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ECOMONDO 2023, ECOLOGICAL TRANSITION HAS ITS OWN ECOSYSTEM

PAID POST

Six themed macro-areas, a single ecosystem for ecological transition. Ecomondo, Italian Exhibition Group’s international trade show for industrial technologies and services for the circular economy, will be opening the doors of its 26th edition from 7th to 10th November at Rimini Expo Centre with a new payoff: The Ecosystem of the Ecological Transition. From exploiting waste to make further resources to the regeneration of soil and agro-forestry and food ecosystems, from energy obtained from biomass to the use of waste as secondary raw materials. And more still: the entire integrated water cycle and environmental monitoring, protection of the seas and aquatic environments in their essential function for human sustenance and economic activities. This is the exhibition layout with which IEG will be presenting the most innovative technologies for sustainable competitiveness to the market and it is also the first edition in which Ecomondo will occupy the entire Rimini Expo Centre premises since renewable energies have now found their independent position on the calendar of sector expos with K.EY, which took place back in March.

THE WATER SUPPLY CHAIN AND SAL.VE FOR ECOLOGICAL SERVICE VEHICLES

Waste as Resource, Sites & Soil Restoration, Circular & Regenerative Bio-economy, Bio-Energy & Agroecology, Water Cycle & Blue Economy, Environmental Monitoring & Control: these will be the themed exhibition areas at Ecomondo 2023. Two sectors will be highlighted from among and alongside these: the specific “Water” area and the new edition of SAL.VE. In the former, visitors will find the entire water resource supply chain: from capture to restitution and reuse with a focus on digital transformation, which is now a key element in improving its management. Top national and international utility service companies and trade associations, including Utilitalia, will be featuring in this area with a programme of seminars. In the biennial SAL.VE area, organised in partnership with ANFIA, leading manufacturers will be exhibiting vehicles for ecological waste collection and disposal services as well as urban sanitation. Test drives will be available outside.

DISTRICTS FOR “BEACON” CIRCULAR ECONOMY PROJECTS

Ecomondo will provide space at the Expo Centre for three industrial districts for which the Ministry for the Environment and Energy Security (MASE) has given the go-ahead with a contribution to 160 “beacon” projects for the circular economy. Rimini will therefore feature the WEEE District with a specific focus on repowering technologies and new systems for recycling waste from electrical and electronic equipment, photovoltaic panels and wind turbine blades. In the PAPER District, the focus will be on systems for the collection, logistics and recycling of paper and cardboard in cooperation with COMIECO. Lastly, a themed itinerary will be dedicated to the production of plastics with a focus on recycling systems and marine litter.

TEXTILE WASTE, ECODESIGN AND SUPPLY CHAIN SUSTAINABILITY

The textile industry has been identified as a key value chain for which the European Union has foreseen actions to promote its sustainability, circularity, traceability and transparency. Key factors are eco-design requirements, producer responsibility schemes and labelling systems. In Rimini, ample emphasis will be placed on the entire supply chain: from production to post-consumption. The objective of all stakeholders is to provide answers to these challenges by providing information about ongoing projects and ultimate goals as well as promoting new business models in order to outline the state of the art of textile waste management in Italian municipalities. There will be a debate and exhibition area with all stakeholders: waste producers, managers, consortia and associations, research and development institutes, textile treatment and valorisation plants, without forgetting the second hand sector.

BIO CITIES: CIRCOLAR AND HEALTHY

Ecomondo and K.EY have parted company on the trade show calendar, but the smart city, which is traditionally the falling point of renewable energies, can also be categorised under “sustainability” and “healthy”. The Circular and Healthy Cities project does just that by regenerating the city, making it greener and more efficient in the way it manages water, food, waste water and waste.

ECOMONDO AND START-UPS, MISSION: TO INNOVATE

Ecomondo as an incubator and facilitator of innovative projects: the Start-Up and Scale-Up Innovation area in the new East entrance will be back and further extended. Companies and investors will have a new and larger platform for dialogue in order to cultivate the new generation of innovative businesses. More than 50 start-ups are expected in Rimini for the 2023 edition. IEG and ITA-Italian Trade Agency are promoting the initiative with ART-ER (Territorial Appeal Research, Emilia-Romagna’s regional agency) and Confindustria as their main partners, in addition to collaboration with ANGI (National Association of Young Innovators), to promote all-round innovation.

BLUE ECONOMY: CIRCOLAR AND REGENERATIVE

From fishing and aquaculture to the regeneration of ports and coastlines and seawater desalination technologies: the blue economy will include all traditional and emerging economic sectors linked to the development of Italian and Mediterranean marine resources.

