURE-P) Community Services, Youths and Women Employment Scheme in Ekiti State.




SURE-P is about transformationCONTINUED FROM PAGE 42

b i z a r r e a n d e x t r eme retrogressive level. Here in Ekiti State, forms were d i s t r i b u t e d f r e e t o beneficiaries in palaces of traditional rulers. Would our Obas have allowed their palaces to be used if the programme was solely for P D P m e m b e r s a n d supporters? Are they also saying that our traditional rulers are partisan and fraudulent? That is an insult on the integrity of our traditional rulers, who out of their desire for development and eradication of poverty in Ekiti State have been very supportive in mobilising their people for the SURE-P in the State.It is in a very bad taste

because what the SURE-P Committee did was that rather than beneficiaries collecting the money without rendering any service to the States, traditional rulers were asked to identify areas that these beneficiaries could be helpful to the

society. These areas were identified so that these youths can be useful to the society, rather than just collecting money monthly. Here in Ekiti, anybody who

has b een f o l l ow ing the programme will agree that the p r o c e s s e s h a v e b e e n transparent, and when we begin payment of the monthly stipend to the beneficiaries, payment will be made directly into their accounts. Also, the State Director, National Directorate of Employment (NDE), Dr Abimbola Oni, is the V i c e C h a i rm a n o f t h e Implementation Committee and that should be enough to show that the programme is not for members of any political party. Or are they also saying that the NDE is part of the PDP?

Dont you think that your being a PDP member justifies the ACNs position that the programme is aimed at mobilising support for your party for the 2015 elections?

I think instead of making insinuations as to the m o t i v e a n d implementation of the SURE-P, the ACN people should rather focus on how the subsidy funds being received by the States and Local Councils under the control of the party are b e i n g u t i l i s e d . F o r instance, Ekiti State has received over N1 billion and I think if the fund is well utilised, the federal government s e f f or ts through SURE-P will be adequately complemented. E v e n i f t h e 3 , 0 0 0 beneficiaries that we have e m p l o y e d a r e P D P members, which is not true anyway, are they not indigenes of Ekiti State? Are they not going to render services in Ekiti t owns and v i l lages? Shouldnt the federal g o v e r n m e n t b e commended for utilising its own share of the Subsidy Fund to empower Nigerians? How are the people

reacting to the scheme in the state?R e s p o n s e h a s b e e n

tremendous. W h e n w e distributed f o rms f o r t h e recruitment of the f irst 3 , 0 0 0 beneficiaries of the Community S e r v i c e s , Youths and W o m e n Employment S cheme , o v e r 30 ,000 y ouths applied. What we saw at the Obas palaces and in the headquarters of all the 16 Local Councils in the State where the forms were distributed was a further r e i n f o r c em en t o f t h e importance of the scheme and we are sure that by the time 15,000 youths are employed, crime rate in Ekiti will be reduced and problems of u n emp l o ymen t s o l v e d considerably.

For instance, if 15,000 youths are paid N10,000 per month, which will amount to N150 million coming into Ekiti State from the Subsidy Fund per month, one can begin to imagine the impact on the economy of the State. That is aside from the s e rv i c e s t ha t w i l l b e rendered.

Akinyemi

Yenagoa - An environmental i s t , M r N n i m m o Bassey, has said the recent landslide i n c i d e n t i n O k o l o b o c o m m u n i t y i n t h e Kolokuma/Opokumo Local Government Area of Bayelsa was the effect of climate change.The landslide destroyed

more than eight houses along a river bank and rendered several families homeless.B a s s e y , w h o i s t h e

Execut ive D i re c to r o f Env i ronmenta l R ights Action/Friends of Earth Nigeria, ERA/FoEN, made the observation in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Yenagoa.A c c o r d i n g t o h i m ,

ERA/FoEN field findings showed that recurring landslide incidents are induced by human activities.He said that the fragile

Niger Delta ecosystem which had been exposed to serious pressure by the climate change phenomenon was further worsened by oil exploration activities.Unprotected coastlines in

Expert attributes Bayelsa landslide to climate change, oil exploration

the Niger Delta are challenged by climate change, rising sea levels and movement of oil c o m p a n y v e s s e l s a n d equipment on the water ways.Recurrent landslides and

coastal erosion destroy houses and infrastructure and cost the nation huge sums of money while impoverishing the a l r e ady d e p r i v ed r u r a l populations.All tiers of government must

share in the blame for this negligence. Local and state

governments as well as the NDDC must secure and protect our shorelines, Bassey said.The environmentalist

u r g e d t h e F e d e r a l

Government to mitigate the growing threat of climate change by ending gas flaring which, he said releases tonnes of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere daily.

He said that stopping gas flaring, reinforcing the shore lines and provision of rural infrastructure were the necessary steps to bring relief to coastal communities in the Niger Delta region.

