NNPC subsidiary declares N15.8 billion profit after tax in 2016

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, says Nigerian Gas Processing and Transportation Company Ltd., NGPTC, one of its subsidiary companies, has declared a profit after tax of N15.81 billion in 2016.

The NNPC disclosed this in Abuja on Sunday in a statement by the corporation’s Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Ndu Ughamadu.

Mr. Ughamadu explained that the profit was due to the write-back of deferred tax of N8.05 billion in 2015 and part of the dividends of the ongoing transformation.

The Chief Operating Officer and Chairman of NGPTC, Saidu Mohammed, disclosed that the profit before tax for the year ended December 31, 2016 was N24.4 billion as against N20.9 billion in 2015.

“This represents an increment of 16.8 per cent, while the profit after tax reduced from N22.6 billion in 2015 to N15.81 billion in 2016.

“Also, earnings per share reduced from N4,510 in 2015 to N3,163 for 2016.

“The total revenue generated from gas sold and transmitted during 2016 amounted to N219.5 billion as against N155.5 billion in 2015, representing a 41 per cent increase over the previous year,” he said.

Mr. Ughamadu said that the increase was due to revenue generated from application of higher transportation tariff and new commercial customers that came on stream.

“An overview of NGPTC’s business performance for the year 2016 shows that 307 billion standard cubic feet (bscf) of gas was sold and transmitted as against the planned 463 bscf, thereby achieving 66.4 per cent of its target.

“The year 2016 also reveals a performance of four per cent below the volume of 319.25 bscf sold in 2015,” the public affairs manager said.

He noted that the company was confronted with the challenges of incessant vandalism of the Escravos-Lagos Pipeline System 1 (ELPS 1), Trans Forcados pipeline and evacuation bottleneck of condensate in 2016.

He acknowledged the continued support of NGPTC’s host communities for the sustained peace and tranquility in the company’s areas of operation.

The NGPTC, formerly Nigerian Gas Company (NGC) Ltd., a fully-owned subsidiary of the NNPC, was incorporated in 1981 and commenced business in 1988.

NGC was renamed NGPTC in 2016 with a mandate to process and transport natural gas domestically and for export.

(NAN)

Solar cars begin race across Australian desert

SYDNEY, Oct 8 (Reuters) - The World Solar Challenge began on Sunday with 42 solar cars crossing Australia's tropical north to its southern shores, a gruelling 3,000 km (1,864 mile) race through the outback.

The race from the northern city of Darwin to the southern city of Adelaide is expected to take a week for most cars, with speeds of 90-100 kmh (55-62 mph) powered only by the sun.

The fastest time was achieved by Japan's Tokai University in 2009, completing the transcontinetal race in only 29 hours and 49 minutes.

Belgian team Punch Powertrain started first on Sunday after recording a trial time of 2:03.8 for 2.97 km (1.78 miles), hitting an average speed of 83.4 kmh (51.5mph).

But reigning 2015 champions Nuon from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands believes it has a good chance of retaining the prize.

"All the cars look completely different (this year), and all we know is we've got a good car, we've got it running perfectly the last couple of days and we're confident we're going to do everything to win," tour manager Sarah Benninkbolt said Sunday.

Race director Chris Selwood said the biennial event has attracted one of the best fields ever, with teams from more than 40 countries.

"This is the 30th anniversary of the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge and competitors want to be part of that. They have been drawn to the challenge of new regulations which reduced the solar array size without limiting the size of the solar car," Selwood said.

Teams come from countries including the United States, Japan, Germany, Chile, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Malaysia, Belgium, Sweden, Iran, South Korea, India, Hong Kong, South Africa, Poland, Thailand, Turkey, Canada, Taiwan and Australia.

The Northern Territory Minister for Tourism and Culture, Lauren Moss said her government's A$250,000 (US$194,150) sponsorship of the race showed it was committed to achieving 50 percent renewable energy for the territory by 2030.