ECOMONDO, AN EVOLVING EVENT

For the 2023 edition, Ecomondo will explore frontline themes. Millennials and Generation Z are showing considerable sensitivity towards environmental protection and IEG’s event acts as a platform of ideas to give shape to today’s technological research and create tomorrow’s jobs. Exchange of knowledge, access to research tenders and European funding: Ecomondo addresses the new generations so that they can participate in the ecological transition. But there is also a new way of doing business, which the Rimini event will pay attention to and whose good practices will be shared in an area dedicated to B-Corps and their regenerative and socially responsible business model. The languages of sustainability and responsibility in corporate communication and journalism are also priorities for Ecomondo.

THE CONFERENCE PROOGRAMME AND EVENTS

Ecomondo will offer its community a full programme of conventions and conferences organised under the aegis of the Technical-Scientific Committee, directed by Professor Fabio Fava from Bologna University, in collaboration with the event’s main institutional and technical partners, together with the international board that includes experts from the European Commission, OECD, FAO, UfM, EEA, ISWA. Top topics will be dealt with in an attempt to transmit even more knowledge transmission to the Ecomondo community: the priorities of the European Green Deal, the circular economy, the regeneration of polluted areas and ecosystems, the protection of soils and seas and of the Mediterranean in particular. Case studies, public policies, public funding available for businesses, citizen engagement. The TSC and stakeholders will put together a calendar over the months to come that will create even more engagement between universities, research, industry and institutions to match, if not exceed, the +15% attendance at last year’s conferences compared to 2019.

INSTITUTIONAL PARTNERS

The Ministry for the Environment and Energy Security, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and ITA, together with the increasing participation of executives from the European Commission, will be joined by CONAI, Utilitalia, CIB, CIC, CONAU, Assoambiente, Cisa Ambiente, the Foundation for Sustainable Development and National Green Economy Council as institutional partners of the event, as well as the Kyoto Club, Legambiente, Federazione ANIE, FIRE, ANFIA, ISPRA, Water Europe, ISWA and WBA.

FURTHER PUSH TOWARDS INTERNATIONALITY 

With a 58% increase in foreign visitation compared to 2021, the involvement of profiled operators from the Balkan area, non-EU Europe, North Africa (Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia), Senegal, Ivory Coast, Angola, Ghana, Rwanda, the Middle East, as well as Canada, Latin America, the United States and China will continue for the next edition. The second edition of the Africa Green Growth Forum will be staged thanks to the contribution of prestigious international agencies, inter-governmental institutions, such as the Union for the Mediterranean and UNIDO, non-profit organisations, including Res4Africa, Business Council for Africa, which will present the technological framework and opportunities for growth and development in the African continent.

https://en.ecomondo.com


Decom’s Chop Saw makes the cut in Decommissioning Congo Oilfield

PAID POST

Decom Engineering’s specialist cutting technology has been successfully deployed on a decommissioning project offshore West Africa.

Decom deployed its C1-24 chop saw in water depths of up to 1,050 metres as part of an operation to recover a jumper connector on behalf of Total Energies in the Gulf of Guinea, offshore the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The workscope included the cutting of the insulated 6” Duplex flowline at each end of the jumper, with the chop saw deployed by ROV with hot stab capability, and using a Tungsten Carbon Tip blade with an average cutting time of 1 hour 15 minutes.

The Congo project follows other successful workscopes on behalf of major oil and gas operators and contractors including workscopes in the North Sea, Mauritania, Norway, and Gulf of Thailand.

Established in the United Kingdom in 2011 and with bases in Aberdeen and Belfast, Decom is an R&D specialist focusing on the design and fabrication of cutting solutions and innovative decommissioning equipment, with a growing reputation for providing complex deep water project solutions.

Sean Conway, Decom Engineering managing director, says: “Our C1 range of chop saws are firmly established in the decommissioning sector where the nature of the work and complexity of the projects require smart solutions and fresh thinking.

“Our latest project in deep water offshore DCR is another tick in the box for the versatility, safety and efficiency of our cutting technologies, adding to an extensive track record of completed workscopes in the major hydrocarbon producing regions”.

“Decommissioning redundant piping infrastructure or repurposing assets to be converted for low or zero carbon energy storage is a massive global market, and we are committed to investing in research and development to ensure our clients have the most sustainable means at their disposal to address their needs.”

The C-1 chop saw range is certified for use in water depths of up to 2,000 metres, has multiple buoyancy options, hot stab integration, blade reverse capability and bespoke customisation capabilities.

Decom are expanding its C1 chop saw range with development of new model which will be capable of cutting piping infrastructure of up to 46” in diameter.


Evaluating Palmeron’s blues in the OML 130 drilling campaign tender

By Oluwaseun Adeoti

PAID POST/ADVERTORIAL

The Nigeria’s oil and gas industry is witnessing some kind of disquiet stemming from procurement process in the award of contract for the provision of drillship for TOTAL E&P OML 130 Drilling Campaign TENDER NO DW00001997. Mr Christopher Palmer, the Chief Executive Officer of Palmeron Nigeria, petitioned the Group Chief Executive Officer of the NNPC Limited, Mr Mele Kyari, alleging some irregularities and abuse of process in the tender.

