Energy
Re-‘Abduction’ Of 14 Journalists in Oporoza – TOMPOLO
BY HIGH CHIEF GOVERNMENT EKPEMUPOLO
However, it has become necessary to make clarifications in the face of the deliberate distortion of facts by some mischief-makers intent on denigrating my person and questioning my integrity before the larger society. More so, I am persuaded by the fact of my experience as a crusader for equity, fairness and justice the world over including the oppressed people of Gbaramatu Kingdom in Warri South-West Local Government Area, who have always found brotherliness and companionship in members of the Fourth Estate of the Realm.
In the case of the development of the Ijaws of the Niger-Delta which I have championed over the years, journalists have been worthy partners even as their contributions have served as veritable means to ventilate our views, opinions and positions as a people who have had cause to draw global attention to our plight.
However, in the matter of the hyped ‘abduction’ of journalists in Oporoza last week, it is perhaps pertinent to state that they were victims of an orchestrated and well-rehearsed saga by their Itsekiri clients who lured them into a trap. Suffice it to say that unknown to the journalists (some of whom are my friends) and before their arrival in Warri, their Itsekiri hosts had concluded plans to video-capture some Ijaw settlements, especially Ikpokpo community, to show to the world as Itsekiri lands in their desperate attempts to distort historical facts, especially as the hosting/citing of the EPZ project poses some challenges. It should be noted that the Gbaramatu people have been agitating for inclusion in the EPZ project since 2012, as of right that part of the land earmarked for the project starting from Ikpokpo community belongs to them.
It was on the strength of the above that in November 2013, the Gbaramatu people were invited alongside other stakeholders, to the unveiling meeting of the project at Government House Annex Warri by NNPC and the State Government. At the said meeting, the Gbaramatu people, out of curiosity, inquired why they have not been recognized as stakeholders by way of acquisition of land from them. But to their surprise, the Governor shut them out of the project and merely identified them as ‘impacted community’.
From that point on, it was obvious the siting of the EPZ project was beyond the ordinary. We needed no soothsayer to tell us that the Governor was hiding something from the Gbaramatu people. Even though the governor later set up a committee to resolve the issues raised by the Gbaramatu people, our anxiety and suspicion further heightened when the November 14 date for the ground-breaking ceremony was announced even though the committee was yet to come up with acceptable terms for the siting of the EPZ project.
By way of protest, the Gbaramatu people addressed a world press conference at Oporoza on Wednesday, November 12, 2014 to press home, among other things, the need to properly identify host communities for the EPZ project before its commencement. It should at juncture, be noted that as said earlier, journalists are friends and partners in progress. It was this thinking that informed our decision to host them to the world press conference held at Oporoza without molestation of any form. Similarly, the Gbaramatu Ijaws neither attempted to video-capture Itsekiri communities as they (Itsekiri) did in their own case.
It is no longer news that the Federal Government did call off the ground-breaking ceremony pending the resolution of the issues, basically on the strength of our position and submissions canvassed at that world press conference which journalists also effectively relayed to the public. It is therefore out of place for the Itsekiri people to manipulate innocent journalists in this regard to the extent of going through the unfortunate ordeal in which I also sympathize with them.
I must emphasize at this point that the claim by the Itsekiri people that the journalists were on their way to cover the ground-breaking event can only be misleading. This is because the event had been called off four days before the presence of the journalists in Ikpokpo, precisely on Sunday 16th November 2014
Of course the media has been awash with personal insults on the President just as the Ugborodo (Itsekiri) people at this point also threatened to deal with the Gbaramatu people. True to the threats, they (Itsekiri) came to Ikpokpo community in two speed boats on a Sunday morning ostensibly to attack the community. While one of the boats escaped, the community intercepted the other and discovered that journalists were among other occupants. In addition, and to the amazement of the villagers, two guns and the sum of Two Million Naira cash were found in the intercepted boat.
At this point, the community had no option than to report the matter to the security agencies. It should however be noted that upon identification, no journalist was molested as widely claimed by mischief makers. The truth is that the people of Ikpokpo community immediately insisted on taking the intruders using journalists as shield to Oporoza, the traditional headquarters of Gbaramatu Kingdom. This was a sensible move as the continued stay on the river with the intruders could not have been in the interest of either party. To say the least therefore, it can only be out sheer mischief that people with dubious intents could describe such move as an ‘abduction’.
High Chief Ekpemupolo
In the bid to ease crude oil offtake by domestic refiners, address pricing and logistics challenges, the Nigerian government is taking a look at proposals for direct crude supplies and discounts to domestic refineries.
The Crude Oil Refinery-owners Association of Nigeria (CORAN), revealed that the proposals touch on allowing producers to deliver crude directly to nearby refineries and granting refiners a discount for transportation and handling costs embedded in the price of crude.
This was disclosed in a report by Reuters on Wednesday.
The report read, “The Federal Government is considering changes to crude allocation and pricing rules to improve feedstock access for its refiners, including Dangote Refinery.”
READ ALSO: NMDPRA Licenses LCFE for Petroleum Liquids Trading
The review comes as compliance with the domestic crude supply framework improved sharply in the second quarter of 2026, although refiners continue to complain that the cost and structure of domestic crude transactions make locally sourced feedstock expensive.
A spokesperson for CORAN, Eche Idoko, told Reuters that one of the proposals would enable producers, particularly those operating within international oil companies’ networks, to deliver crude directly to refineries located close to their production facilities.
Under the arrangement, the crude volumes could subsequently be reconciled at the relevant terminal, potentially reducing the need to transport the crude through longer trunkline routes.
Idoko said the proposal would bring crude closer to refineries while reducing some of the logistics costs associated with domestic supply. A second proposal would address the pricing component of domestic crude transactions.
