Ced magazine november 2015 edition

SPECIAL ISSUE NOVEMBER 2015

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OIL AND GAS: THE POWER OF OIL BONDING WITH INFRASTRUCTURE INNOVATION: INNOVATION ON WHEEL N500.00

INCORPORATING

OIL AND GAS REPORT

GHANA: UNPLEASANT SIGNS OUTSTANDING PROFESSIONALS

N I Q S 1969

TAKING CHARGE MERCY IYORTYER TAKES CHARGE AT NIQS

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Consulting + Outsourcing www.natafamdavidconsulting.com

Nigeria’s No. 1 Development Professional Journal

THE NIGERIAN INSTITUTE OF QUANTITY SURVEYORS WELCOME ITS FIRST FEMALE PRESIDENT ISSN 116 - 074 WITH ENTHUSIASM 1

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contents

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CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR DISTINGUISHED REFORMERS The Nigeria Institute of Quantity Surveyors heartily congratulate the duo of MALLAM MURTALA ALIYU, FNIQS; out-going National President and MRS. MERCY T. IYORTYER, FNIQS; in-coming National President of

ECONOMY

THE NIGERIAN INSTITUTE OF QUANTITY SURVEYORS

TAKING CHARGE

Just as both of you piloted the affairs of our noble Institute together as President and Deputy President respectively, your tenure has restored dignity and innovation into the Institute and the Quantity Surveying profession in Nigeria.

We pray for the success of our outgoing President in your future endeavours as you monitor our progress from within while we also pray that God gives the in-coming President the wisdom, courage and tenacity to lead the Institute to greater height by building on the successes of Past Presidents.

Mrs. Mercy Torkwase Iyortyer, FNIQS takes over the leadership the Nigerian Institute Of Quantity Surveyors with a promise to build on the legacies left by the founding fathers of the Institute which is regarded as one of the leading built environment professional associations that is making remarkable contributions to the professional development of Nigerians

14 FEATURES

6

Congratulations to both of you!

ECONOMIC PATNERSHIP

PARTNERSHIP FOR GROWTH India-Africa Summit 2015: Modi offers $10B Credit Line To Africa, Promises Cooperation Against Terrorism

MRS. MERCY T. IYORTYER, FNIQS In-coming National President

Signed: MALLAM MURTALA ALIYU, FNIQS Out-going National President

A1

PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE PROPER COSTING IS KEY

National Secretariat House No 20, 4th Avenue, (Sa’adu Zungur Avenue) Gwarinpa P. O. Box 10689 Garki, Abuja, Nigeria.

Email: info@niqs.org.ng Tel: 08028303346, 08167593807 Website: www.niqs.org.ng

Liaison Office 3 Clegg Lane, Surulere, P. O. Box 2666 Marina, Lagos Nigeria.

Email: niqsliaisonoffice@gmail.com Tel: 08137399669

Mallam Murtala Aliyu, FNIQS, the outgoing president of The Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors Speak with CED Magazine on the place of Quantity Surveying in the construction sector

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10 DEVELOPING STORY

CHANGING MINDSET Buhari: Our policies may hurt businesses in the short-term because we expect investors to do business with some level of integrity

7 SURVEY The World Most Reputable Cities CITIES’ GOT CLASS Explained

21

CED PROPERTY ADDRESSING THE CHALLENGE Stakeholders at the Builders’ Congress 2015 speak on the need to reposition the construction industry for greater performance

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u contents

INNOVATION

DEPARTMENTS OIL AND GAS REPORT 23 THE PRICE OF OIL Why it rose stupendously over the past 40 years, why it is likely to fall in the coming decades and what it will mean for world politics, the world economy and the environment

27 THE WASTING ASSETS Nigeria burns off $5 billion resources yearly from gas flaring 41 BEYOND EMISSIONS Carbon sequestration, carbon removal technology developed

Nauto is among the companies seeking to navigate the murky space between driver-controlled and self-driving cars.

INNOVATION ON WHEEL The companies steering self-driving cars toward reality

39 SAVING THE FOREST Conservationist push for 25 per cent forest recovery by 2030

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35 ENERGY THE POWER CHALLENGE No justification for electricity tariff hike -stakeholders.

SPECIAL FEATURES

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Bridging the gap In addition to measuring the distance between an automobile and nearby

ELECTRICITY TARIFF Continued from page 35

36 BUILDING MATERIALS FIRST IN AFRICA ‘Green’ architectural aluminium powder coating plant for Sub-Sahara Africa

Builders renew pledge on safety in construction industry

the crowded field of autonomous vehicle retrofits.

"The back up of having a human takeover if something goes wrong is not a good idea," said Heck during the VERGE 2015 conference in San Jose this week.

It's an idea that has also been siezed upon by companies like Cruise, Zoox and Nutonomy. Other auto suppliers, like Bosch, Continental, Delphi and Valeo, are also developing technologies to complement autonomous driving systems.

The big questions for sustainability advocates remain how automakers and new tech providers might look to either limit emissions or convert to electric powertrains for autonomous features.

LEADING WOMAN

25 ENERGY CRUNCHING ON THE NUMBERS The cost of generating energy from renewable sources remain high but the application of analytics is helping to boost efficiency

12 CONSTRUCTION SAFETY BUILDERS KEY IN

rom BMW to Subaru, Audi and Ford, automakers everywhere are rolling out semi-autonomous vehicle technologies like hands-free parallel parking, lane assistance and advanced cruise control.

Earlier in October, Tesla upped the ante on technologies bringing consumer cars closer to being 100 percent self-driving with its new Autopilot feature.

Stefan Heck actually owns a Tesla, and he's used autopilot, which relies on the human driver to jump back in if the car's computer senses something it can't handle.

Heck also sees the need for a middle ground technology to bridge the gap between driver-controlled and selfdriving cars. His new company, Nauto, sells "augmented sensor awareness" with the help of $400 dashboard cameras (plus a subcription fee), joining

vehicles, Nauto's dash-mount system clocks surrounding lane speeds, recognizes parking spaces reported by other driver and can tell you if you can fit into open parking spaces.

The company also seeks to integrate with the boom in personal carsharing services like Getaround by tracking cars while in use by others. Facial recognition monitoring to detect distractions is another feature advertised to combat worries about technology interfering with driver concentration.

"We warn you in real time if a dangerous condition outside needs your attention," Heck said. "This is the perception half of autonomy."

The combination of technologies also raises increasingly familiar concerns for the auto industry, like how individual driver privacy might be protected and how you ensure the safety of new systems.

Still, new autonomous vehicle retrofitting startups and automakers alike would also be wise to keep an eye on the tech titans - namely Apple and Google - circling the market for computer-assisted driving.

Apple CEO Tim Cook even said in the company's latest earnings call that he expects, "Autonomous driving becomes much more important."

Looking ahead, Silicon Valley venture capitalist and early Tesla investor Steve Jurvetson said during a VERGE panel that he expects in-demand "deep learning" techonologies to play a bigger role in getting self-driving cars full road ready.

"The higher level decisions that we make" - like a split-second call on whether to swerve onto the shoulder to avoid a collision - will depend on deep learning software algorithms, he said.

31 INSURANCE REALITY CHECKS A review of the compulsory builders insurance seven years after

Alternatively, customers were asked to fund meter purchase and be refunded from their bills. But for three to four years or more down the line, nothing has been done to that effect. The law does not recognise estimated billing. NERC should stop the practice, but instead it allows it on the excuse that DISCOs must make

profit.

Presently, only about 40 percent electricity users are metered. How does NERC want the DISCOs to make profit from the 40% customers captured? This is the question begging for answer if the plan is not to allow them make super profits before metering everyone.

No valid basis for hike: Against this backdrop, the Nigerian Association for Energy Economics, NAEE, condemned attempts by the DISCOs and NERC to increase electricity tariffs, saying that there is no valid and empirical basis for any sort of increase.

Culled from Vanguard www.cedmagazineng.com November 2015 | 45

ENVIRONMENT carbon is an order of magnitude smaller" than where it should be to reflect its true influence in the economy.

But the team will continue to work on making scalable, low-cost versions of the bioenergy with carbon capture and sequestration process.

Soil The interesting thing is that soil, particularly agricultural soil, is generally carbon deficient and needs more carbonat least in most of the developed world after years of agricultural use of pesticides and fertilizers that boost the nitrogen content of soil.

According to a 2007 discovery by scientists at the University of Illinois, that deficiency results because, although soil and plants need nitrogen, adding more nitrogen to stimulate faster growth cycles also causes faster than nor mal decomposition cycles and stimulates the growth of microbes which feed upon the carbon and and other nutrients in the soil, thus depleting those nutrients.

Professor Peter Byck of Arizona State University is one of a growing number of proponents of changing agriculture so that plants are allowed their normal pace of photosynthesis and decay and the soil gets to reap the carbon from the process.

"Our soils should be 7, 8 or 9 percent carbon but instead they are 1 or 2 percent," Byck said at VERGE. "No one knew when we invented nitrogen (based pesticides) that would happen."

What if the way we grazed turned the carbon problem on its head and created a carbon sink?

He advocates that cattle and other farm animals be grazed through rotational grazing and grass fed from birth to slaughter, or grass finished as they call it in the industry.

"What if the way we grazed turned the carbon problem on its head and created a carbon sink," with methane and carbon going into the soil and oxygen being released in the air, he said.

Byck, who teaches in both the sustainability graduate program and the school of communications, has been working on both the science and the communications of this issue. After producing the acclaimed movie "Carbon Nation," he more recently created a second film "Soil Carbon Cowboys," that traces life on two ranches whose farmers 44 | www.cedmagazineng.com November 2015

switched from conventional cattle grazing as practiced in the U.S. for the last 50 or so years to rotational grazing without the use of fertilizers and pesticides.

Byck describes the method as returning to grazing practices of a century ago and the way bison currently grazes in the U.S. When land was plentiful, animals were allowed to roam to new areas after they chewed all the grass in one. Bison in the U.S. west still roam.

But land is no longer cheap. However, farmers can rotate grazing fields by steering cattle to stay in a new section of their fields and allowing a former grazing area to lay fallow long enough to replenish plant life and let the photosynthesis cycle complete itself so the carbon releases and stays in the soil.

Products Pulling carbon from the air to use as an ingredient in products is a solution being studied on many fronts - including by commercial companies ranging from Coca-Cola Company to car-maker Audi, to industrial giants Schlumberger and ADM to startups Cool Planet, NewLight Technologies and Liquid Light, to cement maker Solida Technologies.

Our VERGE panel did not discuss commercialization efforts underway, but in a conversation with GreenBiz, Deich shared this list of product innovations that are in various stages of R&D and early commercialization.

Some, as GreenBiz has reported, are already in early commercial stages.

LiquidLight is producing beverage bottles made from captured carbon for C o c a - C o l a C o m p a n y. N e w l i g h t Technologies has captured and

Pulling carbon from the air to use as an ingredient in products is a solution being studied on many fronts including by commercial companies ranging from Coca-Cola Company to car-maker Audi, to industrial giants Schlumberger and ADM to startups Cool Planet, NewLight Technologies and Liquid Light, to cement maker Solida Technologies.

sequestered carbon from the air and recycles it to a resin it calls AirCarbon, a thermoplastic material that performs like petroleum-based plastic.

Dell computer is using it AirCarbon for packaging computers and Sprint uses it in cases for mobile phones. More recently, Vinmar International signed a deal to buy 1 billion pounds of AirCarbon over the next 20 years.

Project Drawdown Project Drawdown, as we've written previously, is about advancing the numerous solutions that will begin to draw down the carbon in the air. The organization has started this work by publishing a book and creating a database listing 100 potential solutions and publishing them in a book.

Here's a sample from the list of 100: "ocean biomass, avoided deforestation, livestock feedstock silvopasture, sustainable rice production, forest reforestation, rotational grazing, building with wood." Silvopasture is an agricultural practice of growing trees in forage pastureland for livestock.

Practitioners say the trees take stress off the forage by providing some shelter and variants of nutrients.

Interestingly, some of the 100 solutions are actions that solve other problems, such as hunger or cleaning up the oceans.