He also accused NAPIMS, under the management of Mr Bala Wunti, of forcing TOTALEnergies to cancel the bid he ‘won’ in order to award the contract to the Tirex consortium through an illegal process. Then, following the award of the contract to a consortium of Derotech /Geoplex/ PIDWAL/NOBLE, which Tirex Petroleum and Energy is not even a part of, Mr Palmer is said to have started accusing the new consortium of underhand dealings.

A closer look at the petition shows that this issue pretty much looks like a business relationship that went sour. It emanated from TOTALEnergies’ Call for tender (CFT) and the participation of some bidders including Palmeron Nigeria. According to the petitioner, the tender process was cancelled midway in a bid to deny Palmeron Nigeria the contract of the award, which Mr. Palmer assumed his company won. Even without reading from either NAPIMS or TOTALEnergies, one could conveniently evaluate his claims using his own petition.

Mr Palmer alleged that TOTALEnergies and NAPIMS in August 2022 were considering awarding the contract to another consortium at a daily rate of $430,000 as compared to its lower rate of $322,500. It beats every imagination to suggest that business concerns will choose a more expensive option over a cheaper one unless it has to do with an issue of quality.

It could be that TOTALEnergies dropped Palmeron from further participating in the bid when it found out that he does not have a rig, a basic requirement for participation in the bid process. Is it not paradoxical that Mr Palmer who claims to have won the bid before ‘independence’ has been galivanting all over the place looking for where to get a rig. He was so desperate that, as late as October 2021, he was begging Prince Rotimi Ibidapo, the Chief Executive Officer of Derotech Offshore, to offer his rig to him for the project. He even promised to make his company the rig manager and a pay of $8,000 per day.

Anybody with a good knowledge of the workings in the oil and gas industry knows that bids attract all sorts of companies – those with experience and those without; the capable and the incapable; contenders and pretenders etc. The bid process is put in place to sift the grains from the chaff and, until the process is concluded with the award of a contract, the callers of the tender reserve the right to disqualify any responder to the bid. The lack of basic knowledge of this fact, made obvious by Palmeron’s assumption that it had won the bid, even when the process was on-going, shows its seeming ignorance of how the industry operates.

On the legal aspects, everyone who is conversant with the operations of the oil and gas industry knows that there are clauses in every CFT document that speak to the relationship between the CFT caller and the tenderer. This, Mr Palmer even acknowledged when he noted in his petition, that Article 5.2 of the instruction to TENDERER clearly states that no claim for compensation of any kind in respect of the preparation of the tender or any other cost shall be due to TENDERER in the event that COMPANY decides not to or is unable to proceed with the award of the CONTRACT.

Such clauses are put in the guidelines for participation to take care of such unforeseen circumstances that may arise in the course of the bid process and the belated decision of Palmeron Nigeria to disagree with that particular clause puts him and his company at risk of being regarded as bad losers.

There is no gainsaying that these IOCs even look beyond the horizon of the Nigerian legal system to also include the international anti-corruption laws when it comes to corporate governance issues. Moreover, the role of NAPIMS, headed by Mr Wunti – a highly respected regulator in the industry – in such instances, further questions the propriety of Mr Palmer’s tantrums.

Today, Mr Palmer, the only saint in Sodom and Gomorrah, has been blackmailing, and issuing threats to, the winners of the bid to do his bidding. Since the week of December 12, 2022, one of his phony groups, Citizen Group Nigeria, has been sending emails to one James Sanislow of the Noble Group, a member of the winning consortium, threatening him to quit the contract with TOTALEnergies or risk their attack. In their latest email, sent on 20 December, 2022, the phony group tried to apply pressure on Noble as they threatened, “this email and other emails to you will form part of our evidence that we informed you of your company’s illegality in Nigeria if you fail to take appropriate steps.” In an earlier email, the group even bragged of making money from DOJ for their nefarious acts. He has also been recruiting faceless groups and a discredited media organization in his inglorious fight.

Lastly Palmeron seems to be playing the victim card by alleging that it is being bullied as an indigenous company by an IOC and NAPIMS. Yes, same NAPIMS that is promoting the interests of indigenous oil and gas servicing companies, just to curry undue sympathy to itself. In its bid to achieve that, he started bullying other indigenous players, starting with Tirex Petroleum and Energy and moving on to the Derotech /Geoplex/ PIDWAL/NOBLE consortium when he realized that the contract has been awarded to the latter. One even wonders why Palmer is only fighting NAPIMS, a JV Operator, and not the Nigerian Content Development Monitoring Board (NCDMB), without which Noble rig would not have been contracted.

