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Tag: Timipre Sylva

  • Why $1.5bn for repair of Port Harcourt refinery is suspicious – Atiku

    Why $1.5bn for repair of Port Harcourt refinery is suspicious – Atiku

    Former Vice President Waziri Atiku Abubakar has said the $1.5 billion earmarked for the repair of Port Harcourt refinery in Rivers State by the President Muhammadu Buhari’s government is suspicious.

    Atiku stated this on Thursday, stressing that a similar, more profitable refinery, Martinez Refinery in California, USA was recently sold by Shell Petroleum Development Company for $1.2 billion.

    Recall that the federal executive council (FEC) presided over by President Buhari on Wednesday approved 1.5billion dollars for the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt Refinery.

    Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, who made this known, said the rehabilitation was in fulfilment of Federal Government’s desire to resuscitate the country’s refineries to reduce the cost of processing petroleum products as well as boost the economy.

    However, reacting, Atiku in a statement, posited that the best solution for the nation’s refineries is to privatise them to be more effective and efficient.

    He stated that to budget the sum of $1.5 billion to renovate or turn around the Port Harcourt Refinery appears to be an unwise use of scarce funds at this critical juncture for an assortment of reasons.

    He wrote: “That Nigeria’s economy is in dire straits is a fact well known both to the nation and to our international partners. Unemployment has just reached an all-time high of 33%, while inflation has hit another record high of 17%.

    “At this critical period, we must as a nation be prudent with the use of whatever revenue we can generate, and even if we must borrow, we must do so with the utmost responsibility and discipline.

    “To therefore budget the sum of $1.5 billion to renovate or turn around the Port Harcourt Refinery would appear to be an unwise use of scarce funds at this critical juncture for an assortment of reasons.

    “First of all, our refineries have been loss-making for multiple years, and indeed, it is questionable wisdom to throw good money after bad. At other times, I have counselled that the best course of action would be to privatise our refineries to be run more effectively and efficiently.

    “Moreover, the cost appears prohibitive. Too prohibitive, especially as Shell Petroleum Development Company last year sold its Martinez Refinery in California, USA, which is of a similar size as the Port Harcourt refinery, for $1.2 billion. We must bear in mind that the Shell Martinez Refinery is more profitable than the Port Harcourt Refinery.

    “Given this discrepancy, might we ask if there was a public tender before this cost was announced? Was due diligence performed? Because we are certainly not getting value for money. Not by a long stretch.

    “We cannot as a nation expect to make economic progress if we continue to fund inefficiency, and we are going too deep into the debt trap for unnecessarily overpriced projects.

    “Our national debt has grown from ₦12 trillion in 2015 to ₦32.9 trillion today. Indeed that is shocking enough to cause us to be more prudent in the way we commit future generations into the bondage of bonds and debt”.

  • Timipre Sylva opens up on state of Petroleum Industry Bill

    Timipre Sylva opens up on state of Petroleum Industry Bill

    The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva on Thursday spoke on the much-awaited Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), revealing that the Executive arm would be requesting the National Assembly (NASS) to specially reconvene to receive and begin deliberations on the regulatory framework.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Sylva made this known during a “Fiscal Regime Design, Government Revenues & Investors’ Interest in Nigeria Oil and Gas Sector” webinar hosted by the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE).

    According to the Minister, the PIB is key to the repositioning of Nigeria’s oil and gas industry under its post-COVID-19 agenda. He said the bill would be presented to the lawmakers in the next few weeks when the lawmakers have reconvened.

    “I will tell you very confidently that we have finished our job, the drafting process is concluded. We have discussed with some relevant industry operators as well. At this point, what is happening is, the Ministry of Justice is looking at the draft again to ensure that it is not in conflict with existing laws in the country, and even that process has now be concluded.

    “In the coming few days, we have requested the National Assembly to see if they can reconvene to accept the PIB. If that happens the PIB should be with them within the next few weeks and after that, frankly I cannot say how long it is going to stay in the National Assembly,” the Minister said.

    Sylva, however, expressed optimism that the PIB would be expeditiously dealt with by the lawmakers, given that it had taken the country years to get it to this stage.

    He said: “Government needs maximum fiscal environment to deal with the COVID-19 crisis. For this reason, we are proposing grandfathering in the new PIB. This, I believe will preserve current government take, while also guaranteeing investors’ returns.

