Year: 2018

Uganda: Logistics Could Delay Uganda Oil Export Plan

President Yoweri Museveni’s determination to have Uganda enter the international oil market by 2020 is getting caught up in logistics, with preparatory work on the investment unlikely to be completed before the turn of the year.

Joint venture partners involved in the country’s oil sector said they were unlikely to complete the final technical study for the Buulisa oil blocks by the December 31 ultimatum.

The the study, called front end engineering design (FEED) which started in February this year usually takes between 12 and 18 months to complete. That places the completion date anywhere between March and August next year.

FEED focuses on technical specifications of the project and the cost estimates; initially put at $10 billion.

After it is completed, a detailed design will follow enabling partners Total E&P, Tullow Oil and China National Offshore Oil Company decide how much money they will put in the project. Fluor and CB&I are doing the study.

The 2020 evacuation target has gathered political undertones with President Museveni said to be keen to have the project running before the 2021 elections in which he is expected to contest, after Parliament last week voted to remove the age limit of 75 for presidential candidates. President Museveni is 73.

Ego trips for leaders

Big infrastructure projects in East Africa have recently become ego trips for leaders. Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta was keen to have oil from Turkana hit the export market just before the general election in August this year.

His ambition came unstuck because of logistical challenges but he managed to pull through the standard gauge railway between Mombasa on the Coast and Nairobi.

Tanzania’s President John Magufuli has targeted the development of the Central Corridor — including the pipeline that will evacuate crude oil from Uganda — linking Dar es salaam to Bujumbura, Kigali and Kampala as one of his flagship projects.

President Paul Kagame targeted improvements in tourism and trade services leading to reforms that saw the Rwanda Convention Centre built and the country relax visa restrictions.

Oil prices

Although the delay in bringing oil to the ground could hold back revenues, it could turn out to be a blessing in disguise as international oil prices show signs of steady recovery from a trough that has persisted for more than three years. The partners, however, maintain the market entry target is still feasible.

“All parties are fully committed and are endeavouring to achieve the targeted date of end 2020,” said Total’s spokeswoman Ahlem Friga-Noy.

Fluor and CB&I are competing to be the contractor of the oil infrastructure after Technip was edged out in the first phase of the design completed in July.

“Fluor and CB&I have been selected to undertake the second phase of the front end engineering design. The best contractor at the end of the second phase will be selected to undertake the engineering, procurement and construction of the project,” said Ms Friga-Noy.

Thereafter the preferred contractor will again be selected to for remaining works, including establishing a 200,000 bop central processing facility.

In August 2016, the Energy Ministry issued eight production licences to Total E&P Uganda and Tullow Oil Uganda. The licences contain about 5.4 billion barrels of crude out of an estimated volume of 6.5 billion barrels.

“The companies are expected to work towards reaching final investment decisions within 18 months after issuance of the production licences and first oil in the year 2020,” energy and mineral development minister Irene Muloni said in February.

Source: By Halima Abdallah / allfrica.com

Eritrea Closes Hundreds of Businesses for Bypassing Banks

Eritrea has temporarily shut down nearly 450 private businesses, the latest in a series of moves that has sent shockwaves through the economy of the Red Sea nation.

The closures were a response to companies hoarding cash and “failing to do business through checks and other banking systems,” according to a Dec. 29 editorial published by Eritrea’s Ministry of Information on the state-run website Shabait.com.

Most of the affected businesses operate in the hospitality sector, according to the announcement, and they will remain closed for up to eight months, depending on the severity of the violations

About 58,000 private businesses operate across the country, according to the government; less than 1 percent was affected by the recent closures.

Replacing the currency

The government has taken other steps in recent years to reassert control over the economy.

In 2015, Eritrea mandated that citizens exchange all notes of the currency, the nakfa, for new notes. The government also imposed financial restrictions, including limits on the amount of cash that could be withdrawn from bank accounts or kept in private hands, according to multiple reports.

Business owners complained about the restrictions, and reports from inside the country indicate the rules have altered Eritrea’s black market exchange rate, which affects the price of many goods.

State control

Tesfa Mehari, a professor of economics in England, said the Eritrean government wants a state-owned economy. That’s a trap many other countries have fallen into that generally leads to economic failure, Mehari said.

“The government cannot develop the economy. Only the people can do that,” Mehari told VOA’s Tigrigna service. “The government can only be a facilitator. There hasn’t been a country in the world that developed because of government control.”

