Fuel Queues Caused By Misinformation, Mischief, PENGASSAN

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, said Thursday the incessant fuel queues in the country were a result of panic buying due to deliberate misinformation.Alhaji Sanusi Abdulkarim, the Kaduna Refinery and Petrochemical Company, KRPC, branch Chairman of PENGASSAN, stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, in Kaduna.He was reacting to

Brent Crude Oil On Track For Third Weekly Fall

Brent crude oil held above $112 a barrel on Friday, but remained on track for its third weekly fall in five weeks as supply concerns diminished with the imminent restart of Britain’s largest oilfield, although easing worries about the global economic slowdown offered some support.December Brent crude edged down 5 cents at $112.37 a barrel early on Friday, on course for a near 2% loss this week.

Governors Allege Fraud In Sale Of PHCN Firms

Governors of four of Nigeria’s 36 states have described as fraudulent the recent sale of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, distribution companies, DISCOs, by the Bureau for Public Enterprises, BPE.They are Governors Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State, Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State, Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State and Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State.The four states, alongside their technical

Oil Flat As US Inventories Soar

Rising US crude oil and gasoline stockpiles and tepid global demand for petroleum in its wake in its wake has forced crude oil prices down.US RBOB gasoline futures led the retreat, dropping more than 2%, pressured by the Energy Information Administration’s weekly report showing inventories rose 1.72 million barrels last week, more than three times the consensus expectations, according to Reuters

Oil And Gas Jobs Near Two-Year High

A recent survey says vacancies in the world oil and gas industry have come back from a lull since last summer and is now nearing a two-year high which happened in May.According to the Hays Oil & Gas Global Job Index, a strong third quarter result despite some economic and seasonal headwinds for the industry.The survey indicated that the number of jobs posted on nine oil and gas websites hit its

NERC Alerts Electricity Users To PHCN Irregularities

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, has advised electricity consumers to be alert to certain irregularities by some employees of Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN.Giving the advice in Uyo, Dr Tony Akah, NERC’s General Manager, Government and Consumer Affairs, said the commission was aware that some PHCN officials compelled consumers to pay for transformers, electricity

OPEC Daily Basket Price Close At $109.77/b

The price of OPEC basket of twelve crudes stood at 109.77 dollars a barrel on Thursday, compared with $110.24 the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations.The new OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Oriente (Ecuador), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es

Mixed Reactions Trail Emergence Of Successful Bidders For PHCN Firms

Mixed reactions have trailed announcement earlier this week of the successsful companies that won the technical and financial bid for the eleven Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, distribution companies, DISCOs.Chairman, Technical Committee of the National Council on Privatisation, Mr. Atedo Peterside, unveiled the sucessful bidders, Monday, in Abuja.Industry watchers in Enugu, the original

Agip Donates Relief Materials To Bayelsa

Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) has donated relief materials worth millions of naira to the Bayelsa State government for victims of the flood disaster in the state.Presenting the relief materials to the state government, the Managing Director of NAOC, Ciro Pagano who was represented by Geovani Salvini said the gesture is to identify with displaced victims of the flood.“We understand the enormous

Nigeria Set To Revive Coal Industry

The Nigerian government has set machinery in motion for the revival of the nation’s coal industry, in view of its potentials to drive economic growth through energy generation.Managing Director of the Nigerian Coal Corporation, NCC, Mr Evarist Chinyeremaka Ibe, disclosed this in an exclusive interview with Sweetcrude in Enugu.According to Ibe, who assumed office as chief executive officer of the

Lukoil Inks Agreement On Offshore Block In Cote-d’Ivoire

Russia’s Lukoil Overseas, subsidiary of Lukoil, has signed a production sharing agreement with the government of Cote-d’Ivoire on the offshore block CI-524 in the Gulf of Guinea.Block CI-524 covering the area of 450 square kilometres in water depth ranging from 800 to 1,500 metres represents an eastern part of block CI-401 which Lukoil Overseas has been exploring since 2006.Lukoil Oversea is the

Financial Market Update

Local and international financial market update.GBP: BOE-MPC monetary policy decision came unchanged as expected, and the sterling was the beneficiary of a EUR led rally, primarily on the back of Draghi reiterating their readiness to purchase sovereign bonds of the periphery… Cable trades to a high of 1.6203 before meeting some good resistance… Overall picture looks bullish for the pair in the

US’ Marathon Enters Ethiopia, Acquires Oil Block

US company, Marathon Oil Corporation, has announced its entry into a sale and purchase agreement with Agriterra to acquire its 20-percent working interest in the South Omo concession in Ethiopia.The deal further underscores the growing importance of the East African region to international oil businesses.Marathon and Agriterra expect to close the transaction, subject to completion of the

Flood: Governor Dickson Orders Evacuation Of Indigenes Of Biseni Clan

Disturbed by the rising water levels in the various communities ravaged by flood, Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson has ordered the immediate evacuation of persons living in all the seven communities of Biseni in Yenagoa local government area of the state.Also to be evacuated according to a statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Daniel Iworiso-Markson, yesterday

KBR Wins Tanzania LNG Contract

KBR says it has been awarded a contract by Statoil Tanzania AS to perform pre-front end engineering and design, pre-FEED, studies for a prospective liquefied natural gas, LNG, facility in Tanzania.The pre-FEED study is designed to help Statoil further assess the viability of developing an LNG facility to export natural gas from this East African region. The project is expected to be completed in

OPEC Daily Basket Price Close At $106.99/b

The price of OPEC basket of twelve crudes stood at 106.99 dollars a barrel on Thursday, compared with $107.08 the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations.The new OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Oriente (Ecuador), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es

Europe May Ban Iran Gas

Reports say the European Union could be set to put more pressure on sanctions-hit Iran by banning gas imports from the country.If this happens, it will be another big blow to Iran following international oil sanctions which have this week led to a sharp drop in the local currency, the rial, against the US dollar.Reuters reported on Thursday that EU diplomats have started to put together plans to

Sanusi Faults Review Of Crude Oil Benchmark For 2013 Budget

Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, has kicked against proposals by members of the House of Representatives that the proposed crude oil benchmark of 75 dollar per barrel for the 2013 budget be reviewed upward.He said the benchmark was not an issue but production of more oil, which will bring more money into the federation account.Sanusi said: “Benchmark does not

NNPC Unveils SAP To Integrate Processes & Systems

A major milestone in the drive to transform the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, into a first grade national oil company was attained on Wednesday with the official cut-over (launch) to the System Application Products also known as SAP, to effectively launch the Corporation into the league of major global companies that run the SAP business solution.The Solution which came on live

Flood: Presidential Committee On Flood Disaster Envisage Food Scarcity

The Minister of Environment and Chairman, Presidential Committee on Flood Disaster Area, Hajia Hadiza Ibrahim Mailafia yesterday toured the devastated communities in Bayelsa State describing this year’s flood as a national emergency capable of affecting food production across the country.Virtually all the communities along the bank of rivers in the state including Toru-Orua, the hometown of the