Nigerian Government News

Nigerian company UTM Offshore has signed a front-end engineering design (FEED) contract for the development of an FLNG facility in Nigeria with JGC Corporation, Technip Energies, and KBR.This will be Nigeria's first floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) facility. Africa currently has two FLNG units in operation, the Hili Episeyo in Cameroon, and, as of recently, the Coral Sul FLNG in Mozambique. In Nigeria, the FLNG unit will be used for development of offshore block OML  204.According to Chief Timipre Sylva…

An oil supertanker accused by Nigerian authorities of attempting to illegally load crude before leaving its territorial waters is on its way back to the country, a Nigerian Navy spokesman told Reuters on Friday.At the request of Nigerian authorities, Equatorial Guinea detained the Heroic Idun, a vessel capable of carrying 2 million barrels of oil, on Aug. 17 for sailing without an identifying flag, fleeing from the Nigerian navy and sailing in Equatorial Guinean waters without prior authorization.Nigerian officials said Messrs.

Equatorial Guinea has detained an oil tanker capable of carrying 2 million barrels after it attempted to load in Nigeria without proper paperwork, both countries said this week.The Nigerian navy said in a statement that the Heroic Idun, a very large crude carrier (VLCC), was attempting to load oil at the Akpo SBM on Aug. 8 without due clearance from state oil company NNPC, and that it "resisted arrest" when ordered to stop.It was not immediately clear who was the vessel's owner or operator.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary-General Kitack Lim commended Nigeria’s antipiracy efforts in the Gulf of Guinea as the West African nation continues to make strides to curb attacks against ships in the world’s top piracy hot spot.Lim said recent actions made by the West African country to restrain piracy in the region “send a strong and valuable message to the international community”.The IMO head welcomed the latest initiatives to address maritime security concerns in the Gulf of Guinea…

Pirates have kidnapped 19 crew members from a crude oil tanker off Nigeria in an area where acts of piracy are on the rise, an official with the ship's operator said on Thursday.The loaded vessel, the Nave Constellation, was attacked 77 nautical miles off Bonny Island on Tuesday and 18 Indians and one Turk from the crew were seized, the official said.Seven other crew members remain on board the vessel. Neither the vessel nor the cargo were damaged, the official said.The shipping…

The West Africa Container Terminal (WACT) located in Onne Port, has invested in two new Mobile Harbor Cranes, in response to continued volume growth in the Eastern Nigerian market.APM Terminal, who operates WACT, said that this is in addition to an investment of approximately USD2.5 million already made this year.The two Liebherr LHM 550 Mobile Harbor Cranes (MHCs) are due for deployment in July this year and will further boost the efficiency and cargo handling operation of the terminal, improving service delivery and reducing vessel waiting time. This year, WACT has already invested around USD2.5 million in 10 purpose-built terminal trucks, three reach stackers and an empty container handler, as well as terminal infrastructure and manpower development.

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Boss Mustapha has said that the Federal Government has successfully worked hard through the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to reposition the Nigerian maritime industry for the nation’s economic growth.Mustapha said such development had also made the maritime sector a new attraction for investors.The SGF pointed out the nation was beginning to see another opportunity through which it could harness its vast resources.Mustapha, who was represented by the Honourable Minister of Budget, Senator Udo Udoma, equally noted that the current Management of…

Royal Dutch Shell and its partners will decide next year on whether to go ahead with the development of Nigeria's Bonga Southwest offshore oilfield, a senior company official said on Tuesday.The project, one of the country's largest with an expected production of 180,000 barrels per day, will generate profit at below $50 a barrel, Bayo Ojuli, managing director of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company, told reporters.Shell is currently negotiating a production sharing contract with the Nigerian government which will determine the viability of the project, he said. The negotiations are expected to finish this year.Shell operates the project and ExxonMobil, Total , Eni and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company are partners.(Reporting by Ron Bousso; editing by Jason Neely)

The Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) Dr. Dakuku Peterside has assured Nigerians and the international maritime community that the Federal Government is actively working to keep the menace of piracy and other illicit crimes in check on the nation’s territorial waterways. In this case the word are backed by action and investment, as the Nigerian government has approved the procurement of three helicopters and 12 fast intervention…

The Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council (CWEIC) together with the Ship Owners Association of Nigeria (SOAN) have co-hosted an event on “The Future of the Maritime Industry in Nigeria” at Marlborough House in London on September 28. The event brought together investors, business leaders and government officials – representing maritime interests from across the Commonwealth – in a bid to stimulate discussion, increase cooperation and forge partnerships around the myriad opportunities of Nigeria’s maritime sector. The event was hosted as part of CWEIC’s Commonwealth Maritime Initiative (CMI), which aims to promote the maritime industry as a key driver of economic growth and trade (cargo carried by sea is set to quadruple by 2050)…

Refineries from India to the United States are backing away from buying Nigerian oil amid heightened uncertainty about deliveries as the country squares up to militants in the restive Delta region. Their reluctance to buy is limiting the prices Nigeria can get for its oil even as there is less of it - another hit to the finances of a country battling its worst economic crisis in decades. A group calling itself the Niger Delta Avengers has staged a number of attacks on oil installations belonging to Shell , ENI and Chevron, pushing output in what is usually Africa's largest crude exporter down past 20-year lows last month. Some oil facilities have clawed back output, but the Avenger attacks have continued and the group has vowed to bring Nigerian production to "zero".