"If we solve climate change we can change other problems we have in our society," Ravenhill said.

Some solutions listed are technological, such as carbon absorbing glass and biochar, while others are clearly social, such as girls education, which likely would reduce population growth and thus demand on the world's resources.

Project Drawdown is foreseeing "the point at which greenhouse gases peak and begin to go down year after year," Ravenhill said. It is creating a detailed description of solutions that are currently in use and the impact they will have in 30 years from now.

Its aim in publishing the 100 solutions in a book and making information avialable on a database is that people will read about actions they can take that work in reducing carbon.

"We think access to this information will speed up the climate renaissance," Ravenhill said.

TAKING CHARGE We welcome Mrs. Mercy Iyortyer fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors, the first female president of the Institute that parades the best of Nigerian construction economists

H

ow do you build on a successful enterprise or institution? Mrs. Iyortyer is taking up the mantle of leadership of an Institution that has ran decades of five circles and more and still remains the pride of construction industry practitioners, especially quantity surveyors. Founded in 1969, it is one of the leading Nigerian professional institutions that has sustained a course and momentum of its own.

Mrs. Mercy Iyortyer is bringing to the table over 30 years of post-university experience and the institute may well be counting its gains as her success will ultimately reflect on the performance of the institute and the professional quantity surveyors.

Many such institutions, unable to correct course, have fumbled in the new environment. Some have gone into decline and faded from their pre-eminent positions.

Others have rejuvenated themselves.

Nigerian Institute of Engineers (the umbrella body of all engineers) has led the way. Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors and Nigerian Society of Engineers have both shown how it is possible to make an ancient pachyderm dance to modern tunes.

Mrs. Iyortyer's job is cut out for her since.

Ten years after the Institute was established, she obtained her first degree in Quantity Surveying (2.1) in 1979, from the famous Ahmadu Bello Unviversity, Zaria.

She also followed that up with MSc in Architecture from the Unvisersity College London in 1983. These qualifications, coupled with the experience she has garnered both in public and private sectors have prepared her for the challenges of leading the institution whose objectives include: - To promote the art and science of the practice of the profession of Quantity Surveying in all its ramifications; To provide a platform or forum for meeting and discussing matters of mutual interest to quantity Surveyors in Nigeria; to preserve and further the interest of Quantity Surveyors; to promote and stimulate the improvement of the technical and general knowledge of persons engaged in the profession; to organize continuous education and professional training for those seeking to become Registered

Quantity Surveyors and assist and prepare its members to be registered by the Quantity Surveyors Registration Board of Nigeria (QSRBN); and, to undertake research, study and collate information from any Quantity Surveying bodies from any part of the world on the latest developments and technologies in the practice of the profession and to make such information available to its registered members.

Mrs. Iyortyer is bringing to the table over 30 years of post-university experience. The institute may well be counting its gains as her success will ultimately reflect on the performance of the institute and the professional quantity surveyors.

The CED Magazine celebrates this leading woman of class, who has made her mark in Nigeria, with significant contributions to the hospitality sector and the built environment.

Mrs. Iyortyer has done all this in a quiet, unassuming way. She believes in consensual in management, based on teamwork and team building which is required to successfully pilot the affairs of an institution such as the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors. She successfully established her own businesses after leaving public service. No doubt, Mrs. Iyortyer has given herself significantly, devoting long years of her time to the NIQS. And there is more to give.

We once again welcome the first female president of the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors. Congratulations!

No doubt, 2015 is the year of INTEGRITY for the built environment, not only because quite a number of the institutes and societies are currently engaged in leadership changes but because, despite the influx of foreign practitioners who without being duly registered are encroaching in their areas of practice - from architects to engineers and surveyors, they have held their own with their head up high.

With the change of guard will also come change of attitude, we believe..... www.cedmagazineng.com November 2015 | 5

ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP

ENVIRONMENT

Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi (centre) with the African leaders during a dinner hosted on the sidelines of the 3rd India Africa Forum Summit,

PARTNERSHIP FOR GROWTH India-Africa Summit 2015: Modi Offers $10B Credit Line To Africa, Promises Cooperation Against Terrorism

I

ndian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced at the recently concluded India-Africa Forum in New Delhi, India that the country will provide a $10 billion concessional credit to Africa in the next five years, along with a $600 million grant assistance. Modi made the announcement during a speech at the third India-Africa Forum Summit in Indian capital New Delhi in October.

Modi said that the credit line will be in addition to the ongoing credit program in Africa, adding that the grant assistance includes "an India-Africa Development Fund of $100 million and an India-Africa Health Fund of $10 million." The assistance will also include 50,000 scholarships available in India over the next five years to support expansion of institutions for enhancing skills, training and learning in the 54 African countries.

Modi also announced in his speech that India will increase its cooperation with Africa on maritime security to counter "terrorism and extremism." He added that India will support the African Union by training African 6 | www.cedmagazineng.com November 2015

peacekeepers in India and Africa. The announcement comes as African nations face Islamist threats with groups like al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (based in Algeria), al-Shabab (based in Somalia) and Boko Haram (based in Nigeria) increasing their violence.

"We wish to deepen our cooperation in maritime security and hydrography,

Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi

and countering ter rorism and extremism; and, why we must have a UN Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism," Modi said during the speech, according to a statement on his blog, adding: "We must also have a stronger voice in decisions on UN Peacekeeping Missions."

Also at the summit, India's Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj promised great support to companies investing in Africa and said that trade beween the two nations has grown 10fold in a decade, NDTV, a local news network, reported.

"Trade and economic exchanges between India and Africa are a vital component of our all-round relationship with this rising continent.

The total trade figure of about $72 billion in 2014-15 - though impressive as it signifies more than ten-fold growth in a decade - is still below its potential considering the size of India and Africa and a combined population of over 2.3 billion people, representing a huge consuming market for all sorts of goods and services," Swaraj said Thursday, according to NDTV, adding: "I would also encourage Indian and African business enterprises to take advantage of our 'Make in India' initiative to work towards mutually beneficial joint business ventures.�

BEYOND EMMISSIONS Carbon sequestration, carbon removal technologies.

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or all the international negotiations on reducing carbon emissions, the commitments by 147 countries in preparation for the Paris climate talks are not adding up to be enough to prevent damage, according to the United Nations in an analysis released recently.

But there's another way to tackle the problem: Remove carbon from the air.

That was the topic of a provocative session at VERGE 2015 in San Jose last week at which Noah Deich, founder of a non-profit business incubator called the Center for Carbon Removal, discussed the concept with several scientists and entrepreneurs working on in the field.

Scientists - and now U.N. officials - are worried that reductions in carbon emissions will be too gradual, he said. "So, we have to get rid of what we have."

Amanda Ravenhill, executive director of Project Drawdown and a former professor at Presidio Graduate School of Management, put it this way: When carbon emissions in the atmosphere exceed 350 parts-per-million, major climate disruption begins to happen. "We are at 400 ppm," she said. In other words, we are beyond preventing damage by just stopping the increase.

But Ravenhill's organization has identified 100 ways to draw carbon from the atmosphere - some major such as

recycling carbon into products and some minor such as planting a tree.

"The good news is there are tons of solutions," Deich pointed out. "We can build systems that suck carbon out of the air and then we could use that material" to build products or produce energy.

We also can return to agricultural practices in which photosynthesis is allowed to happen in abundance and take its full course so that decaying roots leave carbon in the soil, rather than release it into the air as agricultural waste would from a back of a truck or in a landfill.

In essence, there are three broad areas of carbon removal: 1. Biological solutions that allow carbon to be sucked out of the air through photosynthesis. This, of course, is already happening. But preventing deforestation and reforesting onceforested areas would allow this powerful natural carbon sink to expand. Within agriculture, it is believed that rotational grazing or allowing animals to be grass fed, from birth to finish, will regenerate the soil by allowing more plants to populate.

2. Chemical removal solutions that create products with carbon sucked from the air and recycled and combined with catalysts to make plastic-like materials.

3. Bio energy solutions that capture carbon from burning biomass to create energy and then sequestering the remaining carbon. In the field, this is called bioenergy with carbon capture and sequestration.

Recently, the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change released its analysis of the country commitments that have been submitted so far. It stated in summary, "The estimated aggregate annual global emission levels resulting from the implementation of the INDCs do not fall within least-cost 2 degrees Celsius scenarios by 2025 and 2030."

So these carbon removal technologies could be important. Let's start with the last, bio energy.

Bio energy from capturing, sequestering and burning carbon Daniel Sanchez, a Ph.D candidate in energy and resources at the University of California, Berkeley and a researcher in the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory, has been designing a bioenergy process that captures carbon from air, burns it to produce energy and then sequesters the carbon byproducts.

He is trying to flip the fossil fuel equation on its head. "We now take carbon from the ground, bring it up and burn it. What if we reversed that?" he said.

"I am working on taking carbon dioxide out of the air, burning it and putting it in the ground, in the soil where it belongs.

This is bioenergy with carbon capture and storage."

The team has the science down in his lab at Berkeley, but he is working on developing a scalable solution that can be commercialized.

He calls it bio carbon capture sequestration because it goes beyond just capturing carbon in the air and burning it, which would be sort of carbon neutral.

Sequestering what is burned removes carbon so becomes carbon negative.

"The challenge is cost," Sanchez said at VERGE. There are two commodities created that have some value - energy and carbon elimination. "But we don't yet value one of them," or the cost of carbon emissions in the economy because carbon does not yet have a price on it in the U.S. other than in some areas such as California where cap and trade system is play. Still, even in California, "the price of

A www.cedmagazineng.com November 2015 | 43

SURVEY

ENERGY UPDATE being carried out at two sites in Benban and Zafarana in Egypt as the first steps to the development of solar plants in the country.

Norway's Scatec Solar has commenced activities on two sites in Egypt as it prepares the ground for the development of Norwegian firm Scatec begins plans to construct solar 250 MW of solar plants in Egypt PV capacity under the Egyptian government's orwegian firm Scatec has begun Renewable Energy program.

Engineering and procurement plans to construct 250MW capacity solar plants in Egypt aimed at activity is underway at Benban and boosting electricity production in the Zafarana, including the completion of geotechnical studies and environment country.

The mega construction project is and social impact assessments, as well as

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

N

COAL TO THE RESCUE!

First Coal Power plant in Egypt to be constructed at a cost of US$3b

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irst Coal power plant in Egypt will be constructed at a cost of US$3b a move that will boost the country's power sector. The move comes after the countr y signed a power plant construction deal with Siemens and scatec.

According to officials in the Ministry 42 | www.cedmagazineng.com November 2015

of Electricity and Renewable Energy, a deal will be signed with a UAE company to help establish the first coal-operated power generating station in South Sinai in March 2016.

The sources said that the ministry is currently finalizing the environmental studies and timetable of the project,

the initial installation of two weather stations to measure solar irradiation.

These ground activities are being overseen by Scatec Solar's regional HQ, which has been established at Nile City Tower in Cairo as part of the company's strategy to explore further solar opportunities in the MENA region, developing, procuring and maintaining solar farms.

Scatec Solar's first success was to win 250 MW of solar project capacity under Egypt's FIT program, acting as lead developer in one project and strategic investor, EPC and O&M on four others.

Fundraising via banks has already begun, and Scatec Solar has confirmed that it will provide training for hundreds o f l o c a l wo r k e r s d u r i n g t h e construction and development phase of the projects.

The construction of construct solar plants in Egypt is aimed at boosting clean energy production in a country hit by frequent power outages. where the Egyptian Electricity Holding Company will hold negotiations with the UAE Company about the price of buying energy to be produced by the project.

First Coal Power plant in Egypt will provide a total of 3,960 megawatts of electricity. Experts forecast a shortfall of about 4,000 to 5,000 MW ahead of this summer, when blackouts darkened homes and factories throughout the country of 85 million people.

Coal will be sourced from international markets such as South Africa, Indonesia and others.

Private investment is badly needed to upgrade Egypt's dilapidated power grid.

