Wabote: Oil Assets Divestments Will Boost Crude Production, Employment

•FG renews commitment to boosting local petrol refining

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

The Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Simbi Wabote, said yesterday that the oil industry will experience a boost in crude production, employment, and capital injection with the planned divestment of some assets by select international oil companies and expected acquisition by Nigerians.

The executive secretary spoke while delivering the keynote address at the 2023 Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association (PENGASSAN) Energy and Labour Summit in Abuja, according to a statement from the organisation.

Quoting the AfricaReport magazine, he stated that about 26 oil mining licenses had been divested or acquired by oil and gas companies in the Niger Delta Basin area of Nigeria in the past decade.

Some of the divestments currently on the cards include the plan by Shell and ExxonMobil to sell oil and gas assets worth billions of dollars, in addition to Eni’s announcement in September of an agreement with Oando PLC for the sale of its interests in six onshore blocks and Okpai gas power plant in Delta State.

Wabote argued that divestments of oil assets were not necessarily negative, but rather present an avenue for the local capacities and capabilities that had been developed through local content implementation to be brought to bear in the upstream sector.

Wabote outlined several opportunities that would accrue from divestments, such as the injection of new capital, the rejuvenation of divested assets, and an increase in crude oil production through the investment in technologies by the acquiring firms.

Other direct benefits, he said, are the creation of direct and indirect employment opportunities by the indigenous companies and their service providers.

He reiterated that the divestments confirm that Nigerians and indigenous companies had come of age and had acquired the technical, managerial, and financial capabilities to play in the “big league”.

“The involvement of our financial institutions on the transactions represents means of efficient capital deployment and capacity building on loans syndication on an international scale. This is also applicable to legal services, insurance, government relations, employee relations, community liaison, and others,” he said.

Aside the opportunities, the NCDMB boss equally highlighted challenges encountered in the divestment exercises.

These, he said, revolved around the time required to get necessary regulatory approvals as well as the substantial interests from various groups covering political, legal, communities, and labour.

Among other challenges Wabote noted, include the potential for the disruption of oil and gas production, job losses, as well as access to latest technology, especially if the new investors lack the technical expertise or have no support from original equipment manufacturers.

“ There are also issues around how to manage legacy issues or liabilities related to the environment, communities, and other social commitments and pressure on new investors to recoup investments on time to offset loans and address other financial requirements,” he added.

Meanwhile, as part of efforts aimed at addressing the lingering challenge of fuel importation and its attendant impact on the country’s foreign exchange earnings, the federal government has renewed its commitment to boost local refining of petroleum products in the country.

This was disclosed by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri during a visit to him by a delegation from the Crude Oil Refineries Owners  Association of Nigeria (CORAN), led by its Chairman, Momoh Oyarekhua  yesterday.

The minister told the delegation that the federal  government would continue to partner with them in finding home-grown solutions to the various problems bedevilling their operations.

“As  a  government, we would continue to partner with you to find home-grown solutions to the problems. We will try whatever we can to see how we can provide a better environment for you to thrive,” he stated.

He further promised that government will continue to engage with them as partners considering that the sector was critical to the economic survival of the country, according to a statement signed by the Deputy Director (Press and Public Relations), Oluwakemi Ogunmakinwa.

Lokpobiri added that once the sector was taken care of, the country would have solved the perennial problem of importation of petroleum products.

He stated that the ministry of petroleum resources would engage with other relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) like the federal ministry of finance and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on how to access funds.

Lokpobiri implored the association to explore and leverage on other alternative sources of funding available within the country like the Development Bank established by the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Bank of Industry (BOI) and the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) among others.

Earlier in his remarks, the Chairman of CORAN, Oyarekhua said that the association was established to upscale local refining of crude oil in Nigeria and to place the country on the path of local production of refined products.

He noted that if there was self-sufficiency in oil refining in Nigeria, there might not be any reason to import refined products.

Oyarekhua mentioned that about 30 to 40 per cent of Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings went into the importation of refined petroleum products.

The chairman enumerated various challenges militating against the operations  of CORAN, such as inadequate supply of feedstock of crude from the local producers into  the refineries, multiple charges and access to funding, among others.

In finding a way out of the problem, he said CORAN had in the past engaged the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) on the development which  had agreed  on selling crude to them,  noting that the engagement  had not yielded the desired results.

He added that CORAN had also met the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) which promised to interface with the crude producers in the country to know  the quantity of crude produced and seek their commitment to  the domestic crude obligation to all local refineries.

Oyarekhua told the minister that his members were confronted  by the challenge of crude guarantee as their creditors and financiers would want to know where their crude would be coming from.

 He therefore appealed to  the government to support CORAN in expanding its capacity to produce Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) locally through a refinery intervention fund.

BoB Chairman, Mary Peter-Odili, Tasks Lawyers on Protection of Legal System

•Says people’s confidence decline when justice system fails 

•Admits 1095 law graduates to bar

Alex Enumah in Abuja

The Chairman of the Body of Benchers (BoB), Retirement Justice Mary Peter-Odili, has charged lawyers in the country to sustain the people’s confidence in the justice sector by the way they conduct their affairs.

Peter-Odili, gave the charge yesterday, in Abuja, at the call to bar ceremony of successful candidates at the July 2023, Bar Final Examinations of the Nigerian Law School.

While harping on the, “new wigs” that the legal profession is theirs to cherish and protect, the retired justice stressed that, “we live above board as the public expects so much.

“When the public repeatedly see the justice system fail, the people’s confidence in the law will decline. Therefore, if you see the system failing, propose changes in the laws or changes in the rules. You have the skills, training and ability to make a difference, to have an impact as good stewards of justice.”

Besides, the former number two justice on the apex court, admonished the new wigs to use the law profession as a sword to fight all forms of injustices in Nigeria, so that the country can be more peaceful and habitable.

The BoB chairman, who noted that lawyers have the capacity to change the world, stated that the law degrees and call to bar certificates are not just pieces of documents to be hung on the wall or boast about to others.

“These are credentials that you can wield as your sword to fight against injustice. They are shields that you can raise up to protect the innocent and uphold the rule of law. As lawyers, you have the capacity to change the world for the better.

“Wherever you decide to apply your talent as a lawyer, you will be required to act with utmost professionalism and wisdom as your legal advice, your professional actions and even, your inactions affect the lives of your clients and the society at large.

“In your service as a legal practitioner, you must not forget to put into practice, the ethical and moral obligations of a lawyer that has been imbibed in you by being civil and ethical.

Meanwhile, Justice Odili thanked the Secretary of the Body of Benchers, Barrister Daniel Tela and his team for the success of the ceremony and for being up and doing at all times.

Earlier, the Director General of the Nigerian Law School, Professor Isa Chiroma, presented 1,083 successful students at the July 2023 Bar Final Examinations as well as 12 candidates from previous Bar Final Examinations.

He disclosed that the 1,083 emerged successful from a total of 1,666 who participated in the July exams, adding that the figure translates to 65.09% success at the Final Bar Examinations.

“I wish to assure all of you that we shall remain the gate keepers of our noble profession. As teachers and administrators, we will continue to uphold the standard and integrity of the bar,” he said.

While congratulating them as new lawyers, Chiroma enjoined them to make the best of the legal profession by strictly adhering to the norms and ethics of the profession.

The occasion was attended by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi SAN, Wole Olanipekun SAN, Adegboyega Awomolo SAN and Professor Mike Ozekhome SAN, among others