The irony in the whole issue, which goes a long way to point to his character, is that this same Derotech that Mr Palmer has started accusing of underhand deal is the same company he was begging to partner with him in the contract bid but was turned down. One even wonders what sort of a businessman could be behaving the way he does – indiscriminately burning all the bridges he would need in the future.

Mr Palmer’s unfortunate expedition is trying to tarnish the image of responsible institutions in the country – NAPIMS and its Group General Manager, Mr Bala Wunti; TOTALEnergies, Tirex PE, Durotech Offshore, Noble Corporation and a host of other industry operators. He has even gone ahead to try and tarnish the image of the whole country by alleging that the Presidency is corrupt and powerless in dealing with corrupt practices.

This piece is entirely the opinion of the writer.

 

 


Selai: LPG Retail Can Be Vehicle for Community Improvement

PARTNER CONTENT/PAID POST

By Akpelu Paul Kelechi

The Selai Gas Station is a response to Nigeria’s proclamation of “The Decade of Gas”, but its promoters have discovered, in the process of the $0.4Million initial investment, that they could do well by doing good for the community.

Located in Fagba, a highly populated, development-challenged neighbourhood in the north of Lagos, Selai starts off as a Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) dispensing station aiming to grow to wholesale delivery, and cylinder manufacture further down the line. But the immediate reality is that it is staring at the desperate face of poverty in the suburb and hopes it can deliver part of the development needs of the community as it looks to earn income.

Damilola Owolabi: “We have a delivery programme for our cylinders where we want to “Uberize” it. So, we are not the one handling the delivery of the cylinders to your homes. What we’ve been able to do is bring together ‘Keke Marua’ (motorcycle taxis) within the neighborhood and registered them, trained them on how to run deliveries.

“Of all the places we found, this neighbourhood seems to just fit into the business idea because there are a lot of small “Bukkas”, or as you would like to call it “mama puts” (ramshackle food canteens) within the neighborhood and a lot of them are still using firewood and coal pot”, says Damilola Owolabi, Selai Gas’ CSR minded chief executive. “I was coming from that part of creating that awareness and when we spoke to a few of them and asked why they were still using firewood and coal pots, ‘don’t you know it is dangerous to your health,’ the response I got was that an LPG  cylinder is expensive how can they even afford it? But since we were looking at how to create an impact in this neighborhood, we came up with the idea of having a cylinder programme where those shops and those women that are selling by those joints can access to cylinders that affordable way”, Owolabi explains.

“What we plan to do after our launch is to be able to create a platform where we give you cylinders at an affordable rate and you spread the payment over a period of time. So yes, we are in business to make money but also, we want to create an impact in the community”.

Owolabi says her company has had to ingratiate itself with neighbourhod toughs, called ‘area boys,’ in Nigerian parlance and also had to deal extensively with the Landlord Association. “It was a lot of work and convincing sessions that we had to have with them, you know. Now we are very close because I started to see them as stakeholders”.

Apart from the cylinder programme for the canteens, and onboarding women into using gas to cook, Selai Gas wants to empower its teeming neighbourhood in several other ways. “We have a delivery programme for our cylinders where we want to “Uberize” it. So, we are not the one handling the delivery of the cylinders to your homes. What we’ve been able to do is bring together ‘Keke Marua’ (motorcycle taxis) within the neighborhood and registered them, trained them on how to run deliveries. We give you the platform and after you’ve gone through our training, we show you all the safety measures that you’re supposed to know and observe while delivering cylinders and products, then you’re registered with us. So once you have a Keke Marua, whenever there is a delivery to be done you’ll be contacted and you come pick up and a good number of them are excited. So beyond just the women and being transitioned into cleaning energy, also the men; we want to be able to engage them. We have a number of these Hausa guys that are already on this Keke Marua Scheme.”

The Fagba community has a large settlement of Nigerians from the far north of the country. In Lagos, (the country’s top commercial hub, located  in the southwest), people from the North are simply called Hausas, irrespective of where exactly they come in the north(Nigeria has a high diversity of tribes per square metre). “I told the engineer supervising our construction project to engage the Hausas and the Yorubas within this community”, explains Owolabi.

“So a huge number of them were engaged and every time when I drive in, I see quite a number of them and they’re very happy warming up to us. It always reminds me of how badly we want to make an impact, why we’re settled here and the long queue of plans that we have for the community and each of them we are trying to implement”.

Selai launches on Thursday April 7, 2022 with a 30 Tonne facility, but from its projections, it expects to do two trucks and that’s about 50 tonnes “because you can’t fill a 30 Tonne truck to 100% of its capacity. It has to be 80%. So, we’re looking at 25 Tonnes of gas per truck which makes it two trucks. Within our first month, our projection is to sell two trucks within a week. In the first month of opening, we are not going to be doing home deliveries; we want to use that time to focus on our walk-in-customers and the bulk buyers. Then by the time we begin to do home deliveries, we estimate to do three trucks within a week. That is, 75 Tonnes”.