Although gas shortages are a large part of the energy crisis, experts and Eg yptian energ y officials say modernizing the grid should be a priority.

But in recent months, Egypt has embarked on an ambitious plan to boost its energy development.

It is expected that this initiative will add value to the energy supply in the ancient country.

Melbourne Business Distict

CITIES’ GOT CLASS The World's Most Reputable Cities Explained

J

ust as people have reputations, cities and countries have reputations, too, and they have a direct impact on economic indicators such as tourist arrivals, exports, and investment. That's to say that ranking the world's most reputable cities isn't about holding a popularity contest. Rather, it's a reflection of the positive feelings that people have towards cities and the economic implications.

After the 2005 launch of RepTrak®, which is the gold standard of reputation measurement, Reputation Institute adapted its model to measure the reputations of countries (2008) and cities (2011). Since then, we have analyzed the reputations of the largest and most wellknown cities in the world in an annual report.

We just released our 2015 City RepTrak® report last week and, for the first time, two cities from the same country secured the top spots. The two cities are located in Australia and they are Sydney (#1) and Melbourne (#2).

Rounding out the top ten are Stockholm, Vienna (#1 in 2014), Vancouver (#1 in 2012), Barcelona, Edinburgh, Geneva, Copenhagen and Venice. Major media outlets reported out on our 2015 results, including CNN, Forbes, Business Insider, and Mashable, among others.

What do we measure for this study?

First of all, reputation is an emotional

bond based on admiration and respect, trust, and esteem, which drives people's behaviors. That emotional bond, what we call the RepTrak® Pulse, is the basis for our study. The RepTrak® Pulse score is what determines a city's placement in our ranking. However, we would not be able to make any recommendation on how to improve a city's reputation if we only had that overall score.

That's why we go further and look at 13 rational attributes that we have grouped into three dimensions: "Effective Administration", "Advanced Economy" and "Appealing Environment". We measure the perceptions of the general population for each city based on the 13 rational attributes.

How did the top cities achieve such

good reputations?

All the cities in the top ten of our ranking obtain high scores on all of the three dimensions. Stockholm, Melbourne, and Sydney lead on "Effective Administration"; Tokyo, New York and Berlin are ahead on "Advanced Economy"; and finally, Rome, Paris and Barcelona come out on top of "Appealing Environment".

A key conclusion from our study is that a city's reputation is highly dependent on the reputation of the country in which it resides. Based on the countries where the cities in the City RepTrak® study reside, the fluctuations in scores for the city reputation index this year mirror closely what we saw in July when we analyzed the reputations of countries.

To be large or economically strong does not necessarily equate to a good reputation. When we compare our list of the most reputable cities with the list of the largest cities by population or GDP, we see little to no overlap. However, when we compare our list to those of the most livable cities, the most beautiful cities, or the safest places, we can see a lot of overlap, and that gives us an idea of what makes a city reputable.

Based on the results of our study, the three most important attributes to build a city's reputation are: be a beautiful and safe place, and offer wide array of appealing experiences.

A city must also be well-known in order for its good reputation to positively impact economic indicators. That is the case of the most well-known cities, Paris and London, which happen to also have very strong reputations. A lot of people know Paris and London, and they are admired. The Australian cities of Sydney and Melbourne may have a higher reputation score, but the issue is that the level of familiarity is still quite low. Not a lot of people know them, but those who do have a very high opinion of them.

The most important takeaway from this study is that a city's reputation drives supportive behaviors such as: I would visit the city, I would invest in the city, I would study in the city, or I would attend an event in the city. Therefore, if we all agree that Sydney is the most reputable city in the world, let's visit Sydney, or even move there if we can.

By Fernando Prado, Managing Partner, Reputation Institute www.cedmagazineng.com November 2015 | 7

ENERGY

CONSTRUCTION UPDATE

UNPLEASANT SIGNS

Construction companies in Ghana warn of job cuts amid high lending

C

onstruction companies in Ghana have cautioned that massive job cuts are imminent if nothing is done to tame the surging lending rate of commercial banks in the country.

Standing at 40%, the lending rate has forced many construction companies to close business.

Some construction companies in the country have opted to borrow from outside the country to sustain their businesses. Apart from high interest rates, the rising cost of building materials is also scaring away new entrants in the construction business.

Lending rate in Ghana increased to 38.30 percent in March this year from 33.85. It reached an all-time high of 38.84 percent in August of 2014 and a record low of 21.24 percent in March 2008 but some economists have said the current commercial lending rate hovers around 40 per cent.

Economists now say that Ghana's high lending is unfriendly for business growth," especially at a time when the government banks on the private sector to boost economic growth.

The slump in construction activities in Ghana will have a direct implication on housing projects currently ongoing in the country. The country's housing deficit is projected at 1.7 million, and estimated to 8 | www.cedmagazineng.com November 2015

Housing Policy in Ghana, defines affordable housing as the ability of a household to spend up to 30 per cent of its gross annual income on rent or purchase price on housing, where the rent or purchase price includes applicable taxes and insurances and utilities.

However with the current lending rates warns Danyansah, the recent gains on affordable housing will be hampered. He now calls on policy makers on financial matters to intervene or else a major crisis in the construction industry in Ghana looms.

But President John Dramani Mahama announced last year that the bid to tackle the housing problem in Ghana is being supported not only by the government but also through various forms of private sector participation.

For now it remains to be seen how the government responds to the high lending rate that has first hit construction companies in Ghana.

grow to 2 million by 2018.

Analysts and industry players blame the CONGRATULATIONS! shortage on increasing The Management and Staff of population, KALABAL ASSOCIATES poor planning heartily congratulate on the part of the government MRS. MERCY TORKWASE IYORTYER, and rapid FNIQS, MAPM, RQS urbanization on her investiture as the 23rd President of and limited private sector THE NIGERIAN INSTITUTE OF QUANTITY involvement in SURVEYORS. the county's quest to boost affordable Congratulations Madam! housing.

Real estate d e ve l o p e r i n Ghana Frank M. Abba Tor, FNIQS, FSCIArb, MBA A b o a g y e Principal Partner Danyansah regrets that m a n y Ghanaians are Quantity Surveyors, Project Managers & Construction Cost Consultants not able to get mortgages to Suite B9, Alphacell Plaza 12, Ebitu Ukiwe Street buy a house Jabi District, Abuja because they are 08034800690, 08023056072 kalabal2002@yahoo.com highly priced.

The 2015 N a t i o n a l

BANKING ON SOLAR Kenya now banks on solar power to boost electricity supply

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enya now banks on solar power in a bid to meet its electricity demand.

The country will now be focusing more on solar energy to boost its 5,000MW increase on the grid by 2016,the Energy and Petroleum ministry has announced.

Speaking at a press briefing in Nairobi, Energy Principal Secretary, Mr. Joseph Njoroge said that his Ministry was working on several proposals from solar investors before

INCORPORATING

inking any deal with Kenya Power.

"We have always preferred to use the least cost sources of electricity.

However, the uptake of solar locally has been slowed by research to reduce the rates at which this form of energy is fed to the national grid," said Mr. Njoroge.

He further cited two proposed solar projects in Eldoret which have a combined capacity of 80 megawatts that are set to begin operations at the end of this year.

"We have received many proposals for solar power projects. There are two projects that will be based in Eldoret whose construction is scheduled to start at the end of this year," said Mr Njoroge.

He added that Kenya now banks on solar power to ensure a sufficient energy nation.

The renewable energy sector in Kenya is among the most active in Africa. In Kenya, investment grew from virtually zero in 2009 to US$1.3 billion in 2010 across technologies such as wind, geothermal, small-scale hydro and biofuels. Kenya is Africa's first geothermal power producer and the world leader in the number of solar power systems installed per capita. It is still the largest producer of geothermal power in Africa today at 200 MW with only one other African country producing geothermal power, Ethiopia.

Connectivity to the national grid in Kenya currently stands at 28%. In 2011, Kenya was also the first country in Africa to open a carbon exchange.

Kenya has set a 5,000MW increase on its grid by 2016 and sees solar energy as a potential contributor.

OIL AND GAS REPORT

Construction and Engineering Directory 2015/2016

Kalabal Associates

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TRANSPORTATION

BONDING WITH INFRASTRUCTURE Management guru Rosabeth Moss Kanter urges the private sector to invest in the U.S. transportation system.

Illustration by David Suter

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n July 31, 2015, just before Congress broke for the August recess, lawmakers approved yet another temporary cash infusion to keep the U.S. Highway Trust Fund solvent. The fund was established in 1956 to pay for the construction of the United States' first interstate highway system. Each year, it funnels billions of federal dollars to national, state, and local projects across the country.

The trust fund's main source of revenue is taxes, mainly taxes on gasoline. But given the relatively flat level of gas consumption in recent years and the rising price of road building, the trust fund has had to rely on short-term "patches," like the one Congress passed in July, to keep from running out of money. Aside from being inefficient, this approach is insufficient to maintain an ailing transportation system plagued by clogged roads, rail accidents, airline delays, and decaying bridges. Congress's refusal to develop a forward-looking strategy to fund the U.S. transportation system makes it difficult for ambitious infrastructure projects to get off the ground.

40 | www.cedmagazineng.com November 2015

INFRASTRUCTURE UPDATE

In association with S+B

But "continuing to point fingers at a dysfunctional Congress won't get America moving again," says Rosabeth Moss Kanter, the Ernest L. Arbuckle Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. "We should stop debating how to save the Highway Trust Fund.‌ We need a new story about mobility, economic opportunity, and competitiveness."

That's precisely what Kanter delivers in her new book, Move: Putting America's Infrastructure Back in the Lead (W.W. Norton, 2015). The author of 18 management books on strategy, innovation, and leading change, Kanter was planning to write another book about leadership "when the infrastructure issue struck me and took me on a detour."

The average U.S. commuter (an

The average U.S. commuter (an average that includes those living in wide-open states such as Montana) sits in traffic for 38 hours a year.

average that includes those living in wide-open states such as Montana) sits in traffic for 38 hours a year.

In fact, she didn't take much of a detour at all. Applying her knowledge of leadership and management, Kanter makes compelling business cases for the investments in resources, creativity, and endurance needed to rebuild and reinvent the U.S. transportation system.

She also writes with a refreshing appreciation for the corporation's interests in the wider "ecosystem" of commercial and civic objectives.

"Infrastructure is important in itself," Kanter argues, but it is also a good starting point to get moving on many other problems.

Move is threaded with statistics on the human costs and consequences of a formerly world-class transportation infrastructure that is now falling apart.

We can all relate. Airlines often blame rain and snow for delayed and canceled flights, which cost the economy US$30 billion to $40 billion annually. Kanter takes a different view. "This happens," s h e s a y s, " b e c a u s e o f a g i n g infrastructure and because we are not using our own technology, not because of weather."

at Owerri, in Imo State. Recently, t h e S t a t e Governor; Owelle Rochas Okorocha conducted an inspection tour at the project site.

On completion, the air cargo terminal in Nigeria is expected to develop the e c o n o m i c activities in the South East geopolitical zone of Construction work on air cargo terminal in Nigeria to resume the country and the neighbouring onstruction work on a major air cargo states. terminal in Nigeria is set to resume, the According to Prince Eze Madumere, Imo office of the Ministry of Aviation has said. State Deputy Governor, construction work The Permanent Secretary in the ministry of on the cargo terminal's foundation has been aviation Hajia Binta Adamu Bello said that the completed. However, the project's imported project at the Sam Mbakwe International super structure is expected to land in the Carg o Airpor t will facilitate the country within weeks. commencement of international air cargo Contractors responsible for the project operations. have been adequately mobilized waiting for The construction project is being executed the advent of the super structure to kick off

The Future of Mobility The most compelling reason to think creatively about infrastructure is not the threat of losing it, or Kanter's dire dollars-and-cents diagnosis. Rather, it is the hidden opportunities. A compelling call to action with hopeful and informed ideas, Move contains many promising examples of how leaders in the private and public sectors are "building the future of mobility." Kanter envisions a future in which having fewer vehicles on the roads at any given time leads to less congestion and pollution, in which more corporate leaders from all sectors make investments where good business and the public good intersect, and in which better, more accessible public transport lifts people out of dead-end jobs.