"Innovation is at the heart of the event and the technology showcased this year will influence continuing solar innovation for vehicles and householders in the future," she said.

"This event is a great promotion for the NT - it shows our ability to innovate to the world."

Jonathan, Umahi, APC, others speak on Super Eagles’ World Cup qualification

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has congratulated the Super Eagles of Nigeria after qualifying for the Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Nigeria became the first African nation to book a spot at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia after a 1-0 win over Zambia on Sunday in Uyo.

Arsenal forward Alex Iwobi scored the winner as Gernot Rohr’s side qualified for a record sixth World Cup appearance.

In a tweet via his official Twitter handle, Mr. Jonathan applauded the fighting spirit of the Eagles, saying the team exemplified the “can do Nigerian spirit”.

“I am not surprised that you have qualified. Thank you @NGSuperEagles. You exemplify the can do Nigerian spirit,” he tweeted.

In its reaction to the qualification, the All Progressives Congress, APC, said that sports in Nigeria, particularly football, remained one of the greatest unifier of people across political affiliations, religion, gender, tribe and other divides.

Bolaji Abdullahi, APC National Publicity Secretary stated this in a statement on Saturday in Abuja.

Mr. Abdullahi joined millions of Nigerians in celebrating and congratulating the Super Eagles for their qualification to next year’s FIFA World Cup in Russia.

He also congratulated the Ministry of Sports, the Nigerian Football Federation, the technical crew, management, and backroom staff for securing Nigeria’s sixth appearance at the World Cup.

The APC spokesman said it was indeed a delight watching the Super Eagles defeat the Chipolopolo of Zambia in front of excited home fans at the Akwa Ibom International Stadium, Uyo.

He noted that the victory put Nigeria on an unassailable 13 points at the top of Group B and charged Nigerians to take advantage of the feat to further foster harmony amongst themselves.

Mr. Abdullahi, a former sports minister, however, called on the sports authorities not to rest on their oars but to begin early preparation ahead of 2018 to ensure that the Super Eagles perform well at the global tournament.

Also, the Chairman of the South East Governors Forum and Ebonyi State Governor, David Umahi has congratulated the Super Eagles for qualifying for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that other sports fans in Ebonyi also congratulated the Gernot-Rohr tutored-side for beating the Chipolopolo of Zambia 1-0 in Uyo on Saturday.

The Eagles thus qualified for the mundial with a match to spare and became the first African team to qualify for the soccer fiesta.

Mr. Umahi in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Emmanuel Uzor, described the team’s victory ‘as sensational’.

“The players demonstrated the undying-spirit of unity to decimate the Zambians and all their group opponents, to qualify for the world cup.

“I also congratulate Nigerians for making it once again to the highest international football fiesta as this brings an encouraging light in the country’s football and sports in general.”

The governor called for more dedication from the players and entire technical crew and for serious preparations to ensure a credible world cup.

Bethel Anukwu, a transporter and soccer buff, also congratulated the team and urged the technical crew to maintain the current squad.

“There are few FIFA free-windows between this period and the world cup in June 2018 which gives the team less time to prepare adequately for the tournament.

“The Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) should organise quality friendly matches for the team and also ensure that the current squad executes the last qualifier against Algeria for enhanced blending,” he said.

Agnes Uwakwe, ex-Falconets invitee, urged the technical crew to focus attention at the AFCON 2019 qualifiers where the team is currently not finding its bearing.

“The current squad should execute the remaining AFCON qualifiers which would serve as an avenue to prepare for the world cup and ensure eventual AFCON qualification,” she said.

In his reaction, Tunde Popoola, Secretary General of the Nigeria Olympics 

Committee, NOC, congratulated the Eagles, adding that their victory demonstrates how great Nigeria is in diversity.

“The Super Eagles continue to make us all proud and demonstrate the greatness in our diversity.

“Congratulations to all Nigerians. We can truly achieve great things when we come together,” he said.

