DPR promotes 6 deputy directors to fill vacant positions

Engr. Sarki Auwalu, Director, DPR

The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has promoted six deputy directors to fill vacant positions in the regulatory agency.

Mr Paul Osu, Head, Corporate Affairs, DPR, confirmed the promotion of the deputy directors in a statement issued on Tuesday in Lagos.

Osu said the the promotions followed the retirement of various officers across several units, in line with the Public Service Regulations.

He said the  promotions were in line with the Federal Government's desire to reorganise the Department for better service delivery in line with international best standards.

He said the DPR  remains committed to its mandate of creating an enabling environment for businesses in the Nigeria Oil and Gas Industry to thrive.

DPR outlines 5 critical levers for robust gas development in Nigeria

The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has outlined five critical levers for gas development as Nigeria moves to leverage its abundant gas resources for national growth, diversification of the 

economy and to use gas as the fuel for  economic transformation. 

A statement issued on Monday by Mr Paul Osu, Head, Public Affairs, DPR said Mr

Sarki Auwalu, Director, DPR, made this known  while speaking at the Pre- Summit Conference of the Nigerian International Petroleum Summit (NIPS) on the principal theme: ‘The Decade of Gas - Towards a Gas-Powered Economy'  in Abuja.

Auwalu said  the levers :

availability, accessibility, affordability, and acceptability as well as 

deliverability were critical to utilising Nigeria's  proven gas reserves of 203 TCF for national development.

He said: "Whereas references have been made to the other elements in this 

discussion, right pricing of gas is requiring particular attention to ensure security of gas supply and security of credible gas demand. 

"This is because upstream gas producers must be assured that they will receive fair and equitable returns for their investments whereas, the price must be such that the end-users are able to pay for gas offtake in a reliable and consistent manner. 

"Accordingly, the most robust and sustainable pricing mechanism is that which ‘let the market speak’ in a way that all costs are reflective of prevailing market conditions and for which the economic dynamics of demand and 

supply are allowed to interplay in an open, transparent, and free market environment.

"Thus, our drive as a nation should be early attainment to the Willing Buyer; Willing Seller market status. Any transitional pricing arrangements, today, must be structured to quickly give way for market-led pricing regime and conditions"

The DPR boss commended President Muhammadu Buhari and the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, for their outstanding leadership in deepening gas utilisation in Nigeria.

He said these efforts had culminated in the establishment of the National Gas Expansion Programme, National Gas Transportation Network Code and the National Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme.

Auwalu said it also include the ongoing construction of the  ELPS-II, OB3 and AKK pipelines as critical backbone gas infrastructure required to improve gas deliverability and availability.

He said the government was also working towards the expeditious 

passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) which would enhance clarity in legislative, regulatory , fiscal, and administrative frameworks in the industry.

"This bill, when passed into law, will eliminate the uncertainties and bottlenecks associated with gas 

development in Nigeria and accelerate the growth of the Nigerian gas market to a fully  developed and matured status. 

"Specifically, on gas matters, the PIB provides for the following: promotion of dedicated gas exploration and development, gas terms, fiscal separation of gas as a commodity.

"It will also enhance the domestic gas delivery obligation, tariffing structure & methodology, open access regimes and revised gas pricing framework, to mention but a few," he added.

Auwalu said the DPR would continue to be an enabler and an opportunity provider in the Oil and Gas Industry. 

He said: "Our focus remains the effective implementation of all policies and strategic programmes of government in an efficient manner that optimises the value of our petroleum resources for all stakeholders, all in overriding national interest." 

EKEDC bags excellence award at NIEEE conferment

Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) on Saturday received an excellence award at the 8th Conferment and award ceremony of the Nigerian Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (NIEEE) in Abuja.

This was disclosed in a statement signed by the General Manager, Corporate Communications of the Company, Mr Godwin Idemudia.

Idemudia said the award followed the highly instrumental support and contribution of EKEDC towards development of the institute and the profession of Electrical and Electronics Engineering at large.  

He stated : “As a company and a major player in the electricity sector, we encourage, support and contribute to the progress and development of professionalism. 