The management and staff of GIMBA AND PARTNERS

by Ann Graham

GETTING BACK ON TRACK

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the construction works at the airport site.

Meanwhile, cargo screening machines have already been supplied at the construction site and are waiting to be installed when the project is completed.

President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria issued a green light for early completion of the project in order to boost the economic development of the nation particularly in the South East geo-political zone of the country.

Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport, also known as Imo State Airport, serves Owerri, the capital city of Imo State in the southeastern part of Nigeria.

As part of the Total Radar Coverage of Nigeria (TRACON), the airport recently underwent upgrading (2013-14) which covered the physical infrastructure as well communication equipment covering its air space as far as Port Harcourt Airport and beyond.

Despite the airport having the night landing capabilities, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria has restricts night operations except for airlifting passengers during pilgrimage (Hajj) operations. Meanwhile, the ongoing cargo section expansion is expected to be completed by 2016.

CONGRATULATIONS! celebrate with MRS. MERCY T. IYORTYER, FNIQS, MAPM, RQS on her investiture as the President of THE NIGERIAN INSTITUTE OF QUANTITY SURVEYORS

MRS. MERCY T. IYORTYER FNIQS, MAPM, RQS

No.2, Ali Akilu Road, P.O. Box 1897, Kaduna - Nigeria

GIMBA & PARTNERS

3F, Adisa Plaza, 39, David Ejoor Crescent, Gudu District, Abuja Tel: 08033498711, 08037044745 e-mail: gimbapartners@yahoo.com www.cedmagazineng.com November 2015 | 9

DEVELOPING STORY

President Buhari in a handshake with India Prime Minister, Modi

CHANGING MINDSET Buhari: Our Policies May Hurt Some Businesses in the Short-term because we will expect investors to do business with integrity - President Buhari

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However, the president said these measures would sustain the economy on the long run.

A statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, quoted the president as saying: "We are aware some of these measures may hurt operations of some businesses in the short term, but we On behalf of the entire members of NIQS Niger State Chapter, believe they are right I warmly felicitate with the National President for a sustainable economy."

MRS. MERCY T. IYORTYER, FNIQS The president said on your investiture as the new president of our noble institute. despite the fall in oil Certainly our joy has no bounds on your attainment of this p r i c e s, h i s status in view of associations with Niger State part of which is a d m i n istration evidence in visitations made during NEC meeting in Minna. remained fully We pray for God’s wisdom, His guidance, direction and committed to protection in actualizing your dream on the good maintaining macrofoundation of your predecessor. economic stability and improving Long live NIQS! long live Niger State and long live Nigeria. i n v e s t o r s ' confidence in Nigeria.

At an interactive MRS. MERCY T. IYORTYER, FNIQS In-coming National President session with chief Signed: executives of Indian ABUBAKAR HARUNA companies with Chairman NIQS Niger State interests in Nigeria, Buhari expressed the Physical Planning & Development Unit, belief that with its Federal University of Technology, Minna abundance of E-mail: bakarharuna@yahoo.com human and material

igeria’s president Muhammadu Buhari at the recently concluded India-Africa Summit in New Delhi, India, admitted that some of the measures he put in place might hurt some businesses in the short term.

Congratulations!

10 | www.cedmagazineng.com November 2015

ENVIRONMENT resources, the Nigerian economy did not have to suffer unduly from low oil prices, despite its severe impact on government revenues.

"What is required of us to which we are strongly committed, is the implementation of tight expenditure controls, effective fiscal and monetary policies, including the husbandry of scarce resources which our introduction of the Single Treasury Single Account (TSA) has begun to address," the president said.

Noting that India has been a dependable ally and friend of Nigeria, Buhari urged the chief executives to expand their companies' investments in Nigeria "so that we can, together, turn our engagements into a win-win situation for our two countries."

He said: "We can increase and diversify the current volume of our bilateral trade beyond US$16.36 billion, and diversify to other critical sectors such as agriculture; green technologies in power generation; infrastructure; information and communications technologies, the services sector, education, industry, especially textiles and solid minerals among others."

Buhari also urged the Indian CEOs, to accept the changes in policy being introduced by his administration and observe all extant Nigerian laws in running their business in the country.

He warned, particularly, that his administration would not tolerate the importation of sub-standard goods, especially foods and medicines, into Nigeria.

Buhari, while addressing the Nigerian community in India, said he was fully aware of the expectations of Nigerians who elected him on the platform of ch a n g e, i n t e g r i t y, p r o b i t y a n d accountability, and was therefore doing his best to meet those expectations.

He said: "I wish to assure you that we shall do our best to fix the economy, create jobs for the teeming population of our youths and make the home environment safe, secure and more attractive to Nigerians outside the country like your good selves.

"On the economy, our aim is to address the challenge of infrastructure in

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SAVING THE FOREST Conservationists push for 25 per cent forest recovery by 2030

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here is no doubt that an improvement in vegetation cover will not only enhance livelihood but also promote Nigeria's ecological integrity while ameliorating the impacts of climate change.

AS concerns mount over the depleting of Nigeria's remaining forest reserve, experts have advocated for sustainable Forest Regeneration and Protection Strategy, which will assist the nation to attain 25 percent forest cover by 2030.

They also stressed the need to devote more energ y on advocacy and stakeholders' engagement to protect the remaining forest cover while supporting massive tree planting initiatives throughout the country.

Speaking at the 2015 Walk for Nature organised by the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) in collaboration with Lagos State Government, NCF President, Philip Asiodu noted that forest's impacts in the daily lives are so important in so many ways, from the air, the food, the clothes, and in many other ways. He added, "it is crucial for all to see the need to support efforts on forest recovery in Nigeria."

The event on the theme "Forest Recovery our Mandate to Sustain the

Earth" attracted participants from all nook and crannies of Lagos, including government officials, environmentalists, representatives of corporate organisations and students.

Asiodu said: "Despite our dependence on forests, we are still a l l o w i n g t h e m t o d i s a p p e a r.

Unfortunately, when we take away the

"We need to recognize our responsibility in promoting a healthy environment for posterity.

Nature has fed us, cured us, and protected us. But today the roles have switched. We need to feed nature, we need to cure it and protect it if we want to secure a healthy and prosperous future for our children"

forest, it is not just the trees that go.

With dire consequences for all of us, the entire ecosystem begins to fall apart, which results in soil erosion, disruption of the water cycle, loss of biodiversity, climate change, flooding and drought, and so on.

"From 1960 to date, Nigeria has lost about 30 percent of its forest cover due to deforestation and habitat degrading activities like forest clearance for farmlands, logging and unsustainable land-use practices, which has resulted in the loss of biodiversity and the reduced functioning of our ecosystems", lamented Asiodu, noting that at independence, Nigeria still had about 35 percent forest cover and today the figure is less than five percent.

"There is no doubt that an improvement in vegetation cover will not only enhance livelihood but promote Nigeria's ecological integrity while ameliorating the impacts of climate change.

"Let me reiterate the fact that it behoves on the leadership and the elite in Nigeria to adopt and energetically implement a comprehensive Agenda for the Environment - perhaps a new 2030 Agenda which would only require a minor updating of the Environment Chapter of the abandoned Vision 2010.

This corrective agenda must be a longterm programme with properly sequenced measures to be implemented immediately and to last for two decades or more", said Asiodu.

The Lagos State Commissioner for the Environment, Babatunde Adejare in his remarks said that as a people, Nigerians need to do more to preserve nature so that people can live in peace.

According to him, nature must be guarded with passion because of the future generation.

"We need to recognize our responsibility in promoting a healthy environment for posterity. Nature has fed us, cured us, and protected us. But today the roles have switched. We need to feed nature, we need to cure it and protect it if we want to secure a healthy and prosperous future for our children", he said. www.cedmagazineng.com November 2015 | 39

ENVIRONMENT

DEVELOPING STORY

ACCOUNTING FOR ACTIONS Chinese support on climate change 'essential' - Hollande

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rench President Francois Hollande said Monday that Chinese support was "essential" to reaching an effective deal at the forthcoming climate change conference in Paris, as he began a visit to the Asian giant.

In the southwestern megacity of Chongqing, Hollande said he was seeking "a global and ambitious agreement that will allow [global] warming to be limited to two degrees".

"The support of the Chinese is essential," he said, adding: "The fight ag ainst global war ming is a humanitarian issue - how the planet can be preserved - and it is also an issue of considerable economic importance, of what we call green growth."

China is the world's largest polluter and will be a key player at the UN c o n f e r e n c e, w h i ch b e g i n s o n November 30, in the face of disputes over whether developed or developing MANUFACTURING

France President, Francois Hollande

countries should bear more of the burden for reducing emissions.

Talks have largely stalled over the mechanism for following up on commitments by the 195 attending countries: France is calling for a "legally binding" mechanism with a review

NEW TECHNOLOGY ARM Cement in Kenya to adopt new cement production technology

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ement manufacturer ARM Cement in Kenya has announced that it will launch a new technology in the production of cement, a move that will significantly reduce the cost of construction,the firm's chief executive has announced.

Speaking during a construction expo organised by Totally Concrete East Africa in collaboration with ARM Cement, chief executive Pradeep Paunrana said that the expensive technology in the production of 38 | www.cedmagazineng.com November 2015

cement was pushing up the final of houses.

He noted that the high cost of houses had made it hard for Kenyans to own houses.

"We need to be more economical to keep prices of finished houses within reach for final users - something that will not cost an arm and a leg for a house of office owner.

We can achieve this by ensuring that that the materials that go into the construction of housing units are cheaply sourced and

every five years, while China has ruled out any kind of punitive system.

Beijing, which was blamed for scuppering a 2009 UN climate summit in Copenhagen, has already promised its carbon dioxide emissions will peak "by around 2030" in a symbolic announcement in June.

The French president's trip comes hot on the heels of a similar visit by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who was in China last week hoping to drum up business, and after Chinese President Xi Jinping visited both Britain and the US in the last two months.

Several major EU countries including Germany, France and Britain are wooing China in the hope of winning business and becoming hubs for the growing overseas trade of its yuan currency.

Hollande is accompanied by around 40 heads of French firms and a number of ministers, and visited a Sino-French water treatment company in Chongqing to highlight cooperation in green growth industries. technologies are there to help us do this," he said.

Currently, Kenya is one of the fast growing countries in terms of real estate and hence more reasons for the technology to be applied so that the increasing demand in the construction sector can grow.

"The new technology now enables us to economically and efficiently produce some of the industry's high end products like RX5 - the 52.5 grade cement which allows a constructor to produce concretes of class 70 and this the cement the constructors would need to build a 30-40- 50 storeys, which are going to be a feature of Kenya in the years to come," he explained.

ARM Cement in Kenya is a leading manufacturer of sodium silicate, lime, industrial minerals, formulated fertilizers and special building products in East and Southern Africa.

Totally Concrete East Africa expo which was themed "shaping the future of construction and cement in East Africa," took place from 26th to 28th October, 2015. It focused on innovative technology and systems for property development in East Africa, improving cement performance and reducing construction costs for projects of all sizes.

all its ramifications, especially power and transportation. We are seeking to create jobs through agriculture, mining, industrial value-addition and the promotion of small scale enterprises.

"We are also taking steps to address criminality across the country. We are tackling the menace of terrorism posed

by Boko Haram head on and I am pleased to note that though sporadic attacks on soft targets have not stopped, the over-all capacity of Boko Haram to hold territory and determine the course of the conflict has been severely degraded.

"If the current positive trends are maintained, we are confident that by the end of this year, we would have succeeded in permanently turning the tide against the Boko Haram insurgents in Nigeria."

The president reaffirmed his administration's commitment to curbing corruption, plugging all

loopholes in public sector accounting and deploying available resources for the good of all Nigerians.

Buhari declared that recovery of stolen funds and prosecution of persons who had been indicted for corrupt practices would also continue to be vigorously pursued.

The president said he expected the ongoing recoveries and prosecutions to serve as a deterrent to others who nurse the ambition of seeking public office solely for illegal personal gain.

