Kerosene subsidy removal: Consumers seek cheaper gas alternative

Consumers have asked the Federal Government to spend the saving on the removal of subsidy on kerosene on making the acquisition of cooking gas kits affordable.

Despite the huge spending on kerosene subsidy, the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), Mr. Dakuku Peterside, recently bemoaned the situation whereby the masses could not buy the product at the regulated price of N40.90k per litre.

Only those who can bear the long queues at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’s outlets and a few other outlets are able to buy the product at the government approved price despite the huge subsidy expenditure over the years.

Without any hope of getting the product at N50 per litre, consumers are envisaging a hard time and lament the lack of financial wherewithal to switch to Liquefied Petroleum Gas as an alternative.

Eighty per cent of Nigerian households depend on kerosene as their cooking fuel, with an average consumption rate of eight million litres per day.

Libyan port rebels see deal possible within weeks

A deal to lift an armed blockade of Libyan oil ports and restart exports could be possible within two weeks, after talks with the government advanced on key demands, a senior leader of the protest movement said.

Abb-Rabbo al-Barassi, prime minister of the self-declared eastern region government, told Reuters that Tripoli and his federalist movement are closing the gap, and a deal to resolve the standoff at oil ports could be weeks away.

“I see progress with the state, the government, the General National Congress assembly,” he said in an interview at the group’s base in Ajdabiya. “I think it won’t take longer than two weeks to reach a deal, God willing. Maybe even less than that.”

The group, led by a former rebel who once battled leader Muammar Gaddafi, seized three major eastern ports in summer to demand a greater share of oil wealth and more regional autonomy, choking off 600,000 barrels per day of oil exports.

Prime Minister Ali Zeidan’s government in Tripoli has been trying to reopen the ports as it faces a budget crunch that risks deepening unrest in the OPEC producer. Oil exports, Libya’s lifeline, have more than halved since summer.

N27.7bn Chad basin oil exploration suffers setback

The Federal Government’s desire to achieve commercial oil production in the Chad Basin this year may not come to fruition, due to insecurity caused mostly by Islamic insurgency under the code name, Boko Haram.

Vanguard learnt that the various technical personnel who provided support services for exploration activities have left the region from fear of being killed, while geologists in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), also shunned the volatile Basin in Borno State for fear of losing their lives.

With this insecurity situation, the over N27.7 billion investments may not be realised as scheduled. Vice President Namadi Sambo said last year that oil prospecting in the Chad Basin was yielding promising results, and may lead to commercial exploration of oil and gas this year.

The Vice President, who visited the region, disclosed that the project had gulped about $75 million (about N11.9 billion) in 2012, while another $100 million (or N15.8 billion) was earmarked for it in 2013. “I want to inform you that government is committed to the oil and gas search in the Lake Chad basin,” he said at the palace of the Shehu of Borno, Abubakar Ibn Garbai. Sambo also said three blocks have been identified in the area after series of research.“These blocks have great potential for oil and gas exploration.

Afren hits production target, sees double-digit growth next 5 years

Nigeria-focused oil firm Afren posted oil output slightly above it 2013 target and said it foresaw double-digit production growth over the next five years.

The company expected 2014 gross production of 62,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), up on the 59,926 in 2013, but that net production to Afren would stand at 40,000 boepd, lower than the 47,112 boepd in 2013.

The firm said the lower net figure was due to extension work at its Ebok field in Nigeria that would close the site for about 20 days as well as ongoing regional developments in Kurdistan.

The company, whose main producing assets are in Nigeria, but which also operates in Kenya and Kurdistan, said on Tuesday that its Ogo oil discovery in Nigeria, with an estimated 774 million barrels of oil equivalent, was one of the largest discoveries in the world.

The Ogo discovery was made last year and was labeled “giant” by analysts at the time.

The company said in October that output would be at the top end of its range after a step-up in production at its Ebok field in Nigeria, its main producing asset.

Overall, 2013 production came in at the top of its annual guidance of 40,000 to 47,000 boepd.

Afren’s market cap stood at 1.58 billion pounds ($2.62 billion).