Godwin Bamigboye, Chairman, Nigeria Football Coaches Association, FCT Chapter, on his part heaped praise on Coach Gernot Rohr for the crucial role he played in qualifying the team for the World Cup.

“A lot of eyebrows were raised when the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) appointed Rohr as the head coach of the Super Eagles.

“Well, look who has taken the team to next year’s World Cup.

“The German coach has shown tactical acumen, leading the Super Eagles through the qualifying campaign without defeat so far and making fans believe in the team again.

“He again displayed excellent tactical and technical prowess through his vital substitutions in the match against Zambia.

“The introduction of Arsenal’s Iwobi injected pace into the Eagles’ attack as the Zambians found it hard to cope with Iwobi’s runs from the right wing.

“Mikel Agu also brought calm and stability to the Eagles’ midfield.

“That’s the difference! Football has gone scientific and it takes a sophisticated coach to find the winning formula when the chips are down,” he said.

Emmanuel Babayaro, an ex-international praised the Eagles for the hard-fought victory, adding that the Zambians were a difficult nut to crack.

“Congratulations to the boys and technical crew for the hard-fought victory. This has to stand out as one of the toughest games played in the qualifier so far.

“They might have been defeated, but hats off to the Chipolopolo for coming this far with their young and fearless squad.

“Coach Nyirenda’s boys caused Nigeria a lot of trouble on Saturday, after beating Algeria home and away in the last round of matches.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if they qualify for the next World Cup,” he said.

Nduka Ugbade, also an ex-international and former Assistant Coach of the Flying Eagles hailed the Eagles for picking up the World Cup ticket, adding that it wasn’t ‘a walk in the park’ for the Eagles.

He, however, urged the NFF to begin preparations for the World Cup immediately to ensure that the team also have a successful campaign in Russia 2018.

“Kudos to the Eagles for making us proud to have worn the green white green colour.

“Zambia proved to all, including the watching NFF officials, that every game will not always be a walk in the park.

“It is not too early to start preparing hard for the World Cup as June is around the corner.

“Rohr has to look at the left-back spot where every wide man seems to get the beating of Elderson Echiejile and see if Ola Aina can step up to the challenge.

“Also, a decent back-up for Odion Ighalo is needed as well as an upgrade on Onazi too,” Ugbade said.

With one more match to play, Nigeria are on top of Group B with 13 points and have thus qualified for the World Cup as group winners.

Zambia, African champions Cameroon and Algeria with seven, six and one point respectively have all crashed out of Russia 2018.

(NAN)

Hurricane Nate floods streets as it slams U.S. Gulf Coast

NEW ORLEANS, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Hurricane Nate slammed the Mississippi Coast on Sunday with destructive winds and torrential rains that flooded streets and highways throughout the region as the fast moving Category 1 storm made landfall.

Nate, the fourth major storm to strike the United States in less than two months, killed at least 30 people in Central America before entering the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico and bearing down on the U.S. South. It has also shut down most oil and gas production in the Gulf.

Nate comes on the heels of three other major storms, Harvey, Irma and Maria, which devastated Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico, respectively. However, with winds of 85 miles per hour (135 km per hour), which make it a Category 1 storm, the weakest in the five-category ranking used by meteorologists, Nate appeared to lack the devastating punch of its predecessors.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) downgraded its warning for New Orleans to a tropical storm. But Nate was expected to regain some strength and make a second landfall along the coast of Mississippi to the east.

"The only thing you can do is prepare," said Gulfport, Mississippi, resident Emmett Bryant. "Here there's nothing really you can do when the storm comes unless you're going to leave. And I don't plan on leaving."

The hurricane's center was expected to pass over portions of Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee through Sunday night, eventually weakening to a tropical depression. Before then, storm surges of up to 11 feet (3.4 m) on the Mississippi-Alabama border were possible, the NHC said.