He assured the gathering that his administration fully recognised the devastating consequences of the illegal diversion of public resources meant for national development into private bank accounts, and was doing all within its powers to stop such diversions.

"The anti-corruption campaign will be on-going for many years. We are committed to the enthronement of good governance that plugs the

loopholes in public sector accounting, and the use of scarce resources for public good.

"We are determined to demonstrate exemplary leadership that will make our citizens change their ways in a manner that lays a solid foundation for reconstruction and development.

"I am confident that our approach to fighting corruption through value reorientation, improved internal processes and systems and the rule of law as well as enhancing the capacity of the various anti-corruption agencies and institutions will prove more enduring in addressing this evil.

"In the meantime, we will continue to prosecute those who have been indicted for corrupt practices and ensure that stolen funds are recovered to serve as deterrence to others who nurse the ambition of seeking public office solely for illegal personal gain," Buhari stated.

CONGRATULATIONS! The Board, Management and Staff of

AMAQUANTS ASSOCIATES, congratulate our Woman of Substance

MRS. MERCY TORKWASE IYORTYER FNIQS, MAPM, RQS on her investiture as the President of THE NIGERIAN INSTITUTE OF QUANTITY SURVEYORS. Ma, your immense contributions, dedication and commitment to the Quantity Surveying profession as well as the Built Environment in Nigeria are indeed monumental.

We are proud to be associated with your achievements and wish you successful and rewarding tenure in office.

Once again, Congratulations!

AMAQUANTS ASSOCIATES * Chartered Quantity Surveyors * Cost Engineers * Project Managers

MRS. MERCY TORKWASE IYORTYER FNIQS, MAPM, RQS

Suite C11 Rukayyat, Plaza, Plot 93, Obafemi Awolowo Way, Jabi, Abuja.

P. O. Box 2655, Garki - Abuja 08033112342, 07055834935

Quess Muraina Aderemi K. FNIQS, MRICS, RQS Principal Partner

www.cedmagazineng.com November 2015 | 11

CONSTRUCTION

NEWS EXTRA

GEARING UP FOR ACTION Plans to construct affordable houses in Nigeria get momentum

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lans to construct more affordable houses in Nigeria is quickly gaining pace after the country's Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) partnered with several foreign Investors to build affordable houses in Nigeria.

The aim of this project is to partner with foreign investors that can build standard and affordable houses that the poor can afford.

Uju Baba Executive Director of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) announced the development during a media interview in Nigeria.

Mrs Baba noted that there is a huge vacuum in the housing sector that needs to be filled and further reiterated the Nigerian Investment Promotion

Commission's (NIPC) commitment towards the development of the construction sector in Nigeria by partnering with foreign Investors from Turkey and Brazil to make housing affordable to the poor and the middle class in Nigeria.

Uju has also expressed optimism that by the end of this year, the foreign companies/investors will be in Nigeria

to get things started, she also shared their commitment towards building a standard and affordable housing for all.

The Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) would also go an extra mile to monitor the activities of the scheme by making sure the project is only of benefit to the poor and not taken advantage by the rich or anyone who want to make huge profit out of the scheme.

Mrs Uju also explained that NIPC was facilitating investment and will be taking more proactive steps as the biggest agent of development and transformation in Nigeria. She also made known that the commission is repositioning itself to be create and attract quality investors and also positioning itself as the one stop center for Investment in Nigeria.

She said the biggest role of the commission is to ensure investment opportunities in Nigeria

CONGRATULATIONS! The Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors, Plateau State Chapter heartily congratulate

MRS. MERCY T. IYORTYER, FNIQS, MAPM, RQS on her investiture as the President and indeed First Female President of The Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS) We wish her a successful tenure and pray for wisdom and strength to lead the institute to greater height.

We also wish to congratulate the outgoing President MALLAM MURTALA M. ALIYU, FNIQS (MUTAWALLEN GOMBE) for finishing well.

Congratulations MRS. MERCY T. IYORTYER, FNIQS In-coming National President

Signed: Mr. Oluwadare Adetunji, MNIQS, MCSI, RQS Chairman, NIQS Plateau State Chapter

12 | www.cedmagazineng.com November 2015

PLATEAU STATE CHAPTER Rads Quants Associates 7, Dogon Karfe, Jos e-mail: radsquants@yahoo.com

BREAKING NEW GROUNDS Virgin Hotel in New York breaks ground

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ppealing to both the leisure and business traveler, the 465-key hotel will include approximately 30,000 square feet of amenities: banquet, meeting, conference and open workspace located in the cellar; multiple food and beverage outlets on the lower tower floors; rooftop skybar, expansive outdoor terraces, pool and spa; complemented by 90,000 square feet of retail The Virgin Hotel New York breaks ground in the NoMad neighborhood of New York City. Located on the southwest corner of 30th Street and Broadway, the 39-storey, 500,000-square-foot tower is expected to open in 2018. VOA, the architect and interior designer, has been working closely with owner/developer the Lam Group and Virgin Hotels to create a dynamic new lifestyle hotel concept that will become an exciting destination for both travelers and locals.

Appealing to both the leisure and business traveler, the 465-key hotel will include approximately 30,000 square feet of amenities: banquet, meeting, conference and open workspace located in the cellar; multiple food and beverage outlets on the lower tower floors; rooftop skybar, expansive outdoor terraces, pool and spa; complemented by 90,000 square feet of retail.

Architectural Design Virgin's commitment to creating a new "lifestyle" hotel product required VOA to consider how its program should inform the architectural solution. The overall design is a selectively sculpted tower over a three-level podium, maximizing the open-air program and providing ample amenity floors.

Says Brian McFarland, a principal of VOA and the lead architectural designer on the hotel, "The design of the tower was conceived from the inside out, taking cues from the hotel room guest floors.

Efficiently cellular in nature, the tower originally dictated a simple building form.

Deconstruction of this otherwise simple tower was achieved through selective massing being removed and reapplied to create a more interesting form and offer more corner rooms and greater views."

Both plan and structure also informed the expression of the facade. Major str uctural elements are located strategically along perimeter zones where daylighting was not required. Further accentuating the design is the tower cladding: a colossal scale mosaic of differing embossed stainless steel panels which visually elongate the building vertically, making it appear more slender.

Extruding the reflective glazed areas out between the metal solids creates a reading

of crystalline cubic solids emphasizing the three dominant hotel exposures.

Says Len Cerame, VOA Architecture NY managing principal, "The Virgin Hotel New York's distinctive look is sure to play a key role in the NOMAD neighborhood's transformation process."

The breadth of the Broadway frontage - designed as a continuous surface of glass storefronts - will feature premier retailers.

Upon completion, the Virgin Hotel will take its place as the northern anchor of Nomad. It will bridge the gap between southern Madison Square Park and the Flatiron district to Herald Square. With the comprehensive food and beverage offerings and large retail component, The Virgin Hotel will drive increased foot traffic and further invigorate this transforming neighborhood.

ALL ABOUT VOA VOA Architecture, PLLC, is a global architecture and interior design firm that blends the capabilities of a multinational company with the care and attention of a boutique studio. VOA hospitality environments elevate the guest experience, aligning guest desires with inspired solutions that foster relaxation, personal connections, and memorable experiences. Its project teams of hospitality experts create designs that bring long-term value to project stakeholders, reflecting their project vision and goals and communicating a consistent brand message, in addition to being functional, efficient and beautiful.

VOA is consistently ranked as one of the top 20 design firms by Hotel and Management Magazine, Hospitality Design and Interior Design magazine's Hospitality Giants list.

Coming This

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BUILDING MATERIAL

FIRST IN AFRICA

'Green' architectural aluminium powder coating plant a first for Sub-Saharan Africa

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Cape Town based company is the first in Sub-Saharan Africa to offer an environmentally friendly method of pre-treating architectural aluminium prior to powder coating.

Blue Willow Aluminium has built an automated processing plant in line with International Best Practice which is Hexavalent chromium-free for environmentally-friendly pre-treatment manufacturing. Recognised as a human carcinogen if inhaled, Hexavalent chromium is also what infamously contaminated groundwater in Hinkley, United States, leading to a lawsuit with a multi-million dollar settlement and the movie Erin Brockovich.

"We have built the first plant in SubSaharan Africa that fully complies with International Legislation and are proud to have created a processing plant which includes the most environmentally advanced and technically sophisticated chemical processes for preparation of architectural aluminium prior to powdercoating," said Blue Willow Aluminium GM, Schalk Pretorius of the Atlantis Industrial plant.

"Our guaranteed quality comes from the constant reproducible production standards generated by the automated system. Previously, local companies had the frustration of irregular quality with high wastage factors, and were forced to import and hold substantial stock to counter the 36 | www.cedmagazineng.com November 2015

inconsistencies of local alternatives. Blue Willow Aluminium has filled a growing need in the local market for access to world class powder coating technology, which results in aluminium of an equally high quality."

The pre-treatment process begins with the production of ultra-pure water, used throughout the process to provide a transitional medium from one chemical

CONGRATULATIONS! process to the next.

All water fed into the system is used in the process, including the reverse osmosis waste stream. Once the water has fulfilled its function through the pre-treatment process, it is automatically treated and then re-utilized in the garden irrigation system.

"The process is so advanced the recycled water is, in fact, cleaner than municipal water that goes into the pre-treatment plant," Pretorius said.

Aluminium pre-treatment is done in two chemical zones at ambient temperature.

The first zone deoxidises the aluminium by removing the oxidised surface layer including all contamination contained with the surface microstructure. The second zone forms a reaction layer with the aluminium, providing galvanic protection, a layer for powder-paint to adhere and, bare corrosion protection of the aluminium while in transition after the pre-treatment step to the final powder-coating process.

The powder coating system installed at Blue Willow Aluminium is the most efficient and fastest colour change system available on the market - Nordson's most advanced system available globally.

Offering absolute and consistent process controls, the system incorporates the ColorMax Booth, the Encore HD Application equipment, powder feed pumps and the Spectrum HD powder feed centre. "This state-of-the-art powder coating system is truly cutting edge and completes Blue Willow Aluminium's outstanding service offering."

MAKING THE DIFFERENCE

Newly constructed Dangote Petrochemicals refinery in Nigeria to start operation

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he Dangote Petrochemicals refinery in Nigeria will commence its operations by 2018 a senior manager has announced.

Speaking at a press briefing during his tour at the plant site at Lekki Free Trade, Kelkar said that the construction work on the project is expected to be completed by 2017 adding that live streaming will kick off by 2018.

The 650,000 barrels per day capacity Dangote petrochemicals refinery in Nigeria is aimed at boosting the nation's refining capacity and enhance industrialization.

Besides boosting the nation's refining capacity and enhancing industrialization the plant will as well create over 2000 jobs.

Jande Nul, a soil investigation expert from a Belgium-based dredging company is in charge of the project's dredging and soil

investigation. On completion, the construction project will enhance Nigeria's crude oil refinery.

Assembling of equipment is expected to take a couple of months. The project is also opening a door of opportunity for the country to host the longest single train refinery in the world in line with the Dangote's Group vision.

When operational the plant is expected to produce 750,000 metric tonnes of polypropylene per annum whereas the fertilizer plant will produce 2.8 metric tonnes of Urea and Ammonia.

The Dangote Group is a strategic investor in a number of upstream oil and gas projects in Nigeria and is at an advanced stage of project development in the downstream sector. The Group has also ventured into power generation (coal), gas exploration and fertilizer production.

MRS. MERCY TORKWASE IYORTYER FNIQS, MAPM, RQS

The Board, Management and Staff of

ZIHABIT LIMITED, congratulate our Executive Director and a Woman of Substance

MRS. MERCY TORKWASE IYORTYER FNIQS, MAPM, RQS

on her investiture as the President of THE NIGERIAN INSTITUTE OF QUANTITY SURVEYORS. Your immense contributions, dedication and commitment to the Quantity Surveying profession as well as the Built Environment in Nigeria are indeed remarkable.

We are proud to be associated with your achievements and wish you successful and rewarding tenure in office.

