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JUST IN: President Tinubu Signs Executive Orders On Petroleum Sector Reform

Published

2 years ago

March 6, 2024

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Wednesday signed three executive orders, targeted at positioning Nigeria as a preferred oil and gas investment destination in Africa.

In a statement obtained by Vanguard, Special Adviser to the President on Media & Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, stated: “Following extensive engagements, analyses, and benchmarking with other jurisdictions, the President has initiated the amendment of primary legislation to introduce fiscal incentives for oil & gas projects, reduce contracting costs and timelines, and promote cost efficiency in local content requirements.

“Recognizing the urgency to accelerate investments, the President has directed as follows, Introduction of fiscal incentives for non-associated gas, midstream and deepwater developments, streamlining of contracting process to compress the contracting cycle to six months and ⁠the application of the local content requirements without hindering investments or the cost competitiveness.

“The details of these Policy Directives will be gazetted and communicated by the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation.

“These incentives were developed in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Justice, Federal Ministry of Finance, Federal Ministry of Petroleum, Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, Federal Inland Revenue Service, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, and the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board.

“The Special Adviser to the President on Energy has been directed to continue coordinating the aforementioned stakeholders to ensure the implementation of these directives within a stipulated time frame.”

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s oil production grew by 8.7 percent in January 2024 to 1.64 million barrels per day when compared to the 1.51 million barrels per day produced over corresponding period last year, latest data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC, has indicated.

The Commission in its crude oil and condensate production report for the month of January 2024 showed that average daily liquid production was 1.42 million barrels while average daily condensate production was 217,097 barrels.

A closer look at the report showed that in total, oil production for the month of January was 50.95 million barrels, made up of 44.44 million liquid production and 6.7 million barrels of condensate oil.

The Commission disclosed that Forcados with 8.7 million barrels and Bonny with 6.9 million barrels, were the highest reporting terminals.

The Commission Chief Executive, Engr. Gbenga Komolafe had recently said that NUPRC has adopted measures that would tackle challenges facing the oil and gas sector and boost production in the country.

In a presentation in Lagos, Komolafe said Nigeria’s oil production currently averages 1.586 million barrels per day, made up of 1.33mbpd liquid production and 256,000 condensate oil production.

He explained that measures adopted by the Commission include improved transparency in hydrocarbon measurement and accounting, collaborative work programme administration with the exploration & production companies, and close monitoring to ensure that they meet their work programme obligations.

Others are acceleration of field developments through timely approvals and ensuring speedy execution, production optimisation by ensuring wells are tested periodically and produced at optimal rates, identifying candidate wells for work-over and interventions as well as the adoption of Enhanced Oil Recovery processes and technologies.
VANGUARD

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Welcome Home, Israel Confirms Return Of 20 Hostages From Gaza

Published

21 hours ago

October 13, 2025

Editor

Israel said that the last 20 living hostages released by Hamas on Monday had arrived in the country.

“Welcome home,” the foreign ministry wrote in a series of posts on X, hailing the return of Matan Angrest, Gali Berman, Ziv Berman, Elkana Bohbot, Rom Braslavski, Nimrod Cohen, David Cunio, Ariel Cunio, Evyatar David, Guy Gilboa Dalal, Maxim Herkin, Eitan Horn, Segev Kalfon, Bar Kuperstein, Omri Miran, Eitan Mor, Yosef Haim Ohana, Alon Ohel, Avinatan Or and Matan Zangauker.

AFP

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20 Members Of Gang Blacklisted By US Escape Guatemala Prison

Published

23 hours ago

October 13, 2025

Editor

Twenty members of a gang designated a “foreign terrorist organisation” by the United States have escaped from detention in Guatemala, a prison chief said Sunday.

The members of the Barrio 18 gang “evaded security controls” at the Fraijanes II facility, prison director Ludin Godinez said at a news conference.

He received “an intelligence report” on Friday warning about the “possible escape” from the prison, which is southeast of the capital, Guatemala City.

Godinez said they were investigating possible acts of corruption.

Washington last month blacklisted Barrio 18, an El Salvador-based gang which has a reputation for violence and extortion, as part of its crackdown on drug trafficking.

The US embassy in Guatemala condemned the prison escape as “utterly unacceptable.”

“The United States designated members of this heinous group as the terrorists they are and will hold accountable anyone who has provided, provides, or decides to provide material support to these fugitives or other gang members,” the embassy said on X.

It called on the Guatemalan government to “act immediately and vigorously to recapture these terrorists.”

According to Interior Minister Francisco Jimenez, there are about 12,000 gang members and collaborators in Guatemala, while another 3,000 are in prison.

The country’s homicide rate has increased from 16.1 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2024 to 17.65 this year, more than double the world average, according to the Centre for National Economic Research.

According to the Salvadoran government, the gangs Barrio 18 and Mara Salvatrucha, better known as MS-13, are responsible for the deaths of about 200,000 people over three decades.

The two gangs once controlled an estimated 80 percent of El Salvador, which had one of the highest homicide rates in the world.

Headline

South Africa Bus Crash Kills 40 Including Malawi, Zimbabwe Nationals

Published

24 hours ago

October 13, 2025

Editor

At least 40 people, including nationals of Malawi and Zimbabwe, were killed when a passenger bus rolled down an embankment in South Africa, a provincial transport minister said Monday.

The bus travelling to Zimbabwe crashed around 90 kilometres (55 miles) from the border on Sunday after the driver apparently lost control, Limpopo province transport minister Violet Mathye said.

“They are still working on the scene, but 40 bodies have already been confirmed to date,” Mathye told the Newzroom Afrika channel. The dead included a 10-month-old girl, she said.

Thirty-eight people were in hospital and rescuers were searching for other victims, she told eNCA media.

The bus was travelling from the southern city of Gqeberha, around 1,500 kilometres away, and its passengers included Malawians and Zimbabweans who were working in South Africa. The crash may have been caused by driver fatigue or a mechanical fault, the minister said.

South Africa has a sophisticated and busy road network with a high rate of road deaths, blamed mostly on speeding, reckless driving and unroadworthy vehicles.

AFP