Bavijas Review

The United States plans to reimpose sanctions on Venezuela, its southern neighbour and the world’s  largest known oil reserves  holder, if the Maduro government defaults on its promise to hold free and fair elections. Washington ordered American companies dealing with the state-owned energy firm PSDA to wind down within two weeks. This is as the recent ruling by the Venezuelan Supreme Court on Friday upheld a ban on the candidacy of Maria Corina Machado, the opposition’s nominee for this year’s presidential election. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro during a ceremony marking the start of the judicial year at the Supreme Court in Caracas, Venezuela, Jan. 22, 2021 (AP photo by Matias Delacroix). Remember, the US eased its ban on Venezuela’s oil industry in October 2023 for six months (to elapse in March 2024), which helped the Latin American country fetch extra billions of dollars in oil earnings per trade figures revealed by Reuters. The oil industry is Venezuela’s biggest source of

If you would recall, on Monday, December 11, 2023, I wrote a puritanical piece titled: “ Killing a wolf family won’t save the Deer ” that criticized the ongoing zero-sum war in the Middle East between Israel and Hamas.   That piece was as controversial as I’d expected it to be. It drew varied perspectives from the conservative clergy, the Evangelicals, the Muslim and Christian laity, as well as from agnostics. However, publishing that opinion was one of the boldest things I did in 2023 and it proved I was no longer taking anybody’s answer for anything where my convictions were called for.  In the last 10 years, I’ve been through an inflection point whereby I’ve learnt a lot including how to speak up whenever and wherever it mattered. No need to pipe low any longer. Perhaps this new me stems from my countless moments of  romanticism  or reflective study of self and individuality, and of course, the man I was gradually becoming.  Let me say this: I am disappointed in most Christians, eva

Sometimes, digital copies or content don't necessarily have to be long to make an impression. Two months ago, I woke up to a congratulatory message from LinkedIn that a recent post I’d made about the OPEC supply cut got featured in Today’s Top News at LinkedIn News. It was one of just three similar posts selected and stood tall amongst two other posts from top media houses like The Wall Street Journal and The Associated Press. This feat wasn't a funny joke but rather a high bar in my writing career that I had to either maintain or eclipse.  However, upon critical assessment, I underlined 4 things that stood the post out. • It was precise  • It tagged relevant networks • It referenced a reputable source • It addressed a very controversial issue  Next time you’re prepping a post on social media, especially on LinkedIn, you should adopt at least two of the above. It helps a lot. Attempting this may not earn your post a feature in LinkedIn's Top News as mine did but, I'm su

Israeli-linked chemical tanker seized in the Gulf of Aden. Source: www.iranintl.com During his historic 42-minute speech at Westminster Hall on May 25, 2011, then-US President Barack Obama reiterated America was not and will never be in a religious war with Islam but rather in an unrelenting war with terrorist groups and their extremist allies. But its terrorism wars over the years have continued to be with armed groups inextricably linked with the religion of Islam. The Houthis, a religio-political Muslim rebel group of 200,000 troops formed in the 1990s as an opposition movement to Yemen President  Ali Abdullah Saleh , whose aim is to govern Yemen and support all external movements against the United States, Israel, the Jews, and sometimes Saudi Arabia, has been America’s headache for two decades now. In their unrelenting effort to institute Yemen's Shia Muslim minority—the Zaidis—over the years, thousands of Yemenis have died either by fighting or by the hardship that took hold

Can you imagine a spaghetti takeout from a Lagos eatery rapped in a cocoyam leaf? However, just know that the taste of the pudding is in the eating, not the rapping. Globally, plastic waste is increasing at an alarming rate with the increase in human population, rapid economic growth, continuous urbanization, as well as lifestyle changes. This situation poses a waste management problem that sucks huge funds out of government coffers every year to address. Most of the world's waste plastics are untreated and end up as litter on the streets, in water channels, in landfills or in natural environments that provide a habitat for insects and rodents that may cause different types of diseases. From the 1950s to 2018, 6.3 billion tonnes of plastics were estimated to be produced worldwide, out of which only 9% were recycled and another 12% incinerated.  ( The Economist ) Lagos State, Nigeria’s smallest in area and most populous of 36 states, is experiencing a dire environmental problem wit

