Oil & Energy
Women In Energy Demands Gender Equity Policies
Women in Energy Network (WIEN) has demanded the incoming administration of the Federal Government to prioritise policies and programmes that dismantle prevailing gender bias and discrimination in the energy sector as a reliable way to harness the full human potentials in accelerating national development.
WIEN, which provides aegis for female investors, business owners, professionals and sundry workers in the energy sector declared at its 2023 International Women’s Day (IWD) Breakfast Session that government must build a society that provides congenial environment for people to excel in their endeavors irrespective of gender.
In her presentation at the event, President of WIEN, Mrs Funmi Ogbue, proposed collaboration among policy drivers, regulators, industry leaders and organizations like WIEN to implement concrete solutions that dismantle all forms of bias and discrimination in the energy industry in particular and the country in general.
Organised in partnership with Women in Shell Network and Seplat Awesome Women’s Network, the event focused on “Programmes and Initiatives for Equitable Access for Women in the Nigerian Energy Industry”.
The session is part of a month-long activities lined up by WIEN to mark the 2023 International Women’s Day (IWD) celebrations, with the theme: “Embrace Equity.”
With the activities, WIEN is driving harder on its advocacy for workplace gender balance and enhanced opportunity for women in the energy industry.
Mrs Ogbue noted that the “Call to embrace equity highlights the need to ensure that everyone has access to the same opportunities, resources, and rights regardless of their gender, race, ethnicity, or other factors that can lead to inequality.
“Regulatory agencies such as the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) can implement policies that promote gender equity and inclusion in the oil and gas industry. Armed with baseline data of gender inclusion, stakeholders can start to build a framework to achieving gender inclusion”, she proposed.
The International Energy Agency also states that only 22 percent of the global energy workforce are women, and they are underrepresented in technical and leadership roles.
Ogbue cited the Nigeria Energy Sector Report as stating that women make up only 20 percent of the energy sector workforce.
She also said a report by the African Development Bank (ADB) found that women in Nigeria’s energy sector face discrimination in recruitment, promotion, and pay, and are often excluded from decision-making processes.
“It is also crucial for men to become champions for women and advocate for their inclusion and advancement in the energy sector.
“Men in leadership positions must recognize the value of diversity and inclusion and take concrete steps to address biases and barriers.
“By taking concrete steps to address the barriers and biases that prevent women from fully participating in the energy industry, we can help to unlock the full potential of Nigeria’s workforce and drive sustainable economic growth for all”, she stated.
She made it clear that it benefits the individual and the organisation when everyone is given equal opportunity to excel; citing a report by McKinsey & Company that found that companies with gender-diverse executive teams outperform their peers by 21 percent.
Speakers at the event included Chairperson of the IWD 2023 Programme at WIEN, and MD/CEO, PeakThrust Insurance Brokers Limited, Mrs. Abimbola Onakomaiya; Mrs Elohor Aiboni, Managing Director of SNEPCO; Group Executive Director, Sahara Energy, Mrs Moroti Adedoyin-Adeyinka; Director of New Energy, Seplat Energy Plc, Mr. Effiong Okon; Chief Executive Officer, All On, Caroline Eboumbou; and Founder/Executive Vice Chairman, boys to MEN Foundation and Founding Member, WimBiz, Ifeoma I. Idigbe.
Others are: the Group Head, HR, Sahara Plc, Mrs Ivie Imasogie; Managing Director, Ikeja Electric Distribution Company (IKEDC) and Vice President, Power, WIEN, Folake Soetan; WIEN’s Director of Sponsorship, Mrs. Chioma Okpoechi, and other high-profile members of the WIEN.
The Federal Government has expressed optimism in attracting more investments by International Oil Companies (IOCs) into Nigeria to foster growth and sustainability in the energy sector.
This is as some IOCs, particularly Shell and TotalEnergies, had announced plans to divest some of their assets from the country.
Recall that Shell in January, 2024 had said it would sell the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) to Renaissance.
According to the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, increasing investments by IOCs as well as boosting crude production to enhancing Nigeria’s position as a leading player in the global energy market, are the key objectives of the Government.
Lokpobiri emphasized the Ministry’s willingness to collaborate with State Governments, particularly Bayelsa State, in advancing energy sector transformation efforts.
The Minister, who stressed the importance of cooperation in achieving shared goals said, “we are open to partnerships with Bayelsa State Government for mutual progress”.
In response to Governor Douye Diri’s appeal for Ministry intervention in restoring the Atala Oil Field belonging to Bayelsa State, the Minister assured prompt attention to the matter.
He said, “We will look into the issue promptly and ensure fairness and equity in addressing state concerns”.
Lokpobiri explained that the Bayelsa State Governor, Douyi Diri’s visit reaffirmed the commitment of both the Federal and State Government’s readiness to work together towards a sustainable, inclusive, and prosperous energy future for Nigeria.
While speaking, Governor Diri commended the Minister for his remarkable performance in revitalisng the nation’s energy sector.
The Federal Government has assured investors in the nation’s gas sector of the security and safety of their investments.
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, gave the assurance while hosting top officials of Shanghai Huayi Energy Chemical Company Group of China (HUAYI) and China Road and Bridge Corporation, who are strategic investors in Brass Methanol and Gas Hub Project in Bayelsa State.
