Nigeria offers 43 licences for large, modular refineries

By Kingsley Jeremiah

The Federal Government has disclosed that about 43 refineries, including large scale and modular refineries have been licensed to refine petroleum products across the country.

The Senior Technical Adviser to Nigeria’s Petroleum Minister on Refineries and Downstream Infrastructure, Rabiu Suleiman, told The Guardian in an exclusive interview that two of the refineries (modular) would be inaugurated in the coming week in the Niger Delta region.

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Source: guardian.ng

‘Unchecked crude oil theft fuels illegal artisanal refining’

By Kelvin Ebiri

Environmental stakeholders have blamed the unchecked rampant crude theft for the thriving of artisanal refinery activities, which now devastate the environment in the Niger Delta.

The stakeholders also noted that the continuing gas-flaring in the Niger Delta clearly underscores the failure of democratic institutions in the country to address the environmental challenges faced by oil-bearing communities in the region.

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Source: guardian.ng

Nigeria deploys satellite tech to track oil smugglers

From algorithms to track “dark” ships smuggling stolen crude oil to an online licensing system to undercut corruption, one Nigerian government agency hopes it can use new technology to tackle theft which has cost the country billions.

But the initiative by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) may be too late to stem the migration of energy majors to the relative safety of drilling at sea, driven offshore by an illegal trade that Nigeria’s sprawling bureaucracy has for decades proved unable or unwilling to tackle.

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Source: hellenicshippingnews.com

Kidnapped Product Tanker Crewmembers Still in Captivity

The six seafarers who were kidnapped at the Bonny Outer Anchorage last month are still missing. Five were Indian nationals, and their families are calling upon the Indian government to intervene.

At 1330 hours in the afternoon of April 19, Nigerian pirates boarded the product tanker Apecus while she lay at anchor just off the coast of Bonny Island, a well-defended oil and gas complex in the Niger River Delta. In broad daylight, the attackers abducted six seafarers and departed. The remaining crewmembers were unharmed, and they navigated their vessel to the Bonny Inner Anchorage.

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Source: maritime-executive.com

$195m maritime security contract: Is Amaechi deceiving Nigerians?

By Oluwatoyin Amao

Despite a $195 million (N60 billion) maritime security contract awarded by the Federal Government to an Israeli firm, HLSI Security Systems and Technologies Limited at the instance of the Ministrer of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, piracy and sea robbery still reign on the nation’s waters while the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) still spends US$174,000 (N53.4 million) monthly to hire security patrol vessels.

This has raised questions about the integrity and impact of the contract in Nigeria’s maritime domain.

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Source: shipsandports.com.ng

Canadian among oil workers kidnapped by gunmen in Nigeria

Troops searching surrounding area after oil rig raided by attackers, military says

Gunman kidnapped three oil workers from Canada, Scotland and Nigeria at a rig in Nigeria’s Delta region on Saturday, officials said — the second abduction in the area in less than a week.

The attackers raided the rig owned by Niger Delta Petroleum Resources in Ogbele, Rivers State at around 8 a.m. local time, said military spokesperson Maj. Ibrahim Abubakar.

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Source: cbc.ca

Fire guts oil wells in Ondo as multinational alleges sabotage

By Oluwaseun Akingboye

Five oil wells, operated by Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL) at Ajegunle Ikorigho community in Ilaje Local Council of Ondo State, have engulfed in combustible fire few weeks after militants threatened to resume hostilities in the oil-rich Niger Delta.

The Guardian learnt that the inferno, which had been on for seven days, worsened yesterday and spread to neighbouring riverine communities.

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Source: guardian.ng

Navy tasks NASS on anti-piracy bill

Kingston Obung

The menace of piracy in Nigeria’s territorial waters could be brought to an end if the National Assembly expedites action on the bill before it on piracy, the Nigerian Navy has said.

This remark was made in Calabar by Com Olukoya Bamidele, a guest lecturer and representative of the Nigerian Navy during an inter-agency corporation seminar organised by the Naval War College, Nigeria to discuss the Harmonized Standard Operating Procedures on Arrest, Detention and Prosecution of Vessels &Persons in Nigeria Maritime Environment (HSOP-AD&P).

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Source: blueprint.ng

Nigerian Navy seeks speedy passage of anti-piracy law

Ada Wodu, Calabar

The Nigerian Navy has urged the National Assembly to speed up the passage of the anti-piracy bill into law in a bid to end the menace which is sabotaging the country’s economy.

The Navy made the call at an Inter-Agency corporation seminar organised by the Naval War College, Nigeria to discuss the Harmonised Standard Operating Procedures on Arrest, Detention and Prosecution of Vessels & Persons in Nigeria Maritime Environment with the theme: ‘Combating smuggling through inter-agency cooperation.’

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Source: punchng.com

Tanker attacked, 6 crew kidnapped

Mikhail Voytenko

Product tanker APECUS attacked by 6 persons at Bonny Outer Anchorage, Nigeria at 1330 UTC Apr 19, 6 crew kidnapped, according to IMB report. Tanker was moved to Bonny inner anchorage. According to AIS records, tanker during recent months traded between Tema Ghana, Lome Togo, and Lagos, she arrived at Bonny anchorage from Lagos on Apr 20 or earlier. AIS records history is sketchy – tanker was trading in dangerous waters, probably having to switch off AIS for security reasons.

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Source: maritimebulletin.net