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Nigeria records over 6,000 tonnes of oil spillage by saboteurs in 2021 – Shell

Published

2 years ago

April 8, 2022

Multinational oil and gas company, Shell Plc has revealed that the volume of crude oil spills caused by sabotage in Nigeria’s oil-rich Delta more than doubled to 3,300 tonnes last year, a level last seen seven years ago in 2016.

Report says the Niger Delta in southern Nigeria is one of the most polluted places on Earth. Decades of spillages from over 50 years of oil operations continue to erode local communities’ health, well-being, and livelihoods. 75% of spills since 2016 are due to theft and sabotage, mostly by militants and organized crime groups.

Most often the oil and gas are delivered safely to domestic and international customers without problem thanks to a dedicated focus on operational excellence, spill prevention and, if necessary, responding quickly to any spill.

However, multinational in its 2021 Nigeria report (Pdf) claimed that the total spilled volume of crude oil is the lowest for at least 10 years.

“Spills from the SPDC JV operations, activities, and assets are now uncommon and, as the operator, SPDC operates to the same technical standards as Shell companies globally. Illegal activities and their legacy continue to require additional work, security, and engagement with local communities”. The Report reads.

A Premiumtimesng report says between January 2019 and April 2021, 12 states in Nigeria recorded 881 cases of oil spillage, according to data obtained from NOSDRA, a government-run satellite tracker. “About 77 percent of the spills were said to have occurred in only three oil-producing states: Bayelsa, Delta, and Rivers. The three are among Nigeria’s highest oil producers for that period. However, Nigeria’s second-highest oil-producing state during the period, Akwa Ibom, only witnessed 26 oil spills within that period” The report concludes.

Shell operations in Nigeria have encountered difficulties lately in the Delta caused due to operational incidents, theft and sabotage so much that the company has started moves to divest but that decision has not not been without hurdles.

Last month, a Nigerian court stopped Shell from selling any assets in Nigeria until a decision is reached on the company’s appeal of a nearly $2 billion penalty for an alleged oil spill.

In 2021, Shell agreed to pay a Nigerian community $111.68 million to settle a case over an oil spill that took place more than 50 years ago.

Related Topics:Featured Nigeria oil spillage Shell

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Nigerian oil regulator implements regional fuel standards

Published

9 hours ago

April 26, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Nigeria’s oil authority has clarified that the recent changes to diesel fuel sulphur content standards are part of a regional effort to make things more uniform and are not meant to loosen rules for local refineries.

A report from S&P Global last week said that the West African fuel market had changed a lot after Nigeria raised the maximum diesel sulphur content from 200 parts per million (ppm) to around 650 ppm. This caused worries that the country might be lowering its standards to allow diesel made in Nigeria that is higher than the 200 ppm limit.

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), on the other hand, said it was only following a 2020 decision by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) that all of the regions had to slowly switch to better fuels.

Fuels that have a lot of sulfur can hurt engines and make the air dirty. As of right now, the ECOWAS rule lets locally-made fuel have more sulfur until January 2025. After that, a standard of less than 5 parts per million will be used for all oil, whether it is refined in West Africa or brought in from another country.

Farouk Ahmed, the head of the NMDPRA, told Reuters that the new limits are in line with ECOWAS’s choice to require stricter fuel specifications. The new rules will go into effect in January 2021 for non-ECOWAS imports and January 2025 for ECOWAS refineries.

“We are merely implementing the ECOWAS decision adopted in 2020,” Ahmed said.

“So a local refinery with a 650 ppm sulphur in its product is permissible and safe under the ECOWAS rule until January next year where a uniform standard would apply to both the locally refined and imported products outside West Africa”, Ahmed said.

Ahmed said that importers were told that the amount of sulphur allowed was going down, from 300 parts per million in February to 200 parts per million this month. This was done long before the huge Dangote refinery started providing diesel.

Diesel with a sulphur level of between 1,500 ppm and 3,000 ppm could be brought in by importers before.

The switch to cleaner fuels is in line with efforts to protect the environment around the world and makes sure that all area refiners have the same chances.

Nigeria recently had its worst blackout in decades because of a problem with its energy supply. The high cost of alternative energy sources has been a huge problem for both businesses and individuals, with the price of diesel being the most affordable choice for businesses.

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IMF predicts Kenya’s economy to overtake Angola

Published

9 hours ago

April 26, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says that this year, Kenya will pass Angola to become the fourth biggest economy in sub-Saharan Africa. South Africa, Nigeria, and Ethiopia will then follow it.

Kenya is expected to stay in that spot until the end of 2029 as its GDP grew from $113.7 billion (Ksh13.37 trillion) in 2022 to $108.9 billion (Ksh15.14 trillion) last year, based on the current exchange rate. Ethiopia’s lead over Kenya has grown, and in two years it will pass Nigeria to become the second-largest economy in the area.

In 2020, Ethiopia’s economy was smaller than Kenya’s but it has continued upward and is expected to have reached $159.74 billion (Sh21.165 trillion) by 2023, making the gap between the two countries even bigger. Also, Ethiopia’s economy is likely to stay in second place for three years, until 2029.

Some people think that Ethiopia’s gross domestic product (GDP), which is the value of all the goods and services made in the country, is higher than it is. The country just got out of a civil war that lasted two years and destroyed its economy. It is one of the African countries that has not paid one of its debts.

According to the African Development Bank, East Africa will continue to grow fastest in Africa. In 2024 and 2025, growth is expected to reach 5.1% and 5.7%, respectively. The expected strong economic performance of countries in the region is reflected in the growth acceleration of 1.6% points from 3.5% in 2023 to 7% in 2024. Seven economies are expected to grow by 5% or more in 2024: Rwanda (7.2%), Ethiopia (6.7%), Djibouti (6.2%), Tanzania (6.1%), Uganda (6%), Burundi (5.8%), and Kenya (5.4%).

Charlie Robertson, who is in charge of macro strategy at investment management firm FIM Partners UK Ltd., called the exchange rate between the pound and the erg a “fantasy exchange rate.”

“Ethiopia is maintaining a hugely overvalued exchange rate which is not supported by reality,” said Robertson in an email response.

The stated exchange rate for the Ethiopian Birr is 57, but the FIM Partners FX model says that it should be about 97% of the dollar. The IMF says that Ethiopia’s economy grew by 7.2% last year, from a base of $118.97 billion to $193.0 billion. This was the fastest GDP growth in sub-Saharan Africa.

Kenya’s economy, on the other hand, grew more slowly, by only 5.5% in 2023. This was because the country’s economy came out of a year marked by drought and tight global financial markets because of the war in Ukraine. This month, Kenya is likely to share its official GDP numbers for 2023.

“But at a realistic exchange rate, [Ethiopia’s] GDP was probably $90 billion. Kenya’s GDP by comparison was $109 billion in 2023. So, if you use the official figure, you’d say Ethiopia’s economy was about 50% bigger than Kenya – but in reality, Kenya’s economy is bigger.”