In Hancock County, Mississippi, northeast of New Orleans, rain and wind were gaining intensity and many streets were washing over. Conditions are likely to worsen in the next few hours, said Brian Adam, director of emergency management for the county.

The county evacuated people from low-lying areas and imposed a curfew.

The storm surge brought flood waters over Highway 90 and up to ocean-side casinos in Biloxi, Mississippi, while flood waters swept over streets in communities across Mississippi and Alabama, according to reports on social media.

"We have a restaurant and one of our main bars open so they have been ok so far," Chett Harrison, the general manager at the Golden Nugget hotel and casino in Biloxi where 300 guests were hunkered down, told a local CBS TV affiliate. "No one has tried to leave thank goodness because everything is flooded around us."

Biloxi warned its 46,000 residents that the highest storm surge would occur until 3 a.m. Sunday and could reach 11 feet to 12 feet.

Earlier in the day, states of emergency were declared in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, as well as in more than two dozen Florida counties.

In Alabama, Governor Kay Ivey urged residents in areas facing heavy winds and storm surges to take precautions.

Some 5,000 people in southern Alabama were without power due to Nate, Alabama Power said.

Rainfall amounts of 3 inches to 6 inches (7.6 cm to 15.2 cm), up to a maximum of 10 inches were expected east of the Mississippi River from the central Gulf Coast into the Deep South, in the eastern Tennessee Valley, and southern Appalachian mountains, the NHC said.

Rainfall in the Ohio Valley and into the central Appalachians could be 2 inches to 5 inches with a maximum of 7 inches.

NEW ORLEANS THREAT DOWNGRADED

New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu lifted a curfew in the city on Saturday evening that was originally scheduled to last until Sunday morning. He said in a statement on social media however, that there was still a serious threat of storm surge outside levee areas.

Plaquemines Parish south of New Orleans evacuated some 240 residents who were not protected by its levee system as the storm approached.

"While it appears we're being spared ... our hearts go out to Mississippi," said Amos Cormier, president of Plaquemines Parish, a low-lying area south of New Orleans.

Major shipping ports across the central U.S. Gulf Coast were closed to inbound and outbound traffic on Saturday, as Nate intensified and storm surges of up 11 feet were expected at the mouth of the Mississippi River.

The storm has curtailed 92 percent of daily oil production and 77 percent of daily natural gas output in the Gulf of Mexico, more than three times the amount affected by Harvey.

Workers had been evacuated from 301 platforms and 13 rigs as of Saturday, said the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.

Before heading north into the Gulf, Nate brushed Mexico's Yucatan peninsula, home to beach resorts such as Cancun and Playa del Carmen, the NHC said.

The storm doused Central America with heavy rains on Thursday, killing at least 16 people in Nicaragua, 10 in Costa Rica, two in Honduras and two in El Salvador.

Thousands were forced to evacuate their homes and Costa Rica's government declared a state of emergency.

On Putin's birthday, opposition activists protest, call for him to quit

MOSCOW, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Police detained more than 200 opposition activists on Saturday for taking part in a wave of anti-Kremlin protests across Russia in support of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, ahead of a presidential election in March, a monitoring group reported.

Under grey skies and intermittent rain, over two thousand people gathered in central Moscow’s Pushkin Square and chanted “Russia will be free” and “Russia without Putin” before walking towards the Kremlin and parliament.

Police briefly detained a few people, but did not charge anyone. It was a different story at rallies in other cities however, and the OVD-Info monitoring group, a non-profit organization, said at least 262 people had been detained in 27 towns.

In St Petersburg, Putin’s home town, a Reuters witness saw riot police roughly detain at least 11 people. OVD-Info said at least 66 people had been detained in the city.

Navalny, who is serving a 20-day jail term for violating rules on public meetings, called the rally in Moscow and other cities to coincide with Putin’s 65th birthday.

Putin, who has dominated Russia’s political landscape for almost 18 years, is widely expected to run for what would be his fourth term.

