Business
Shell Removes 460 Illegal Connections On Trans Niger Pipeline
The Chairman of Shell Companies in Nigeria, Osagie Okunbor, on Tuesday, revealed that the international oil company discovered and removed 460 illegal connections on its Trans Niger Pipeline before the facility could be restored after it was shut down for one year.
Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria operates the TNP. It uses the pipeline to evacuate crude from oil fields in Rivers and parts of Bayelsa to the Bonny Crude Oil Export Terminal, as other IOCs lamented the grave impact of oil theft on their operations.
Okunbor revealed that the TNP remained shut for one year due to the massive crude oil theft on the pipeline, a development that also devastated the supply of gas to the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited during the period.
This came as the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, announced the Federal Government’s plan to generate 5,300 megawatts of electricity from solar, as well as producing six billion litres of biofuel annually.
Osinbajo, Okunbor and several other executives of international and indigenous oil and gas companies, spoke in Abuja during various sessions at the ongoing 6th Nigeria International Energy Summit.
Responding to a question on what the incoming administration should address in the oil sector, Okunbor stated that the security of oil infrastructure should be given priority.
He said Nigeria was not short of frameworks and written documents on how to tackle the myriad challenges in the oil sector, stressing that the document on the Decade of Gas, for instance, had measures that would deepen the use of gas, but its implementation remained an issue.
“What keeps me awake today as regards my onshore business in Shell is the fact that we cannot operate a pipeline, and that’s what is responsible for the 60 per cent capacity. I think today that’s almost just how much gas we can supply.
“And this is because one of our key gas infrastructures – the TNP, was shut down for one year; we removed 460 illegal connections on that line. We just reopened that line. Today we are struggling to catch up with our first programme,” Okunbor stated.
The SPDC chairman said this loss on was often viewed on how it was affecting Nigeria’s oil production quota to the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, but stressed that the situation was also having devastating implications on the supply of gas to the NLNG.
“So if you ask me what the number one issue has to be for the incoming administration, it has to be the security of oil and gas infrastructure. If you don’t fix it, then we have a huge problem on our hands,” Okunbor stated.
On the lack of will-power to execute recommendations in the sector, he said, “We know exactly what is needed, but it is that power of execution, just that courage to get things done without obstructing facts, that’s really what is the ban of our challenges.”
He added, “So essentially, this is the way I would think we should all be approaching the incoming administration as relating to our industry. I think the issues are quite known, we just need to find the willpower to execute.”
The Managing Director of Nigeria LNG Limited, Dr Philip Mshelbila, also pointed out that 40 per cent of globally renowned gas firms’ capacity had been lying fallow due to theft.
He also stated that the lack of power to execute the recommendations and policies in various documents and laws of the oil sector had remained a challenge to the industry.
Earlier in his address at the summit, Osinbajo told delegates that the Federal Government was working towards boosting the country’s power generation and supply with solar energy.
He said Nigeria and other African countries were among the lowest emitters of carbon, but had some of the largest natural resources, stressing that the continent could do much more in developing its own agenda for a green future.
The Vice President pointed out that the developed nations were the highest emitters of greenhouse gases, adding that “if you are going to do anything, in terms of the green energy future, you should start from the low emission base.”
He added, “And that low emission base is here in Africa. We have the natural resources to do so. Therefore we should focus on our strengths today. And I think we have started that.
“Our energy transition plan calls for the ramping up of solar cells and we will be doing about 5.3 gigawatts (5,300MW) per year until 2060. That’s the plan and we think this plan is achievable.
“There’s also the production of over six billion litres of biofuels annually, and the transition of at least two million Nigerian households annually to cleaner cooking fuels, such as LPG and electricity every single year. These ambitions are achievable.”
Nigerian carrier, Air Peace, has clarified why its Benin to Abuja flight P47171 was delayed in the air on Friday.
In a statement issued by the Head of Corporate Communications, Ejike Ndiulo, Air Peace Airline on Saturday stated that during the aircraft’s descent into Abuja, the flight encountered turbulence as a result of adverse weather conditions, including thunderstorms.
The statement further stressed that in line with global aviation safety standards, “our crew activated appropriate safety protocols and held in a holding pattern until weather conditions improved.”
Social media users complained on Saturday that the aircraft hung in the air longer than necessary before landing.
Elanza news understands that when an aircraft is held in a holding pattern, this means the plane was instructed to fly a specific course around a designated point while waiting for permission from the control tower to proceed with its planned route, approach, or landing.
This is often due to factors like traffic congestion at the given airport, weather delays, or other operational issues that could result in an incident or accident if the aircraft had landed against instructions.
In simpler terms, a holding pattern is a temporary waiting area for an aircraft in the air, allowing it to remain airborne while awaiting further instructions for landing.