The Minister in a statement stressed that Nigeria was open for investments and investors, insisting that present and prospective foreign investors have no need to entertain fear on the safety of their investment.
Describing the Brass project as one critical project of the President Bola Tinubu-led administration, Ekpo said.
“The Federal Government is committed to developing Nigeria’s gas reserves through projects such as the Brass Methanol project, which presents an opportunity for the diversification of Nigeria’s economy.
“It is for this and other reasons that the project has been accorded the significant concessions (or support) that it enjoys from the government.
“Let me, therefore, assure you of the strong commitment of our government to the security and safety of yours and other investments as we have continually done for similar Chinese investments in Nigeria through the years”, he added.
Ekpo further tasked investors and contractors working on the project to double their efforts, saying, “I want to see this project running for the good of Nigeria and its investors”.
Earlier in his speech, Leader of the Chinese delegation, Mr Zheng Bi Jun, said the visit to the country was to carry out feasibility studies for investments in methanol projects.
On his part, the Managing Director of Brass Fertiliser and Petrochemical Ltd, Mr Ben Okoye, expressed optimism in partnering with genuine investors on the project.
Crude oil prices recently logged their second monthly gain in a row as OPEC+ extended their supply curb deal until the end of Q2 2024.
The gains have been considerable, with WTI adding about $7 per barrel over the month of February.
Yet a lot of analysts remain bearish about the commodity’s prospects. In fact, they believe that there is enough oil supply globally to keep Brent around $81 this year and WTI at some $76.50, according to a Reuters poll.
Yet, like last year in U.S. shale showed, there is always the possibility of a major surprise.
According to the respondents in that poll, what’s keeping prices tame is, first, the fact that the Red Sea crisis has not yet affected oil shipments in the region, thanks to alternative routes.
The second reason cited by the analysts is OPEC+ spare capacity, which has increased, thanks to the cuts.
“Spare capacity has reached a multi-year high, which will keep overall market sentiment under pressure over the coming months”, senior analyst, Florian Grunberger, told Reuters.
The perception of ample spare capacity is definitely one factor keeping traders and analysts bearish as they assume this capacity would be put into operation as soon as the market needs it. This may well be an incorrect assumption.
Saudi Arabia and OPEC have given multiple signs that they would only release more production if prices are to their liking, and if cuts are getting extended, then current prices are not to OPEC’s liking yet.
There is more, too. The Saudis, which are cutting the most and have the greatest spare capacity at around 3 million barrels daily right now, are acutely aware that the moment they release additional supply, prices will plunge.
Therefore, the chance of Saudi cuts being reversed anytime soon is pretty slim.
Then there is the U.S. oil production factor. Last year, analysts expected modest output additions from the shale patch because the rig count remained consistently lower than what it was during the strongest shale boom years.
That assumption proved wrong as drillers made substantial gains in well productivity that pushed total production to yet another record.
Perhaps a bit oddly, analysts are once again making a bold assumption for this year: that the productivity gains will continue at the same rate this year as well.
The Energy Information Administration disagrees. In its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook, the authority estimated that U.S. oil output had reached a record high of 13.3 million barrels daily that in January fell to 12.6 million bpd due to harsh winter weather.
For the rest of the year, however, the EIA has forecast a production level remaining around the December record, which will only be broken in February 2025.
Oil demand, meanwhile, will be growing. Wood Mackenzie recently predicted 2024 demand growth at 1.9 million barrels daily.
OPEC sees this year’s demand growth at 2.25 million barrels daily. The IEA is, as usual, the most modest in its expectations, seeing 2024 demand for oil grow by 1.2 million bpd.
With OPEC+ keeping a lid on production and U.S. production remaining largely flat on 2023, if the EIA is correct, a tightening of the supply situation is only a matter of time. Indeed, some are predicting that already.
Natural resource-focused investors Goehring and Rozencwajg recently released their latest market outlook, in which they warned that the oil market may already be in a structural deficit, to manifest later this year.
They also noted a change in the methodology that the EIA uses to estimate oil production, which may well have led to a serious overestimation of production growth.
The discrepancy between actual and reported production, Goehring and Rozencwajg said, could be so significant that the EIA may be estimating growth where there’s a production decline.
So, on the one hand, some pretty important assumptions are being made about demand, namely, that it will grow more slowly this year than it did last year.
This assumption is based on another one, by the way, and this is the assumption that EV sales will rise as strongly as they did last year, when they failed to make a dent in oil demand growth, and kill some oil demand.
On the other hand, there is the assumption that U.S. drillers will keep drilling like they did last year. What would motivate such a development is unclear, besides the expectation that Europe will take in even more U.S. crude this year than it already is.
This is a much safer assumption than the one about demand, by the way. And yet, there are indications from the U.S. oil industry that there will be no pumping at will this year. There will be more production discipline.
Predicting oil prices accurately, even over the shortest of periods, is as safe as flipping a coin. With the number of variables at play at any moment, accurate predictions are usually little more than a fluke, especially when perceptions play such an outsized role in price movements.
One thing is for sure, though. There may be surprises this year in oil.
lrina Slav
Slav writes for Oilprice.com.
