Upstream
Could Bitcoin miners’ troubles trigger a ‘death spiral’ for BTC price?
A July 9 post by @PricedinBTC on the “cost to mine Bitcoin” in the United States gathered the crypto community’s attention, especially considering the recent headlines that BTC miners have made. The crypto bear market and growing energy costs have caused a perfect storm for the mining sector and this has led some companies to lay off employees and others to defer all capital expenditures. Some went as far as raising concerns of Bitcoin miners hitting a “death spiral.” In bear markets like this, inevitably a Bitcoin critic comes out and says that Bitcoin will soon collapse from a “miner death spiral”, meaning that miners will go offline because it is not profitable to run their operations, and then Bitcoin’s hash rate will fall, causing its… — Cory Klippsten (@coryklippste...
PIB: NNPC boss to meet Senate behind closed doors
Mr Mele Kyari, Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), is expected to brief the Senate on Thursday on technical aspects of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) 2021. President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, disclosed this at Wednesday’s plenary. Lawan said the briefing was to educate senators on the technicalities and financial implications of certain provisions of the PIB. He said the briefing would take place behind closed doors and would last for about an hour. Lawan also said that Thursday’s plenary would be entirely devoted to the consideration of the report. “Before plenary tomorrow, the leadership of the Senate has decided to invite NNPC GMD to come and brief us in a closed session. “The opportunity is for those of us who are not members of the joint commi...
Minister: PIB will address production sharing contracts issues on gas
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, says the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) currently before the National Assembly will resolve the issues under the Production Sharing Contracts (PSC) on gas. Sylva made this known at a National Assembly Public Hearing organised by the Joint Committee on Gas Resources, Petroleum Resources, Upstream and Downstream, on Monday, in Abuja. The hearing was on the topic: “Inclusion of Gas Terms in Production Sharing Contracts by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).” He said that issues on gas terms was not captured under the PSC especially with the commercial aspect. “Issues on gas terms was not captured in the PSC because at the time, the offshore was just a frontier territory, today, it is no longer frontier, it is a...
Nigeria most expensive for upstream projects – NNPC chief
The Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Mele Kyari, has disclosed that Nigeria remains one of the most expensive countries in the world for petroleum upstream projects. Upstream is refers to points in production that originate early on in the processes of crude oil production. Its activities include exploration, drilling, and extraction. Kyari made this known at the Nigerian Content Tower in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State during a review meeting with the Permanent Secretary, directors and chief executives of agencies in the Petroleum ministry. According to him, “Nigeria is one of the most expensive territories in the world for upstream projection and part of the corporation’s mandate is to reduce cost by at least five percent. “We have reduced costs substantiall...
Unpacking Africa’s Mobile Cybercrime Challenge
In mid-2020, Upstream’s Secure-D anti-fraud platform revealed that the total number of malicious mobile applications doubled in the first quarter of the year. The analysis found 29,000 malicious apps (14,500 in 2019), a 55% spike in fraudulent mobile transactions and increased volumes of infected mobile devices. But that wasn’t the bad news. The company also revealed that some smartphones were being sold with malware already pre-installed on the system. Malware that allowed for the devices to subscribe unsuspecting users to services that would result in high data usage and charges. According to Anna Collard, SVP of Content Strategy and Evangelist at KnowBe4 Africa, this growing problem, coupled with low levels of consumer awareness, puts people at significant risk. “In the KnowBe4 Security...
No plans to Scrap NNPC in the PIB – minister
The Federal Government on Monday said that there are no plans to Scrap the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC in the Petroelum Industry Bill 2020 that has been transmitted to the National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari. Answering questions from Journalists in Abuja after an interactive meeting with the leadership of the National Assembly, Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva, who allayed the fears of staff of the Corporation and Nigerians, said that the bill seeks for the commercialisation of NNPC and not outright scrapping. The meeting which was Presided over by the President of the Senate, Senator Ahmad Lawan, with the Speaker, House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, and other Leaders of the National Assembly in attendance is aimed at discussing the deta...
Stakeholders advocate efficient fiscal policy for oil, gas sector
Stakeholders in the oil and gas sector have called for proactive fiscal policy in the petroleum industry to fast track investment and infrastructure development in the country. The stakeholders disclosed this at the Virtual workshop on Leveraging Fiscal Regulations to Attract Investments in the Petroleum sector, on Thursday. Mr Osten Olorunsola, Chairman, Energy Institute Nigeria, said that the oil and gas sector in Nigeria needed a lot of investment to meet with the current global challenges. He stated that globally, the industry had witnessed decline in product demand and low price regime, adding that only low cost molecules would be able to make it in the market. Olorunsola said that the sector in Nigeria needed to transform to meet with current trend as the sector was not buoyant as pe...
Senate calls for quick diversification of economy, frowns against high cost of oil production
The upper chamber of the National Assembly has called on the federal government to quickly diversify the economy, following the high cost of oil production without commensurate result. Berating the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for the high cost, which resulted into marginal profit of just $3 per barrel for the country, the Senate noted that the high cost of oil production in the country is higher than other oil producing nations. This development was noted when when officials of NNPC appeared before the Senate Committee on Finance. The Senate also noted that the high cost of oil production which is $21.2 per barrel, almost equaling $25 per barrel oil price benchmark fixed for the N10.509 trillion 2020 revised budget. The upper chamber expressed its displeasure when the Ch...
NNPC explains parameters for employment, career progression
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has explained the parametres for employment as well as career progression in the corporation, using the recently concluded Graduate Trainee employment process as well as top Management promotion exercise executed by the corporation as an illustration. The National Oil company says unblemished academic competence, logical thinking, ability to engage meaningfully in problem solving in addition to federal character are key to becoming an employee of the corporation. To progress in the Management cadre, professional competence, accountability and transparency as well as ensuring national spread in top management positions are critical factors that are not negotiable. Explaining the parametres, NNPC Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs D...
