Bavijas Energy

It is an historic day for Nigeria as hundreds of dignitaries including President Buhari troupes to Lekki to witness the launch of the Dangote refinery and petrochemicals complex. The 650,000 BPD crude oil refinery is the biggest single-train refinery by any private person in the world.  But then, the refinery will not significantly reduce the pump price of refined petroleum products. Though it would; - completely meet Nigeria’s demand in a short while - drastically reduce product landing cost to near zero. - make refined products readily available. The project costs between $19 to $20 billion, the entire project can be broken down thus; 650,000: Daily crude oil refining capacity in barrels. 900,000: Annual polypropylene production capacity in tons. 3,000,000: Annual fertiliser production capacity in tons. 1,100: The total pipeline connection network to handle 3 billion cubic feet of gas, in kilometers. 4,000: Number of direct jobs the project would create. Of these, 900 engineers have

The Coat of Arms of Akwa Ibom State AKWA Ibom State recorded an Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of N34.8 billion during the 2022 fiscal year, the chairman of Akwa Ibom State Internal Revenue Service, IRS, Mr Okon Okon, has said. He revealed this at the second inter-ministerial briefing organised by the Ministry of Information and Strategy in Uyo on Friday. Okon said that although the amount represents a shortfall of about N9 billion of its targeted N43.8bn revenue for the year, the IGR has steadily increased from N15.7 billion to N34.8 billion within the eight years of the current administration. He disclosed that Governor Udom Emmanuel gave tax exemptions and waivers to many companies in 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic affected the state’s IGR of that year, while also pointing out that the state’s yearly income included N16 billion IGR in 2017, N24.2 billion in 2018, N30.6 billion in 2020, N31.4 billion in 2021 and N34.8 billion in 2022, the highest within the last eight years. S

Whether or not condensate is the same thing as crude oil is a billion-dollar question that only experts can answer. Cause why not, If U.S. regulators sometime ago could only allow exports of processed condensate, but not crude oil, then you should know the distinction between the two will be worth billions of dollars. Isn’t it? Many people often erroneously think that crude oil is the same thing as condensate. No, there is a difference. For instance, Nigeria has 31.06 billion barrels of crude oil and 5.906 billion barrels of condensates but then, you hear people say Nigeria has 36.9 billion or even 37 billion barrels of crude oil; which is not completely so. Crude oil and condensate, though similar, are not of the same quality. The instance above can be misleading for unsuspecting fellow and we have to differentiate this so policymakers and citizens can know what the actual numbers are. What is Condensate? Condensate (fondly called Condy) is a mixture of light liquid   hydrocarbons , s

Africa’s electrolyzer pipeline capacity has reached 114 GW owing to large-scale developments across key markets such as Namibia, Mauritania, South Africa, Egypt and others. As such, global market intelligence firm Rystad Energy notes that the continent is well positioned to attract further investment in green hydrogen, particularly from Europe where consumption is relatively high. Of the total 114 GW pipeline, 61% or 70 GW is tied to sub-Saharan Africa, with Mauritania boasting 50% of this region’s capacity. While factors such as Africa’s easy access to land, low labour costs and vast renewable resources present a huge opportunity for the development and monetization of green hydrogen, inadequate investments represent the biggest hurdle restricting the market. As a result, only 13 MW of the planned 114 GW green hydrogen projects have reached final investment decision. However, with Europe in search of new energy partners to address its energy crisis, financing mechanisms such as the Eu

On March 16, ExxonMobil announced the beginning of operations at the expansion of its Beaumont refinery, adding 250,000 barrels per day (b/d) of capacity, according to the company’s announcement. The expansion makes the oil refinery one of the largest in the United States as measured by crude oil distillation capacity. According to ExxonMobil, the total capacity of the Beaumont facility is now 630,000 b/d. The Beaumont expansion is the first major refinery capacity expansion to come online since the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused several refinery capacity closures over the course of 2020 and 2021. U.S. refinery distillation capacity decreased from 19.0 million b/d at the start of 2020 to 17.9 million b/d at the start of 2022. In June, we expect to update our Refinery Capacity Report with information about refinery capacity at the start of 2023. That report will not include the Beaumont capacity addition because it was not operational at the start of 2023. Beaumont’s added capacity is