The statement further stated, “We are pleased to confirm that the aircraft landed safely and the passengers disembarked normally. Air Peace is unwavering in its commitment to ensuring the highest standards of safety across all our operations.”
IMF to FG: Enhance transparency in oil sector, contain borrowing
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has advised Nigeria to enhance transparency in the oil sector to ensure that the subsidy removal savings are transferred to the government’s budget.
Abebe Selassie, the director of the African department at the IMF, gave the advice on Friday while presenting the findings of the Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa report at the IMF and World Bank spring meetings in Washington, DC, the United States.
Selassie was responding to questions on the federal government’s reforms and Nigeria’s debt profile, which currently sits at N142.3 trillion as at September 2024.
Speaking to journalists, the director said the fund has been very impressed by the reforms Nigeria has undertaken to address microeconomic imbalances in the country.
The director said the subsidy was taking “a very large” share of the limited tax revenues, which was not effectively used to help the most vulnerable people.
“So it’s been really good to see the government taking these head on, and also beginning to roll out the third component of the reforms that we’ve been advocating for, [that] government has been pursuing, which is to expand social protection to target generalised subsidies to help the most vulnerable,” he said.
“This has all been very good to see, but more can be done, particularly on the latter front: expanding social protection and also enhancing a lot more transparency in the oil sector, so that the removal of subsidies does translate into flow of revenue into government budget.
“So, there’s still a bit more work to do in these areas.”
Selassie disclosed that the IMF had a mission in Nigeria, where discussions with the authorities focused on issues related to the nation’s macroeconomic conditions.
Still, the director advised the federal government to consider reforms in other areas to engender more private sector investment, and also how more resources can be “adopted” to help Nigeria generate the revenues needed to build more schools, universities, and infrastructure.
“So there’s a comprehensive set of reforms that Nigeria can pursue that would help engender more growth and help diversify the economy away from reliance on oil,”
“And this diversification is all the more important given what we’re seeing happening to commodity prices.”
Selassie acknowledged that while the government is undertaking reforms, there will be a financing need.
He urged the authorities to adopt “a judicious and agile” way of dealing with the financing challenges the country faces.
The IMF official said Nigeria’s financing gap “can only be filled” by permanent sources such as revenue mobilisation in the long run.
“But in the interim, carefully looking at all of the options the country has to borrow in a contained way, will be part of that solution,” he said.
“And I think the government has been going about this prudently and cautiously so far, and we’re encouraged by that.”
In January, the Debt Management Office(DMO) said the total domestic debt was N73.4 trillion ($45.8 billion) while the total external debt was N68.8 trillion ($43 billion).
The debt body said the increase was primarily due to rising domestic borrowing and the impact of exchange rate depreciation on external debt when converted to naira terms.
The Federal Government is set to launch the National Agribusiness Policy Mechanism (NAPM) to strengthen agricultural productivity, stabilise food prices, and drive economic growth.
The NAPM is part of broader initiatives aimed at transforming the country’s agricultural sector through data-driven policies and public-private partnerships.
Speaking on Friday in Abuja during a meeting of the Presidential Food Systems Coordinating Unit (PFSCU) Steering Committee at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Vice President Kashim Shettima said the initiative will align agricultural efforts across all government tiers through real-time data analytics.
“The Green Imperative Project (GIP) is an idea whose time has come. It has been in the incubation period for several years, and now it is coming to fruition; we have to get it right.
“We have had many interventions in this country in the past. We must make this work, and it’s the states that will drive the process,” the Vice President said.
Signed between Nigeria and Brazil on March 17, 2025, the Green Imperative Project (GIP) is a $1.1 billion initiative aimed to modernise 774 mid-sized Nigerian farms with Brazilian agricultural technologies, creating jobs and boosting productivity across the nation.
VP Shettima further said President Bola Tinubu has approved ₦15 billion for the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to prepare for floods as the rainy season kicks in.
“This is one of the first proactive decisions by the government to prepare for the flooding season,” the Vice President noted.
Earlier, the Technical Assistant to the President on Agriculture and Executive Secretary of PFSCU, Marion Moon, explained that NAPM aims to address challenges of high food inflation and agricultural yields that lag 60 per cent behind global averages.
She revealed that the pilot survey for NAPM has been completed across 13 states, with a full launch planned for June 2025.
The NAPM, supported by data analytics partnerships and a digital platform under development, is designed to tackle food inflation, inefficient subsidies, and outdated farming practices, to give the country a unified framework to optimise public spending and drive sustainable rural development.
Those present at the meeting included Governors of Jigawa State, Umar Namadi, and Ekiti State, Biodun Oyebanji; Deputy Governors of Borno State, Umar Kadafur, and Ebonyi State, Patricia Onyemaechi Obila.
Others are Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari; Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Aliyu Abdullahi; Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance; heads of agriculture and manufacturing private sector players, and international development partners.