He also said that the closures harm people’s trust in the government and in banking institutions.

“At the end of the day, if the people of Eritrea want to develop the economy of the country, they can only work based on trust, especially with banks. What you have with banks is a matter of oath,” Mehari said.

Compounding this mistrust, he added, is that the government’s actions aren’t backed by a specific law or decree that is publicly available for all to read.

In a statement, the government also acknowledged shortcomings in modernizing its banking sector with up-to-date technology and relevant expertise, another potential impediment to confidence in the system.

In contrast, Ibrahim Ibrahim, an Eritrean-born accountant who supports the government, said the actions are needed to fight inflation and stabilize the currency.

“I don’t think the Eritrean government is trying to control the economy, and I don’t think that’s the current environment,” said Ibrahim, who is based in Washington, D.C. “However, there might be a situation where the government is taking measures to adjust things that are not normal and turn it into normalcy as per usual.”

He said any government has the right to regulate its currency and the businesses operating within its borders.

“When these businesses are given permission to work, that means they’re entering a contract,” he said. “At the core of entering into such agreements is that the businesses work within the legalities and the laws in place. If these businesses are not working according to the law, the government is going to take appropriate measures.”

Eritrea

Source: allafrica

Namibia Switches to Electronic Passports

Namibia has ceased the issuing of machine-readable passports and will start issuing biometric or electronic passports as from Monday, 8 January 2018.

This was announced by the Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration’s director for immigration and border control, Nehemia Nghishekwa, on Friday at a media briefing in Windhoek.

Nghishekwa explained that electronic passports are highly secure travel documents with a chip which enhances security.

“The drive is to maintain the integrity of the Namibian travel document and to render it difficult to forge,” said Nghishekwa.

He said the move was in line with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) requirements, which urge all UN member states to implement the electronic passports.

Nghishekwa explained that Namibia had an untainted reputation internationally, making it an ideal target for international travel document fraudsters.

He noted that the electronic passports come with general security features, compared to the previous passports, adding that the electronic passports contain 40 pages compared to the 32 pages of the old passports.

The electronic passport features include the Namibian map on the inside of the cover page, images of the Namibian Parliament, the national flower of Namibia, the welwitschia mirabilis, and a watermark on all pages.

He said the machine-readable passports currently in circulation, which include ordinary, diplomatic and official passports, will run concurrently with the new electronic passports until they outlive their lifespan of up to five years.

“The current machine-readable passports are still accepted in internationally, however, they are phasing out,” he said.

An electronic passport will cost N$160 and the waiting period will remain the same.

Source: allafrica

Nigeria: Why Govt Is Counting On Dangote Refinery to End Fuel Crisis

Lagos — Currently being constructed on a 2, 200 hectares at the Lekki Free Trade zone in Lagos, Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical is adjudged the single largest train petroleum refinery in the world and is being counted on by the federal government to nail the coffin on fuel scarcity in Nigeria.

With capacity to refine 650,000 barrels of crude per day, and a petrochemical plant of 750,000 metric tonnes of polypropylene per annum, it is 13 times bigger than the Indorama Eleme Petrochemicals Limited built by the federal government. Projected to be the biggest refinery in the world, it is also projected to have 1.5 times more capacity than the existing four oil refineries in the country, even if they are operating at 100 per cent.

With $14 billion loan from a consortium of local and international banks, Dangote refinery is expected to come on stream in the last quarter of next year.

According to the President of Dangote group, Aliko Dangote, the sum of $400 million was brought in for the construction of the refinery plant, out of which N16.3 billion had been paid for the acquisition of 2,200 hectares of land, with expectation of earning $5 billion annually from the export of surplus products.

All in all, projections about the plants are all optimistic at the moment.

“With the refinery, there will be no more importation of fuel,” an enthusiastic Dangote said, “Because 40% of our foreign exchange needs go into the importation of petroleum products. If we produce here and sell here, everything would be done in Naira and this creates jobs. We are stopping the exportation of jobs and the creation of poverty. We are doing this by extracting by-products from crude and some of these components are in high demand outside the country. It is the same thing with fertilizer,” he said

He estimates that the refinery can load 2,680 trucks per day, meaning about 10, 000 trucks in four days. Loading by sea and shipping to Calabar and other south-south states will also cut out the need for tank farms.