ZIHABIT LIMITED 8, Jos Street, Area 3, Garki, Abuja

www.cedmagazineng.com November 2015 | 13

COVER FEATURE

ENERGY

THE POWER CHALLENGE No justification for electricity tariff hike - Stakeholders

N

TAKING CHARGE MERCY IYORTYER TAKES CHARGE ..........................................................

THE NIGERIAN INSTITUTE OF QUANTITY SURVEYORS WELCOME ITS FIRST FEMALE PRESIDENT WITH ENTHUSIASM 14 | www.cedmagazineng.com November 2015

IGERIANS have been thrown into confusion over whose authority supersedes on the issue of electricity tariff increase. No sooner than President Muhammadu Buhari, assured Nigerians that there will be no hike until supply improved significantly, than the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, last week declared a new tariff regime effective from November 1.

Stakeholders note that the new tariff is more than 40 percent higher than the current levels and will be the second time in nine months, even as there has been no significant improvement in the electricity supply situation in the country.

While some consumers admit to better supply in some locations, majority however, insist that the situation is even worse than before, as they enjoy the scarce commodity only for a few hours late into the night, when it is really of no use to them.

No justification: Reacting to the development, an advocacy group, Nig eria n E lectricity C o n sumers Advocacy, NECAN, said the recent "consultations" on tariff carried out by electricity distribution companies, DISCOS, were a mere trick to justify tariff hike.

According to NECAN President, Mr. Tomi Akingbogun, "We believe NERC is allowing the public to be over billed by

allowing the DISCOs justify the increases.

Otherwise, how can it be explained NERC allowed a tariff hike of 12.5 to 48 percent in January, and allowing same percent in October of that same year?

"NERC has allowed the DISCOs to take advantage of everyone and had changed the rules at will thereby breaking all the rules. The condition given to them was to ensure that customers are metered before complaining of losses." He therefore called on the President Buhari to keep his promises to Nigerians and discourage the exploitation by the DISCos. Costs evaluation: Also commenting, the Director General, Lagos Chambers of

Sam Amadi, NERC Chairman

Commerce and Industry, LCCI, Mr. Muda Yusuf, said the proposed upward review in electricity tariff at this time is worrisome, as consumers should not be made to pay for inefficiency or corruption costs.

His words: "It is important to evaluate the elements of the current costs especially the integrity of procurement processes and other operational expenditure under the current dispensation. The risk of bloated costs is typically high with such enterprises, especially as they operate in a monopolistic environment.

"Pricing is only one component (although fundamental) in the power reform process. There are other issues such as the gas availability, security of gas infrastructure, adequacy of investment in gas infrastructure, security and adequacy of the transmission lines, and the general framework to mitigate the risk of investment in the sector.

"The problem of outrageous billing is yet to be addressed. The commitment to the provision of meters for electricity consumers to ensure fair billing is inadequate. A vast majority of consumers still have no meters.

Inadequaciesin billing Yet this is fundamental to a good relationship between the power firms and their customers. Many consumers feel exploited at this time because of the inadequacies in billing. The contentious fixed charge is still in place. "It is heart rending that the choice of locations of many of the Independent Power Projects, IPPs, was informed more by politics than the economics of power generation.

"Access to a major input in power generation, which is gas, was not sufficiently taken into account. This reality has badly affected the cost profile of the IPP projects. All these are complications and challenges on the path of the power sector productivity," he maintained.

Breaking the law: According to Section. 76 of the Electric Power Sector Reform Act. MYTO 1.0 states that there will be no increase until 2017, and only 5% will be allowed. DISCOs were given two years to meter all customers.

But they refused saying there was no money. Grant was given them, they refused to access it.A www.cedmagazineng.com November 2015 | 35

COVER FEATURE

INSURANCE

patronage of the builders insurance so that not only that their premium income will increase, also victims of the incidents will have compensation.

Immediate past president of Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers, (NCRIM) Mr. Ayodapo Shoderu had during his tenure said that the council would embark on lobby of state House of Assembly to promulgate edicts that would drive public compliance with some of the provisions of the insurance products covered under the insurance law.

Shoderu, who stated this at a press briefing in Lagos noted that the spate of public building collapses and the consequential human and material losses usually recorded all over the country would reduce considerably if states' legislature have in place laws compelling adherence to section 64 and 65 of the insurance act.

He said that the NCRIB under his tenure would focus more attention on enforcement of builders insurance but from available evidence, his two year tenure which ended last week focused more attention on insurance awareness among Nigerians. It is hoped that his successor Kayode Okunoren will pay more attention on this important area of lobbying the law makers to act on enforcement of insurance among Nigerians.

Media reports say that between 2006 and 2013 there were about 135 cases of collapse buildings in Lagos alone.

The chairperson of the Lagos state tribunal of enquiry on building collapse during governor Baba Tunde Fashola's tenure Abimbola Ajayi, while presenting the tribunal's report to Fashola in Ikeja said the state's building control law of 2010 empowered the relevant government agencies to act and stop the menace of building collapses in the state but that the system did not because of political, cultural and administrative reasons.

Ajayi also blamed the problem on the passive stance of law enforcement agencies and the Ministry of Justice to the arrest and prosecution of violators of building control laws.

"Although there is the provision for 34 | www.cedmagazineng.com November 2015

Ayodapo Shoderu

summary trial of violators and offenders in the laws examined by the Tribunal, there is no record of persons prosecuted or sanctioned for incidents of building collapse by the Ministry of Justice, Nigeria Police and any other known organ," she said.

FG promises during the launch During the campaign flag off in 2010,the then Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Ambassador Baba Gana Kingibe who reeled out the enforcement order to the public had explained that the Federal Government was worried about the persistent incidence of collapsed buildings with their attendant losses.

He said NAICOM's action in flagging off the campaign was in line with Federal Government's concern for the welfare of the citizenry and its sustained policy of ensuring the security of lives and property.

Kingibe said: "The collapse of any building will always leave behind stories of woes which include loss of loved ones, loss of investment and physical and emotional pains to people some of whom may be only passersby who were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Building collapse is not an accident. It occurs as a result of structural default, pure and simple. As such, non can be immune."

Kingibe said: "The collapse of any building will always leave behind stories of woes which include loss of loved ones, loss of investment and physical and emotional pains to people some of whom may be only passersby who were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Building collapse is not an accident. It occurs as a result of structural default, pure and simple. As such, non can be immune."

The then Minister for Finance, Dr. Shamsudeen Usman, had at the flag off ceremony promised that federal government's continued support to the insurance industr y to make it competitive in the global arena.

He urged all owners of buildings to take the advantage of the Act to protect themselves and innocent members of the public who are usually the victims of their indiscretion.

From what is on ground especially in the face of incessant building collapse, the objective of flagging off the compulsory building collapse has not been realised spelling the need for government to listen to the yearnings of both the insurers and the regulatory body and put in place the necessary action through the use of law enforcement agents to enforce the compulsor y builders insurance .Government should do this by showing good example through ensuring that all its assets are insured and the premium paid.

It is only then that government can have moral justification and courage to compel the private sector to insure their buildings.

This will go a long way to prevent loss of lives and properties and boost the premium of insurers. In a situation where buildings collapse, the victims and their dependants will get necessary succour from the insurers whose duty it is to bear such risks.

Also the resent leadership of NAICOM under Mohammed Kari should continue from where his immediate predecessor Daniel stopped in pushing for government's assistance in enforcement of insurance to Nigerians.

Culled from ThisDay

“The construction industry plays a very vital role in the economic development of any nation, and Nigeria is not an exception. The sector therefore needs to be managed efficiently; and as construction cost managers, it is our dear responsibility to contribute in a positive direction by applying professionalism” - Mercy Iyortyer

T

he current Vice President of the prestigious Nigerian Institute of Q u a n t i t y S u r ve yo r s, a n d incoming President of the same Mrs. Mercy Torkwase Iyortyer has made indelible marks in the institute, the profession and the corporate life of the professionals as it were. She has served the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors in various capacities, and will once more serve, but this time, at the helm of the institute's affairs as the National President. He immense contributions in the built sector goes a long way to usher in her grand entry into this position. rd Upon her emergence as the 23 National President of the Institute and first female president of the same, she acknowledges God and the support of her fellow members and also shares her vision of taking the institute to a height where its members are recognized as experts that can actually deliver value for money for construction projects. “The construction industry plays a very vital role in the economic development of any nation, and Nigeria is not an exception. The sector therefore needs to be managed efficiently; and as construction cost managers, it is our dear responsibility to contribute in a positive direction by applying professionalism.

The main policy thrust of this regime is corruption alienation, and we can help to achieve it in so many ways. For example, by giving near accurate cost of projects so as to ensure a near accurate budgeting for planning purposes which remove any tendencies of over-inflation of projects by giving accurate costs. We can also carry out procurement management of

projects so as to get the right contractors for these projects, while we can also monitor and evaluate these projects for performance tracking purposes. All these and more we can do; but we are not yet recognized as capable of offering these services effectively; though it is a continuous process. My vision is to be able to take us to that height during my dispensation as president”.

As much as the construction industry has had its successes in recent times, there have been some long standing challenges still facing the sector that the general public has attributed to the construction professionals, and as construction economists, most of the blame tends to be passed on to the members of the National Institute of Quantity Surveyors, but the newly emerged president opined that, for the holders of high authority in the public sector, the challenge lies in that these officials have to work with an already provided budget. According to her, most of the public parastatals working to better the housing sector and other associated projects are always enveloped in a budget that cannot be exceeded.

For the private sector, challenges in the provision of houses is enveloped within the high cost of housing delivery, in which case the roles of the quantity surveyor has not been challenged.

However, the major challenge that we should concern ourselves with is how to deliver affordable housing as well as other people oriented projects.

Speaking further on the role of quantity surveyors in project execution, Mrs Iyortyer says, “ p r i va t e s e c t o r operators will build their commercial houses with x cost and add their profit, which quantity surveyors do not have any power over.” Do we then make them reduce the cost? Another challeng e QS.

Mercy Iyortyer mentioned as deterring factor for the performance of Quantity Surveyors in the infrastructure projects and the housing sector is that they are not made to submit bill of quantities to go alongside other documents for approvals. According to her, since Architects are made to submit their drawings, quantity surveyors should also be made to submit the bill of quantities.

It shows the cost of a housing and relevant project; and should be taken seriously. Not leaving behind the biggest component of any construction project which is the infrastructural development; we tend to technically hand over this part of the built sector to the government.

Of a truth, the government cannot foot this development without help from the private sector, as the cost is astronomical.

The newly emerged president of the NIQS therefore strongly advised the government to strengthen the publicprivate partners' hip arrangement to attract investment to the construction sector.

“There is the need for government to arrang e stakeholders' meeting to analyse the PPP arrangement, if it has been so far successful, w h a t measures can be taken to enhanc e the succes s, and t h e n remove

MERCY IYORTYER, PRESIDENT, NIQS www.cedmagazineng.com November 2015 | 15

HOUSING

COVER FEATURE all the bottlenecks for a successful operation. The government should also s t r ive t o p r ov i d e a n e n a b l i n g environment for the success of the PPP arrangement, so that investors will not feel frustrated in their business ventures.

It has to be a collective effort”.

The incoming president has also assured the general public that in the gearing of the institute's affairs towards development, relevant recognition and institutional integrity, she would ensure that her administration will be at the forefront; especially with the promising premise of the Local Content Act. The challenge faced oftentimes by most professionals is the low level of patronage in terms of project execution, and there seems to exist an iota of optimism in that the head of the new government is someone who worked tirelessly with professionals during his term as Chairman of the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF); it is strongly believed that he will bring back the relevance of professionals in the execution of projects once again.

Speaking further on the performance and the importance of the construction sector to national development and the needed reforms Mrs. Iyortyer has this to say “The construction sector will not sur vive without cons t a n t r e f o r m s.

