Business News
Pipeline explosion: Over 45,000 incidents recorded in 18 years – NNPC
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has disclosed that 45,347 incidents of pipeline explosion had occurred in the last 18 years.
Days after the pipeline explosion, which resulted in the loss of lives and properties in Ekoro area, Abule-Egba, Lagos, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has disclosed that 45,347 of such incident had occurred in the last 18 years.
Speaking on the incidents recently, the Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mele Kyari, said pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft had been a major challenge for the oil industry for years. he attributed the development to poverty in surrounding communities, community-industry expectation mismatch, and corruption.
It was also disclosed that poor prosecution of offenders, ineffective law enforcement, high unemployment in the communities, and poor governance were also major causes of pipeline vandalism. Kyari also cited inadequate funding of resources to tackle oil theft.
Why this matters: Nairametrics had reported that the pipeline explosion on Sunday, at Abule-Egba located in Lagos, claimed three lives (including a minor), several houses and vehicles. The recent incident is one among many as earlier stated because host communities sometimes damage these pipelines to attack the oil companies, which they believe are making profits at the expense of their community.
Also, individuals in these affected communities scoop fuel once the pipeline has been damaged. These are what often lead to the explosion. With NNPC recording a total of 45,347 pipeline breaks on its downstream pipeline network across the country between 2001 to half-year 2019, Kyari said the attacks had made it difficult for Nigeria to meet its revenue projections.
[READ MORE: NNPC refineries dormant for 3 months)
“Unfortunately, the combination of crude oil theft, illegal refining, and pipeline vandalism, has become a major threat to Nigeria in meeting its revenue projections in recent times.”
How is NNPC curbing it? According to Kyari, measures like collaboration, implementation of Global Memoranda of Understanding (GMoUs), and deployment of technologies are reducing the incidents around pipelines.
Kyari added that security architecture with single accountability for national critical infrastructure; industry and regulatory commitment to transparent crude oil and product accounting are some of the measures taken by the government to curb the menace. Other measures that can be taken are realistic expectations by host communities and emplacement of sustainable social investment mechanism among others.
What needs to be done: Kyari, who made this known at the inaugural Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) Policy Dialogue, said there’s also need for integrity and transparency in the government as regards pipeline security, as well as policy review and enforcement of legal actions on economic saboteurs.
Obituaries
Just-in: Diego Armando Maradona is dead
Argentine football star, Diego Armando Maradona is dead.
Argentine football star, Diego Armando Maradona is dead.
This was disclosed by the Premier League via its Twitter handle on Wednesday evening.
It tweeted, “We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of footballing great, Diego Maradona, an extraordinarily gifted footballer who transcended the sport.
“Our thoughts and sincere condolences to Diego’s family, friends and those who knew him.”
He reportedly died of a heart attack on Wednesday at his home in the outskirts of Buenos Aires.
Maradona, 60, had recently battled health issues and underwent emergency surgery for a subdural haematoma several weeks ago.
We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of footballing great, Diego Maradona, an extraordinarily gifted footballer who transcended the sport.
Our thoughts and sincere condolences to Diego’s family, friends and those who knew him. pic.twitter.com/qUyc5BJ1OD
— Premier League (@premierleague) November 25, 2020
Details soon …
Energy
FG to begin online registration, monitoring of petrol stations, depots
The DPR has stated that it will commence the remote monitoring, registration, and accreditation of all petroleum products depots.
The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has revealed that it plans to automate and begin remote monitoring, registration, and accreditation of petroleum products depots, retail outlets, and the entire downstream oil and gas industry, with the launch of the newly established Downstream Remote Monitoring Systems (DRMS).
While disclosing a statement in Abuja, the Head, Public Affairs of the DPR, Paul Osu, pointed out that the newly established Downstream Remote Monitoring Systems is expected to take off on December 1, 2020, after the launch in Abuja.