Five years ago in 2017, at the prestigious Nyong Essien library on the town camp of the University of Uyo, I came across a pamphlet written by Prof. Charles Soludo tittled: Can Nigeria be the China of Africa?  As though the piece were a carefully curated political manifesto, it dissected Nigeria's problems from high brain drain to corruption, reforms in education to health care. To be frank, it was an insightful read. Professor Charles Soludo is such an intelligent personality and a man of vision. But why is he the topic of my writing today?  On the sidelines which led to his emergence as the 6th executive governor of Anambra state, he stated that his government will only patronize ‘Made in Anambra products, except in cases where there is no “Made in Anambra alternative.” In fact, on Thursday he drove IVM G-wagon manufactured by indigenous automaker-Innoson Motors to his inauguration. This didn't only give confidence to Innoson Motors as a company, it generated wide following a

Natural gas has been hailed as the translation fuel between fossil fuel and a low-carbon future. It has also been demonized as a Trojan horse for the fossil fuel industry to continue to be relevant in that low-carbon future envisioned by the architects of the transition. Over the past year, events in Europe made it quite clear that envisioning a future may be a noble thing but energy needs are immediate, and gas is perfect for meeting them with a lower emission footprint than fellow fossil fuels oil and coal. It is a bit unfortunate for Western gas consumers, then, that the countries with the biggest gas reserves in the world happen to be Russia and Iran. Fortunately, the United States is also on the list of the top 5 biggest gas reserve holders, as are several Middle Eastern countries. #1 Russia Russia has natural gas reserves of as much as 38 trillion cubic meters, according to the 2020 edition of BP’s  Statistical Review of World Energy . Production last year  totaled  573 billion c

Bill Gates delivering the keynote speech at NAU Through his regular emails, Bill Gates shared with me the advice he gave students at the 2023 commencement speech at Northern Arizona University (NAU), USA on May 13, 2023. The speech was titled, 5 Things I Wish I Heard at the Graduation I Never Had.  As emotional as that sounds, I found the advice very insightful, hence, why I feel you should also hear them. 1. Your life isn’t a one-act play. It is okay to change your mind or have a second career… it can be a very good thing. 2. You’re never too smart to be confused. Seek help from people when it seems you're stuck. 3. Gravitate toward work that solves an important problem. 4. Don’t underestimate the power of friendship. Your friends are your network. Your future co-founders and colleagues. A great future source of support, information, and advice.  5. You’re not a slacker if you cut yourself some slack. Take a break from work when you need to and unwind. Take it easy on the people a

NIGERIA   has more natural gas than crude oil and is among the top 10 countries with the biggest gas reserves globally. It has the most extensive gas reserves in the whole continent of Africa and represents about 3% of the total global proven reserves. Nigeria’s energy future is gas, as it is the transition fuel out of carbon-rich fossils. Although, the country is yet to fully tap its huge gas wealth, Morocco and Egypt where gas development is a big state business, have gone far in this aspect. This is because Nigeria used to simply flare its natural gas rather than convert it into an economic commodity. That era is gradually passing away and there seem to be new inroads into the gas by both government and investors of late. The gas market sector in Nigeria is a budding one with many bright prospects. It is controlled majorly by the Nigerian government via Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Ltd — which is controlled by the state energy company NNPCL. The Nigeria Liquified Natural Gas

Nigeria’s Finance Minister, Zainab Ahmed

The World Bank confirmed on Wednesday that Ajay Banga would be its next president, handing him the reins at a pivotal time as it looks to reshape its role to better address climate change. “The Board looks forward to working with Mr. Banga on the World Bank Group Evolution process,” the development lender wrote in a statement published shortly after executives voted to approve his leadership for a five-year term. The bank said it looked forward to working with Banga on its “ambitions and efforts aimed at tackling the toughest development challenges facing developing countries.” Banga, the US candidate who was the sole nominee for the top job, will begin his new role on June 2, taking over from David Malpass who is stepping down early amid criticism over his stance on climate issues. President Joe Biden said in a statement that Banga “will help steer the institution as it evolves and expands to address global challenges that directly affect its core mission of poverty reduction — includ

One of Aramco’s holding tank farms (Source: CC) Saudi Arabian Oil Group, Saudi Aramco has emerged as the second largest company in the world after displacing Microsoft. Though it only has to displace Apple to become the largest company in the world. According to reports, Aramco’s current market value is $2.11 trillion, which is 7.92 trillion Saudi riyals. The company displaced Microsoft to become the second-largest company in the world in April 2023. Saudi Aramco’s profits for 2022 exceeded the profits of Apple, Microsoft, and ExxonMobil combined, according to the ranking on the Companies Market Cap website.  Fitch Ratings have also upgraded Saudi Aramco’s rating to A+, with a stable outlook. Background story In March 2023, Nairametrics reported that Saudi Aramco posted a net profit of $161.1 billion for 2022. This is the highest profit ever declared by an oil firm anywhere in the world. It is also the company’s highest-ever profits since being listed, by 46.5% to 604 billion riyals