    “It also guarantees that investors can continue with the existing operations while earning favourable returns. The proposed PIB framework shall be based on core principles of clarity, dynamism, neutrality, open access and fiscal rules of general application.

    “At the same time, investments in new acreages will be encouraged with attractive competitive terms in order to achieve economic growth.

    “Investors in existing assets will be able to sign conversion contracts to obtain better terms for existing production, and to be able to explore and produce part of the existing blocks under the new block terms.”

    According to him, investors that also want to continue operating under the current fiscal terms can choose to do so.

    Sylva said that the host communities would be adequately covered to foster sustainable prosperity within the communities, provide direct social and economic benefits from petroleum operations to the host communities.

    He also maintained that a diversification plan to non-oil economy had become a national imperative due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the oil and gas industry and other sectors of the economy.

    “The PIB will provide a framework for increased petroleum industry activities in terms of developing gas for the domestic market and increasing oil production under competitive terms and support the goal of a stronger non-oil economy for the benefit of all Nigerians,” Sylva added.

    According to the Minister, the business environment has been quite challenging for the oil and gas industry, the nation and the entire world and that at the same, the oil and gas industry is facing increased competition from expanding and ever cheaper renewable resources. These he said make the future uncertainty for the petroleum industry

    “Current global economic outlook occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic is predicted to create a recession which will according to IMF result in a decline of 4.9% of world GDP in 2020. Even if acceptable vaccines are developed by 2021, it may take two or more years to recover from this recession. We might be grappling with low oil demands and therefore low prices for the rest of 2020 and afterwards.

    “At the same time, the oil and gas industry is facing increased competition from expanding and ever cheaper renewable resources. As an example, the French electricity company, EDF and other partners signed in Abu Dhabi a 30 years solar energy supply agreement of 3200 megawatts for a power purchase agreement price of 1 Dollar and 35 Cents per kilowatts. Or, about N5 per kilowatts.

    “The future role of natural gas in electricity generation may be challenged as renewable energy begins to compete with gas for power generation. In the long term, green hydrogen derived from electrolysis may start to replace natural gas and petroleum products in a variety of sectors, if the cost of producing green hydrogen falls below 2 Dollars per kg.

    “The Paris Agreement on climate change of 2015 has added urgency with respect to the elimination of fossil fuels and as a result the European Union, South Korea, Chile, and many other nations are now taking actions to become carbon neutral by 2050.

    “These developments have increased future uncertainty in the petroleum industry. It is a wakeup call for Nigeria to increase efforts to reduce her dependence on oil. We must rejig our petroleum industry and energy framework in order to chart a new course. The Petroleum Industry Bill that we proposed will I believe provides this framework.

    “In order to secure the future of the petroleum industry in Nigeria, fiscal and other terms must be based on a more conservative economic outlook. A framework must be created for the Nigerian petroleum industry to grow and invest in additional petroleum production even under difficult economic conditions.

    “This conservation economic outlook must be based on a long term oil price of around 50 Dollars per barrel in constant Dollars terms. It is assumed that on a worldwide basis, peak oil production will occur by 2030 and peak gas production by 2040. By 2050, the world oil production will be considerably less than today,” he said.

  • BREAKING: Buhari sends revised PIB to NASS

    BREAKING: Buhari sends revised PIB to NASS

    President Muhammadu Buhari has sent a revised edition of the long-awaited Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) to the National Assembly (NASS).

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports a source at NASS who spoke under the condition of anonymity confirmed the development on Monday.

    Recall that the last time the PIB was debated by the NASS, during the first term of President Buhari, the bill was in four separate components.

    The four components were the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB), Petroleum Industry Finance Bill, Petroleum Host and Impacted Communities Bill (PHICB) and the Petroleum Industry Administrative Bill.

    Out of the four components, only one of the components, the PIGB made it through to the President’s desk for assent but he refused to sign it.

    President Buhari declined assent to the component of the bill earlier passed by the NASS with a promise to submit a better version of the bill.

    However, according to the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva all four components of the PIB would be compressed into one bill.

    A team of lawyers at the Ministry of Justice finalized the draft of the long-awaited bill and sent it off to the NASS, according to Africa oil and gas report.