READ: Nigeria’s 5,000 BPD refinery will produce 271 million liters of petrol every year
According to a report by Vanguard, Osu explained that the DRMS is a web-based solution designed to provide intelligent regulatory and inventory management system for petroleum products supply and distribution from depot to retail outlets and also as a regulatory tool to monitor retail outlets and depot activities.
He said, “Other features of the application include retail outlets accreditation and re-registration, nationwide automated product inventory management, retail outlets coordinate recording for mapping purposes and transactions management and report generation of dealers nationwide.
READ: NNPC says local operators must improve capacity to achieve low cost of oil production
“The establishment of DRMS is another strategic initiative of DPR to continue to create opportunities and enable business in the oil and gas industry in Nigeria.”
It can be recalled that the DPR had a few months ago, launched the National Production Monitoring System (NPMS), another online platform to assist the oil and gas regulator accurately monitor national crude oil production and exports, through the provision of a system for direct and independent acquisition of production data from oil and gas facilities in Nigeria
READ: House of Reps summon Emefiele, NNPC GMD over unremitted N3.24 trillion
This is to ensure timely and accurate reporting of production figures and export data. This is also expected to guard against the crude oil theft that is prevalent in Nigeria’s upstream oil sector or reported cases of crude oil that is sold but unaccounted for.
The NPMS is an initiative that is developed as a replacement for the current paper-based report and ensures ready production reporting to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) and other agencies.
Financial Services
Era of backlog of unsettled claims is over – NAICOM boss
NAICOM has stated that it will monitor and sanction insurance companies who fail to settle claims as at when due.
The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) is out to seriously sanction any insurance companies with huge unsettled claims.
This disclosure was made by the Commissioner for Insurance, Mr. Sunday Thomas, at the on-going 2020 Insurance Directors’ Conference, jointly organized by NAICOM and the College of Insurance & Financial Management (CIFM), held at the Oriental Hotel in Lagos.
READ: EFCC gives reason for unspent N4 billion in 2020 budget
Mr. Thomas reiterated the need for the operators, post-pandemic, to appropriately strengthen their human and financial capital for effective participation in big-ticket risks to take advantage of the obvious gains of the domestication policy in the Nigeria Content Development Act 2010.
In his words, Mr. Thomas stated, “More businesses especially in the oil and gas and the Aviation sectors are now being reinsured abroad. Of more concern is the declining participation of life companies in the annuity business, which is the emerging business for our industry.
READ: SEC issues pre-notice on cancellation of certificates of 157 inactive CMOs
“These are the areas where the industry can impose itself on the economy through the control of funds for national development. The industry must invest handsomely in technology, one of our key drivers for developing the market.
“The Institutions should be prepared to digitalize their processes, procedures, and systems, in order to make their operations seamless and real-time. The Commission is investing heavily in automating its processes and expects nothing less from the insurance institutions. An industry Information Technology Guideline has been issued for the operators and the Commission requires your support and cooperation for effective compliance.”
(READ MORE: FG seeking FDI to develop Special Economic Zones – Trade Minister)
Why this matters
Prompt settlement of claims should be a top priority for the insurance operators in achieving an excellent and responsive customer service experience. Settlement of claims has been a serious nightmare for quite a number of customers, resulting to the abysmally low insurance culture in Nigeria.
READ: Fidelity Bank Plc must cover the chink in its curtains to keep rising
Customers are more likely to patronize the insurance companies that are prompt in claims settlement and by extension improve the industry penetration in the market.
Tech innovations driving businesses to new success
NAFDAC blacklists Indian manufacturer for falsified Ciproflaxin tablets
Ecobank, Chapel Hill Denham, DBN and BOI partner on Lions’ Den to support SMEs
Hope PSBank To Deliver Digital Banking Experience To Customers
Just-in: Diego Armando Maradona is dead
COVID-19 Update in Nigeria
Daily Parallel Market Exchange Rate – ₦480/$1
US imposes $15,000 visa bond on 15 African countries, others
Ripple adds Bank of America to payment network
Naira strengthens at forex market as CBN intervenes in the market