Selai Gas Station: We want to open well, we don’t want to open and we don’t want to open to the public and we’re having to deal with a lot of issues. So what we’ve been doing is training on safety and customer service just to help every staff of Selai Gas perform optimally

Owolabi, has been in oil and gas related business for close to 10 years. She is enormously excited by this phase in her career. “This is my first time of coming into the gas space; I’ve always been in the space for white product and offshore Logistics and Marine Logistics and so, coming into the gas space, we’re not playing small. We didn’t come in because we just want to be re-filing gas into cylinders, as we also want to do bigger things. We have it at the back of our mind where we’re able to get gas genset, where we are able to power some neighborhood, and even go into the Upstream side of gas. You know, where we’re selling gas for power and selling gas for other use. We’re not just going to be playing small where we will just be in the business of refilling cylinders. We also hope that by the time we own fleets of trucks, I mentioned to you earlier that we’re looking into having the cylinder production plant because there is a massive gap in that area because a lot of people can’t afford it because of the huge cost of acquiring a cylinder”.

Still, the take-off of this journey has to be right, she admits. “We’ve been doing quite a number of training actually in the last six weeks for our staff because we want to open well, we don’t want to open and we don’t want to open to the public and we’re having to deal with a lot of issues. So what we’ve been doing is training on safety and customer service just to help every staff of Selai Gas perform optimally when our gates are opened to customers. I also want to mention that we have the part for accessories, what we call Selai Accessories. We sell cylinders and cylinder accessories and you could also call for a technician to come check on your burners, or check on your cylinder back at home and technician will be sent to you. One of the midterm goals for Selai is to own our cylinders because we cannot thrive in this cylinder programme without owning our own cylinders. So, at the moment, we’re in partnership with a company here and we buy cylinders from them but eventually, our goal is to own our cylinders”.

A fuller version of this interview will be published later. The publication is sponsored by Dregwaters Nigeria Limited.

 

 


AFC Rebrands with ‘Instrumental Infrastructure. Instrumental Africa’ 

PARTNER CONTENT/PAID POST

 By Yewande Thorpe

As the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) marks its 15th anniversary, the Corporation is rebranding with ‘Instrumental Infrastructure. Instrumental Africa’ as its strapline.

Our new logo embodies our mission to be the bridge to a prosperous African future, as we relentlessly strive to advance our continent’s instrumental position as it takes its place on the global stage.

Core to our approach, is turning infrastructure into an instrument for change. We consistently deliver fast and sustainable solutions to close Africa’s infrastructure gap and unleash our continent’s prosperity. In so doing, we seek to elevate Africa’s instrumental role as a critical engine of global growth.

Through impact investing in infrastructure, we are committed to helping the continent position for greater success in a world of growing crisis and complexity. Ultimately, we are working to shine the spotlight on Africa as a major supplier of beneficiated resources, goods and services, and as the primary source of metals and minerals for new energy transition—with the underlying goal of creating jobs for the world’s largest and youngest workforce.

As Africa’s leading infrastructure finance institution, offering end-to-end finance and consultancy, AFC’s rebranding reiterates its capabilities to deliver across power, heavy industries, natural resources, transport, logistics and telecommunications.

“Our new identity reinforces our role in working to advance Africa’s instrumental role as a global growth engine,” said Samaila Zubairu, President and CEO of AFC. “Through impact investing in infrastructure, we are committed to helping the continent position itself for greater success in a world of growing crisis and complexity.”

With Africa’s infrastructure investment needs estimated at $130 to $170Billion a year, AFC’s new branding is emblematic of its strategic developmental role in the sectors most critical as growth engines for sustainable economic development. In the process, millions of jobs required for the continent’s rapidly growing youth population are generated.

This approach leverages on Africa’s many advantages, including:

  • The African Continental Free Trade Area agreement, which has created a single market of almost 1.4Billion people, the world’s largest
  • The world’s biggest reserves of minerals such as cobalt which are required for the global green energy transition
  • A workforce that is projected to exceed that of either China or India by 2034 and a population that is forecast to reach 2.5Billion by 2050
  • Returns on African infrastructure investments often exceeding that of other emerging markets

“Our approach puts the spotlight on Africa as a major supplier of beneficiated resources, goods and services, as the primary source of metals and minerals for new energy transition, and jobs for the world’s largest and youngest workforce,” said CEO Zubairu. “Our new brand endorses and anticipates the growing role Africa will play as it takes its rightful place on the world stage.” Ends.

Media Enquiries

Marlynie Moodley

Senior Vice President, Communications

Africa Finance Corporation

Mobile: +27(0) 82 564 2457

Email: marlynie.moodley@africafc.org

 

 

 

 


Natural Resource Governance Institute Appoints Suneeta Kaimal as President and CEO

PARTNER CONTENT/NRGI

The Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) has appointed Suneeta Kaimal the new President and CEO of the independent, non-profit organization.