    The frame of the document had earlier been approved by Buhari and the Federal executive council (FEC), the report stated.

    Meanwhile, Senate President Ahmad Lawan had reiterated the legislative commitment to work in harmony with the executive arm for the speedy passage and signing into law of the bill.

    The PIB has defied passage and assent, but Senator Lawan said, “It is our hope and desire that we are able to break the jinx that has visited the PIB since 2007”.

  • PIB suffers further setback as Senate proceeds on annual recess without Executive action

    PIB suffers further setback as Senate proceeds on annual recess without Executive action

    Senate President Ahmad Lawan on Wednesday announced the Nigerian Senate would be proceeding on its annual recess until September, leaving the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) to suffer further delay.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports President Muhammadu Buhari had declined assent to a component of the bill passed by the National Assembly (NASS) with a promise to submit a better version of the bill.

    The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva had on July 14 announced that the PIB would be sent to the NASS in two weeks. He had said the bill would be signed into law by mid-2020.

    However, until the Senate announced going on its annual recess till September, the Executive arm of the government failed to submit the bill to the NASS, which members have been expecting the new PIB for deliberations and debate to begin on the much-awaited piece of legislation.

    Senate President Lawan during plenary on Wednesday reiterated the legislative commitment to work in harmony with the executive arm for the speedy passage and signing into law of the PIB.

    He decried delay in the passage of the bill, stressing that more revenue will accrue into the coffers of the Federal Government when the bill is passed and signed into law.

    He stated that as part of that commitment, relevant Committees on Petroleum and Gas had been mandated to engage the Executive arm of Government, particularly the NNPC and DPR, on the PIB to be submitted to the NASS.

    He explained that such engagement between both arms of government would reduce the time needed to carry out legislative work on the bill when it is finally sent to the Legislature for consideration and passage.

    “We want to work in harmony with the executive arm, but It takes both arms of Government to work together in a cordial and harmonious way. We are desirous of working together with the executive arm, and we expect that the Executive arm would be desirous of working with us.

    “Therefore, it is important that whoever takes public office also understands that there has to be this type of engagement on behalf of the Nigerian public.

    “As a part of this engagement, we have mandated relevant Committees on Petroleum (Upstream and Downstream); and Gas to engage the Executive arm of Government, particularly the NNPC and DPR, on the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) to be submitted to the National Assembly.

    “Such engagement between both arms of government would reduce the time needed to carry out legislative work on the bill when it is finally sent to the Legislature for consideration and passage.

    “It is our hope and desire that we are able to break the jinx that has visited the PIB since 2007. The PIB has defied passage and assent, this time around we want to work assiduously with the Executive arm of Government to ensure that we pass the PIB and that the President signs it into law, because we have everything to lose if not passed this year.

    “If we are able to do it, we will get more revenue into the coffers of the Federal Government, as well as attract and retain investments into the oil and gas sector in Nigeria,” Senate President Lawan stated.

  • Group alleges plot to create trouble between Sylva and NCDMB Secretary

    The Transparency in Petroleum Exploration and Development Initiative (TIPEDI) has dismissed as unfounded allegations of the demand or withdrawal of $20 million from the accounts of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) for the purpose of prosecuting the forthcoming Senate election in Bayelsa State.

    Firmly rebutting the allegation, the NGO in a statement affirmed that the allegation could easily be confirmed as spurious when cast against the background of the governance system enthroned by the management of the NCDMB.

    It further said that the operation of the Treasury Single Account under the present administration has made the withdrawal of such amount from a government agency as the NCDMB impractical.

    TIPEDI in the statement issued on its behalf by its executive director, operations, Mr. Igho Derek rather adduced political motif for the rumour which the organization said lacks logic.

    TIPEDI said the originators of the rumour were rather interested in knocking the head of the Minister of State for Petroleum, Chief Timipire Sylva with that of the management of the NCDMB as led by Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote.

    Calling on those with interest in the Bayelsa Senate runoff elections to rather focus on selling their agenda instead of blackmail, the group said:

    “We believe that those who want to stand for elective offices must be ready and willing to canvass votes based on what they have to offer the people and not seek to distract the people through the introduction of extraneous issues that have nothing to do with with the welfare of the electorate.

