Energy
Senate Intervenes in OGFZA, NMDPRA Impasse
The Senate Committee on Petroleum Sector has vowed to end the existing jurisdictional regulatory conflict between the Nigerian Midstream & Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and Oil and Gas Free Zone Authority (OGFZA).
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Downstream Petroleum Sector, Senator Sulaiman Abdulrahman Kawu Sumaila stated this at the Committee’s 5-day retreat in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
Senator Sumaila assured that the committee will, at the end of the retreat, come up with practical and implementable recommendations that will promote harmony, investors’ confidence, energy security and sustainable economic development.
He explained that the retreat was designed to provide a neutral platform for constructive engagements among all relevant stakeholders.
He added, “The objectives of the retreat are to facilitate meaningful dialogue among all stakeholders on issues arising from the overlapping statutory mandates; develop practical coordination framework capable of promoting seamless regulations, while respecting the lawful mandates of the institutions involved.
“The committee will also examine whether legislative clarification or amendment is required, study and identify ambiguities as well as to ensure that the outcomes of the retreat are in line with national security, consumer protection, market stability and economic growth.
“I want to assure the stakeholders that the committee will examine every presentation, submissions and legal argument placed before it during the retreat.
“At the conclusion of its deliberations, the committee will formulate unbiased, evident-based and objective recommendations aimed for providing both immediate and long-term solutions to the jurisdictional regulatory issues that have arisen.
“Where permanent legislation, policy or constitutional reforms are required to prevent conflicts among the agencies, the committee will not hesitate to recommend such measures in the override interest of the nation.
“Our ultimate goal is to establish a regulatory environment characterized by regularities, cooperation, accountability, efficiency and legal certainty; one that supports engagement, promotes healthy institutional collaboration, safeguard national interest and strengthens Nigeria’s position as leading energy hub in Africa.
In his good will message, the Managing Director of the Oil and Gas Free Zone Authority, Alhaji Bamanga Usman Jada, appealed to all regulatory stakeholders in the petroleum sector to desist from promoting unhealthy jurisdictional ambiguity among the federal government agencies.
ALSO READ: Nigerian Airline Decries Impact of Global Oil Crisis
Alhaji Jada explained that all regulatory agencies in the sub-sector were expected to create a business-enabling environment that promotes regulatory cooperation among agencies, saying “this should be done relying on the global principles of the rules of law, with concerted efforts to continue building and sustaining investors’ confidence.
“If Nigeria is to become Africa’s foremost energy and industrial hub, Free zone investors like Dangote Industries Free Zone must be allowed to enjoy the one-stop-shop principle which is being practiced in all successful Free Zones across the globe.
“They all operate one coordinated regulatory system, and all institutions of government in Nigeria must continue to be encouraged to understand the greater national objectives of the Free zone scheme.”
Energy
NMDPRA Issues Updates on Q3 Crude Supplies to Domestic Refineries
From January to September 2026, the domestic refineries in Nigeria received 156.52 million barrels of crude oil.
Of the volume, 125.85million barrels (80.4 percent) were sourced from in-country while 30.66 million barrels (19.6 percent) were imported.
This was contained in the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) Factsheet September 2026 released on Thursday.
The Factsheet specifically revealed that in September 2026, 38.7 million litres of the Premium Motor Spirit PMS (petrol) were received per day, crashing from the 50.5million litres per day received in August by 23 percent.
READ ALSO: Thor Empowers Host Communities with 10 Cassava, Palm Oil Processing Plants
Stock sufficiency in September was 23.9 days, declining below the 30-day threshold.
The NMDPRA stressed that while 28.7million litres were supplied per day from domestic sources, declining by 21 percent from the previous month, 10.2 million litres were imported, reducing imported petrol by 30 percent in the period under review.
According to the Factsheet, “Domestic refining contributed about 65 percent of the national petrol requirement (consumption) in September 2026, and about 74 percent of receipts, supplemented by 26 percent of imports”.
The Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals Company (DPRP) is the only domestic refinery which currently produces petrol in Nigeria.
The report added that the DPRP produced 47.22 million litres per day of PMS in September, supplying 28.50 million litres per day to the domestic market and exporting (35.2 percent) 15.47 million litres per day.
On capacity utilization, the refinery recorded 105.98 percent of its 650,000 barrels per day capacity in the period under review.
The Factsheet disclosed that 8.7million litres of diesel were consumed in the month under review.
The NMDPRA revealed that modular refineries supplied 4.3 percent of domestic diesel consumption in September.
Aradel and OPAC, said the Factsheet, operated below optimal capacity due to feedstock challenges and maintenance shutdowns.
September diesel receipts, according to the NMDPRA, were the lowest of the 13 months, driven by low imports and low domestic evacuation amid high prices.
The Factsheet said, “Nigeria’s energy-sector transformation is progressing. Domestic refining contributed about 65 percent of the national petrol requirement (consumption) in September 2026, and about 74 percent of receipts, supplemented by 26 percent of imports.