"We encourage our staff to belong to the best professional associations and institutions as this helps develop and retain talents within our workforce and this in turn helps our overarching goal of delivering the best utility service in Africa. 

"We also support professional institutes like the NIEEE to help improve and educate our workforce to help stay up-to-date with the latest technologies and global best practices in our sector." 

Idemudia appreciated the NIEEE for its recognition and noted that it is indeed a testament to the efforts the Company is making towards professionalism at all times. 

He used the medium to appreciate customers for their cooperation towards achieving their goal. (NAN)

 

Total contributed N1.2bn to fight COVID-19 in Nigeria – Official

By Solomon Asowata

Total Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited on Thursday said it contributed N1.2 billion to the Federal Government’s COVID-19 effort to combat the pandemic.

The oil giant said it was also in discussion with the government on the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines for Nigerians.

Mr Alex Aghedo, Executive General Manager, Operations Support Services, Total E&P Nigeria, made the disclosure at a virtual news conference.

He said: “Total and 30 other upstream operators in Nigeria’s Oil and Gas Industry, led by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), donated N21 billion to the federal government’s COVID-19 effort.

“In the first phase, the donation covered three thematic areas, namely, provision of medical consumables; deployment of logistics and in patient support services as well as medical infrastructure.

“Total’s contribution was $3.2 million (N1.2 billion). ”

According to him, the company also carried out other interventions including donation of hospital beds, surgical ventilators, dialysis machines and face masks to the Lagos and Rivers State Governments.

Aghedo said : “In collaboration with the Lagos Ministry of Health and our partners, we decided to build and donate a medical oxygen plant at the Gbagada General Hospital.

”We believe that this facility would be useful even beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It would not only help improve the state’s capacity to care for COVID-19 patients but also further strengthen capacity to manage other conditions associated with oxygen deficiency.”

He said the facility was in the last stages of construction and would be handed over to the Lagos State Government very soon. (NAN)

FG targets 2,000 CNG filling stations in 6 months — Rainoil boss

By Solomon Asowata

Mr Gabriel Ogbechie, Group Managing Director, Rainoil Ltd., says the Federal Government is targeting the establishment of 2,000 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) filling stations in the next six months.

Ogbechie said the move was aimed at providing a cheaper and cleaner alternative for vehicle users as the country moves  toward the full deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector.

He spoke on Thursday during a webinar on ” Deregulation and Sustainable National Energy Future through Natural Gas.”

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the webinar was organised by the National Association of Energy Correspondents (NAEC).

Ogbechie said a high delegation of government functionaries recently met with oil marketers to encourage investments on the autogas scheme.

According to him, a N200 billion infrastructure fund has been set up by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to support autogas facility roll-out by marketers.

He said: “Nigeria requires about $6 billion worth of investment. Marketers can leverage on this opportunity by investing in gas adoption and utilisation.

” Investment can be made in areas such as Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) bulk storage, LPG trucks, LPG filling plants, LPG skids and Gas cylinder manufacturing, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) plants.”

The Rainoil boss maintained that the government could not continue to subsidise Premium Motor Spirit, noting that N10.413 trillion was spent on fuel subsidy between 2006 and 2019.

He said the huge funds could be channeled to other critical sectors of the economy such as health care, education and infrastructure development.

Ogbechie expressed optimism that the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) would bring about the deregulation of the downstream sector by law and not by government policy.

“A fully liberalised sector will enable marketers to freely source products and leverage supply chain options. It will create a level playing field and increased competition will improve efficiency and customer-service.

“It will allow for better planning and forecasting by marketers as well as attract more Foreign Direct Investment,” he said. (NAN)

EKEDC takes mass metering to Lagos communities

Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) has advised its unmetered customers to apply for prepaid meters and get metered immediately in the on-going National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP), an initiative of the Federal Government in collaboration with Electricity Distribution Companies to bridge the metering gap in the country.

In a statement signed by the General Manager, Corporate Communications, Godwin Idemudia, the Company encouraged all its customers to endeavor to complete their meter application form online, submit so as to benefit from the ongoing Free NMMP.