Ms. Kaimal, currently Interim President and CEO of NRGI, joined the organization in 2009 and previously served as Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer.

“NRGI’s trajectory is such that it requires someone who has a holistic understanding of the field of resource management and knows how to deal with the consequences of the upheavals we are going through,” said Smita Singh, Interim President of the Institute’s Board of Directors.

“After careful and in-depth global research that identified many excellent candidates, the Board of Directors came to the conclusion that Suneeta Kaimal offers the ideal combination of attributes: a vision for the future, interdisciplinary knowledge of issues related to the management of extractive industries in resource-rich countries, extensive external networks and in-depth knowledge of the internal strengths of the Institute. Her unique skills make her the ideal candidate to guide the Institute through the important changes that must continue to take place in order to continue its work with communities. The Board of Directors is unanimously convinced that Suneeta Kaimal has the capacity to continue the activities that make the reputation of the Institute and adapt to the profound changes we are witnessing around the world. “

Suneeta Kaimal to lead Institute’s ambitious programme for 2021, building on the successes f a difficult 2020. The Institute’s programme teams work with national and international civil society organizations, multilateral organizations and governments to facilitate the transition to a more climate-friendly future in countries dependent on fuel extraction. fossils; to help countries with significant mineral deposits meet growing demand for critical minerals in a way that benefits their citizens while reducing corruption and environmental impact; reduce resource-related debt; and to defend and develop governance, environmental and social standards.

“We are at a historic turning point in the area of ​​natural resource governance,” said Suneeta Kaimal. “New thinking conducive to transformation is needed if we are to face the heavy economic consequences of the global pandemic and the looming climate emergency.” I have the honor and the privilege, as President and CEO, to have the opportunity to build on the success of the Institute to meet this challenge. In collaboration with the outstanding staff of the Institute, distinguished members  of the Board of Trustees and advisers, committed donors and accomplished partners, I believe we can create a more just and sustainable future for resource-rich countries. “

NRGI’s goal is to ensure a future where countries rich in oil, gas and minerals achieve sustainable, equitable and inclusive development, enabling citizens to benefit sustainably from extractive industries and helping to reduce the associated negative effects. to the sector. The organization is present in more than a dozen resource-rich countries in Latin America, the Middle East and North Africa, Eurasia, sub-Saharan Africa and Asia-Pacific.

“Good governance of natural resources is more than ever essential if we want to strengthen economic resilience and advance social justice for the benefit of more than a billion people living in poverty in resource-rich countries” , added Suneeta Kaimal. “The NRGI team remains unfazed by the scale of the challenges and is emboldened by the opportunities ahead. “

Suneeta Kaimal succeeds President Emeritus Daniel Kaufmann, who worked for the Institute from 2013 to February 2020.

 


Has the World Moved Beyond Peak Gasoline Demand for Light Vehicles?

PARTNER CONTENT/IHS MARKIT

GM’s aspirations to End Sales of Gasoline-Powered Light Vehicles by 2035 Latest Sign that Peak Gasoline Demand from Light Vehicles Has Already Come and Gone

Oil demand (gasoline and diesel) from Light Vehicles peaked in 2019

The recent announcement by GM that it aspires to phase out sales of oil-powered light vehicles (LVs) by 2035—part of a broader proposal to make the automaker a net-zero-carbon company—is a prominent signpost that oil demand from LVs has already peaked, according to a new analysis by Jim Burkhard and the IHS Markit Crude Oil Market Service.

IHS Markit places the global peak for oil demand (gasoline and diesel) from LVs in 2019 when said demand averaged 29.1Million barrels per day (MMBOPD). The peak in demand is due to the impact of rising vehicle fuel economy and emission standards, and as time goes by, from more sales of electric vehicles.

“The GM announcement is a notable signpost on the road to decarbonization of road transportation. It demonstrates growing acceptance of tighter vehicle emission standards and of the energy transition beginning to move at a faster pace. When it comes to oil demand from light vehicles, it’s the latest sign that the 2019 peak is permanent.” – Jim Burkhard, vice president, oil markets and mobility and energy future, IHS Markit

For the oil market, what matters is the amount of demand that will be displaced by electricity.

Previous IHS Markit research has projected that electric vehicles (including battery, plug-in hybrid and fuel cell electric) will comprise 60-80% of all new car sales in 2050 (compared to just 2.2% of new car sales in 2020, according to IHS Markit data).

Nevertheless, oil will still be the dominant energy source for transportation for years to come due to the sheer size of the global car fleet and the amount of time it takes for it to turn over.