“Priority gas projects have reached significant mileage, with the AKK pipeline at 84 percent completion as of September 2026,” the Factsheet pointed out.
Energy
Renaissance, Sterling Bank Back Indigenous Oil and Gas Contractors Financially
The appetite for improving access to capital for indigenous oil and gas contractors, strengthening the capacity of Nigerian businesses to execute critical energy projects and contribute to the country’s production ambitions, has seen the Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited (‘Renaissance’) go into a strategic financing partnership with Sterling Bank Limited.
The partnership, formalised through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), brings Sterling Bank into the renewed Renaissance Vendor Financing Scheme (RVFS), a structured financing programme designed to address one of the longstanding challenges confronting indigenous service providers in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry: access to timely and affordable funding for contract execution.
READ ALSO: Group Demands Fair Share of NNPC Jobs for Ogoni Oil Exploration
The expanded programme brings together 13 financial institutions with combined financing commitments of $4.1 billion and ₦435 billion, creating a substantial pool of capital to support eligible contractors delivering projects for Renaissance, operator of the former Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) joint venture assets.
Speaking on its participation, Dele Faseemo, Group Executive, Corporate and Investment Banking at Sterling Bank, described the partnership as an important opportunity to connect financial capacity with productive enterprise in one of Nigeria’s most strategically important sectors.
“At Sterling Bank, we believe financing should enable capable businesses to deliver, grow and compete. Our participation in the Renaissance Vendor Financing Scheme reflects that conviction. By providing structured funding to qualified contractors, we are supporting the businesses that keep the energy value chain moving, strengthening Nigerian content participation and contributing to the broader objective of increasing the country’s productive capacity,” Faseemo said.
For many indigenous contractors, securing a major contract represents only the first step towards business growth. The ability to mobilise equipment, procure materials, retain skilled personnel and meet demanding project timelines often depends on access to adequate working capital. Financing constraints can therefore limit the capacity of otherwise qualified businesses to execute contracts, scale their operations and participate more meaningfully in the energy value chain.
Through the RVFS, participating financial institutions will provide structured financing to eligible contractors against confirmed contracts awarded by Renaissance, subject to applicable credit assessment and approval processes. The arrangement is intended to ease funding pressures, improve project execution and strengthen the financial capacity of indigenous service providers.
Tony Attah, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited, highlighted the importance of the financing arrangement to the company’s growth ambitions.
“What we’ve been able to achieve as Renaissance is to go into that partnership with these incredible 13 banks who have come up to support this vendor scheme at over $4 billion and over ₦435 billion funds available for the vendors to be able to support us in our growth agenda,” Attah said.
He further emphasised the financial advantage the scheme offers participating contractors, noting that, “The interest rate that the banks are offering to the contractors is very competitive, and it is certainly better than the vendors going out to the respective banks on their own.”
The Renaissance Vendor Financing Scheme builds on a contractor financing programme established in 2010, which has evolved over the years to support local service providers executing projects across the oil and gas value chain. Its latest expansion comes as Renaissance pursues an ambitious growth strategy, including its aspiration to achieve production of one million barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2030.
Delivering on this ambition will require sustained investment not only in upstream production assets but also in the network of engineering firms, equipment suppliers, logistics providers, technical specialists and other indigenous businesses whose services are essential to operational performance.
With an established presence in corporate banking and energy sector financing, Sterling Bank continues to support businesses operating across critical segments of the Nigerian economy through tailored financial solutions, strategic partnerships and sector-specific expertise.
The collaboration reinforces the Bank’s commitment to supporting indigenous enterprise development, strengthening local capacity and financing productive economic activity, while contributing to efforts to improve Nigeria’s energy security and long-term industrial competitiveness.
Energy
UNDC Assures on Readiness to Protect Oil, Gas Pipelines
The Niger Delta Youths are primed to assume national responsibilities in critical areas of the economy by protecting vital oil and gas assets in the region.
The United Niger Delta Congress (UNDC) gave the assurance at a media briefing in Abuja, over the weekend, adding that the youths of Niger Delta were ready to work with the federal government in this regard.
The group maintained that youths in the region have shown that such responsibilities, including the security of pipelines, can be entrusted to them.
Speaking at the news conference, Niger Delta Youth activist, Mallam Julius Obi, said the Niger Delta is safer while the nation’s crude is flowing based on the fact that youths in the region are doing the job.
He said that being a youth should not be a disqualification from strategic national assignments but when matched with preparation and character, a national asset.
“We are calling on the federal government to note that Nigeria is full of young men and women who are prepared, disciplined and ready to carry out national responsibilities.
“We urge the federal government to keep opening the doors of strategic national service to young Nigerians who have earned trust the only way it can be earned, by delivery,” Obi said.
READ ALSO: JUST IN: Ex-Delta Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan Is Dead
The group commended President Bola Tinubu for sustaining the security reforms in the oil and gas industry and the the National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, for coordinating the protection of the nation’s pipelines, and the management of NNPCL for providing the enabling environment.





