The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has expressed confidence that the aggressive exploration of the inland basins being driven by the corporation would soon yield success with hydrocarbon finds in commercial quantity.

This was disclosed by the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Dr. Maikanti Baru, when he received a delegation of the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE) executives led by its President, Mr. Abidun Adesanya, in Abuja.

Dr. Baru said based on preliminary results from the exploration activities in the inland basins so far, especially the Benue Trough, there was a strong indication that commercial quantity oil and gas finds would soon be made.

He said almost 400 square kilometer (400km²) of 3D seismic data had been acquired in the part of the Benue Trough that was earlier explored by SNEPCO and that similar work would be extended to areas previously explored by Chevron and Total.

“We are targeting these areas because we have seen that some of what they have done has some prospects, it is only that they did not drill deep enough. They also did not target the areas we believe, from the review of the seismic data, would have culminated into a find.

“So, we are reinvigorating that and soon we are going to start drilling some of the leads that we have seen to ascertain what prospects there are. And as we have pointed out, there is an indication that we could find some hydrocarbon, we believe that in the nearest future hydrocarbon will be found in commercial quantity”, Dr Baru stated.

He commended NAPE for its commitment to growing crude oil and gas reserves in the country, stressing that the resolutions from the association’s conference last year gave great impetus to the aggressive exploration of the inland basins which include Anambra, Bida, Benue, Chad, Dahomey, Gongola, Sokoto in keeping with the mandate given to the corporation by President Muhammadu Buhari.

The GMD said he was ready to deploy capabilities within and outside NNPC to ensure success of the inland basins exploration campaign.

On his part, President of NAPE, Mr. Abiodun Adesanya, commended the GMD for the faithful implementation of the recommendations made at the association’s conference last year in the exploration of the inland basins.

He said NAPE was very impressed with the professionalism being brought to bear on the exploration of the inland basins and that for the first time there was a steady and consistent approach to the campaign.

He also invited the GMD to NAPE’s 32nd Conference and Exhibition billed to hold in Lagos next month.


http://energymixreport.com/nnpc-confident-commercial-hydrocarbon-find-inland-basins-baru/

Nigerian oil company Oando has obtained a court order to lift the suspension of trading in its shares and halt a forensic audit planned by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Oando’s share price was frozen at N5.99 on Monday until further notice, the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) said after the SEC ordered the audit. The NSE said it was reviewing the court processes to provide an appropriate defence against the court order. The SEC declined to comment, saying that it was yet to receive the court order.

In a SEC letter to Oando dated Oct. 17 the regulator accused Oando of corporate governance abuses and financial mismanagement, basing its allegations on two petitions received from Dahiru Barau Mangal and Ansbury Incorporated. It added that it would engage accountancy firm Deloitte to lead the audit together with lawyers and stockbrokers, at a cost of 160 million naira, which would be borne by Oando.

http://energymixreport.com/oando-gets-court-order-lift-share-price-suspension-halt-forensic-audit-sec/

Britain will ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2040 in an attempt to reduce air pollution, a move that will cause problems for oil producers such as Nigeria.

“Today we are confirming that that means there should be no new diesel or petrol vehicles by 2040,” environment minister Michael Gove told BBC Radio. The measure, 23 years away, could herald the end of over a century of the popular use of the fossil fuel-guzzling internal combustion engine.

Britain’s step, which follows France, amounts to a victory for electric cars that could have major impacts on the wealth of major oil producers such as Nigeria as well as on car industry employment.

The mayors of Paris, Madrid, Mexico City and Athens have said they plan to ban diesel vehicles from city centres by 2025, while the French government also aims to end the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040.

http://energymixreport.com/nigeria-others-feel-impact-britain-moves-ban-petrol-diesel-cars-2040/

The government has said that it has suspended crude oil exploration in Borno State and would only resume if it gets sufficient security clearance guaranteeing the safety of its personnel and operations.

Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr. Ibe kachikwu, also stated that it presently cannot confirm the rescue of its personnel by the military and is still awaiting confirmation from the security agencies.

He further stated that the military is still collating data concerning the attack and cannot confirm the actual number of people who died.

http://energymixreport.com/fg-suspends-oil-exploration-activities-chad-basin/

According to a 112 page national petroleum policy document approved by the federal executive council this week, Nigeria plans to cut its oil exploration costs and move away from reliance on crude for export revenues.

The document said Nigeria expects oil prices to stay near $45 per barrel “for the foreseeable future” and that it must diversify its economy and develop its own refining and petrochemical sectors given the possibility that the era of oil booms may be over for good. The policy said Nigeria would aim to reduce the cost of extracting its oil, which at $29 per barrel is “one of the highest” in the world. The policy is largely an outline of what the government will look to include in the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).

The petroleum policy also calls for a regulator to oversee the oil industry, more private investment across the sector and the revival of Nigeria’s refineries, which have not operated consistently at more than 50% of capacity since 2002. The policy also called for a removal of petrol price caps and the permanent elimination of fuel subsidies. Despite its ambition however, some analysts said the plan was lacking in detail and could face significant legislative hurdles.

http://energymixreport.com/nigerias-new-oil-policy-aimed-diversification-oil-era-begins-wind/

Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has declared that the days in which no single revenue would be generated from crude oil were fast approaching as technology was fast depleting the usefulness of crude oil.

