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In spite of SacOil’s optimistic announcement that it is quitting oil prospecting licence (OPL) 233 located in Koloama Community, Bayelsa State, within the transition zone and shallow offshore environment (5-10m) in the Niger Delta, it seems that trouble is brewing in yet another example of failed “marriages” in the Nigerian upstream sector. This announcement completes its exit from Nigeria after reaching arrangements in April with Transcorp to exit OPL 281. The company says it is now focusing on African oil and gas opportunities with short-term production opportunities. They expect any exploration assets to be in proven areas of discovery with above average upside potential. OPL 233 was granted to Nigdel United Oil Company Ltd under a production sharing contract (PSC) with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in 2006 in a mini bid round. AIM listed Energy Equity Resources (EER) acquired a 20 per cent interest in the block from Nigdel. That a...

Dangote’s cement As part of its expansion plan in Africa, Dangote Cement Plc has unveiled plans to commission its 2.5million mtpa cement plant in Ethiopia as the company inches towards its 40million mtpa global total production capacity target before the end of 2015 Cited in Mugher District, the Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Haile Mariam Desalegne is expected to perform the opening ceremony. A statement from the Dangote Group indicated that the its cement plant, adjudged to be the single largest investment by an African, will be the fifth in the series of the offshore plants of the company that have rolled out cement within the last one year in the continent, after Senegal, Cameroon, South Africa and Zambia. The group added that nine other countries have cement plants that are in various stages of construction. “The company is investing $5 billion to build an African cement empire, with factories plants in...

The dreams of Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, to solve the nation’s refinery capacity is a step closer to realization following the news that the Dangote Group has chosen the technology for its refinery. Dangote selected the UOP technology, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell, a leading international supplier and technology licensor for petroleum refining. UOP will supply process technology, catalysts and proprietary equipment for the 500,000 barrels per day capacity plant that will cost around $9 billion. The refinery, which is expected to enter into operation in by 2018 will more than double the countries current refining capacity. The nation’s four refineries with a combined capacity of 450,000 barrels is currently achieving anything between 10 and 20 per cent of its capacity forcing the country to import petroleum products to service the country’s needs. In addition to processing crude oil to produce high-quality gasoline, diesel and jet fuel tha...

Top football sponsors Coca-Cola, Adidas, McDonald’s and Visa pressed FIFA to clean itself up as the newest corruption scandal threatens efforts to market their products through the world’s most popular sport. The companies that pay hundreds of millions of dollars to place their ads around World Cup and other global football venues said FIFA needed stronger ethical standards, after seven of its officials were arrested in Switzerland for bribery. The arrests came as part of a US Justice Department case that named nine officials of football’s governing body, and five sports marketing officials, in a number of instances of bribes and kickbacks involving sponsorships over the past two decades. Visa said that if FIFA’s ethical problems aren’t addressed it may pull its sponsorship. “Our disappointment and concern with FIFA in light of today’s developments is profound,” the company said in a strongly-worded statement, adding that it expects the football organization to r...

Photos: VP Sambo hands over Aguda house to VP-elect Osinbajo Vice President Namadi Sambo this morning conducted Vice President-elect, Yemi Osinbajo around Aguda House, the official residence of any Nigerian Vice President. He later handed over the House to Professor Osinbajo who takes over the building from tomorrow May 29th . More pics after the cut..

Frozen food traders in Ijora-Olopa, Lagos, lost N10 million worth of food items between May 23 and May 25 to blackout. They said yesterday that the blackout is worsened by the scarcity of fuel, needed to power their generators. Alhaja Afusat Popoola, President of the Ajeromi Frozen Food Market Association, said the lost items included chicken, turkey, fish, shrimps, gizzard and prawns. Mrs Popoola said the traders were victims of the faceoff between the Federal Government and the marketers. Her members, she said, were caught unawares because they never envisaged a prolonged crisis. She said: “The traders were crying when we ordered them to surrender all the decayed food items for destruction on Tuesday.  The market has a reputation for selling fresh frozen food and we cannot allow any trader to sell bad frozen food under our leadership. What we destroyed on Tuesday because of power outages and our inability to purchase petrol and diesel was worth...

Buhari Returns Tomorrow in the Company of Shagari 27 May 2015 President-elect Muhammadu Buhari will be returning to Nigeria on Thursday morning after a six-day trip to the United Kingdom in the company of former President Shehu Shagari. Buhari, who during his trip to the UK, met with British Prime Minister David Cameron, will arrive onboard a British Airways flight that is scheduled to land in Abuja around 4 am. Shagari who THISDAY learnt, was in the UK on a private visit, was overthrown by Buhari in a military coup d’etat 32 years ago. Both men will be flying back to the country 24 hours before Buhari’s inauguration as Nigeria’s fifth democratically elected president. Shagari, between October 1, 1979 and December 31, 1983, was Nigeria’s first democratically elected president. Buhari had departed the country last Friday in the company of two of his close aides, oste...

From Tinapa to Summit Hills Conceptualised to attract the much needed traffic to Tinapa Resort, Summit Hills is the next big thing to happen to tourism in Nigeria, writes Solomon Elusoji Across the world, tourism is big business, some economies are built on it, and it barely fails to deliver substantial revenue. According to the World Tourism Organisation, 698 million people travelled to a foreign country at the turn of the century, “spending more than US$ 478 billion. International tourism receipts combined with passenger transport currently totalled more than US$ 575 billion, making tourism the world’s number one export earner, ahead of automotive products, chemicals, petroleum and food.” Unsurprisingly, with a rich array of wildlife resorts, African countries like Kenya have been able to build complex economies based on the tourism sector. However, despite having the required resources and habitat to grow a bubblin...

We were never on strike- Depot Owners The Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association (DAPPMA) have denied ever embarking on any shut-down of their depots and facilities. In a statement on Tuesday the Executive Secretary of DAPPMA, Mr. Olufemi Adewole, said  that contrary to the notion that they had shut down their depots, it was the Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) arm of the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas workers (NUPENG) and the National Association of Road Transport Owners  (NARTO), which transports petroleum products that embarked on the strike. He said the strike was caused by complaints of not being paid by marketers. Adewole said: “We have maintained that we would sell and load all petroleum products available to us even as delays in the payments of our reimbursement have continued to impede and adversely affect our operations. The suspension in loading in the last few days has been due to the strike ...

Photos: The cyclists riding for Buhari have finally arrived Abuja The group of cyclists riding for Buhari were spotted this morning along Central Area. They rode from Katsina to Abuja to witness the inauguration this Friday. More photos after the cut...

Photos from the ghastly accident at Lekki 6th roundabout by Mobil There was a ghastly accident about two hours ago at Lekki 6th Roundabout by Mobile. A white Toyota Camry skidded off the road into the roundabout...a large concrete stopped the car just before the billboard. Eyewitnesses say the car was speeding, and narrowly hit another car. When you continue, you will find pics from the scene. The driver is the one in a green shirt/white inner shirt &blue jeans. He is motionless, the light skinned guy sat at the front and the other guy sat behind with the girl in yellow (pictured above). All the guys are badly injured but the girl is okay. She told people they were coming from a club and she was picked up and doesn't know them. See the pics after the cut - for families who don't even know this happened to their loved ones... This guy's legs seem to be broken as it is in an odd position. If you look well at the front passenger seat, you...