PENGASSAN may declare strike over job losses in oil sector

There are indications that the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) may begin industrial action soon if the job losses in the oil and gas sector are not halted.
The President of the union, Olabode Johnson, who said this in Abuja, berated oil companies for reneging on the agreement reached over pathways to halting job losses and paying sacked workers their entitlements in full.
“What is very sad in this country is that high-level meetings are held at the ministerial level and decisions arrived at are not taken seriously by the International Oil Companies (IOCs) and other oil companies on issues that have to do with the welfare of workers. We now have a situation where the oil companies are now reneging on the agreement. This is a slap on the face of the Federal Government of Nigeria.
“We have said times without number that these IOCs cannot do what they are doing in Nigeria in their countries of origin. If they find it difficult to obey our laws here, then they should pack their equipment and

Trump plan to boost oil, coal could send prices lower

President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to boost the oil and gas sector and bring back coal, reversing President Barack Obama’s efforts to encourage renewable energy and cut dependence on fossil fuels.
But analysts say Trump’s policies could serve to worsen the global energy glut, which would reduce prices while doing little to revive the fortunes of “Big Coal.”
Trump has made no secret of his support for fossil fuels. His policy advisors include top oil industry lobbyists, fracking king Harold Hamm, and oil-rich North Dakota’s congressman Kevin Cramer.
Trump has promised to eliminate regulations restricting fracking; support oil and gas pipeline construction, including the Keystone XL project blocked by the Obama administration; open now-restricted federal lands and offshore areas, for exploration, including Alaska; and end Obama’s 2015 Clean Power Plan, which

Billionaire Warren Buffett invests in 3 big US airlines

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett has taken stakes in three large US airlines, in a $1.3 billion bet that marks a sharp U-turn of his antagonistic views on the sector.
Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. invested $797 million in American Airlines, $249 million in Delta Air Lines and $237 million in United Continental Holdings, according to a regulatory filing reviewed Monday by AFP.
Berkshire Hathaway also took a stake in Southwest Airlines, CNBC television network reported Monday.

NNPC appoints, redeploys management staff

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, has announced the appointment and redeployment of top Management staff across board in a major exercise said to be designed to reflect operational realities and ensure sustained performance and profitability.
In a podcast to the staff, Group Managing Director of the Corporation, Dr. Maikanti Baru, said that the changes were informed by the desire to consolidate on the restructuring exercise through realigning jobs with requisite competences and experiences in line with international best practices, while taking deliberate measures to ensure fairness and equity as well as the capacity to deliver.
“As you might have heard, His Excellency Mr. President has approved the High Level Organogram of the Corporation and appointment of Staff into various positions. Most importantly, the changes were done in the

FG yet to take decision on NNPC’s NSE listing

The federal government has not taken a precise decision on the proposed listing of the stocks of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) or any other stock exchange, it was learnt on Monday in Abuja.
According to authoritative sources within the ministry of petroleum resources, the proposal to list the stocks of NNPC on the exchange after its restructuring as contained in a new draft national oil policy has not yet been approved by the government.
The draft policy document was released last week by the ministry of petroleum resources. It indicated that parts of the stocks of the NNPC would be listed for trading at the NSE or other exchanges after its restructuring and corporation.
According to it: “The NNPC will be made autonomous from the state, it will relinquish all its policy making

AfreximBank reiterates need for knowledge, trade in development

The urgency for focus on the economic benefits of knowledge and the role of trade in the development processes of the continent has again been brought to the fore by the African Export-Import Bank (AfreximBank).
The imperatives of the identified development catalysts formed a major part of the book titled: “Foundations of Structured Trade Finance,” by the President of AfreximBank, Dr. Benedict Oramah.
Oramah told his guests that it was the lack of appreciation of the power of knowledge that led to Africa being left behind in the race for development.
“While South East Asian economies realised back in the 1970s that it was a knowledge economy that could be trade–led and that it was a trade-led economy that could innovate and be competitive, African economies lost focus, consumed by commodity illusion and defensive import substitution strategies,” he lamented.
Consequently, Africa, which was well ahead of developing Asia, including China, in the 1960s and early

Fraudsters target 63.7m banks accounts, e-payment channels

Fraudsters have continued to get unauthorised access to bank accounts and other electronic payments platforms .
Statistics from the Nigeria Inter Bank Settlement Scheme (NIBSS) indicate there are 93 million bank accounts in the country with 63.7 million of them being active. As at September 2016, operators of current accounts in the country stood at 25.4 million, with savings account having 65.4 million holders while there were 2.48 million other accounts users in the country.
It was learnt that the introduction of the Bank Verification Number (BVN) by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in collaboration with the banks in 2015 showed that there are about 28 million unique identity accounts in the country.
With cybercriminals on the prowl, checks showed that customers of some top commercial banks in the country are currently being bombarded with suspicious phishing mails targeted at their daily Internet banking transactions.