He said this while speaking at the Extra-ordinary Session of the Council of Ministers of the African Petroleum Producers Organisation in Abuja on Monday. Osinbajo also noted that although the prosperity of Africa lies in its human resources and talents, and not in anything extracted from the earth, it was still important to upgrade to the trending technologies across the globe in the direction of alternative and clean energy.

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, had earlier in his address buttressed the acting President’s points, as he noted that crude oil was at the verge of fading away as a result of improvements in technology. He said, “The oil world is fast disappearing. With current trends in technology and environmental concerns, it is clear that over the next 20 to 30 years, oil will become a fading if not a faded product.”

http://energymixreport.com/day-reckoning-nigerias-oil-fast-approaching-osinbajo-kachikwu/

Panoro Energy ASA, the independent E&P company with assets in Nigeria and Gabon, notes the recent announcement made by its partner, the Operator of OML 113 Yinka Folawiyo Petroleum Company Limited, and is pleased to announce that the first oil production from the Aje field, offshore Lagos, commenced yesterday 3 May 2016.

Subsea installation activities had been underway at Aje since January and were completed in early March ready for the hook-up of the Front Puffin FPSO, which arrived in Nigeria on the 16th of March.

Oil produced from the Aje field will be stored on the Front Puffin which has production capacity of 40,000 barrels of oil per day and storage capacity of 750,000 barrels.

Flow rates will be provided in Panoro’s next operations update, following a period of commissioning and well stabilisation.

Panoro’s Chief Executive Officer, John Hamilton, said: “We are extremely pleased to announce the start of first oil production at Aje. This is a transformational milestone for Panoro and represents a great achievement by the Aje project teams. It is also a key building block in our strategy to become a full cycle E&P company focused on West Africa. The commencement of production at Aje is also significant for Nigeria as it is the first commercial production for the country in the emerging Dahomey Basin.”

Aje is an offshore field located in OML 113 in the western part of Nigeria in the Dahomey Basin. The field is situated in water depths ranging from 100 to 1,000 metres about 24 km from the coast. The Aje Field contains hydrocarbon resources in sandstone reservoirs in three main levels - a Turonian gas condensate reservoir, a Cenomanian oil reservoir and an Albian gas condensate reservoir. As previously disclosed, AGR TRACS International calculated the gross Cenomanian oil Proved plus Probable Reserves estimate associated the Aje-4 and Aje-5 wells, and the gross Contingent Resources estimate associated with the future drilling of Aje-6 and Aje-7 wells. At that time AGR TRACS International calculated these as 23.4MMbbl and 15.7MMbbl respectively (on a gross basis), indicating a mid-case expected ultimate recovery of 39.1MMbbl from the Cenomanian Oil Reservoir once all four wells have been drilled. AGR TRACS International also calculated the Turonian gas and condensate/oil best estimate gross contingent resource as 163 MMboe.


http://energymixreport.com/lagos-becomes-oil-producing-state-first-oil-flows-aje-field/

After months of suspense, President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday sent a list of ministerial nominees, said to contain only 21 names, to the Senate President Bukola Saraki, ThisDay reports.

The list contained the names of the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu; former Governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola (SAN) as well as former Rivers Governor, Chibuike Amaechi; among others and is considered to be the first batch of ministerial nominees to the Senate.

Kachikwu’s name on the list, highlights the notion that he may hold the double portfolio of Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and GMD of NNPC, while Buhari will retain the post of Minister of Petroleum Resources.

President Buhari, in an interview on the sidelines of the annual meeting of world leaders at the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday had said that he intends to remain the Minister of Petroleum Resources. A minister of state would likely oversee the day-to-day running of the petroleum sector, he revealed.

http://energymixreport.com/kachikwu-to-emerge-minister-of-state-for-petroleum-resources/

Barclays Plc’s energy analyst, Miswin Mahesh has said that there’s a “huge risk” of oil production in Nigeria being disrupted by political instability arising from elections scheduled for March 28, Bloomberg reports.

“We are not sure how it will play out on the political front,” Mahesh said. “Nigeria will do whatever it takes to maintain its production. The risks are still there. There is a genuine risk that we might see some disruptions” he said.

Nigeria’s daily output of about two million barrels of oil makes it the continent’s largest producer. Crude generates more than 90 per cent of the nation’s foreign-exchange earnings.

About 800 people were killed and at least 75,000 forced to flee their homes after elections in 2011 that brought Jonathan to power. Already tensions have been building as gunmen attacked an opposition rally in the southern oil-producing Rivers state last month.

Uncertainty over who will control Africa’s biggest economy after the elections and whether they will reassess oil companies’ contracts is a bigger threat to output than an insurgency being waged by militant group Boko Haram, Mahesh said. The fighting has largely been “constrained to the north of Nigeria, whereas most of the oil is in the south,” he said.

President Goodluck Jonathan’s People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and former military ruler, Muhammadu Buhari’s All Progressives Congress (APC) are the leading contenders for the general elections which are to be held on the 28th of this month.

Teneo Intelligence, a New York-based risk-advisory service, also said while it expects the March 28 vote to go ahead despite speculation that it may be delayed further or annulled altogether, its credibility isn’t assured. It also indicated potential clashes could be triggered from compromised elections as a result of rigging. Speculation is rife of political parties buying voter cards from poor people in their opposition’s strongholds, which would deprive them of the right to vote, it said.

However, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has said that it doesn’t envisage any disruption to production, through its spokesman Ohi Alegbe.

Source: http://energymixreport.com/elections-a-huge-risk-for-nigerias-oil-production-barclays/

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