“A place like Apapa has tank farms in residential area which is dangerous for the residents,” Dangote said.

With on-going construction at the site, over 1,500 workers have been engaged directly by Dangote Refinery through various contractors handling the jobs and when operational about 1,200 will be engaged directly while ancillary jobs of about 150, 000 will be from an indirect and various allied contractors service providers.

The way the refinery is being packaged is as an antidote to Nigeria’s fuel crisis. Apart from FG’s faith in the project and Dangote’s utterances, Mr. Devakumar Edwin, Group Executive Director, Strategy, Portfolio Development and Capital Projects is also echoing the line.

“There will be no more queues at the filling stations due to fuel shortage, which cause traffic and waste innumerable man hours. And, last but not the least, the quality of our products will be high because we are coming out with Euro V grade. In Europe and in the United States, the refineries are now being converted to Euro V grade. In our own case, we are building a refinery which will produce Euro V grade from day one. Finally, huge amount of foreign exchange will be earned from the export of gasoline, diesel, aviation jet fuel and polypropylene,” he said.

Edwin said before the commencement of construction of the project a lot of risk analyses was conducted.

“The original thought was that we had everything we needed in Nigeria, i.e. the crude oil. When we started analysis, we realised that it was highly risky to place all our eggs in one basket, by relying only on Nigerian crude. So, we decided to expand the capability of the refinery to handle oil from different sources. Today, the Dangote Refinery can process a wide range of crudes, such as all the African crudes including that of Algeria, Libya, Angola, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, etc., the U.S. crudes, Arab Light, etc. Since we are not dependent on Nigerian crude, we are not prone to the risk of the Niger Delta disturbance. We do not use pipelines; rather, we use ships. We use Single Point Mooring Buoys (SPMs) for offloading the crude and loading the products,” he said.

With this projections, Dangote Refinery is already going ahead to plan for a outlets for their products, long before the project is even completed.

The Head, Quality Assurance/Quality Compliance, Construction, Dangote Oil Refining Company, Mr. Rama Putta, said “In September 2018, we are going to commission our trading facilities, which consists gantries for filling the trucks, and 35 tanks for storing the fluids will be ready. Every day, 2,600 trucks are going to be filled with petrol, diesel, kerosene, and jet fuel.

“We will buy the products from other countries, because by that time our products will not be ready, and trade them for one year. This is to test our trading facilities. By September 2019, we will sell our own products.”

Source: allafrica, Kayode Ekundayo

AFCHAM LAGARDERE

The Lagardere-CAF-AFCHAM Workshop

Lagardere Afcham workshop

Lagardere Afcham workshop in Shanghai.Workshop on The Passion and unlimited opportunities of African Football in Shanghai. organized By Lagardere, the Confederation of African Football , AFCHAM

The Passion and Unlimited Opportunities of African Football

Date: Monday, 12th February 2018 at 2: 00 – 5: 00 pm
Venue: 5F, Building D, Orient International Mansion, 85 LouShanGuan Road, ChangNing District, Shanghai

Event Description

Africa is the second largest continent in the world, with a population of over 1.1 billion, second to Asia and will grow up to over 2 billion in the next 30 years. In the past decade, the middle-class in Africa increased 60%, while 27 countries in this continent are already ranked as middle-income countries. This number will increase to 40 by 2025. Africa has become the perfect spot for market exploration and investments.
Football, the most fascinating sport in Africa, has attracted millions of fans across the continent, with their love for the sport deeply rooted since childhood, which makes football the best way to open the market in Africa.
Mr. Idriss Akki, will be giving a talk on the Development of Football in Africa – major events, football clubs, players and developing business in the African Market via football.

Keynote Speaker

Mr. Idriss Akki, President of Lagardère Sports’ football business in Africa. Since 1994, Mr. Idriss Akki has been responsible for the development of sponsorship and media rights for the Confederation of African Football (CAF) all over the world in Lagardère Sports. And he was named one of the most influential persons in African football by French Football magazine in 2015. Mr. Idriss Akki is recognized for the significant contribution he has made to maintaining Lagardère Sports’s leading position in African football and under his leadership, Lagardère Sports is committed to keeping its collaboration by working hand in hand with CAF for the promotion of African football around the world.

