The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu says there are strong indications that three modular refineries, out of 40 licenses issued, will likely come on stream by end of 2019.

Kachikwu disclosed this at the 3-day Biennial International Conference for Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) organised by Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) in Lagos.

He told participants that “out of the 40 private licenses issued to private investors to build refineries, only 10 have showed signs of progression.

“Out of the 40 licenses issued, only 10 have shown progress by submitting their programmes and putting something on the ground.

“ By end of 2019, we are assured that three private modular refineries would come on stream,’’ he said.

The minister said that the conference is a renowned and highly-professional forum for pooling ideas and research findings for the incubation of enduring and game-changing oil and gas policy initiatives.

“Perhaps this edition of the conference could not have come at a better time, first to allay the popular fear that the days of oil and gas as an international commodity and energy source are over.

“And secondly, to stimulate new ideas on sustainable ways of developing this resource in a manner that will both prolong its acceptability as an energy source and also help the nation reap optimal benefits,’’ he said.

Kachikwu said that environmental sustainability is a key component of the Seven Big Wins initiative of the President Muhammadu Buhari Administration for the oil and gas industry.

He said that with the continuous inflow of statistics from the DPR highlighting the gory state of affairs on gas flaring and the failure of previous efforts to end the menace, the ministry had to come up with new initiatives to truly incentivize the flare-out policy by creating the new National Gas Policy.

He said that the policy is aimed at ensuring that all currently flared gas, including those previously considered as non-technically feasible and non-commercially viable, is gathered and utilised for various economic utilities that are financially rewarding to the producers.

He added that the collectors and interested investors that then convert it for power generation, petrochemicals and other beneficial uses.

“ Aggressive efforts are being made within the ambits of HSE sustainability to convert more gas to LNG through new and existing investors to retain Nigeria in its currently threatened fourth position as an LNG exporter.

“Our push for the increased investments in modular and conventional refineries is not only targeted at helping the nation benefit from its resources by providing products to the entire West African sub-region.

“But also essentially to stop the scourge of local unconventional artisanal refineries that have led to massive oil spills that have been hard to manage for nearly a whole decade.

“ And, indeed, if anyone has new innovative ideas for improving the science of local refining initiatives, the DPR has been directed to listen to same, improve and license it, perhaps we may end up developing local technologies that can be exported, provided the HSE content meets acceptable international standard ,’’ he added.

Meanwhile, the Director of Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Mr. Modeccai Ladan, urged stakeholders to galvanize efforts at maximizing Nigeria’s production and minimize wastage.

Ladan explained that the oil and gas industry seems to be under a new threat, which is the renewed dislike and global war against fossil fuels and the quest for renewable and cleaner energy, purely for environment considerations, chief among which is the concern about global warming.

According to him, “Over the years, the threat against fossil fuels had always been on paper, but today, it is more real than ever, based on some clear evidence I like to draw our attention to.

“Three among the biggest technology companies have made attempts at electric cars to replace gasoline and diesel engines.

“While the attempt of Apple may not have made it to production yet and that of Google was suspended after clearly successful street trials, that of Tesla actually took the world by surprise.

“Not only did the first two releases of Tesla outsell sales forecasts, they were actually oversubscribed, and the demand keeps rising while new models are being added,’’ he said.

Ladan said: “As we speak, some of the big International Oil Companies (IOCs) here seated are funding gigantic researches into alternative fuels, which include the use of cheap, common algae.

“ As sweet as Nigeria’s crudes are renowned to be globally, we have recently lost our most valued customers and our gas buyers are themselves now competing with us in the same market space as suppliers.

“Ladies and gentlemen, all of these points to one fact, namely, if Nigeria is to continue to benefit from its vast petroleum resources, now than ever is the time to build sustainability into its prospecting, drilling, production, transportation and usage.

“As well as management of its wastes. And this task rests on the shoulders of not only the DPR but all stakeholders.

“Little wonder then that we have chosen a befitting theme for this current edition of the conference, which is: “Driving Sustainability in the Oil and Gas Industry through Improved Stakeholders’ Environmental Stewardship.”

Total Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited has reiterated its commitment to proving more reliable, affordable and clean energy in Nigeria in particular and the world in general.

The Managing Director/Chief Executive, Total E&P Nigeria Limited, Mr. the Nicolas Terraz, made this known at the Management Session of the 36th Nigerian Association of Petroleum Exploration (NAPE)  Annual International Conference and Exhibitions, held in Lagos.

The CEO who was represented by Olatunji Akinwunmi, Executive General Manager, GSR& Planning, Total E&P Nigeria Limited  stated that he was honoured to address the   management session on: Organic Growth in Nigeria Oil & gas Industry: Next phase, where and how can it be achieved”.

He said, Total is very proud to be associated with the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Exploration (NAPE) and as Nigeria’s only fully integrated and gas company, we are certainly involved in the growth of all streams of the industry: upstream, midstream and downstream”.

“Our ambition is to become the <Responsible Energy Major>. And this is the meaning of our motto <Committed to Better Energy>energy to the world growing population. Reliable, affordable and clean energy  The ambition challenges us to provide more reliable, affordable and clean are all three  words of equal importance”, he stressed.

“Reliable, simply because everybody energy to be readily and continuously available in their daily life; Affordable, because cheap energy is necessary to spur the economic development of billions of [people seeking better living conditions; and all polls indicate that it is the clear priority of all customers around the world; clean of course; because we need to reduce our environmental footprint and CO2 emission”, he added.

He stated that the IOC has been present in Nigeria for more than 60 years as a group, in partnership with the Nigerian government and in different equity association with other private companies.

The MD/CEO maintained that the growth opportunities abound in Nigeria and all stakeholders need to come together to achieve and sustain this growth.

Speaking further, he said, “In our upstream activities, run by our exploration and production affiliate, like most of the other IOCs in Nigeria, we moved from the predominantly land based production in the 60s to offshore in the 80s and then deep offshore in 2005 , developing a technically skilled industry workforce in the process”.

“Over the years, despite various challenges n the industry, total has added over 3 billion barrel of oil equivalent to Nigeria’s production and with our Egina project coming on stream in the coming weeks, we will add another 200, 000 barrels per day  which is approximately 10 percent of Nigeria’s oil production”, he added.

In the mid stream sector of the industry, we have 15 percent interest in Nigeria LNG, which currently operates 6 LNG liquefaction trains on bonny island. Indeed, 40 percent of our production in Nigeria is also gas. This is bound to increase in the coming years as total looks to expand its gas business. And as part of our objective to provide more reliable, affordable energy to Nigeria’s growing population, Total is also currently developing a 100MW Katsina Solar Farm project in Katsina.

Our downstream affiliate is a market leader in Nigeria with over 550 service station spread across the nation. In 2014, total pioneered the first solar powered station in West Africa, the Onigbagbo station in Ikeja Lagos, and since then, we have built over 15 solar stations in Nigeria. Our global target is to reach 5,000 solar stations by 2020.

Total downstream activities are also number one in Africa with over 4,300 service stations in the continent offering a one-stop shop experience. For our customers, we aim to become providers of integrated solutions, delivering customers services shaped by closeness and innovation. This involves in particular transforming our service stations into community hubs with local and mobility-related services, as part of a multi-energy network.

– By Simon Ugwu