Presently, the construction sector in Nigeria can only boast of about 4 % contributio ns to the G D P and

MERCY IYORTYER, PRESIDENT, NIQS 16 | www.cedmagazine.com November 2015

towards national development whereas in Ghana, it contributes about 9.9% to the GDP. Therefore, there is a dire need for reforms in areas of construction financing i.e. easy access to finances, lowering of interest rates, perhaps to single digit, if possible; and invariably reforms in the area of capacity building (contractors for project execution) among so many others. Some countries have construction banks, and I know there was an initiative in that direction in the past, although it was truncated due to share capital, but I believe if it is revisited, it will enhance the development of the sector.

While speaking on the importance of the quantity surveyor in the construction team, Mrs Iyortyer says that “Quantity surveyors render services in the cost management procurement of all capital projects, not only in the housing sector.

Our relevance to national economy cannot be over-emphasied. We simply draw the line between correct budgeting and overspending. We play the advisory role to project executioners. Every professionally trained quantity surveyor understands his/her position in this regard, and would as such perform his/her duties within that understanding.”

To cap this, the enactment of the procurement act has provided an equal platform for all players of the industry to bid for public projects. It has saved government some huge amount of money. In fact, according to the Director-General of the Bureau of Public Procurement, Engr. Emeka Ezeh, the act saved N658 Billion for the government between 2009 and 2014 from contracts awarded by agencies of the federal government.

Therefore, as procurement managers, we are pleading for the government to include members of our institution on the council for procurement. It is only expedient”.

Mallam Murtala Aliyu, the outgoing President of the Institute also described its members as “jack of all trades” for the construction industry. In the positive sense, they deal a lot with the

economic, leg alities, project management, monitoring and evaluation, and this makes them a must have for the construction sector.

According to him, an average quantity surveyor is absolutely versatile, they are to be a part of the planning and budg eting team for all capital infrastructure projects.

However, the challenges in the housing sector have made it seem as though this versatility is not an achievable feat. The deficit of 17 million has made us neglect the demand end of the chain. All we think about is the availability of houses, but the available houses, will they be affordable?

Our roles as quantity surveyors is to effectively help clients plan a value inclusive project that will eventually sell at a reasonable profit, but the challenge still lies in the client's belief in our costing methods, and not in the expatriates' method.

Over the years, our professionals have faced this challenge, but we are optimistic that in this present dispensation of government, our indigenous companies will be engaged business wise, as a request has been submitted by the institute to the national assembly in this regard.

The newly emergent president of the Nig erian Institute of Quantity Surveyors, QS. Mercy Dubase Iyortyer having expressed her professional views and opinions on the standing of the nation's construction sector, gave a resounding applause to the current administration of the institute, one which she is a part of, for moving the institute thus far, especially the current president, Mallam Murtala Mohammed Aliyu, whom through his efforts, the institute's constitution was amended and strengthened.

According to her, he initiated the rotation of national activities round the geo-political zones to foster unity and enable integration among members. This amiable personality also initiated the Quantity Surveyor academy to enhance existing skills and harness new ones.

Evidently, a lot of endeavours were embarked upon by the outgoing administration, creating an avenue for more to be done.

insurance as well as enforce standard in construction of public buildings in Nigeria.

Insurance underwriters' experience Speaking on his company's experience on the builders insurance, Managing Director Royal Exchange General Insurance, Mr. Olutayo Borokini said his company has not seen much change in the insurance of buildings by Nigerians.

According to him, a lot of public buildings in Nigeria are not insured, adding that this is so whereas the law says that they must be insured.

He observed that most hotels in Abuja as well as schools are not insured and they fall under the public building category.

He observed that there is huge potential for building insurance in the country but that the government needs to help.

On what insurers expect government to do in the enforcement of the builders insurance Borokini said: '' By the time they seal up one or two uninsured buildings, virtually all the operators will wake up. These are the things I think the regulators should be doing in major cities. If buildings don't have insurance, seal them up.

If you seal them up for one or two hours, they are going to pay. Like what Lagos State government is doing in respect to tax, if you don't pay your tax, and they have written to you, by the time they come and seal up your premises for even one hour, you will pay. Get people to visit some of these hotels, public places and find out if they have insurance. If they don't have, seal them up. Enforcement is lacking, and I believe it is only the government that can do something about it. Just get one or two examples, everyone will fall in line and comply'', he suggested.

Imediate past president, Association of Registered Insurance Agents (ARIAN), Mr. Kingsley Obuvie said one of the reasons the builders insurance is not thriving is lack of enforcement.

He said government has to determine to enforce the policy before

insurance marketers and agents could succeed in selling it.

He said it is pretty difficult for insurance agents and marketers to be going from one house to another looking for the owners to come and insure their houses. He said if government comes out with the desired seriousness to enforce the policy and follow it up with awareness, people would willingly go for insurance of their houses.

Cases of collapsed buildings But while builders in different parts of the country continue to ignore the compulsory builders insurance, cases of collapsed buildings have failed to reduce.

Instead of abating, it has continued to increase and in each case of uninsured building collapse, the victims are left on their own except in situations where state government decides to extend helping hand to them through little financial help.

The spate of public building collapses and the consequential human and material losses usually recorded all over the country would reduce considerably if states' legislature have in place laws compelling adherence to section 64 and 65 of the insurance act - Shoderu

For instance, in the past ten years precisely between 2006 and 215, cases of collapsed buildings and their attendant waste of lives abound in different parts of the country.

In 2006, up to 3 building collapses were recorded in Lagos killing some occupants because of poor building and construction standard as well as poor materials.

Precisely On March 22, 2006, the top nine stories of a 21-story Nigeria Industrial Development Bank building collapsed in Lagos. This happened after a fire had gutted two stories in the building earlier that month. Heavy winds during a thunderstorm caused the building to cave in from the structural weakness after the fire.

One person was killed in the incident while 24 were reported injured.

In July the same year, a four-story block of flats collapsed in Lagos, killing at least 25 people , there was evidence by construction experts that the accident was caused by poor construction. The building was under three years old.

In November the same year, an unfinished, three-story building still under construction collapsed. Two construction workers were killed while twelve people were saved with minor injuries.

Efforts towards policy enforcement Against this backdrop, insurers are in earnest search of ways to promote

A www.cedmagazine.com November 2015 | 33

ENGINEERING A & A

INSURANCE met.

But a close look at where the industry is today, premium income wise, shows that it is still far from meeting the target mainly because though the motor insurance through the Nigeria Insurance Industry Data base (NIID) has yielded substantial premium to the industry, the builders insurance yield falls below expectation mainly due to lack of enforcement.

Insurance act on builders insurance Section 64 of insurance act of 2003 makes mandatory the insurance of buildings under construction where more than two floors are envisaged.

The section provides that insurance must cover the liability of the owner of the building in respect of the negligence of his servants, agents or consultant.

Section 65 of the same act makes the insurance of public building mandatory.

Public buildings are defined in Section 65(2) of the Act as all buildings occupied by government ministries; extra-ministerial departments; statutory bodies; tenement houses; hostels ; lodges; or licences and any building to which members of the public have access for the purpose of obtaining educational or medical service or for recreational purposes or for business transaction.

Section 65 (4) of the act specifies that 0.25% of the premium collected is to be paid into a Fire Services Maintenance Fund to be administered and disbursed

by NAICOM for the purpose of providing grants or procurement of e e act also provides that where there is a violation of this order which derives from the provision of Sections 64 and 65 of the Insurance Act 2003, such offenders are liable to three years imprisonment or a fine of N250,000 or both.

Also, the law prescribes a fine of N100, 000 for a tenant or owner of such insured building in respect of loss of, or damage to property or bodily injury or death suffered by any user of the premises and third party.

Non enforcement of the policy 32 | www.cedmagazineng.com November 2015

President of CORBON, Professor Kabir Bala

But despite these laws and determination by the insurance regulator to enforce the builders insurance, patronage of the policy and compliance with the law has been on a very low key.

This has compelled NAICOM to solicit for support of government in enforcement of builders insurance.

Apparently, non enforcement of the policy has not only affected insurance industry but other allied agencies of government whose services aid insurance such as the fire service.

At a recent forum of insurance brokers in Lagos where the Federal Fire service Department was invited as special guest, the agency was surprised to learn that 0.25 percent of premium from compulsory builders insurance was to go to them to enable them equip their workers for their fighting job.

Also at the recent insurance industry mega conference held in Abuja, when the issue of compulsory builders insurance came up with its expected aid to the fire service from the premium, the former commissioner for insurance

government should use every available instrument including punitive measure to compel Nigerians to comply with the compulsory builders insurance as well as enforce standard in construction of public buildings in Nigeria.

Chief Oladipo Bailey said the service has not received aid from insurers in this regard because no account has been opened to that effect as directed by the law.

The underwriters themselves said not much premium has been realised from the policy.

At the conference, the insurers agreed that government and its relevant law enforcement agencies should help the industry in the enforcement of the policy while the industry should seek for alliance and cooperation from the agencies and help in buying some of their equipment.

The insurers want all hands to be on the deck in the enforcement of the builders insurance arguing that the policy, if patronised will not only save lives and properties in the country but would position insurance to play its role in the economy.

The federal government itself should be at the vanguard of this by getting its law enforcement agents to not only enforce the purchase of the policy but arrest and deal decisively with owners of collapsed building in different pars of the country, especially if such buildings lack insurance cover.

A situation where a building collapsed, killing scores of people and law enforcement agency like the police waited for a whole day before going there , thereby allowing the owner to escape will create room for carefree attitude among Nigerians regarding patronage of the policy.

Also a situation where a public building like the one belonging to the synagogue church in Ikotun Lagos, which collapsed and the former president Goodluck Jonathan only went there to sympathise with the General overseer instead of ordering his arrest from Abuja because of many lives that were lost in the mishap will encourage careless attitude among Nigerians towards construction and towards insurance patronage.

Therefore government should use every available instrument including punitive measure to compel Nigerians to comply with the compulsory builders

A

PROFILE

SPECIAL

PROFILE

INTEGRITY DRIVEN PROFESSIONAL MRS. MERCY TORKWASE IYORTYER, FNIQS, RQS, MAPM

M

rs. Mercy Torkwase Iyortyer was born into a renowned family of Mr. Timothy Yuwa of Benue State, N i g e r i a . H e r a m i a bl e character and hard work manifested early in life leading to her being one of the best students at her primary school. Her outstanding performance while in Girls' High School, Gindiri in Plateau State resulted in her selection as Class Captain, House Prefect, President of Fellowship of Christian Students and Head Girl respectively. She actively participated in various extracurricular activities such as Hockey, Volley Ball, Net Ball, Track and Field events and Drama in her Secondary School days.

Mrs. Mercy Torkwase Iyortyer graduated from the prestigious Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in 1979 with BSc Quantity Surveying (2:1). Mrs Iyortyer also obtained MSc in Architecture (Building Economics and Management) from University College London (UCL) in 1983.

In her quest for acquiring professional excellence and certification, Mrs. Iyortyer at various times became Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors, Registered Quantity Surveyor, Member of Association of Project Management, Associate Member of Women in Management, Business and Public Service (WimBiz) and many more.

Mrs. Mercy Torkwase Iyortyer's working career spanned over 35 years in both Public and Private sectors beginning as a youth Corper at the Ministry of Works and Housing, Makurdi, Benue State and was retained thereafter. She later transferred her services to the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) and rose to the rank of an Assistant Chief Quantity Surveyor before retiring voluntarily in 1991 to pursue career in the private sector. She demonstrated

entrepreneurial skills and business acumen by establishing MTI Partnership (a Quantity Surveying and Project Management firm) and Zihabit Limited (a construction firm) both operating for about 24 years now. She also cosponsored and is presently managing Sinoni Limited (a hospitality outfit based in Abuja).

Mrs. Iyortyer was over the years charged with various professional leadership and responsibilities including Chairman of the NIQS Abuja Chapter, Pioneer and Founding Chairperson of the Women Association of Quantity Surveyors (WAQSN), Board Member of the Quantity Surveyors Registration Board, Council Member Representative of the African Association of Quantity Surveyors and presently the Deputy President of the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors.