In 2020, there were about 9.2Million light plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) in the global light vehicle fleet. When you include 20,000 fuel cell electric vehicles, these vehicles displaced about 150,000 barrels per day (b/d) of oil consumption—less than 0.2% of world consumption. When you include electric city buses and two-wheelers, the amount of oil displaced by electric vehicles totals 370,000BOPD, or just 0.4% of world oil demand in 2020.

“By 2020 electricity use in road transportation had only displaced about 370,000BOPD of oil demand—0.4% of world oil consumption. But it is clear that this will rise. By 2025, as much as 1.5 MMBOPD of oil will be displaced.” – Jim Burkhard, vice president, oil markets and mobility and energy future, IHS Markit

The amount of oil displaced by electricity will continue to rise, led by growth in PEV sales. IHS Markit estimates that by 2025 light PEVs will displace about 0.9-1.1 MMBOPD of world oil demand. Adding in electric buses and two wheelers, oil displacement by electricity in road transport could hit 1.5 MMBOPD—the equivalent of 1.4% of what IHS Markit projects for total world oil demand in 2025.

That much displacement—while still relatively small—is significant in the sense that oil-powered LVs were the biggest source of aggregate oil demand growth from 2000 to 2019. Increased electrification, along with rising fuel economy and emissions standards, will play an important role in the plateau and then decline of world oil demand that IHS Markit expects to emerge at some point over the next 10-15 years in its base case outlook.

“The GM announcement is the latest piece in a much larger story. It’s further proof that, while the road ahead is still a long one when it comes to dislodging oil as the predominant transportation fuel, it is very much a one-way street and there is no turning back.” – Fellipe Balieiro, director, mobility and energy future, IHS Markit

 


WELLSWORTH ENERGY SERVICES RECEIVES ISO 9001:2015 AND ISO 14001 INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS CERTIFICATION.

PARTNER CONTENT

Wellsworth Energy Services Limited (WESL), a Nigerian oilfield service company, officially received its ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 14001 Integrated Management Systems Certification from the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON).

The certification was delivered on December 8, 2020.

Wellsworth specialises in the provision of oilfield Drilling & Production chemicals, Equipment Rental & Engineering services to Exploration and Production companies. SON is the Nigerian regulatory agency tasked with ensuring compliance to laid-down operating procedures and guidelines for various sectoral service organisations.

At a ceremony held at Wellsworth’s headquarters in Victoria Island, Lagos, the SON team led by Engineer Felix Nyado, Fsi, Director, Management Systems Certification representing the Director-General of the agency and Mallam Farouk A. Salim officially presented the Certification to Mr. Olusola Falodun, the company’s Managing Director.

The Director-General commended Wellsworth Energy Services Limited for undertaking the audit process to ensure their internally-developed systems and procedures measure up to globally acceptable standards. The ISO 14001 is an Environmental Management System while the ISO 9001 is the Quality Management System, which its dual use will strengthen the systems and processes of Wellsworth Energy in line with her Corporate Strategy of exceeding internal and external stakeholder expectations

The presentation of the ISO9001:2015 and ISO 14001:2015 certificate to Wellsworth Energy Services Limited effectively puts the organisation  in the elite league of those service companies  adhering to a high level of globally acceptable standards. Re-certification occurs every three years, with routine annual surveillance checks. The initial certification comes up for renewal in 2023. Negligence or untimely correction of non-conformities within an observed space of time can result in the withdrawal of the certificate.

Wellsworth Energy Services Limited has been in existence since 2007 and provided oilfield services through partnerships with credible local and multinational companies. Wellsworth undertook a rebranding exercise in 2017 to streamline service offerings and deepen customer-facing activities aimed at sustaining shareholder value. The multi-layered technical and management experience offered by Olusola Falodun (Managing Director) and Emeka Emezi (Executive Director) have ensured development and implementation of the company’s strategic initiatives. The company’s employees have a combined work experience of over 100 years in land, swamp, shallow water and deep water terrain garnered in regions such as Nigeria, Gabon and the Middle East. Wellsworth Energy services Limited has as its core competencies in the provision of drilling fluids and production chemicals used in the drilling and production sectors of the Oil & Gas industry ensuring production of crude oil with API qualities according to clients’ specification.

In its short span of existence, Wellsworth Energy Services Limited has worked in the IOC-dominated deep water terrain with SNEPCO, TOTAL & Chevron and Mobil Producing Nigeria, Elcrest, in the shallow water field and Nigeria Agip Oil Company on Land to mention a few. With certification of its processes and procedures, the company brings to bear the ability to influence to the highest possible standards the level of performance of any and all stakeholders associated in the drilling and production phase of the oil and gas industry, so echoes Emeka Emezi.


The Energy Axis Comes to the Solution

PARTNER CONTENT/PAID POST

The Energy Axis – a digital platform where suppliers and buyers in the energy industry interact is now online.

It is an e-commerce address to find information on the production, consumption, sales, distribution, and marketing of energy.