EKEDC, in the company of some of its Meter Asset Provider (MAPs) partners has ramped up the mass installations of meters in the last few weeks and continued on March 19 at the residence of some of their customers in the Surulere and Mushin areas of Lagos.

Idemudia said “we definitely want our unmetered customers to take advantage of this opportunity to get metered. Please visit our website at https://ekedp.com/page/OrderMeter, fill out the form and submit, within days, you will be metered. 

"We want an end to the estimated billing method so that we can channel our energy into making more power supply available to our esteemed customers.

" Many customers have benefitted from this mass metering programme and we want more customers to take advantage of this.”

Reacting to the metering programme, one of the beneficiaries, Christian Paul in Surulere said “this process is true and amazing, I got a call from one of the staff of EKEDC that they were coming this morning to meter my house, I thought it was a prank call until I got another call that they were in front of my house and lo and behold , I was metered with a prepaid meter. 

"I appreciate the Federal Government and EKEDC. Please apply and get metered. It is true. I am a beneficiary.”

Idemudia urged ustomers to continue to cooperate with the company as more customer focused initiatives are underway to make life easier for the customer in line with the Company’s mantra as a customer-centric utility company aspiring to be the preferred choice of all stakeholders. (NAN)

 

Ikeja Electric bags latest ISO certifications, reiterates commitment to operational excellence

By Solomon Asowata

Ikeja Electric Plc has bagged three International Organisation for Standardidation (ISO) certifications ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015 and ISO 45001:2018 in recognition of its effective implementation of Occupational Safety and Health, Environment Management and Quality Management processes.

In addition, the DisCo also emerged as one of the runners-up for the ‘Most Responsive Organization to COVID-19 Crisis at the Nigeria Risk Awards 2020, and also bagged the AfriSAFE Merit Award 2020.

The Management of Ikeja Electric, last week, were presented the ISO 9001:2015 (Quality Management System), ISO 14001:2015 (Environmental Management System), and ISO 45001:2018 (Occupational Health and Safety Management System) 2020.

The official presentation was held at the company’s headquarters in Lagos, attended by  Country Director, DQS, Mr Lawrence Ogudu; Organizer of AfriSAFE Award, Mr Femi Da Silva; Chairman of Ikeja Chapter, Nigerian Institution of Power Engineers (NIPE), Mr Vincent Obaseki and General Manager, Conrad Clark (Nigerian Risk Award), Femi Iroko, Mr Wale Bakare (one of the AfriSAFE Judges) among others.

Speaking on the achievements, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ikeja Electric, Mrs Folake Soetan said the company has again reaffirmed its commitment to high standards, in line with global best practices. According to her, these prestigious awards demonstrate that IE management processes and operations are effectively conducted by quality policies and forward-thinking leadership. 

She said: “We are indeed honoured by these certifications. I am dedicating these achievements to the entire management and staff who continuously give their best through strategic initiatives and innovation that deliver growth, improved service delivery and customer satisfaction for the brand”.

“The fact that we have gained these recognition does not mean we have attained the desired peak or that we would become complacent, but rather we will continue to work hard towards operational excellence and improvement of service in line with our manta – ‘Customer first; technology Now,” Soetan noted.

Also commenting on the occasion, Head of Quality, Safety, Health and Environment (QHSE), Mr Jamiu Badmos, explained that the IE remains the industry trailblazer in areas of innovations including occupational health & safety and environment initiatives. The result of the audit as approved by Technical Committee from DQS in Germany has again certified Ikeja Electric to be compliant with global best practice.

According to Badmos, adoption of technology and purposeful engagement of staff, customers and stakeholders has greatly contributed towards achieving effective quality, health, safety and environmental performance and operational excellence.

“We will continue to use risk-based thinking throughout our operations to promote a proactive approach for identifying risks and opportunities, thereby making continual improvement in order to enhance governance, customer experience, operational excellence and sustainability’ he said.

The International Organisation for Standardidation (ISO) is world’s largest independent, non-governmental organizations that develops of voluntary international standard and facilitates world trade by providing common standards among nations.(NAN)