Oando Plc Favour Ifeoluwa & Akinola Ajibade Oando Plc says it has completed and won the bid for the operatorship of oil block KON 13 in Angola. The firm which recently acquired Eni of Italy’s oil assets in Nigeria, said that the award of the oil block located in Angola’s onshore Kwanza Basin followed a competitive bidding process by the country’s oil and gas sector regulator. It further said hat the asset in which it owns 45 per cent participating interest, has estimated prospective resources of 770 to 1,100 million barrels of oil. Oando is handling its operations relating to the asset through its upstream subsidiary, Oando Energy Resources (OER). “Oando Plc, Africa’s leading indigenous energy solutions provider listed on both the Nigerian Exchange Limited and Johannesburg Stock Exchange is pleased to announce that its upstream subsidiary, Oando Energy Resources (OER), has been awarded operatorship of Block KON 13 in Angola’s Onshore Kwanza Basin, following a...
By Favour Ifeoluwa & Akinola Ajibade
Ajaokuta Steel Rolling Mills will soon be revived, if all go according to plans, the Minister of Steel Development, Shuaibu Audi gave this indication at the 7th PEEF Annual Conference( PAC) in Abuja.
According to him, the Federal Government is currently expediting action to collaborate with financial agencies on how to revive the Ajaokuta Steel years after it privatisation failed to yield the desired result.
The conference with the theme:”Accelerating Steel Sector Development in Nigeria & Achieving Zero Corruption in Procurement Management” was well attended by the private sector operators and officials of the government.
Represented at the event by A. T. Umar,the Minister revealed that the funding of the Steel Companies in Nigeria became challenging which was what led to the privatization of the steel companies.
He said many of companies were unable to take off, despite privatisation, adding that Nigeria is at a stage where it’s rethinking whether to reverse the privatization of the steel sector in the country.
“During the President Buhari’s administration a lot of fund were invested on mining but the steel sector was neglected. As a government we need to produce steel from raw materials, this will bring economic prosperity to the nation. What the Minister is doing is to think outside the box in developing the Ajaokuta Steel.
“We want to collaborate with agencies, including financial agencies to see what we can do. We are working to develop the necessary manpower to man the sector,” he said.
Speaking,the Chairman, Board of Trustee (BoT), People Expertise and Excellent Foundation (PEEF) Engr.Abdullar Bukar advocated the need for the revival and expansion of the Ajaokuta Steel.
The development,he said,will bring about economic prosperity for Nigeria.
He said,there was need for a corruption free environment in the management of the nation’s investment in the steel sector.
He said,”Let us develop our country, so that we can process what we have and also sell finished products. Switzerland does not produce a single raw cocoa but they are the one who make the most money out of cocoa. They take raw materials that we produce, add value to it, they sell it at the price and we also go and buy”.
According to him,steel has the potential to generate N7billion annually for the country if properly harnessed.
He added:”Nigeria is exporting cement, it is also possible to export steel, therefore Ajaokuta should not only be revived but should be expanded.
“The most important part of it, is that we also need a corruption free environment to ensure efficient management of our investment on steel”
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