“Public libraries are not places of government indoctrination. They are not places where the people in power can dictate what their citizens are permitted to read about and learn. When government actors target public library books because they disagree with and intend to suppress the ideas contained within them, it jeopardizes the freedoms of everyone.” Above is an excerpt from Texas residents’ lawsuit in an escalating book ban feud in Llano County, USA. Here in Nigeria, we suffered a similar fate when an important subject like history was removed from our junior secondary school curriculum sometime in 2010. Though it was later reinstated in the year 2018, that wasn't to be in the first instance. The reason is, government must allow us to know our past – ugly or glorious, and not try to sweep things under the carpet.  Our history defines our roots and perhaps lends an explanation to why things are the way they are today. Like Soren Kierkegaard – the famous Danish Existentialist onc

 Hello, Fellow Nigerians Praise be to God, the beneficent, the merciful who has blessed us to see this day March 18. It's a day many of us looked forward to.  Across the country today, 28 out of the 36 States would vote for whoever they want to be their governor and lawmakers for the next four years. If you don't vote in today's election, someone else's choice - good or bad, would affect you for the next four years.  Do you have a candidate? How about your voter card? If you answer yes to these two key questions, then there is no need for you to stay at home today. Stroll down to your polling unit and cast your vote. I'm on my way to the polling unit already. Recall, Politics is a game of numbers. Everyone may have their say but the majority always have the day. Please get involved and do this all-important civic duty for the love of the state and country. I hope your candidate wins. Stay alert and safe. May God bless you, our state Akwa Ibom and the federal republi

One of Nigeria's major problems is policy implementation. And it tells us on the face wherever we go. Over the years, many laudable policies have been enunciated by successive governments, but the ugly paradox remains that only a few of them have been implemented. Even the few successful ones haven't been implemented to the hilt, in fact. It only shows how irresponsible governments in Nigeria can be when they formulate policies without following through. Of recent, the Petroleum Industry Act, Nigeria Energy Transition Plan, National Autogas Initiative, etc have been merely announced but they remain, as we speak, largely unattended to yet the government keeps bringing up new ones. Today, all over the country we are talking about the Nigeria Agenda 2050; a decade-long national economic policy plan which is aimed at significantly improving per capita income, increasing real GDP growth by 7 per cent, creating 165 million new jobs and reducing the number of people living in poverty

Human beings are social animals and they value relationships. More so, why an aspiring leader - be it in business, church, or politics should build good relationships. Good leadership is built on relationships. People won't go along with you if they can't get along with you. In other words, they must be a common ground. The key to sparking this chemistry with people or your would-be followers is to develop relationships with them. If you can get close to them, feel their plight, and respect their sensitivities without breaching your integrity, you'll be able to lead up. All people have dreams, issues, or causes that connect them with you. Show that you are genuinely concerned about their experiences by not approaching them casually or suggesting that you do so for personal gain. Ideally, leaders should see the need to connect with the people they lead, and not the other way around. A true leader is the servant of the people and not their master. But in many places today, th

What is the problem with train accidents this year? Just three months into the new year, some shocking train incidents have been recorded, from Europe to America to Africa. On February 3, there was a train derailment in Ohio, Pennsylvania.  Last week in Greece, 57 people died in what can be termed the country's worst train disaster when two trains collided in the city of Larissa. This week Tuesday, a passenger train derailment in Cairo, Egypt killed at least 2, injuring 16 others. As though those weren't enough. Thursday this same week at about 7:15 am in Lagos, Nigeria, a fatal train-bus collision occurred at the level crossing in the Public Works Department (PWD) in Ikeja, Lagos killing at least six and leaving scores more injured.  The BRT bus which was laden with majorly state workers on a trip from Ikotun to the state secretariat in Alausa got hit seriously by a train running from Ijoko to Iddo. What has caused all these train crashes? Mostly, negligence to safety rules. B

With the world's human population fast approaching 8 billion people, does it occur to you there's ever going to be a time in the future when the world would be crowded with no more land left for human habitation? Definitely not soon. I mean every year at least 60 million babies are born and less than that number die (though 2022 is an exception because of COVID-19).  Maybe such a day will eventually come, perhaps that's one of the major factors prompting a scientific foray into space; to find another habitation for man.  In recent times, world rivals like China, the US, Russia, etc have gone on an expeditious journey to space more often than before in a bid to find a new foothold; call it home if you wish, and claim it first before anyone else does. This sounds more like a conspiratorial statement but it isn't.  This journey, it seems would never end, unless Jesus returns. Well, this is me just thinking out loud.