Energy
Nigerian Power crises: Manitoba pledges to work closely with TCN staff
As a move to enhance a peaceful take-over and management of the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, following the crises which broke out in the nation’s power sector after the take-over of TCN by Manitoba Hydro International , the new CEO of the company, Don Priestman has said that the new management will work closely with the legal TCN staff, particularly during the transitional month to ensure a seamless takeover from legal management.
By Joseph BAIDELE
ABUJA – As a move to enhance a peaceful take-over and management of the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, following the crises which broke out in the nation’s power sector after the take-over of TCN by Manitoba Hydro International , the new CEO of the company, Don Priestman has said that the new management will work closely with the legal TCN staff, particularly during the transitional month to ensure a seamless takeover from legal management.
He said this at a familiarization meeting convened by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission at its headquarters in Abuja. He was accompanied by other senior management staff TCN.
According to him, the new management’s experience and technological wherewithal will be brought to bear in the management of the TCN, adding that the company expects to work with skilled legacy staff to deliver an efficient transmission system for the country.
He said, “We are assuring the staff of TCN that we are committed to the growth and development of the company, using the most modern technology to bring the vision of government towards efficient power transmission to millions of Nigerians.
“Our experience over many years in power systems management would certainly come to bear on the management of TCN, and we are more than ready to keep the promises we made on expanding power transmission infrastructure to provide Nigerians with more reliable power.”
Mr. Priestman, meanwhile, presented a diagnostic of TCN, focusing on the inherent manpower levels and skills gap deficit and succession planning.
He also presented a proposal for steps that should be taken towards full TCN unbundling and ring fencing of Transmission Service Provider (TSP), System Operator (SO) and Market Operator (MO) functions by way of sufficient sustainable TCN revenues and capital budget approvals, staff training, skills development and succession planning and strong enforcement of Market Rules by NERC, to name a few.
The Electric Power Sector Reform (EPSR) Act of 2005 requires that TCN be made up of two entities namely System Operations and the Transmission system Provider. Market Operations which is domiciled in System Operations, is also to be ring fenced. Ring fencing refers to separation that translates to financial and operational autonomy. It is believed that the separation of these entities will lead to reduction of bureaucracy and ultimately, enhanced efficiency.
Dr. Sam Amadi – Chairman/CEO of NERC informed Mr. Priestman and his team that the Commission wanted to see an efficient transmission system, and has promised to work closely with TCN to realize this.
Manitoba Hydro International, a company won the contract on April 3 through a bidding process conducted by the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE). They assumed operational control of the company on 30th July, 2012.
The TCN is one of the companies scheduled for Management Contract deal to transit it into a financially sustainable, self-sufficient and market-driven player in the power sector.
Manitoba, which is the electric power and natural gas utility in the province of Manitoba, Canada currently operate 15 interconnected generating stations and has more than 572,000 electric power customers and over 263,000 natural gas customers. Its world-class technical and organizational capabilities have enabled it to perform power sector works in over 60 countries.
Within Manitoba Hydro’s system, there exists a total of 9,089 km of transmission lines throughout the province of Manitoba, spread across a wide variety of physical terrain, including swamps, permafrost and bedrock.
TCN is one of the eighteen successor companies carved out of Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN.) It combines the functions of a transmission services provider, a system operator and a market operator, all of which are central to the sustainability and development of the electricity sector.
Following unbundling, TCN emerged as one of the successor companies of PHCN and was scheduled for a Management Contract in order to transit the company into a financially sustainable, stable, self-sufficient and market-driven company.
Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Ltd (SNEPCo) rode on new wells, optimized reservoir and optimal facility management to produce more oil at Bonga in 2023 than the previous one, a review of operations has shown.
Biztellers reports that Nigeria’s first deep-water development produced some 138,000 barrels of oil per day (boepd) in 2023 compared to around 101,000 in 2022.
The improvement, Biztellers gathered, was driven by drilling of new wells, optimising reservoir and facility management and excellent asset management, inter alia.
Managing Director, SNEPCo, Elohor Aiboni, said, “Bonga continues to justify the investments and hard work that led to its discovery.
“The uptick in production is the result of commitment by staff, continuous improvements in production processes and maintenance and the support of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd (NNPC) and our co-venture partners – TotalEnergies Nigeria Limited, Nigerian Agip Exploration and Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited.
“Working together, we will continue to power lives and deliver value to all stakeholders.”
Recall that Bonga began production in November 2005 through the 225,000-barrels-per-day capacity Bonga FPSO, anchored 120 kilometres offshore. The FPSO exported the 1 billionth barrel of oil last year.