Landslide area site Bayelsa State



Damaturu - E l d e r s i n Yobe State h a v e appealed to the Federal Government to commence exploration of crude oil in the Chad basin.The elders made the appeal

in Damaturu at a town hall meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan when he paid a one day working visit to the state.Th e y s a i d t h a t t h e

exploration would develop a g r i c u l t u r e , c r e a t e employment and improve the economy of the country.Alhaji Adamu Ciroma, a

f o r m e r M i n i s t e r o f Agriculture, said there were indications of r ich oil deposits in the Chad basin area that needed to be explored to enhance revenue base of the country and the people.

Yobe elders want govt to commence oil exploration in Chad basin

Oil exploration

When you find oil in Yobe and Borno, it belongs to the Nigerian nation and it will also promote national unity, Ciroma said.Hon. Hassan El-Badawy,

representing Bade/Jakusko Constituency, said: The Chad basin oil exploration in Nigeria has taken over 20 years while Niger, Cameroon and Chad explored oil in just six years, expressing optimism that the Nigeria Government can explore the Chad basin in less than two years and develop the

Mambilla hydro-electric p o w e r p r o j e c t f o r improved energy.Sen. Ahmad Lawan,

Yobe North, appealed to the president to establish a Presidential Recovery Programme to assist the State Government and individuals recover from the economic, social and i n f ras t ruc tura l l o s s s u f f e r e d f r o m t h e insurgency attacks.The elders called on

government to provide employment opportunities to r e d u c e p o v e r t y a n d manipulation of youths by criminal elements.Jonathan said N16 billion

had been earmarked for the inland sedimentary basin exploration.He assured that the

Minister o f Petroleum Resources would update the people on the progress made when she visit the state in June.

The president said more jobs would be provided in the next five years while the Federal Government would partner with the State Government to rehabilitate victims of the conflicts.The president, during the

v i s i t t o t h e s t a t e , inaugurated the Goodluck Jonathan library complex of Yobe State University and donated N200 million to the university.Similarly, the president

inaugurated the 18km dual carriageway ring road in Damaturu while on the one-day working visit to the state.


Oando AD



In a bid to arrest the i n c e s s a n t vandalism on its system 2B pipeline artery in Arepo, Ogun State, the Nigerian N a t i o n a l P e t r o l e u m Corporation, NNPC, has deployed state-ofthe-art technology to maintain comprehensive surveillance of the pipeline.NNPC Group Managing

Director, Engr. Andrew Yakubu, disclosed this recently while on a one-day working visit to ascertain the extent of work done by the Nigerian Army Engineering Corps, code named SAPA, on the clearance of the pipeline right of way at Arepo.Yakubu revealed that

a lready an indigenous

NNPC reconfigures System 2B Artery with ICT to stem pipeline vandalism

engineering firm, ENIKKOM, has been mobilised to redirect the pipeline from the reach of v a n d a l s w i t h m o d e r n technology to monitor the pipeline on a regular basis.The engineering firm is

bringing modern technology to bear on the system by burying the pipelines much deeper. New pipelines will be used to change the configuration in order to keep pipeline vandals away from the corporations critical infrastructure, Engr. Yakubu informed.He said in matching words

with action and to continue to improve the right of way of the pipelines, the NNPC has also

built a watch tower, police post, and would ensure that the hot spots would be c omp l e t e l y s e cu r ed , adding that this would also prevent the loss of lives. NNPC will also build a long wide platform that will ensure easy access at any time for the security forces over the swamps.The NNPC helmsman

observed that the project has a very high cost benefit to the corporation and that the NNPC records a loss of six hundred million naira every week whenever the System 2B is down as a result of attack by vandals.

Yakubu said the project has the full support of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and the top echelon of the security agencies. He appealed to local and state governments, communities and other stakeholders to join hands with the NNPC to stamp out pipeline vandalism for the growth of the economy. The GMD confirmed that all

the nations refineries were running at different levels of effectiveness, noting that Turn Around Maintenance, TAM, for Port Harcourt Refinery has been scheduled for April this year. I n h i s r ema rk s , t h e

Managing Director of the Pipelines and Products Ma rk e t i n g C ompany , PPMC, Prince Haruna Momoh, said with the two hundred and fifty eight tanks in the twenty one depots and a holding capacity of 2.6 billion litres of petroleum products and with the over 5,000km network of pipelines across the country, the NNPC is ready to constantly wet the nation with petroleum products.He assured Nigerians that

the NNPC would continue to do all within its ability to ensure that fuel queues remain a thing of the past.Speaking on behalf of the

Chief of Army Staff, Brig. Gen. Emeka Okonkwo, said it is the duty of the army to support civil authority and that the army is in Arepo to re-establish the right of way of the NNPC pipeline from Mosimi to Ibadan within ninety days assuring that the military engineers would