Navalny hopes to run too, despite the central election commission declaring him ineligible due to a suspended prison sentence he says was politically-motivated.

One of the Moscow protesters held a homemade poster of Putin sitting on a mountain of banknotes, wearing a crown with the legend: “Happy Birthday you little thief!”

Others carried posters citing their right to protest, some waved Russian flags, and a few carried inflatable yellow ducks, a jokey reference to Navalny accusing Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev of owning a lavish estate with a duck house.

Medvedev called the claims politically-motivated nonsense.

In St Petersburg, some 1,500 activists waving red and white banners gathered in a square before heading for the city’s main street shouting “Putin is a thief” and “Free Navalny”.

PROTESTS MORE MODEST IN SIZE

The size of Saturday’s Moscow rally and others across Russia looked far more modest than Navalny-backed mass protests in March and June, which were widely recognized to be some of the biggest since 2012.

Many of the Moscow protesters were teenagers or in their twenties.

Carrying a yellow duck, Ulugbek Apsapayev, 17, said he had turned up because he wanted a better future for Russia.

“The duck is a sign that we support Alexei Navalny who also wants only good things for the country. But unfortunately we only have Vladimir Putin and his gang in power.”

Putin is popular across the country however, especially outside major cities where his strong leadership style and tough foreign policy stance go down well. He is expected to confirm later this year that he will run for another six-year term.

Opinion polls show he would comfortably beat Navalny if the opposition leader was allowed to run. Navalny says such polls are meaningless because there is no fair political competition.

Putin spent his birthday taking congratulatory calls from other world leaders, and chaired a security council meeting.

Authorities had refused to approve most of Saturday’s rallies, but Navalny says Russians’ right to protest is enshrined in the constitution.

A Reuters reporter at a rally in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg saw police detain at least eight people among a crowd of over 1,000 protesters.

World Cup: Berg hits four as Sweden hammer Luxembourg 8-0

STOCKHOLM, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Striker Marcus Berg scored four goals and Andreas Granqvist netted two penalties as Sweden ran riot in front of a record crowd of 50,022 at the Friends Arena, hammering Luxembourg 8-0 to replace France as leaders of World Cup qualifying Group A.

The Swedes now have 19 points and will secure second place if Bulgaria fail to beat the French and Netherlands don't get a victory over Belarus later on Saturday. France can reclaim top spot if they beat the Bulgarians.

Striker Ola Toivonen was hacked down making a clever spin move in the box, and Sweden captain Granqvist slammed home the resulting spot-kick to give the Swedes the lead in the 10th minute.

Berg made it 2-0 eight minutes later, sweeping the ball home after Mikael Lustig, Emil Forsberg and Toivonen all combined to set him up.

He made it three before half-time, collecting Toivonen's sublime pass, chipping the ball over goalkeeper Jonathan Joubert and nodding it into an empty net, and he completed his hat-trick nine minutes into the second half with a curling shot.

Lustig headed home a free kick on the hour mark with what proved to be his last touch of the game, running to celebrate with Emil Krafth who was waiting on the sideline to replace him, and Granqvist added a second penalty in the 67th minute.

Berg netted his fourth goal of the night with a looping header in the 71st minute, and Toivonen scored Sweden's eighth with a stunning side-footed volley six minutes later after a superb long ball by Krafth.

The Swedes now travel to Amsterdam to face Netherlands in their final group game, while France host Belarus and Luxembourg are at home to Bulgaria.

Nigeria beat Zambia 1-0 to qualify for 2018 World Cup

Nigeria's Super Eagles have qualified for the 2018 World Cup holding in Russia after defeating Zambia 1-0 at a qualifier in Akwa Ibom on Saturday.

Substitute Alex Iwobi got Nigeria’s goal in the 71st miniute.

The Eagles had several chances at goal but their profligacy meant they scored just a goal in front of their home fans.