It’s as much a place to find a directory of reliable oil and gas service companies; E&P companies (comprising IOCs and NOCs and Marginal field producers), downstream suppliers of petroleum products, as it the venue to source for gas to power players, hydropower projects, and the emerging clean and renewable energy companies, inverter dealers, Installation etc.

Funke Taylor, founder of The Energy Axis

Users also include vendors of tools/products used across the oil, gas and energy value chain: (valves, pumps, pipe, fittings, accessories petrol station consumables, etc), LPG businesses, Energy industry personnel, Power, Transport and logistics businesses.

“On the Energy Axis platform, users benefit from the presence of others as against the traditional fear of others”, says Funke Taylor, founder of The Energy Axis. “It’s an interactive space”.  “They will gain immensely as businesses or individuals from tools, expanded markets, business opportunities, expert views etc.”

The Energy axis platform has come at a good time for businesses looking for expanded market opportunities. The global lockdowns enforced by COVID-19 pandemic have dis-incentivized face-to-face interactions. B to B Marketing has been moved online as trade conferences, exhibitions etc. have been postponed or out rightly cancelled.

The Energy Axis would encourage the traditional companies to strategically digitize; people now go online more to search for products and services; search engines and social media platforms will become very powerful source of business leads”, Ms. Taylor explains.

“The much touted digital transformation is not just about technology”, Taylor says, “It includes people, processes and platforms (like the energy axis)”.

“To our users; We will help you stand out in the crowded energy marketplace “, Taylor pledges.

 

 

 

 


EUNISELL CREATES NEW BUSINESS MODEL FOR OIL COMPANIES, OVERCOMES DEVELOPMENT FINANCE BARRIERS FOR NOCs

PARTNER CONTENT

Eunisell Production Solutions has pioneered a new business model, enabling NOCs to realise their development goals and bring their fields up to optimum operating potential, without relying on external investment. 

The delay between when the blocks are awarded and when development commences, is a tangible concern for any investor or financial institution. Obstacles to the execution of development plans for these assets has indicated an insecurity of when a return on investment might be achieved, thus uncertainty and reluctance are created.

To solve the challenge, Eunisell delivers four key business benefits: 1. Faster delivery of first oil revenues. 2. Enhanced production from proven fields. 3. Engineered solutions for long term development and 4, Innovative technology.

NOCs are already reeling from the impact of Covid-19 on the industry and depressed oil prices. This means that owners will continue struggle to finance the development of their fields. Any financial assistance in that scenario would be limited at best and come at a heavy cost.

Added pressure comes from Government where owners are expected to deliver on the agreed development and output or risk losing their concessions as witnessed in recent times with the cancellation of 11 operators’ licenses. With the economic and global status quo, options are limited, if any, and this is why Eunisell has stepped in. Eunisell has been providing services based on experience, technology, economics and now, business innovation, to assist NOCs to develop their fields profitably over a measured period.

Service companies are able to design and deliver EPCC projects that will provide long term production and income for the NOCs. The problem is that these projects are inherently costly and require large payments at numerous milestones before production is actually achieved. The procurement and construction phases of these projects are extremely capital intensive and protracted.

By providing solutions, there is a positive impact on Nigeria’s GDP in addition. More oil yielded by NOCs translates into additional national revenues. Having large potential reserves not being produced, simply because a way cannot be found to bring the needed investment, facilities and technology to operators, is a negative influence on our industry, and Nigeria’s economy.

Each one of these assets or the assets currently included in the Marginal Field Bid Round that can be brought to production and developed to its full potential, represents significant increments to foreign exchange and taxes for government. Furthermore, there’s increased employment, community development and growth for the local economies.

The positive effect of bringing these fields to potential is enormous for all levels of the economy. Eunisell is in effect, acting as a technical partner, engineering and delivering the means to bring the existing production to market rapidly, generating revenue and enabling further development.

Compared to existing EPCC projects, Eunisell’s solution requires only a relatively minimal initial cost and is delivered in weeks rather than months. This immediate approach enables concurrent development of the asset. Eunisell will design and deliver the fit-for-purpose production management project, leaving operators to concentrate on long-term production expansion plans.

By working with the field owner, Eunisell assures that the solution provided serves not only short-term output yields, but is designed to meet the field’s expected potential and beyond. By providing the technical solutions and funding the development through rapid delivery of production, the capital required for field development is reduced to manageable levels. Further, the return on the original capital investment is achieved in a significantly shorter period of time.

With Eunisell’s model for success, we are using production costs to partner with the operators to develop the asset. And with Eunisell’s production enhancement and production delivery capacities, these costs can be further reduced to make depressed oil prices viable and enable funding development of Nigerian assets for the benefit of all.

Eunisell Production Solutions

www.eunisellproduction.com

info@eunisell.com

+234 908 765 9938

 

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