The operations have resulted in remittance of taxes and royalties to the Government of Nigeria to finance development, development of indigenous contactors and service providers, and a wide-ranging social investment portfolio which has improved lives across the country.
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has reassured industry stakeholders that oil and gas service companies that have established capacities in the country will continue to enjoy patronage.
The Executive Secretary, NCDMB, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe made this commitment on Friday in Port Harcourt, Rivers State when he led officials of the Board and Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) to visit companies that deliver pipe coating and related services.
The team visited Brightwaters Energy Limited, formerly known as Willbros Nigeria Ltd, Solewant Nigeria Limited and Pipe Coaters Nigeria, managed by Tenaris Nigeria Ltd.
According to the ES, the visits were to assess the companies’ facilities and determine how the Board can galvanize the industry to patronise them.
He underscored the importance of getting first-hand information on in-country capabilities before making key decisions on oil and gas projects. He insisted that operating companies must support and patronise local oil and gas service companies in compliance with the provisions of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act.
Ogbe emphasized that activities in the Nigerian oil and gas industry must be used to create employment opportunities for the nation’s teeming youths and help to resuscitate the economy, in line with the aspirations of President Ahmed Bola Tinubu.
The Chief Executive Officer of Brightwaters Energy Limited, Scott Gregory thanked the ES for leading the visit while highlighting that Brightwaters carried out Nigeria’s first pipe coating in 1962.
He recalled that the facility had 3,000 employees some years back, executing various spheres of oil and gas projects. He conveyed the management’s aspiration to return the
firm to those high-performance levels and sought the Board’s support to win oil and gas projects that would resuscitate the sprawling facility.
“We feel that we can be a positive contributor to Nigeria through the capacities that we have. We want to bring real, true value to the table,” he added.
He admitted that the coating facility had suffered downtime, but assured that the plant would be up and running within 60 days of the award of a new contract.
The Chairman of Tenaris Nigeria, Dr. Ernest Nwapa welcomed the NCDMB’s team to PCNL’s facilities.
He commended the efforts made by the agency to push local content in the industry, attributing it to the good culture that had been established at the Board over the years.
Nwapa, who was the pioneer Executive Secretary of the NCDMB expressed delight that some of the oil and gas projects that had been pending for nearly ten years were now being developed and expressed hope that existing local capacities would be maximized in the execution of those projects.
The team was taken around the company’s facilities and shown the various equipment of PCNL in readiness for the award of new contracts.
Nwapa pledged the commitment of the company to meet the expectations of clients as well as allow them to participate in the supervision of the work in their factory.
The PCNL facility covers an area of 160,000 m2 in the Onne Free Trade Zone. The company offers Anticorrosion, CWC, Thermal Insulation, Internal and Bends Coating plants as well as Double Jointing and Anode Installation Facilities.
At Solewant Group, an EPCI and Pipe Coating Company, the NCDMB delegation was shown round the company’s facilities as well as the new investments, such as the 5mega watts generators, procured to guarantee power supply to the facility.
Accompanying Engr. Ogbe on the facility visits were the Director Projects Certification and Authorization Division (PCAD), Engr. Abayomi Bamidele, General Manager PCAD, Engr. Maurice Iwhiwhu, Special Technical Assistant (STA) to the Executive Secretary, Engr. Mofe Megbele, Deputy Manager, Corporate Communications, Mr. Obinna Ezeobi, and other staff members of the Board.
The SPDC team was led by the General Manager, Nigerian Content Development, Mr.Lanre Olawuyi.
The NNPC Exploration and Production Limited (NNPC E&P Ltd), NNPC Ltd’s flagship upstream subsidiary, and Natural Oilfield Services Ltd (NOSL), a subsidiary of Sterling Oil Exploration & Energy Production Company Ltd (SEEPCO), has announced the successful commencement of oil production at Oil Mining Lease (OML) 13 in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria.
Biztellers reports that the production commenced on the 6th of May 2024 with 6,000 barrels of oil with expectations to be ramped up to 40,000 barrels per day by May 27th, 2024.
The first oil flow from OML 13 is a historic milestone in the partnership between NNPC E&P Ltd and NOSL, highlighting their dedication to driving growth and development in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, which remains a vital component of the nation’s economy.
The achievement does not only signify the culmination of rigorous planning and execution by the teams involved, but also represents a new era of economic empowerment and development opportunities for the host communities.
Furthermore, for Nigeria, the first oil from OML 13 holds some significance as it contributes to the country’s efforts to increase its oil production capacity, which is crucial for meeting domestic energy needs and driving economic growth.
The NNPC E&P Ltd and NOSL partnership is also committed to operating in a manner that is safe, environmentally responsible, and beneficial to the local communities.
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