Complete the Form to attend the workshop

    South Africa: Son of Anti-Apartheid Activist Due in Court for Allegedly Assaulting Wife

    A well-known businessman, who is also the son of a late prominent anti-apartheid activist – is expected to appear in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on Thursday for allegedly assaulting his wife in Camps Bay, Cape Town earlier this week.Western Cape police spokesperson Captain FC van Wyk confirmed to News24 on Wednesday that a domestic violence-related assault charge was laid by the man’s 27-year-old wife on New Year’s Day at the Camps Bay police station and that it was under investigation.

    Van Wyk said an investigating officer had met with the businessman and his legal representative on Wednesday and that the businessman was charged and informed to appear in court on Thursday.

    Sources close to the case allege that a disagreement broke out between the businessman and his wife.

    The man allegedly demanded his wedding ring from her and proceeded to assault her. The wife was allegedly assaulted “in full view and/or passive assistance” of a relative of his.

    Source: News24 / allafrica

     

     

    Nigeria: China Agrees to Pay $550 Million for Nigerian Satellites – Minister

    The Minister of Communication, Adebayo Shittu, on Wednesday updated President Muhammadu Buhari on the approved procurement of two new satellites from China at the cost of $550 million.

    Speaking to State House correspondents after a closed door meeting with the president in the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Mr. Shittu said the China EXIM bank had agreed to pay the entire $550 million for the procurement of the satellites.

    The minister explained that the initial agreement was that the China EXIM bank would provide 85 per cent of the total cost ($550 million) while Nigeria would pay the remaining 15 per cent as counterpart funding for the projects.

    He, however, stated that as Nigeria could not be able to meet her obligation in paying the counterpart funding, the agreement was renegotiated with the China EXIM bank and the manufacture of the satellites, the China Great Walls.

    “I’m in the Presidency to see Mr. President and to brief him on three major issues.

    “One, NICOMSAT, which is one of our agencies where we hope to procure two new satellites from China.

    “Initially the agreement was that they will provide the cost of the two satellites, $550 million minus 15 per cent which is the counterpart funding.

    “Because we could not afford this 15 percent, we have renegotiated with the China EXIM Bank and the China Great Walls who are the manufacturers and they have happily agreed to pay the entire $550 million to procure two new satellites,” he said.

    The minister stated that the new satellites would ensure that the Nigerian satellite company (NICOMSAT) would conquer the entire African continent in regard to the provision of satellite communication services.

    He said that the Chinese had appreciated the potential market that existed in the satellite business in Nigeria and the African continent.

    “This is a very big business opportunity and I am sure that the Chinese appreciate the potential market which is so vast and that is why they have agreed that even without our ability to contribute 15 per cent they are prepared to pay the entire sum of $550 million for the procurement of the two new satellites for Nigeria,” he added.

    Mr. Shittu revealed that the production of the satellites would commence immediately the final agreements were signed.

    He said: “It takes two years to produce because it is when we sign the papers they will start production.

    “We hope that before the end of this month we will sign the papers and then they will commence the production. It is the completion of the production that the two satellites will be launched.”

    He added that Nigeria had nothing to lose because the country would not put anything into the project in terms of financial resources.

    “The president was excited and was not surprised because the Chinese are not just going to market our satellite to the entire African continent but also perhaps by legislation insists that all Nigerian entities must patronize the Nigerian satellite company rather than going to Israel, UK, US for satellite services.

    The Minister of Communication, Adebayo Shittu, [Photo credit: THISDAYLIVE]

    “Now we can say by our local content policy we must patronize Nigeria,” he said

    “The major issue is not about employment but by providing satellite services to all companies which require it.

    “Currently most Nigerian companies and even Nigerian government establishments patronize foreign satellite companies. So the first thing is that we want to make profit, we want to capture the local market and we also want to capture the African market,” he added.

    The Minister also said he informed the President that he had been appointed as national chairman of the board of trustees of Muhammadu Buhari/Osinbajo Dynamic Support Group.

    Mr. Shittu, who described President Buhari as “Saviour” of Nigerians, said the South-west zonal office of the campaign organisation of Buhari-Osinbajo would be inaugurated on January 20.

    “Every day since he came into office all his activities are geared towards letting Nigeria know that they have a saviour, a rescuer, somebody who is committed to providing relief for Nigerians in all respects.

    “These include fighting corruption, insurgency; whether in the North East or the Niger Delta; in the area of repairing the economy and providing jobs and providing social stability in the society.

    “You will agree with me that today but for Buhari Boko Haram would have invaded even Lagos.”

