Nigeria in talks with oil majors to repay debt, invest in refineries

Nigeria is in talks with oil majors and banks to raise capital for new drilling and to repay up to $4 billion in debt that the state oil firm has accumulated over years of mismanagement, the firm's head told Reuters.

Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, who is also the minister of state for petroleum, said he wanted to increase output to up to 2.5 million barrels per day by the end of 2016. Currently, the OPEC member pumps 2.3 million bpd.

President Muhammadu Buhari has made reforming the oil sector a priority as a slump in oil prices hammers the economy. The former military ruler has fired the NNPC board and appointed Kachikwu to overhaul a company whose opaque structures have allowed corruption and oil theft to flourish.

Nigeria's oil and gas output has been relatively stagnant as big offshore projects have been held up by much-delayed government funding and uncertainty over fiscal terms.

Africa's biggest economy produces oil with foreign and local firms through production-sharing contracts and joint ventures (JVs) but investments have been held up because NNPC has been unable to pay its part: bills have been piling up since 2012.

Kachikwu said debt as of November stood at $3.5-$4 billion, which NNPC wanted to cut through deals such as a $1.2 billion multi-year drilling financing signed with Chevron in September.

"The target is that over 2017, we'll begin to look at zero," he said in an interview, referring to debt and the goal of ending the need for JVs to depend on NNPC cash.

NNPC was in talks with oil majors such as Italy's Eni and oil traders Vitol and Gunvor, seeking partnerships to revamp assets such as refineries after decades of neglect. Cash-strapped for years, it reported a loss of 267.14 billion naira ($1.3 billion) for 2015. 

30 ships laden with petroleum products, food items, to arrive Lagos On February 15, 20165:18 pmIn NewsComments Thirty ships laden with petroleum products, food items and other goods are expected to arrive Apapa and Tin-Can Island Ports in Lagos from Feb. 15 to Feb. 24. The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) stated this in its publication – `Shipping Position’, – a copy of which was made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Lagos. NPA explained that the expected ships contained buck wheat, bulk salt, containers, steel products, gypsum, Rubber Tyred Gantry (GTR) cranes, base oil, petrol, kerosene and diesel. The document noted that nine other ships had arrived the ports, waiting to berth with petrol and containers. NAN reports that 16 other ships are at the ports discharging buck wheat, general cargoes, soda ash, bulk rice, buthane, containers, base oil and petrol.

Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/02/30-ships-laden-with-petroleum-products-food-items-to-arrive-lagos/