    “We say this because it has become the favourite pastime of certain individuals in Bayelsa State to pick on the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) under the leadership of Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote as their scapegoat whenever an election looms in the State.

    “Records show that in the recent past, it was the Presidential, National and State Assemblies and later Governorship elections that provided the platform for the vilification of Engr. Wabote and NCDMB. Now with the possible rerun elections to fill vacant Senatorial seats in the Bayelsa State, the fairytale merchants are back at work with the same old strategy.”

    Noting the claim in one online platform that Sylva supposedly asked Wabote to release the sum of $20 million for the APC campaigns and for the prosecution of the legal challenges against Governor Douyle Diri, the group said:

    “We of Transparency In Petroleum Exploration and Development Initiative, believe that from the nature, pattern and timing of this frivolous, irresponsible, fake and wicked allegation it is fairly easy to know what source it is coming from. Moreso, as records show that this is neither the 1st, 2nd or even 3rd time such an allegation is made against Engr. Simbi Wabote by these people.

    “However, from the depth and range of other issues brought into this latest allegation, it is easily discernible that those making the allegations not only seek to whip up negative public opinion against the Hon. Minister of State and his party, the All Progressives Congress APC but are also seeking to cause disharmony and bad blood between the duo of Chief Timipre Sylva and Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote. This we vigorously abhor. Both personalities are assets to the Oil and Gas industry, Bayelsa State, the Niger Delta region and indeed Nigeria.

    “We know of a fact that the kind of stringent corporate governance structure that has been put in place at the NCDMB by Engr. Wabote since assuming leadership of the Board makes it totally impossible for any such money to be taken out of the Board’s coffers without due process.

    “When people are consumed by an unbridled desire to undo others, they tend to conveniently ignore even manifestly obvious facts such as that all accounts of Ministries, Departments and Agencies are domiciled with the Central Bank, under the TSA arrangement. Therefore, it will be fairly easy to trace such huge disbursements.

    “We in TIPEDI consider it a shame that out of desperation to win political contests, some people who otherwise ought to be reasonable have taken flight of reality and resorted to serially making allegations that simply beggars belief!

    “TIPEDI knows that Chief Sylva as Chairman of the board has always given positive direction to the NCDMB and will not go against his own principles or the governance structure he has helped to establish in the organization.”

  • Sylva hints on fresh date for final passage of PIB

    Chief Timipre Sylva, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, says review of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) is at an advanced stage and full passage of the bill is expected mid 2020.

    Sylva made the announcement on Wednesday, in a statement to mark the new year which was made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

    The minister, while reviewing the performance of the petroleum ministry, described 2019 as a very busy and prosperous year for the ministry and its agencies.

    According to him, the ministry’s achievements included Amendment of the Deep Offshore (and Inland Basin Production Sharing Contact) Act, and signing of Final Investment Decision on the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Train 7 project.

    He said others were the discovery of crude oil in the Upper Benue Trough and the hosting of the Extraordinary Session of the Council of Ministers of the African Petroleum Producers Organisation and the emergence of Nigeria’s Dr Omar Ibrahim as its Secretary General

    ” We thank every Nigerian, all our key stakeholders, heads of agencies of the ministry: Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Department of Petroleum Resources, Petroleum Technology Development Fund and Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board.

    “Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, Petroleum Equalisation Fund (Management) Board, Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority and the Petroleum Training Institute) and every member of staff, for all the support.

    “We look forward to delivering on all our aspirations as we remain committed and focused in the New Year,” Sylva added.

  • Thugs kidnap, strip DCP FSARS in Bayelsa

    Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Federal SARS, Kola Okunola, has been taken hostage by thugs allegedly loyal to Chief Timipre Sylva and the member representing Brass Constituency 1 in the Bayelsa State House òf Assembly, Israel Sunny-Goli.

    The Secretary to the State Government, Barr. Kemela Okara, said that the thugs led by Sunny Goli and backed by the military are mounting pressure on the Deputy Commissioner òf Police to accept fake results from Brass.

    He added that the Deputy Commissioner of Police refusal to sign the fake result caused a disagreement between the Police officer and a Major of the Nigerian Army and his men.

    According to him, the DCP who insisted on submitting the right results to INEC was token hostage in the waters and stripped naked by the thugs.