    The minister, who disclosed that President Buhari was yet to indicate interest on whether he will seek re-election in 2019, said his ardent supporters would continue to pressure him to seek re-election to enable him complete his good works to Nigerians.

    He added: “It goes without saying I mean if you have a child who goes to primary school does well, proceeds to secondary school does well, and you keep asking is he going to university?

    “By the grace of God, we his ardent supporters who appreciate his worth on behalf of millions of Nigerians, would urge him to re-contest.

    “I know he has not made up his mind but I can say that some of us can assist him in making up his mind so that Nigeria can continue to enjoy stability and progress in our land.”

     Source: allafrica

    Equatorial Guinea ‘stops coup attempt by mercenaries’

    Mercenaries have attempted to launch a coup in the Western African state of Equatorial Guinea, its government says.

    At least 30 armed men from Chad, Cameroon and the Central African Republic were arrested late last month, a minister said.

    They were found with rocket launchers, rifles and ammunition just over the border in Cameroon, he added.

    The government of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema is often accused of corruption and human rights abuses.

    Troops in Equatorial Guinea shot dead a “mercenary” during clashes on Wednesday near the border with Cameroon, TVGE, the state television reported, adding that security forces had “used gunfire to disperse (others) in the forests along the border”.

    Mr Obiang has been in power for nearly 40 years, taking power in a coup by ousting his own uncle, Francisco Macias Nguema, who was shot by firing squad.

    The long-time leader was re-elected to a fifth seven-year term in 2016.

    After the Mugabes, which African dynasties remain?

    In a statement read on public radio, Security Minister Nicholas Obama Nchama blamed the alleged coup on mercenaries hired by opposition groups and supported by unnamed “powers”.

    He said the coup attempt had been foiled with the help of the Cameroonian security services.

    Equatorial Guinea has faced alleged coup attempts in the past.

    In 2004, a former British soldier, Simon Mann, was linked to an attempt to overthrow Mr Obiang.

    The former British Army officer and businessman was arrested in Zimbabwe in 2004 and extradited four years later to Equatorial Guinea.

    In 2008, Mr Mann was sentenced to 34 years in prison, although a year later he was released after being pardoned by Mr Obiang.

    Equatorial Guinea is one of sub-Saharan Africa’s biggest oil producers, but much of its population still lives in poverty.

    In October 2017, a French court gave a three-year suspended jail term to Equatorial Guinea’s Vice President Teodorin Obiang, President Obiang’s son, for corruption.

    Source: allafrica

    Zimbabwe: Firm to Build Bio-Refinery, 3MW Plant in Mutare

    Tawanda Chitiyoboasts neither of a fancy university degree nor any other such tertiary qualification. But the 30-year budding entrepreneur from Mutare has a sharp eye for business. He knows just when the time is right – and now was the right time to turn waste into energy

    Chitiyo describes himself simply as “an entrepreneur and a climate change enthusiast,” with no prior experience in project development or management. It is easy, and very tempting, to dismiss the youthful entrepreneur as an amateur feigning humility to gain support.

    But using his street-horned skills, Chitiyo has put together a team of experts that has come up with a formidable project plan to build what he termed a ‘bio-refinery’ in Mutare, producing gas, electricity and diesel from human waste, at a cost of $10 million.

    Working in partnership with the Harare Institute of Technology’s Climate Change Research Centre and Astra Innovations, a German technological firm, Chitiyo has agreed a Memorandum of Understanding with the City of Mutare to convert thousands of kilogrammes of human excreta at the Sakubva and Yeovil waste treatment plant into something useful.

    The project, four years in the making, will be implemented by Tawanda Energy Ltd, a company named after himself, where Chitiyo is managing director, and specialising in “energy, biofuels, petrochemicals, and… community scale bio-refineries.”

    It has received endorsements and regulatory approval from the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority, electricity supplier ZETDC as well as from Rodan Engineering Company, a German engineering firm who are to supply the equipment.

    We have got to admit, Chitiyo’s project sounds optimistic, too good to be true for something valued at just $10 million. In the interview below, we ask him to explain his project plan in detail, as well as how far he intends to go with similar work.

    Tell us, what exactly do you plan to do with Mutare’s waste?

    We plan to build a bio-refinery. A bio-refinery is a waste to energy plant similar to the oil refinery. The difference is that our products are made from sewage sludge, which are renewable, and not crude oil. Our vision and mission is to be driving force for social, environmental, and economic benefits by producing gaseous, and liquid climate-neutral energy carriers.

