VenturesNow

Increase in Crude Prices: Nigeria’s Dangote claims IOCs sabotaging refinery

Published

3 days ago

June 25, 2024

Vice President of Oil and Gas at Dangote Industries Limited, Devakumar Edwin, has accused International Oil Companies in Nigeria of plans to frustrate the survival of the new Dangote Oil Refinery and Petrochemicals.

Edwin said the IOCs were “deliberately and willfully frustrating” the refinery’s efforts to buy local crude by hiking the cost above the market price, thereby forcing the refinery to import crude from countries as far as the United States, with its attendant high costs.

Speaking to reporters on Friday during a one-day training session hosted by the Dangote Group, Edwin further charged that the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority had given marketers licenses to import unclean refined products into the nation without any discrimination.

Edwin claims that although the Federal Government of Nigeria granted 25 licenses for the construction of refineries, only the Dangote Group fulfilled its commitment.

The vice president mentioned that the refinery had shipped more than 3.5 billion litres of aviation fuel and diesel to Europe in the previous few months, even as he urged the government to provide support. It was stated that around 90% of the fuel produced was exported.

“The Federal Government issued 25 licences to build refineries and we are the only one that delivered on our promise. In effect, we deserve every support from the government. It is good to note that from the start of production, more than 3.5 billion litres, which represents 90 per cent of our production, have been exported. We are calling on the Federal Government and regulators to give us the necessary support to create jobs and prosperity for the nation,” Edwin stated.

He continued by saying that despite the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission’s best efforts, crude oil for the refinery with a capacity of 650,000 would not be allocated, “the IOCs are deliberately and willfully frustrating our efforts to buy the local crude.”

According to the Dangote official, the IOCs have occasionally pushed the refinery to pay $6 more than the market price. As a result, the company has been compelled to lower its output and incur higher costs for the import of crude from nations like the United States.

He said, “Recall that the NUPRC recently met with crude oil producers as well as refineries’ owners in Nigeria, in a bid to ensure full adherence to Domestic Crude Oil Supply Obligations as enunciated under section 109(2) of the Petroleum Industry Act. It seems that the IOCs’ objective is to ensure that our petroleum refinery fails. It is either they are deliberately asking for a ridiculous/humongous premium or they simply state that crude is not available. At some point, we paid $6 over and above the market price. This has forced us to reduce our output as well as import crude from countries as far as the US, increasing our cost of production.

“It appears that the objective of the IOCs is to ensure that Nigeria remains a country which exports crude oil and imports refined petroleum products. They (IOCs) are keen on exporting the raw materials to their home countries, creating employment and wealth for their countries, adding to their Gross Domestic Product, and dumping the expensive refined products into Nigeria – thus making us to be dependent on imported products. It is the same strategy the multinationals have been adopting in every commodity, making Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa to be facing unemployment and poverty, while they create wealth for themselves at our expense.”

“This is exploitation – pure and simple. Unfortunately, the country is also playing into their hands by continuing to issue import licences at the expense of our economy and at the cost of the health of the Nigerians who are exposed to carcinogenic products.”

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IMF raises Zambia’s debt to $1.7 billion, approves $570 million installment

Published

1 day ago

June 27, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The Extended Credit Facility for Zambia has undergone a third assessment, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced that its executive board has approved the immediate disbursement of about $569.6 million.

The Fund’s board also approved a request to boost funding from $1.3 billion to $1.7 billion to assist the nation of southern Africa in dealing with a severe drought that has impacted electricity generation and resulted in agricultural losses.

IMF representative, Antoinette Sayeh stated in a statement that while tackling humanitarian issues brought on by the drought, Zambian authorities have achieved progress on structural and economic reforms.

“Going ahead, coordinated macroeconomic policies, continued efforts to restore fiscal and debt sustainability, and consistent reform implementation would be key to addressing the impact of the drought, preserving macroeconomic stability, and bolstering growth,” said Sayeh, the Fund’s deputy managing director.

Rich in copper After a debt restructuring procedure that lasted more than three and a half years, Zambia managed to pull itself out of default this month. The experience served as a lesson for the G20’s Common Framework mechanism, which is intended to assist low-income nations in addressing unmanageable debt loads.

Extended debt restructuring has hindered investment, limited economic expansion, and put a strain on regional financial systems.

To assist pay off external debt and deal with the drought, Zambia’s finance minister requested last week that the parliament authorize an additional 41.9 billion kwacha, or $1.65 billion, in spending.

On the slopes of the magnificent, active Mount Bromo, the Tenggerese people of Indonesia have been performing an age-old ceremony for decades.

VenturesNow

Egypt must import $1.18 billion worth of petroleum to address power outages— Prime Minister

Published

1 day ago

June 27, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Egypt’s Prime Minister, Mostafa Madbouly, stated in a televised speech on Tuesday that the country needed to import some $1.18 billion worth of natural gas and mazut fuel to put an end to the country’s ongoing power outages, which have been made worse by recent heat waves.

By the third week of July, the administration expects to have received all of the cargoes, at which point it plans to cease power outages for the remainder of the summer, he continued.

To increase its strategic stocks, it has already begun contracting for 300,000 tonnes of mazut worth $180 million, which is anticipated to arrive early next week.

In response to a spike in home electricity demand during the most recent heat wave, Egypt’s government on Monday extended daily power outages to three hours from two hours earlier.

According to Madbouly on Tuesday, these three-hour cutbacks would last until the end of June. After that, they will resume at two hours for the first part of July, to cease entirely for the remainder of the summer.

The impact of the blackouts has sparked a flurry of complaints on Egyptian social media, with some users claiming they have been compelled to buy private power generators.

Teenagers getting ready for the important high school diploma have been especially affected by the issue; some have posted about pupils studying in coffee shops and by candlelight. In the seaside city of Port Said, a wedding hall owner announced that he would convert one of his ballrooms into a study hall.

Since July of last year, most areas have seen scheduled daily power outages lasting two hours due to load shedding caused by declining gas supply, increasing demand, and a lack of foreign cash.

“We had said that we planned to end load shedding by the end of 2024… we do not have a power generation problem or a network problem, we are unable to provide fuel,” Madbouly said on Tuesday.
“With the increase in consumption related to the major development and population increase, there has been a lot of pressure on our dollar resources,” he added.

Without identifying the nation or the gas field, he said that production in a nearby country had completely stopped for 12 hours, disrupting the supply.

Abu Qir Fertilizers, based in Egypt, announced on Tuesday that three of its units had stopped producing due to a disruption in their natural gas supply.