    The situation has caused serious tension in Brass. He lamented that the Nigerian Army seemed to have taken charge of collation òf the election results in Brass.

     

  • Breaking: APC Chieftain, Yekini Nabena arrested with arms, ammunition

    Breaking: APC Chieftain, Yekini Nabena arrested with arms, ammunition

    Security agents a few minutes ago arrested a chieftain of the All Progressive Congress, Yekini Nabena for possession of illegal arms and ammunition.

    Yabena who is the immediate past National Publicity Secretary of the APC was arrested in Odi, Kolokuma/Opokuma local government area while on his way to his community Trofani in Sagbama local government area of Bayelsa State.

    An eyewitness said the APC chieftain was undergoing interrogation before the security operatives received a phone call allegedly from Abuja, requesting them to set him free.

    According to the eye witness, the development sparked a mild protest by some residents of Odi who insisted that Nabena, a strong ally of Chief Timipre Sylva be made to face the law.

     

  • Sylva, Badmus, Kanu to headline October Guest Writer Session

    The October 27 Guest Writer Session of the Abuja Writers Forum (AWF) will feature two writers – Jide Badmus and Winnie Edmund Kanu – and a literary enthusiast cum administrator – Timipre Sylva.
     
    The event is open to the public and holds at the Aso Hall of Nanet Suites from 4pm to 7pm, featuring readings, Q and A Session, live music and a raffle-draw for books.
     
     
    Jide Badmus, who lives and writes from Lagos, was on the EGC Top 50 Contemporary Poets who rocked Nigeria in 2017
    An electrical engineer by profession, Badmus regards himself as a literary promoter and poet who is inspired by nature and beauty. He is the author of two poetry collections, THERE IS A STORM IN MY HEAD (February 2017) and SCRIPTURE (July 2018).
     
     
    Winnie Edmund Kanu is the author of UNTAINTED (2018), a romance novella. She is a Certified Document Control Specialist and has a professional Certificate on Quality Management and Internal Audit.
    She graduated from Delta State University with a Diploma in Law and Lagos State University with a B.A in English Language.
     
    She believes that ARTS is one of the most powerful medium available for re-orientating the masses and achieving the needed change we desire to see in our society.
     
    Ms Kanu is the Programmes Coordinator and Administrative Head on (Human City Media Advocacy Initiative)- a Project sponsored by International Organizations in Rivers State, Nigeria.
     
     
    Chief Timipre Sylva will debut “Take Five”, a segment where high profile personalities talk of five books that have impacted their lives. A former governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Sylva studied English Language / Linguistics at the University of Port Harcourt.
    His working career included a stint with the National Minority Business Council, Port Harcourt, where he was the Executive Secretary, before he switched to politics.
     

  • Maritime University portends good omen for Niger Delta – Okowa

    Maritime University portends good omen for Niger Delta – Okowa

    Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa has described the commencement of academic activities at the Maritime University, Okerenkoko, as good omen that will consolidate the existing peace and sustainable development of the Niger Delta.

    The Governor stated this on Tuesday when the Governing Council of the University led by former Governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Timipre Sylva who is the Chairman of the Council, paid him a courtesy call in Asaba.

    “I am glad that academic activities have commenced, we thank God for the successful start off of the Maritime University which will consolidate on the peace in the Niger Delta and attract sustainable development to the area.

    “We are aware that the terrain is very difficult for the execution of projects and this is what the Governing Council will experience in defending its budget, the cost of executing projects in that area triples what it takes to execute similar projects in the upland,” he said.

    He continued, “as a state government, we will continue to assist the much we can within the limit of resources to develop the university.

    “The Maritime University is the first of its kind in Nigeria, we hope you (the Governing Council) develop it to internationally acceptable standards,” he stated while congratulating Chief Sylva and members of the Governing Council for their appointments.

    Sylva had told the Governor that the Governing Council was inaugurated on March 22, 2018 and commended Governor Okowa’s administration for its contributions to the development of the University, disclosing that more than 300 students are currently studying in the institution.

    “We have visited Okerenkoko, Kuritie and other riverine communities in Gbaramatu Kingdom and we have seen the great works you have done as well as the cash grant you gave to the University,” Silva told Okowa.