Yemie ADEOYE

Fixing broken pipe


CommunityCommunity 47 NigerDeltaQuestionQuestionQuestionQuestionALISON-MADUEKE

and the PETROLEUM MINISTRY: From commonwealth to

personal fiefThe appointment of Naomi Campbel l , forgive me, Diezani

Alison-Madueke, to the top job at the Petroleum Ministry was a controversial story and the first indication the Nigerian public had that this president is not a man that would worry about the sensitivities of his people. In the economic politics of Nigeria, at least four major groups present themselves as stakeholders of the oil and gas wells that dot the Niger Delta region: the Northern states that produce no oil but desire to mutate into several more s t a t e s b e c au s e o f t h e incongruous arrangement in a federal state of sharing revenue accruing from one region on a monthly basis; the federal government that legislated the resources into its ownership and supervises the sharing; the industry that operates the resources and the states (and communities) that actually produce the resources. Although Ms. Campbell could trace her pedigree to at least two of these groups, her nomination by the president was rejected by all four groups and indeed anyone who had an interest in the continuity of the system. She was fortunate in many

respects. Her critics were blackmailed into silence by f e m i n i s t g r o u p s w h o successfully dragged the issue into the realm of sexual discrimination. She was given a free hand to operate as a substantive minister without a junior minister where her p r e d e c e s s o r , O d e i n Ajumogobia, SAN was only a minister for state with full time supervision from the Rock. By the time she settled into office the production fields h ad b e en c a lmed i n t o tranquillity for her by Umaru Y a r A d u a s a m n e s t y p r o g r amme . A l s o , t h e downstream sector had found some rhythm, stability and predictability. She entered upon her duties with unhelpful attitudes such as lateness to meetings, absenteeism, lack of a team spirit and acted as though she had been in the pith of production activities at Shell where she got her experience of the industry. Anyone who dared to remind her that public relations and production were two very different kettles of brew got into her bad books.The Petroleum Industry Bill, t h e p r om i s ed p i e c e o f revolutionary legislation to re-order the ills of the Oil and Gas

Industry and assuage the suffering of oil and gas producing communities, was finally submitted by the Petroleum Ministry to the National Assembly. Before it was submitted however, the Petroleum Minister set up a task force that included men like Senator Tunde Ogbeha, Senator Udo Udoma, Prince Ch ibudom Nwuche and PENGASSANS Peter Esele among others to do a review of the Bill. The task force sat, poring over provisions and making recommendations. Little did they know that their efforts accounted for nothing. Some of them now swear that the document they reviewed is by far different from the copy that was submitted to the National Assembly.The Ministers PIB, from

promis ing t o uni te the divergent aspirations of s t a k e h o l d e r s i n t o a n acceptable position for all, now portends to tear the country apart. The IOCs are drawing up new strategies for divesting of their stakes in Nigeria as they are worried that the fiscal provisions in the PIB would make Nigerias investment e n v i r o nmen t t h e m o s t expensive in the world.The SPDC has decided to

postpone a $30 B i l l i on investment in Nigeria because of the Bill. Industry watchers agree that if the PIB passes legislation as it is, it would convert Nigerias Oil and Gas I n d u s t r y , f r o m t h e Commonwealth of Nigeria to the personal fief of the Petroleum Minister because of provisions that grant her office mo r e p owe r s t han t h e presidency. The current Ministers appreciation of history is so little that she has tailored the Bill to serve the ends of an office she thinks she will occupy forever.Last week, Shell complained

that they are losing sixty (60) thousand barrels of crude daily to pipeline vandals and crude o i l t h i e v e s . T h e i r investigations, they claim, revealed that illegal crude refineries are building large tank farms to store stolen products. We see this as the direct consequence of a m i s h a n d l e d a m n e s t y programme and the failure of the Petroleum Ministry to invest in modern technologies that detect and prevent pipelines vandalism and other acts of sabotage and theft.As there is no reason to hope

that the Presidency would wake up to its responsibilities by redeploying Ms. Campbell to the Culture Ministry or demanding her resignation, it is now left to Nigerians to march her under the forceful will of twenty (20) thousand or more feet in and around Nigerias own Tahir Square, out of the office of the Honourable Minister for Petroleum Resources.

Minna - The N i g e r S t a t e Governmen t h a s approved the release of N98 million for the purchase of diesel to power generating sets at the states water treatment plants in Minna.Hajia Hadiza Abdullahi,

the Commissioner for Water Resources, told newsmen in Minna that the measure was to ensure the supply of potable water due to epileptic

Niger govt votes N98m for diesel to power water treatment plants

power supply.She said the diesel would be

used at Tagwai, Chanchaga and Bosso treatment plants in a bid to solving the problem of regular power outage or low current facing the plants.

sweetcrude reports march 2013

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