• Total Commences work at Ofon
• Flour Mills battles traffic in Apapa, Tincan
• Elf Petroleum Appoints New GM
• Niger Delta Youths messes up their struggle
• Willbros' Guilty Plea
• BPE & PHCN
• Board Inaugurated for Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission
• Government to construct $260m gas pipeline

France's Total and partner the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) have kicked off work on phase two of the Ofon field development, off Nigeria. Total operates the project with a 40 per cent stake on the project which lies about 50 kilometres off Nigeria in OML 102, in a water depth of about 40 metres. The field came on stream in December 1997. The extra proved and probable reserves to be developed during the second phase are estimated to be in the region of 350 million barrels of oil equivalent.

These reserves should allow an increase of oil output by around 60,000 barrels per day to around 100,000 bpd by the end of 2010, Total said. On top of the existing Ofon facilities, new installations consisting of a processing asse platform, three drilling platforms and an accommodation platform for more than 120 people will be built during plasse two. The new central complex is expected to come on stream in 2010, with development drilling continuing after that.

Commuters in Apapa area of Lagos would soon hive a sign of relief as the Management of Flour Mill Of Nigeria Plc in collaboration with the officials of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) have concluded plans to ease the traffic congestion in the area.

In achieving this objective, the Managing Director of Flour Mill Of Nigeria Plc, Sir Emmanuel Ukpabio on behalf of his management donated three motorbikes, radio communication gadgets and a Toyota Hilux van to the officials of the FRSC.

According to Sir Ukpabio, these facilities would help the officials FRSC to achieve immediate right of way, full compliance to with traffic laws, zero tolerance for undisciplined behavior and free traffic flow.

With this development, Energy News believes that officials of Power Holding Company of Nigeria and other power companies would bring in their facilities faster through the national sea ports without complaining of traffic congestion.

Pauly Enujuba, a Nigerian is the new General Manager, Public Affairs, ELF. He is a graduate from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He previously worked with Alpha Youths Services before he joined the services of ELF. The oil industry remains Nigeria's most important revenue earner and its accurate reporting is of great importance to all stakeholders."

EnergyNewsTM gathered that the company has been in the oil exploration business in Nigeria for 45 years. ELF has moved from just producing crude oil onshore (OML 58 and 57) in the swamping Rivers and Delta States to operating in the deep offshore. They are also part owners of the Nigerian Liquified Natural Gas NLNG, and in August 2006 acquired 17% of the Brass LNG. However, it is pertinent to note that the upstream activities of the group are carried out by two subsidiaries. ELF Petroleum Nigeria Limited (EPNL), operator of the NNPC/EPNL Joint Venture and Total Upstream Nigeria Limited (TUPNI).

The group believes in the future of Nigeria. Evidence of this is the planned investment of 7.5billion dollars (USD) in the upstream sector of the Nigeria oil and gas industry in the next five years. The completion of the Amenam Kpono Gas Export Project (AKOGEP) which ensured that on December 30, 2006, they were able to export their first gas from that field to the Bonny NLNG.

The corporate philosophy of the company encourages the participation of Nigerians and Nigerian-based companies in its operations, through staff

When the Niger Delta militants commenced their struggle against the social injustices melted out to them by the federal government and the oil giants who are involved in oil activities in the region, the international community did not pay much attention to their quest.

But with the recent incident of kidnapping of oil worker in the area and releasing them without collecting ransome, the oil giants knew that the restive youths were determined to make good their threat of disrupting of oil activities in the area.

The newly elected government of President Umar Yar'Adua sensing the danger these youths were capable of doing to the national economy, also paid attention to the clamour by releasing their leader, Alhaji Asari Dokunbo, and adding that adequate measures would be taken to address the key issues responsible for the crisis in the area. But recently, some youths in the area have made a mess of the whole struggle by kidnapping innocent children. This has turned the whole struggle into a child's play. The youths who are sincerely involved in this struggle are perceived to be mere charlatans.

Alhaji Dokubo, and the leadership of Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND) have vowed to apprehend those behind this criminal act of kidnapping children. How long would it take for them to fulfill this assignment and put their struggle on the right part? Only time would tell!

Jim Bob Brown, former executive of Willbros Group Incorporated, who once worked in Nigeria, has pleaded guilty to charges of bribery and corruption. Brown admits that he conspired with others to bribe officials of the governments in Nigeria and Ecuador, reports the US Department of Justice. Willbros, a publicly traded company that provides construction, engineering and other services in the oil and gas industry, conducts international operations through a subsidiary known as Willbros International Inc.

During his guilty plea hearing, Brown, 45, admitted that in February 2005, he and another Nigerian based Willbros' executive arranged for the payment of approximately $1.5million in cash as part of a conspiracy to make corrupt payments to, among others, officials of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), and a joint venture effectively controlled by the company, in order to obtain and retain gas pipeline construction business in Nigeria.

The illegal and corrupt payment was part of a larger, multi-million dollar foreign bribery scandal involving, among others, a former senior Willbros executive officer, a U.S. national, acting as a purported "consultant" to Willbros, and Nigerian-based employees of a major German engineering and construction company.

The plea was accepted at the Federal Courthouse in Houston, Texas by Judge Sim Lake of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. The Court set a sentencing date of November 30, 2006.

The Bureau of Public Enterprises has said that it has incorporated a Special Purpose Entity to manage the legacy liabilities of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria. The SPE is known as Nigeria Electricity Management Agency Limited/GTE. "The incorporation of the SPE is part of the unbundling process of the electric power sector. The 'liability management' vehicle is charged with the responsibility of managing legacy liabilities, stranded assets and liabilities in a manner that will create the least burden on electricity customers", said BPE spokesman, Mr. Chigbo Anichebe.

He listed the other objectives for which the SPE was established to include; assuming and managing pension liabilities of the employees of PHCN and holding the non-core assets of PHCN, sell or dispose of, or deal in any manner for the purpose of financing the repayment of the pension liabilities of the employees.

PHCN Plc which replaced the National Electric Power Authority in preparation for its reforms and privatization has resulted in the unbundling of PHCN into 18 independent entities.

President Obasanjo has inaugurated the board of the Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission (NAEC). First established in August 1976, NAEC was to provide the requisite institutional framework and technical pathway to explore, exploit and harness atomic energy for peaceful applications in all its ramifications for the socio-economic development of Nigeria.

President Obasanjo who described the acquisition and use of nuclear technology as a very important element in any nation's path that wants to achieve scientific and technological maturity, and who chairs the commission, said nuclear energy uses are multifarious and multi-disciplinary. "In addition to the generation of electricity, nuclear energy finds ready peaceful applications in agriculture and food security, medicine, industry, and in basic and applied scientific research", he emphasized.

The Federal Government has concluded plans for the construction of a $260million gas pipeline project.

The new pipeline is an alternative to the country's major Escravos Gas Pipeline, which was blown up in February, by militant forces in the wake of attacks on oil facilities and installations in the Niger Delta.

The blowing up of the pipeline led to the loss of 600 megawatts of power from the National Grid. The new gas pipeline will be constructed under the Trans Nigeria Pipeline System, which will transverse through many parts of the country, to be executed in three phases: Ajaokuta-Abuja-Kaduna Pipeline System; Aba-Enugu-Gboko Pipeline System; and the East-West Link Pipeline System.

The gas pipeline network is meant to enhance flexibility in gas flowing operations from one segment to another, improve infrastructural development/installations, enhance isolation of pipeline segments for maintenance interventions, and improve gas availability for customers' instant needs.