Globally, oil and gas development and production often require high capital expenditures (CAPEX), high technological expertise and the ability to manage investment risks. Oil companies that don't have the financial wherewithal to undertake such capital-intensive investments or projects will either bow out of the bidding process or adopt strategic approaches that could help them develop enough capabilities to overcome challenges waiting up front. Usually, two contractual arrangements are adopted to achieve this. One is a Joint Venture (JV), while the other is a Production Sharing Contract (PSC). What is a Joint Venture (JV)? A joint venture (JV) is a strategic equity-sharing agreement where two or more parties combine resources to execute an oil & gas transaction and mitigate the risk associated with the business. You may also call it a Joint Operating Agreement (JOA). Typically, the operators of a JV asset each have to contribute funds, in a proportionate degree, to develop the

Early this week, the first batch of crude was charged into the giant tower at the 650,000BPD Dangote Refinery in Lekki, Nigeria, further raising the hope of a major oil-producing nation whose citizens have depended on fuel imports for years. As products from the plant are expected to hit the market by month's end, ETERNA Plc has secured a deal with Dangote Group to become the official domestic distributor of their products in Nigeria.  However, many other petroleum marketers across Nigeria continue to lobby for a place in the queue . OUR TOP NEWS THIS WEEK China : 80% of the global solar panels market is controlled by China, which flooded the market with cheap panels and helped accelerate renewable energy deployment worldwide in 2023. Solar is the fastest-growing renewable energy in the world today, IEA says.  Nigeria : NNPC Ltd is calling on reputable operators with track records who will operate and maintain the 210,000 barrels per day Port Harcourt refinery.  World : The most po

In the world of venture capitalism there’s a word which many startuppers or entrepreneurs seem to hear often – unicorn. Do you know what that means? Read on! A unicorn is a privately-owned enterprise that’s valued at least one billion USD. We have a few such enterprises here in Africa; much less than what obtains in the US, and China. In the former, there’re are concentrated in Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. Recent research by Bavijas shows Africa has at least 7 unicorns. Can you mention one? Flutterwave! Most African unicorns are Nigerian-owned or-based. Flutterwave is one, amidst Jumia, OPAY and Interswitch. Outside Nigeria we have Fawry, Chipper, MNT-Halan, and Wave.  It takes more than just innovative thinking for startups to assume a unicorn status. I hopefully believe Bavijas will someday be counted among the unicorns in Africa, whether or not I’m the CEO.

A ticker is a unique character (or symbol) that identifies a company’s share on a stock market. It can be just letters, numbers or mixed, and for some security houses, there can be restrictions on the number of digits allowed For instance, Italian oil firm Eni simply goes by “E” on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) whereas the Nigerian beverage firm Champion Breweries goes by 'CHAMPION’ on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NGX). All companies trading on the stock market each have a ticker. It is one of the criteria to get listed. As an investor, it's a good idea to familiarize yourself with your company's ticker so you can track it easily and not confuse it for another. If Bavijas were to get listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NGX) today, what ticker would you suggest for it? I'm contemplating BVJ.

  Wherever in the world you're reading this energy news review from, our team at Bavijas, an energy advisory firm, wishes to say a big welcome to you. That's one sunny side of technology; it brings us humans together regardless of where we might be. In this edition, we bring you selected energy news that dominated news headlines this week.  Read on. You'll like it. World : The International Energy Agency (IEA) says the world added a historic 510 GW of renewable energy (esp. solar) in 2023, equivalent to the combined power capacity of Germany, France, and Spain.📊📊 • Nigeria : NNPC Ltd announced an unaudited profit of N2.54 trillion in 2022, the highest since its inception in 1977. Recall it made a profit of N674.1 billion in 2021. Though profit for 2023 is not yet known.📉📉 • Uganda : The electricity regulator in Uganda plans to subsidise tariffs for commercial to medium-sized industries from January to March 2024, in a bid to ease their operational cost and boost economi