Russia’s embassy in Nigeria confirmed on Thursday that the Greek-owned oil tanker Leon Dias has been hijacked in the Gulf of Guinea, reports TASS. There are reports that the oil tanker hijacked by suspected militants from the Niger Delta has been freed and is now located some 7.5 nautical miles near the Cotonou Port in Benin. The merchant ship, MT LEON DIAS that was allegedly hijacked by gunmen is current off the Coast of Cotonou in the Benin Republic. Nigerian military sources disclosed that the ship which is a chemical/oil tanker is currently under the custody of the Beninois Navy. "The name of the ship is MT LEON DIAS. An oil tanker…

Africa-focused proprietary investment firm L.A.T Cleveson (LATC) has signed an order with Damen Shipyards Group for the supply of two PSV 3300 Platform Supply Vessels and two FCS 5009 Fast Supplier Vessels. This transaction will bring next generation Damen PSVs to the offshore industry of Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea for the first time. The purchase is being made by LATC Marine Ltd, a subsidiary of L.A.T Cleveson, which has quickly established a positive reputation by providing…

With 11 vessels have been waiting to get a space to berth in  Lagos Ports Complex (LPC) in order to discharge cargo since December 2014 heavy congestion hits Lagos Ports General Cargo Terminal. More than 251,860 metric tons (MT) of cargo are currently stranded at Terminal C and D of the LPC, Apapa, operated by ENL Consortium Limited. The industry observers say that this has become a regular feature in that terminal, raising questions about efficiency of its cargo handling equipment. The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) said in its daily publication - `Shipping Position’ that of this figure, 130,382 MT is bulk rice, 56,578 MT are general cargo and 33,000 MT is fertilizer. Gypsium is 25,000 metric tons and fish is 6,900 MT.

The late Nelson Mandela once said: “I dream of an Africa which is in peace with itself.” At the EU-Africa summit in Brussels last month, European leaders urged their African counterparts to facilitate that dream by shouldering more of the security burden in their countries, both onshore and offshore. The summit coincided with reports of renewed piracy activity in the Gulf of Aden; ongoing attacks on shipping in the Gulf of Guinea, and explosions and mass arrests in Kenya, all serving to underline the scale of that challenge.

Two executives from offshore drilling contractor Noble Corp have agreed to settle civil claims they participated in a bribery scheme to obtain permits for oil rigs in Nigeria, days before the case was set to go to trial. Jury selection had been scheduled for next Monday in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's case against Mark Jackson, Noble's former chief executive officer, and James Ruehlen, director of the oil and gas services company's Nigerian subsidiary. The two men were sued under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), which bans U.S. companies from bribing foreign officials. A federal judge in Houston called off all trial deadlines on Tuesday pending a final settlement. The terms, which must be approved by a judge, were not disclosed in court papers.

According to a report from defenseWeb.com, ABG Shipyard is in talks with the Nigerian government and private equity investors to build a shipyard in Nigeria through a joint venture in which the Indian company will hold a 40 percent stake.   (Source: defenceweb.com)

The ports on the Niger River in Nigeria are receiving attention in line with Nigerian government policy. A program of dredging and port refurbishment has led to the Onitsha River Port being refurbished and up-graded during the last year, adding warehousing, port accommodation, storage space and cranes in the shape of 2 Liebherr Harbour Mobile Cranes type LHM 180. These machines have a maximum lifting capacity of 64 tons and a maximum outreach of 35m The cranes will be used to handle a wide variety of break bulk cargoes…

By Capt. In 2002 the globally operated Korean engineering and construction firm Daewoo E & C Co., Ltd., secured a project order from Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) of Nigeria to construct a gas gathering plant on two concrete barges, to be positioned in the Awoba Creek near the Sambriero River. This gas gathering plant would be connected with a pipeline to the Cawthorne Channel Integrated Project (CCIP). The CCIP is a gas-gathering project, which is a big step forward in contributing to the "flare out" target date in 2008 of the numerous gas flares, as mandated by the Nigerian Government. On December 19 and 22, 2003, respectively, the Process Barge and the Control Barge were safely put on the underwater foundation in Awoba, and first gas is expected by Spring 2004.

Gulf of Guinea piracy presents a radically different picture compared with Somali piracy. Since decades it has been a kaleidoscopic mix of short duration hijackings, militant disruptions, kidnappings, robberies and thefts, depending on the location and the setting. It was not until recently, however, that piracy in the region attracted significant international media attention due to the increase in hijackings of product tankers in the region. It is uncertain when this phenomenon started exactly…

Shell Nigeria Ultra Deep Limited and Shell Nigeria Exploration Properties Alpha Limited, companies of the Shell Group, announced they have made discoveries in two 'Big Cat prospects'. Further appraisal is required to determine the discoveries' resource potential. The wells, in blocks OPL 322 and OPL 245, were both in frontier areas. Bobo -1X was drilled in block OPL 322, to a total depth of 5,173 m in 2,479 m of water, the second deepest well in offshore Nigeria. Drilling was completed on 16 July 2005, under budget, and found over 140 meters of hydrocarbon bearing sands. Shell Nigeria Exploration Properties Alpha Limited has a 40 per cent shareholding in OPL 322. mEtan -1X was drilled in block OPL 245 to a total depth of 4,574 m in 1,720 m of water.