    Why a bio-refinery?

    It’s cheap and clean. Raw materials are locally available. At first we were interested in biogas alone. The project expanded after further research and discussions with our partners who advised that we explore all potential opportunities available in the management of sewage sludge as a resource.

    How will it work? What will be the outputs

    We want to set up a smart city project in the city of Mutare that is adapted to our geographical, cultural, and economic characteristics. The project will convert 48 tonnes of sewage sludge through a process of advanced thermal distillation into the following fuels

    9,1 million litres per year of diesel which is one percent of the market share. Potential savings of US$2 million per annum will be achieved from cheaper diesel supplies.

    803 tonnes of natural gas per year which is 2,7 percent of the local gas market share. We plan to introduce it as substitute for liquefied petroleum gas. Potential annual savings from gas are estimated at US$500 000.

    A combined total of 3 megawatts of electricity will be generated

    We will also produce 2 409 tonnes of carbon char to be used as a substitute for firewood, charcoal and coal.

    You have already got the money to get the project running?

    No. Not yet. We are currently in the process of looking for seed capital. We have approached the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development to facilitate the granting of a sovereign guarantee from Government, which would assist us to secure funding without collateral.

    How long will it take to build the refinery before bringing it online?

    It could take between 6 to 9 months, should we manage to get everything in place. It is a modular plant, so all the components are shipped in complete. Only the assembling takes place here.

    In what way does your project respond to the environmental and climate change challenges faced by Zimbabwe today?

    This is a waste to energy process, which functions within the non-hazardous waste management hierarchy and all the fuels produced are to the international standard for such fuels.

    Our project is sustainable and does not pollute water, land or air. We will not use any chemicals or any other raw material except sewage sludge. So, our final diesel is biodegradable and sulphur-free. We estimate that the biogas part of the project will avoid the equivalent of 10 000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year. We have contracted experts to determine the full emissions reduction potential of the entire project.

    source: INTERVIEW 

    Nigeria Experiences Total Power Outage Across Country

    There was power outage across Nigeria on Tuesday night.

    The power ministry, in a statement in the early hours of Wednesday blamed the outage on fire at a gas pipeline system which interrupted gas supply and affected the national transmission grid.

    “The sudden loss of generation due to interruption in gas supply from these stations caused the national transmission grid to trip off around 20:20 on 2nd January 2018. The national transmission grid is owned and operated by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN),” the ministry stated.

    Read the ministry’s full statement below.

    AFTERMATH OF FIRE INCIDENT REPORTED BY GAS PROCESSING COMPANY : TCN , GENCOS WORKING TO RESTORE OPERATION OF NATIONAL GRID

    … We urge members of the public to bear with us as we work to overcome this set back which should be temporary- MINISTRY

    Regrettably, after a sustained period of increasing production and distribution of power since September 2017 to date, the Nigerian Gas Processing and Transportation Company Ltd (NGPTC) has reported a fire incident on its Escravos Lagos Pipeline System near Okada, Edo State on Tuesday, 2nd January, 2018.

    The incident requires a shutdown of the pipeline supplying gas to Egbin 1,320MW; Olorunsogo NIPP 676MW, Olorunsogo 338MW, Omotosho NIPP 450MW, Omotosho 338 MW and Paras 60MW power stations.

    The sudden loss of generation due to interruption in gas supply from these stations caused the national transmission grid to trip off around 20:20 on 2nd January 2018. The national transmission grid is owned and operated by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).

    Most of Nigeria’s power generation is from thermal power stations that require gas for fuel. The gas is produced by oil and gas companies overseen by the Ministry of Petroleum Resources. The gas is delivered to the power stations through pipelines owned and operated by Nigerian Gas Processing and Transportation Company Ltd (NGPTC), a subsidiary of Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC).

    TCN and the generation companies are working to restore operation of the national grid. Once the national grid is restored output from the hydroelectric power stations and all other unaffected gas fired thermal power stations will be increased to the extent possible to minimize the impact of loss of generation from the affected power stations while NNPC takes necessary steps to restore gas supply.

    We urge members of the public to bear with us as we work to overcome this set back which should be temporary.

    Signed:

    MINISTRY OF POWER, WORKS AND HOUSING

    2nd JANUARY, 2018

    source: Allafrica