Business News
Seplat commences $700 million gas plant construction
Seplat Petroleum Development Company has commenced the construction of a Gas Processing Plant in Ohaji Egbema Council Area of Imo state.
Seplat Petroleum Development Company has commenced the construction of a Gas Processing Plant in Ohaji Egbema Council Area of Imo state. The Chairman of the indigenous oil and gas company, Dr Ambrosie Bryant Chukwueloka Orjiako made this disclosure.
Revealing that Seplat produces about 30% of gas to power in Nigeria, Orjiako said the oil and gas company had invested not less than $700 million in the ANOH project phase one, which would be situated in Imo State.
Orjiako said, “The most significant thing to say about this is to say that this project has been in the pipeline for over 3 decades but once we took over the asset, we made it a priority and obviously the trickledown effect of that project in Imo state is capable of completely synergizing with your vision for the state and will transform development in Imo state.
“Shortly after we acquired our asset in Imo state in 2016, the asset OML53 which was originally owned by Chevron, we have incrementally ramped up the production from less than 3,000 barrels per day, we are currently doing 9,000 barrels per day.”
[READ MORE: 240 firms make another attempt to commercialise Nigeria’s flared gas]
What you should know: Seplat’s OML 53 covers an area of approximately 1,585km2 and is located onshore in the northeastern part of Niger Delta. The Jisike oil field, located in the northwestern area of the block, is currently the only producing field on OML 53.
Existing infrastructure at Jisike comprises flow-lines, phase one separation facilities and a flow station with a design capacity of 12,000 bopd and 8 MMscfd. Oil production is sent for further processing at the nearby Izombe facilities on OML 124 from where it is exported via pipeline to the Brass oil terminal.
The block also contains the large undeveloped Ohaji South gas and condensate field, the development of which will be coordinated with the SPDC operated Assa North field on adjacent OML 21, together referred to as the ANOH project which is set to be one of the largest greenfield gas condensate development projects in Nigeria to date.
[READ ALSO: Neconde denies payment of kickbacks in acquisition of OML 42]
The expectation is that future gas production from the ANOH project will supply the domestic market, for which significant work on commercialisation terms and development concepts has been undertaken.
Coronavirus
Novavax secures $1.6 billion funding for COVID-19 vaccine production
The fund is expected to help Novavax start a final-stage study of its vaccine candidate.
An American Vaccine Development Firm, Novavax Inc, one of the front runners in the race to develop a vaccine for COVID-19 treatment, will receive $1.6 billion funding from the United State government to support large scale manufacturing of coronavirus vaccine.
This represents the biggest contribution to the ‘Operations Warp Speed Program’, a public-private partnership initiative by the US government, to facilitate and accelerate the development, manufacturing and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics.
Novavax in a statement said that the funds will allow the biotech firm to conduct advanced human studies and engage in manufacturing to deliver 100 million doses as soon as late 2020.
Novavax is among the companies trying to develop a vaccine against the novel coronavirus that has developed into a pandemic and spreading rapidly in countries like US, India and Mexico. The Operation Warp Speed Program has supported efforts of firms like Pfizer Inc, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna Inc, AstraZeneca Plc and Merck & Co, to get doses of the vaccine as early as possible.
READ MORE: New Covid-19 Cases reach all-time high – WHO
The fund is expected to help Novavax start a final-stage study of its vaccine candidate before the winter period, with as many as 30,000 people.
Novavax, had earlier secured as much as $388 million in May from the coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, the single largest contributions from the organization at that time. The biotech company’s vaccine candidate is to provoke the production of antibodies that prevent the spike protein which the coronavirus uses to infect host cells.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), drug manufacturing firms and university researchers are investigating more than 140 experimental vaccines. Moderna, Pfizer and the University of Oxford, in collaboration with AstraZeneca, are among the companies and institutions that have started studies of their vaccines in healthy patients.
Hospitality & Travel
Lagos Ferry Company targets 480,000 commuting passengers daily – MD
The administration is seeking ways to decongest the heavy Lagos traffic and using inland water transport.
The Managing Director of the Lagos Ferry Services Company (LAGFERRY) Mr AbdoulBaq Balogun says the company has a target of transporting 480,000 people daily on the waterways of Lagos State.
He made the comment in an online show called ”Covinspiration”.
He said, “As at June 30, we had operated for 77 days on inland waterways and moved 60,000 passengers”. Revealing that the company had 14 boats and was making efforts to expand operations with bigger ferries with the involvement of private investors.
Adding that the administration is seeking ways to decongest the heavy Lagos traffic and tapping into the potential of inland water transport.
“With about 1.6 million people moving on Lagos roads every day, we are being tasked with the responsibility of ensuring that we move at least 30 percent of these motorists off the roads through the waterways.
“That gives us about 480,000 passengers. So, moving 480,000 passengers is our daily target on the waterways of Lagos State.
“Mr Governor is focusing his energy on ensuring a multi-modal transport system with the abundance of water bodies we have. We are moving people and goods on pleasant experience through the inland waterways,” he said.
READ MORE: FG to shut Third Mainland Bridge for 6 months
He said the company operates in all the 40 inland waterway routes, and expanded operations will decongest traffic from in the on Lekki Epe Expressway, Ikorodu road, the Third Mainland Bridge and Lagos-Badagry Expressway
The managing director said that traffic congestion on Lekki Epe Expressway, Ikorodu road, the Third Mainland Bridge, Lagos-Badagry Expressway would be minimized with LAGFERRY operations in those six routes.
“We are just coming on board, we are still testing the water, passengers are just coming to know us and we are still creating awareness.
“We have not reached our peak and we are yet to get to the optimum operational level. We want to expand the services of LAGFERRY to other routes and enhance productivity,” he said.
Economy & Politics
Just in: Buhari suspends EFCC boss, Ibrahim Magu from office
The suspension follows the investigation of allegations of gross misconduct against him on Monday.
President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the suspension of the acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, from office. The suspension follows the investigation of allegations of gross misconduct against him on Monday.
According to available information, Magu was suspended to allow for probe into allegations against him.
READ MORE: NNPC denies allegation of under payment to Federation Accounts
The EFCC boss appeared before a presidential probe panel headed by retired Justice Ayo Salami, who is investigating the allegations against him.
Details later…
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