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Nigeria shuts 63 illegal refineries in 1 week

Published

3 months ago

August 15, 2024

According to information released by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, 63 more illicit refineries were found and taken over in the last week.

A documentary disclosed that efforts to combat oil theft were starting to yield results.

The NNPC reports that between August 3 and August 9, approximately 177 incidents were reported by various incident sources, including four from Tantita Security Services, eleven from Shell Petroleum Development Company, 26 from Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Limited, 20 from Maton Engineering Company, one from NNPC 18 Operating Ltd, 51 from NNPC Command and Control Centre, and 64 from government security agencies.

It stated that during the week in question, 19 illicit pipeline connections were located and confiscated, and some of them underwent repairs in a number of Bayelsa and River States areas.

According to the NNPC, 63 illicit refineries in the states of Delta, Imo, Rivers, Bayelsa, and Abia were found and taken. It further stated that an oil wellhead in Bayelsa State was vandalised and barricaded.

It has been reported that oil reservoirs in Rivers State contained stolen crude. The state-owned company reported that 17 car arrests took place in the states of Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, and Akwa Ibom.

It stated that in the states of Rivers and Bayelsa, fifteen wooden boats carrying stolen crude were seized. 51 of those occurrences happened in the deep blue sea, according to the energy business, 21 in the western region, 29 in the central region, and 76 in the eastern region.

According to the NNPC, during the previous week, at least 16 people had been taken into custody concerning the occurrences.

The upstream industry continues to face significant challenges related to crude oil theft, which impedes the nation’s capacity to increase output. Tony Elumelu, the billionaire businessman, recently said that Nigerian security personnel and the government ought to be able to identify Nigerians who steal the nation’s crude oil, particularly when those thieves use vessels that pass through the country’s national seas.

Related Topics:Featured illegal refinery Nigeria oil

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IMF mission concludes 4th loan program assessment in Egypt

Published

2 days ago

November 22, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Following the completion of a recent visit to Egypt, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced that its mission had achieved significant strides in policy talks aimed at concluding the fourth review of the IMF loan program.

The review is the fourth in Egypt’s most recent 46-month IMF loan program, which was authorised in 2022 and increased to $8 billion this year following an economic crisis characterised by high inflation and chronic foreign exchange shortages. It may unleash more than $1.2 billion in financing.

Along with reaffirming its commitment to maintain a flexible exchange rate system, the IMF stated that Egypt “has implemented key reforms to preserve macroeconomic stability,” including the unification of the currency rate that facilitated imports.

Earlier on Wednesday, Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said Cairo has asked the IMF to modify the targets for the programme not only for this year, but for its full duration, he added without giving more details.

“Discussions will continue over the coming days to finalize agreement on the remaining policies and reforms that could support the completion of the fourth review,” the IMF added in its statement.

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Kenya seeks $750m from World Bank, obtains $200m from AfDB— Official

Published

4 days ago

November 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The head of debt management for the finance ministry told Reuters that Kenya had obtained a $200 million loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and was negotiating a fresh $750 million loan with the World Bank.

After being forced to abandon proposed tax rises costing more than 346 billion shillings ($2.68 billion) in June due to fatal demonstrations, the East African nation’s administration, which has been grappling with significant debt, has been frantically seeking fresh funding.

The Finance Ministry’s public debt management office director general, Raphael Owino, told Reuters that the IMF’s October clearance of the seventh and eighth reviews, which opened the door for a $606 million loan tranche, had aided the ministry’s talks for more loans.

“The World Bank is coming on board, riding on the back of IMF receipts,” Owino said. “The AfDB is already on board.”

The discussions for more assistance, which came under the World Bank’s “Development Policy Operations” (DPO) with the government, were confirmed by a representative at the organization’s Kenya office.

“The amount of the current (loan) is yet to be determined. The amount will also depend on the implementation of the policy reforms agreed upon,” the spokesperson told Reuters, adding that past DPO loans averaged about $750 million.

In May, the World Bank approved the latest round of DPO loans, totalling $1.2 billion.

According to a statement made last month by Finance Minister John Mbadi, Kenya has set a foreign borrowing goal of 168 billion shillings for the fiscal year ending in June 2025.