Excess crude account: States get $1bn

President Goodluck Jonathan has approved distribution of $1billion from the excess crude account among the 36 States and FCT.
This was part of decisions taken at the National Economic council at its first meeting for the year.
Governor of Rivers State Rotimi Amaechi who briefed newsmen after the meeting said there is a total balance of $9.242 billion, in the excess crude account after $1billion was spent on subsidy payments by the Federal Government.

Dutch court to rule on Shell Oil spills

Dutch judges are ruling in a landmark civil action by Nigerian farmers who want to hold oil giant Shell liable for poisoning their fish ponds and farmlands with leaking pipelines.

The decision could set a legal precedent for holding multinationals responsible for their actions overseas.

Lawyers for the four Nigerians from the oil-rich Niger Delta argue Shell makes key policy decisions at its Hague headquarters, so the Dutch court has jurisdiction.

Royal Dutch Shell PLC long argued that the case, which was launched in 2008, should be heard in Nigeria.

The case at The Hague Civil Court marks the first time a Dutch company has been sued for alleged environmental mismanagement caused by a foreign subsidiary and could pave the way for similar claims if it succeeds.

Repsol to sell LNG assets to Shell

Spanish oil major Repsol will likely sell its liquefied natural gas assets to Shell.

Repsol is selling the assets based in Canada, Trinidad and Tobago and Peru to boost its finances and credit ratings. Analysts say Repsol's future share price depends on a successful sale.

Reports have named France's GDF Suez and Russian companies Gazprom and Novatek as interested in the assets, alongside Sinopec of China and Gail of India.

NERC Considers IPP’s Request for Special Power Trade Tariff

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has said it was considering a request for special power trade tariff made by an Independent Power Producer (IPP) Azura Powers for sale of electricity generated from its 450 megawatts (MW) thermal plant located in Edo state.

Chairman of NERC, Dr. Sam Amadi, stated at a media briefing in Abuja that although the commission was considering the request by the IPP, it would however not engage in hasty decisions that could hurt operation in Nigeria’s emerging power sector.

Amadi disclosed that the request would be open for extensive discussion by stakeholders in the sector, adding that such request was peculiar in a sector that is undergoing a transitional phase in market rules and operations.

The 450MW Azura-Edo IPP is an Open Cycle Gas Turbine (OCGT) power station and an early project to be initiated by Azura Power in its 1000MW IPP facility being developed near Benin City.

The plant is sited on a 100 hectare, large enough to accommodate future expansion of the power plant. In line with extant regulations in the sector, the project has achieved certain key milestones that include acquisition of an IPP operational licence, Certificate of Occupancy (C of O), signing of a project implementation agreement with Edo state government, completion of an environmental and social impact assessment and resettlement action plan up to World Bank standards and grant of transmission connection.

It has also completed its equity financing framework and shortlisted for World Bank Partial Risk Guarantee (PRG) series for funding support. Accordingly, it is in its final rounds of negotiations on Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the bulk trader as well as negotiations on Gas Purchase and Transportation Agreements. Azura expects to reach financial closure soon and begin construction in 2013.

Qatar to invest $5 bln into Malaysia petrochemical complex

Qatar's sovereign wealth fund plans to spend half of the $10 billion it expects to invest in Malaysia on a petrochemicals complex aimed at transforming the Southeast Asian nation into a global hub for the oil and gas trade.

The Pengerang Integrated Petroleum Complex in the southern state of Johor is expected to help Malaysia compete with neighbouring Singapore to become the region's top petrochemical hub.

Pengerang is expected to accumulate 170 billion ringgit ($55.84 billion) in investments by the time it begins operations in 2016. The complex includes the 60-billion-ringgit Petronas Refinery and Petrochemicals (RAPID) project by state-owned oil firm Petroliam Nasional Bhd.

Qatar Holding will spend 2 billion ringgit ($656.92 million)to build a luxury Harrods-brand hotel in the city center. The hotel is jointly developed by Jerantas Sdn Bhd, linked to Malaysia's sixth-richest man Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary.

Qatar Holding spent 100 million ringgit last year to establish itself as a cornerstone investor in agricultural commodities firm Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd. ($1 = 3.0445 Malaysian ringgit)

Barge with 80,000 Gallons of Oil Hits Bridge, Leaks

A barge laden with 80,000 gallons of oil struck a railroad bridge in Vicksburg, Mississippi spilling light crude into the Mississippi River and closing the waterway for miles each way, the Coast Guard said. A second barge was damaged. Although an oily sheen was reported up to three miles downriver from Vicksburg, investigators were uncertain how much of the oil had spilled when the bridge was hit.

The oil sheen from the incident was unlikely to pose a threat to the Gulf of Mexico, located more than 340 river miles south of Vicksburg. Authorities were still trying to pinpoint the leak’s source, but it appeared to be coming from one or two tanks located at the stern of the first barge.

United States Environmental Services, a response-and-remediation company, was working to contain the oil with booms before collecting it.

Railroad traffic was allowed to continue after the bridge was found safe for trains.

The last time an oil spill closed a portion of the lower Mississippi River, it was for less than a day last February 2012 after an oil barge and a construction barge collided, spilling less than 10,000 gallons of oil. In 2008, a fuel barge collided with a tanker and broke in half, dumping 283,000 gallons of heavy crude into the waterway, and closing the river for six days.