Iraq names pre-qualified builders for Jordan oil pipe project

Iraq has pre-qualified 12 companies and joint ventures to build an $18-billion export pipeline to Jordan, the oil ministry said. The plan is to export 1 million barrels per day (bpd) of Iraqi crude to Jordan, of which 150,000 bpd will supply Jordan's Zarqa refinery. The remainder would be exported through the Red Sea port of Aqaba, reducing Iraq's reliance on the Strait of Hormuz shipping route.

After stagnating for years due to war and sanctions, Iraq's oil output began to rise significantly in 2010 and output reached 3.1 million bpd in August. Iraq expects output to rise by 400,000 bpd by the end of this year, mainly due to the start-up of the Majnoon oilfield operated by Royal Dutch Shell.

The short-listed companies and partnerships set for the next stage of the selection process to build the pipeline from Haditha near Baghdad to the Jordanian border are:

China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC)

Daewoo International, Lukoil, Marubeni, Mitsui, Saipem, Toyota Tsusho, Go Gas, Larsen & Toubro and Fius Capital, Orascom with Petrojet, Petrofac and Stroygazconsulting, Punj Lloyd Group and Mass Global International (Iraq)

Nigerian Navy Inaugurates Website on Crude Oil Theft

Nigerian Navy has inaugurated a new website on crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism in order to create a channel through which information on how to curb the menace would be passed across to the citizenry, relevant stakeholders and concerned authorities.

This was contained in a statement by the Director of Information, Nigerian Navy, Commodore Kabiru Aliyu.

Aliyu said the move was in furtherance of the directive of President Goodluck Jonathan on October 8, 2012 to the Nigerian Navy to ensure that crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism are wiped out from the nation’s maritime environment.

He explained that the website, www.cot.navy.mil.ng provides details relating to exploration, nominations, approvals, movement and trans-shipment of petroleum products as promulgated by relevant authorities.

The Naval spokesman further explained that the website would serves as a platform to share information, exchange ideas with the international community and report suspicious activities.
He said the website would also generate the desired global awareness on the scourge of oil theft and pipeline vandalism.

FG to Spend $400m on Trans-Africa Gas Pipeline Project

The Acting Director General, Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission (ICRC), Mr. Ghaji Bello has stated that the Federal Government would commit $400 million into the Trans-Africa Gas Pipeline project. He said the project which would run from Nigeria to Algeria, is expected to be completed in 2018,

Bello made the disclosure in Abuja at a two- day Technical Workshop on Presidential Infrastructure Champion Initiative (PICI) organised by the New Partnership for Africa’s Development, (NEPAD) with the theme: “PICI: A Panacea for Sustainable Growth and Development in Africa.’

The project, according to Bello, runs through several African countries and is expected to boost the economic activities of the areas and increase intra-Africa regional trade.

Nigerian farmers sue Shell

Four Nigerian farmers take on Shell in a Dutch court accusing the oil giant of destroying their livelihoods in a case that could set a precedent for global environmental responsibility. The civil suit, backed by lobby group Friends of the Earth, alleges that oil spills dating back to 2005 by the Anglo-Dutch company made fishing and farming in the plaintiffs’ Niger Delta villages impossible.

The case was initially filed in 2008, demanding that Royal Dutch Shell clean up the mess, repair and maintain defective pipelines to prevent further damage and pay out compensation.

In a landmark ruling, the Dutch judiciary in 2009 declared itself competent to try the case despite protests from Shell that its Nigerian subsidiary was solely legally responsible for any damage.

Oil pollution has ravaged swathes of the Niger Delta in the world’s eighth largest oil producer, which exports more than two million barrels a day. Shell is the biggest producer in Nigeria where it has been drilling for over 50 years. Environmental groups accuse Shell of double standards and treating spills in Nigeria differently from pollution in Europe or North America.

The 2010 explosion and sinking of BP’s Deepwater Horizon rig led to around five million barrels of oil leaking into the Gulf of Mexico in the biggest ever marine spill. Shell says that spills in Nigeria are well below five million barrels and that the company cleans up whenever there is a leak, many of which it says are caused by sabotage.

Pipeline Fire Kills 20 in Abia

About 20 persons have so far been confirmed dead in Abia State following a fire outbreak from a broken petroleum pipeline. The deceased were burnt alive while trying to scoop the fuel at the scene of the incident, at Umueke village in Osisioma local government area.

Pipeline ruptures remain common in the country as militants and criminals routinely tap into lines to steal crude oil and refined petroleum products. Fires can easily and accidentally be sparked by those attempting to gather the fuel.

IPMAN Explains Rationing of Petroleum Products

The Western Zone of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has explained that the ongoing rationing of fuel supply within the depots in the south western parts of the country is as a result of the vandalized pipeline at Arepo area of Ogun State. IPMAN has also condemned the recent killings of the officials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) by pipeline vandals in Arepo and called on relevant authorities to stop such act of sabotage of the socio-economic development of the country.

The South-West Zonal Chairman of IPMAN, Mr Olumide Ogunmade said in a joint communiqué that the group would support the NNPC and its subsidiary, Pipelines and Products Marketing Company (PPMC) in whatever action they would take to restore pumping of products into the System 2B pipeline, which supply petroleum products to the western part of the country.