Under the arrangement, refiners that lift crude directly from production facilities could receive a discount corresponding to freight and handling costs incorporated into the Brent-linked price of crude but which the refiners do not actually incur.
Idoko described the proposed arrangement as beneficial to both sides of the transaction. “Under one proposal, a producer linked to an IOC’s network could deliver crude directly to a nearby refinery, with volumes reconciled later at the terminal.
“This would reduce reliance on trunklines and bring crude closer to refiners. A second proposal would allow refiners that lift crude directly from production facilities to receive a discount reflecting the freight and handling costs embedded in Brent-linked pricing but not actually incurred by them. This could be a win-win for both the producers and refiners,” the report noted.
The proposed changes are coming against the backdrop of complaints by local refiners that the pricing structure for domestic crude makes their feedstock more expensive than necessary.
Recall that the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals (DPRP) had estimated that Nigeria’s pricing structure could add between $3 and $4 per barrel to the cost of crude purchased by domestic refiners because transactions are often routed through trading arms of producers.
Energy analysts have similarly identified pricing, rather than the physical availability of crude, as one of the major challenges facing domestic refiners. The issue is particularly significant for the Dangote Refinery, Africa’s largest refinery, which has a nameplate capacity of 700,000 barrels per day.
Although the refinery has significantly increased its operations, securing adequate volumes of locally produced crude at competitive prices remains a key issue for the development of Nigeria’s refining industry.
Nigeria has met and exceeded its Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) quota of 1.5mbpd for the third consecutive month.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday.
The statement has it that in July 2026, Nigeria produced 1.505mbpd of crude oil and 0.17mbpd of condensate, making combined daily production to 1.67mbpd.
During the month under review, the daily peak production of crude oil and condensate was 1.78mbpd, while the lowest daily production was 1.57mbpd.
Although Nigeria met its OPEC quota in July, the statistics show that, on a month-on-month basis, production fell by 4 per cent.
READ ALSO: NNPC/Shell Vision First Initiative Impact over 10,000
The NUPRC attributed the decline in production to operational challenges at the Erha and Akpo fields, which affected output during the period under review.
These disruptions constrained production volumes and contributed significantly to the overall reduction in national crude oil output.
Despite the challenges, production operations across most other producing assets remained relatively stable, with operators implementing measures to maintain production efficiency and minimise the impact of operational constraints.
Crude oil and condensate supply to local refineries rose by 88.4 percent to 53.7 million barrels in the second quarter of 2026, Q2’26, from 28.5 million barrels in the first quarter, Q1’26, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC, has said.
The commission, in its Q2 2026 statistics on the enforcement of the Domestic Crude Supply Obligation, DCSO, said the 53.7 million barrels supplied to domestic refiners represented 97.4 percent performance during the quarter.
The DCSO is being enforced by the NUPRC pursuant to Section 109 of the Petroleum Industry Act, PIA, which provides for the supply of crude oil produced in Nigeria to domestic refineries.
According to the commission, the increase in crude supply coincided with higher domestic oil production and the execution of long-term crude supply agreements supported by bankable Sales and Purchase Agreements, SPAs, between producers and domestic refiners.
READ ALSO: Oil Prices Jump Further as Hopes for Hormuz Deal Fade
The NUPRC said it conducts monthly consultations with crude oil producers and licensed domestic refineries, following which specific volumes of crude oil and condensate are allocated to producers for supply to local refiners.
It, however, noted that the DCSO operates on a “willing buyer, willing seller” basis in accordance with the PIA, which affects the volumes eventually supplied and accepted.
In April, the NUPRC allocated 18.13 million barrels to producers, while producers offered 19.31 million barrels to domestic refiners. Actual supply stood at 20.88 million barrels, representing 114.9 percent performance against the allocation.
In May, the commission allocated 18.78 million barrels, while producers offered 23.19 million barrels to local refiners. Actual supply fell to 14.23 million barrels, representing 75.8 percent compliance.
Supply increased in June, with the NUPRC allocating 18.17 million barrels to producers, while producers offered 26.84 million barrels to refiners. Actual supply stood at 18.61 million barrels, representing 102.4 percent performance.
The commission said the figures showed that the DCSO was being actively administered and enforced, adding that the improvement was supported by increased crude production and stronger commercial arrangements between producers and refiners.
At the refinery level, the NUPRC said Dangote Refinery required 63 million barrels of crude in Q2, while producers offered 68.1 million barrels.
The 68.1 million barrels offered represented 98 percent of the total crude volumes offered by producers during the quarter.
However, the refinery accepted 52.6 million barrels, representing 78 percent of the volume offered to it.
The NUPRC said it remained committed to supporting the Federal Government’s objective of achieving energy sufficiency by leveraging the PIA to sustain the growth in crude oil production and continuously enforce the DCSO.
State Police Bill: FG Extends Deadline for Nigerians to Submit Memoranda
Cabinet Shake-Up: Okpebholo Redeploys Suspended Commissioner, Names New Portfolios
N2bn Cannabis Bust: Customs Intercepts 6,035 Wraps in Ogun
Osun Election: Fear, Violence May Suppress Voter Turnout — Yiaga Africa
FG Contemplates Direct Crude Supplies, Discounts to Refineries
NMDPRA Licenses LCFE for Petroleum Liquids Trading
Trump’s Family Unveils New Cryptocurrency Platform
Senate Denies Receiving Petitions Against Tinubu’s Ambassadorial Nominees
Dangote Cement Lights Up Benue Host Communities With CSR Initiatives
Reps Recommend 3-year Jail Term For Aviation minister
Tems Sets New Record On Billboard Hot 100 Chart
439348 167480To know wisdom and instruction, to perceive the words of understanding 309173
655933 155568I got what you intend,bookmarked , quite decent internet web site . 527102