Mrs. Iyortyer has over the years received several awards as a mark of recognition for her excellence and hard work. She was awarded the Outstanding Achievement Award by the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors, Outstanding Woman Entrepreneur of the year by the University of Mkar, Distinguished Woman Quantity Surveyors Award by the Federal University of Technology Students, Minna and Award for Meritorious Service by the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors, Abuja Chapter.

Mrs Iyortyer is a philanthropist of note. She donated a borehole to Mbakange Community in Vandeikya Local Government in Benue State, equipment to Secondary Schools and the Church as well as several donations to the less privileged and widows in her community, awarded scholarships to many indigent students and mentored numerous young professionals in the built environment.

Mrs. Mercy Torkwase Iyortyer is happily married to Architect Dr. Phillip Z. Iyortyer a former Director of Public Works FCDA, Abuja and the union is blessed with five children.

The Publisher, Management Team and the Entire Staff of

Century 21 Systems Communication Limited - Publishers of Construction & Engineering Digest (CED) Magazine

Congratulate MRS. MERCY T. IYORTYER, FNIQS on her Inauguration as President Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyor www.cedmagazineng.com November 2015 | 17

INSURANCE

CONGRATULATIONS!

The Board, Management and Staff of SINONI LIMITED, congratulate our Executive Director and a Woman of Substance MRS. MERCY TORKWASE IYORTYER FNIQS, MAPM, RQS

MRS. MERCY TORKWASE IYORTYER

on her investiture as the President of THE NIGERIAN INSTITUTE OF QUANTITY SURVEYORS. Ma, your immense contributions, dedication and commitment to the Quantity Surveying profession as well as the Built Environment in Nigeria are indeed monumental.

We are proud to be associated with your achievements and wish you successful and rewarding tenure in office.

FNIQS, MAPM, RQS

Once again, Congratulations!

SINONI LIMITED

ZETO COURT, Oshogbo Close, (Off Emeka Anyaoku Street), Opposite Nicon Luxury Hotel, close to NTA and FCDA, Area 11, Garki, Abuja - FCT, Nigeria. +234 (806) 095 8818; + 234 (805) 107 2678 www.sinonirestaurant.com; Email: sinonirestaurant@gmail.com 18 | www.cedmagazineng.com November 2015

REALITY CHECKS Compulsory Builders Insurance Seven Years After

T

he National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), precisely in August 2008 flagged off campaign on the implementation of compulsor y builders insurance with a view to not only boosting the insurance industry's premium but most importantly protecting lives and properties, which were often lost in building collapses.

The immediate past Commissioner for Insurance, Mr. Fola Daniel, during whose tenure the campaign was flagged off at the event listed structures covered under the Act to include: all buildings occupied by government ministries; extra-ministerial depar tments; statutor y bodies; tenement houses; hostels ; and any building to which members of the public have access for the purpose of obtaining educational or medical service or for recreational purposes or for business transactions.

Insurers' expectations During the launch, which took place at the popular Shehu Musa Yar' Adua Centre, Abuja, insurance industry

operators, who were highly elated and grateful to the regulatory body for the initiative, projected that the builders insurance, if well implemented as planned by the commission would yield a minimum of N10 billion premium to the industry annually.

Their hopes in this regard became higher when in the same year, state g ove r n m e n t s s t a r t e d e n a c t i n g

Mohammed Kari , Commisioner for Insurance

compulsory builders insurance in their various states.

The states were led by Lagos State government, followed by Imo State government among others.

To further boost activities in the industry through this particular policy, the federal government, two years ago, a p p r ove d N A I C O M ' s recommendation to make possession of compulsory builders insurance certificate a pre- requisite for getting government contract.

It is now five years since the commission flagged off the campaign and THISDAY surveyed the industry to see the performance of the policy.

From available evidence, the policy has performed much more below insurers' expectations.

Recall that Daniel, shortly after the launch had said that the transformation of the insurance industry into a trillion Naira market , a major dream of the industry from its present N300billion premium income margin was based on the assumption that if all the houses and motor vehicles in Lagos and Abuja alone were insured, the figure would be

A www.cedmagazineng.com November 2015 | 31

NEWS EXTRA

OIL AND GAS REPORT

GETTING BACK ON TRACK Gas discovery in Egypt to boost energy export

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recent Gas discovery in Egypt is likely to put the country back to its former position where it used to export energy. This follows the discovery of huge Zohr natural gas field at the coastline of the country.

Discovered by oil exploration company Eni, The move will see the country back into exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG), making the bright spot of demand it has created in an

oversupplied global gas market shortlived.

Once an energy exporter, declining oil and gas production and increasing consumption had turned Egypt into a net energy importer, but the discovery of the largest gas fields ever found in the Mediterranean could reverse this.

Egypt entered the LNG market with a burst of imports earlier this year, making it one of the world's top growth markets,

after leasing a floating storage unit (FSRU) from Norway's Hรถegh LNG for five years in April.

Just a few months later its fortunes changed with Eni's announcement of the discovery of the Zohr field that potentially contains 30 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas.

"We felt comfortable in Egypt's demand for LNG over a five-year period and we still feel that there's a good chance Hรถegh Gallant will serve for longer, but it all depends on how quickly local reserves are developed," said Richard Tyrrell, chief executive of Hรถegh LNG Partners LP. In a sign of Egypt's strong import demand, Tyrrell said the Hรถegh Gallant was probably the best utilised FSRU in the world.

Egypt has since added a second FSRU leased from Singapore-based Norwegian gas shipping company BW Gas. Offshore gas fields typically take several years to come on stream, however, as Egypt already has some of the infrastructure in place it's expected to be able to accelerate the process.

The gas discovery in Egypt will essentially rank it with middle East countries that have large reserves of natural gas and it remains to see how the competition for exports will eventually turn out to be.

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CLIMATE STATEMENT NY probes Exxon, Peabody climate statements

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ew York's attorney general is examining statements by Exxon Mobil and Peabody Energy to determine whether they deceived investors about the causes and impacts of climate change, an official familiar with the investigations said.

A subpoena was sent early November to Dallas-based Exxon after a yearlong review of shareholder disclosures, said the official, who wasn't authorized to publicly discuss the probes and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's office sought similar documents on climate change from St. Louis-based Peabody in 2013, which the company disclosed last year.

A spokesman for Schneiderman declined to comment Thursday. New York's attorney general has authority

under the state's Martin Act to investigate and prosecute securities fraud.

Exxon spokesman Scott Silvestri said the company has received the subpoena and rejects allegations in media reports that it suppressed research. Silvestri said that for years, Exxon has provided shareholders information about the business risks of climate change.

He cited "ExxonMobil's nearly 40year history of climate research that was conducted publicly in conjunction with the Department of Energy, academics and the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change."

"ExxonMobil recognizes that climate risks are real and responsible actions are warranted," Vice President Ken Cohen told reporters in a conference call.

He said scientists have publicly issued nearly 150 papers and obtained nearly 300 patents for technological advances in

cutting emissions.

"Beginning in the last decade, we've informed shareholders and investors on our perception of the business risks associated with climate change through regulatory filings, our annual corporate citizenship report and in other reports to shareholders," Cohen said.

InsideClimate News reported on the New York investigation earlier Thursday.

The nonprofit publication reported on its own investigation earlier this year that found documents showing Exxon recognized in the late 1970s the possible threat to its own existence from global warming, said John Cushman, an editor.

Company researchers later confirmed the emerging scientific consensus that doubling carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels would warm the earth with unpalatable effects, Cushman said.

At Peabody, spokeswoman Kelley Wright said the company continues to work with the Attorney General's Office "regarding our disclosures, which have evolved over the years."

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www.cedmagazineng.com November 2015 | 19

OUTSTANDING PROFESSIONALS

DRIVEN TO SUCCEED Leading from the front, Engr. Arimoro Cyril Obuse, MNSE, PMP, MASCE, C.Eng, R. Eng., in the last 8 years, he has been the group head engineering at Polmaz Limited and also the quality management representative on all quality process and procedures for the company,

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nowledge and experience remains the key in the practice of engineering anywhere in the world. Engr. Arimoro Cyril Obuse, huge experience and taste for knowledge keeps him ahead among his peers. A graduate of civil and structural engineering from the former Bendel state university, now Ambrose Ali University, Ekpoma Edo State. He is a registered professional engineer with the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) and the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE).

He has several years of experience in the field of Corrosion Control, Pipeline Integrity Management, Non destructive testing, Oil & Gas Field facility management, and a wide knowledge of Project Management in various industrial processes, he is an NDT, Inspections and corrosion control Specialist.

Engr. Arimoro, has carried out corrosion control measures, design and implementation of Cathodic Protection System, Complete Corrosion Audit programme, ECDA (External Corrosion Direct Assessment), on multiple Gas distribution lines, provided Technical Consultation on all PIM issues amongst so many other projects.

Other notable jobs done include the design/ survey studies and corrosion implementation programmes for so many organisations around the world including NLNG, NNPC, SEEMS, CSC, and so many others. He has being on the team to develop ECDA evaluation program to verify the integrity of pipelines, and ASTs. Engr. Cyril O. Arimoro is a member of the different professional bodies, both in Nigeria and outside the country, among 20 | www.cedmagazineng.com November 2015

them are National Association of Corrosion Engineers (NACE) U.S.A. and American Society for Non Destructive Testing (ASNT), member Nigerian Society of Engineers (MNSE), member of Nigerian Institute of Civil Engineers (MNICE) and member of Project Management Institute (USA).

He is a certified Project Management Professional as well as a seasoned administrator.

He holds a very dear interest in the field of project management. He constantly gives lectures & guidelines on project management best practices.

Engr. Cyril Arimoro, has been on the board of several companies amongst which is Precision Electronics & Electrical Company LTD, the foremost company in Nigeria that initiated the process and instrumentation for the detection from above ground, underground buried pipe and cable from Radio detection United Kingdom. He has also been deeply involved in the company strategic and policy decisions issues for business sustenance and growth. He is a proven Technocrat, and has travelled wide on the cause of his job routine, namely; across Nigeria, Middle East and America.

He holds quite a number of certifications from the American Petroleum Institute, American Society for Non-Destructive Testing, American Welding Society, Project Management Institute, National Association of Corrosion Engineers

He holds a deep love for the acquisition of knowledge, which he does not hoard from others who taste for the same knowledge.

Engineers

OIL AND GAS REPORT

(NACE) Corrosion Institute etc.

Some of the certifications he received both within and abroad include; API 510 Authorized Pressure Vessel Inspector, API 570 Authorized In service Piping Inspector, API 653 Above Ground Storage Tank Inspector, API 580 Risk Based Inspection Professional. Others include; American Welding Society & Certified Welding Inspector AWS/CWI, ASNT NDT Level III in Ultrasonic testing, ASNT NDT Level III in Magnetic Particle testing, Federal Government Authorized Boiler and Pressure Vessel Inspector/Examiner.

Engr. C.O. Arimoro is a Certified Cathodic Protection Personnel and also a holder of the Basic Corrosion Certificate from the National Association of Corrosion Engineers (NACE), he is equally a Certified ISO9001 Lead Auditor etc.

A seasoned Corrosion and Inspection Engineer with very good management qualities, His taste for knowledge in immeasurable and unstoppable as he is still in the process of acquiring more k n ow l e d g e by u n d e r g o i n g m o r e training/certifications. He is presently in the university undergoing a post graduate course in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering.

His work experience also knows no bound. In the last 8 years, he has been the group head engineering at Polmaz Limited and also the quality management representative on all quality process and procedures for the company, as well as senior corrosion & inspection engineer. He is a multi tasking engineer with wide knowledge in the engineering profession.

He holds a deep love for the acquisition of knowledge, which he does not hoard from others who taste for the same knowledge. In every knowledge and experience he acquire he makes out time subsequently to pass on the knowledge to as many young and old engineers that are willing to learn.

Engr. Cyril Obuse Arimoro is married with 5 children. He is an intellectual man looking forward to connecting with great engineering firms to carry out extensive research studies and deliver best practice to the industry and for the growth of the nation development.

We at CED Magazine congratulate you for your selection as one of the Outstanding Professional Engineers in Nigeria to mark the 55 independence anniversary series. Congratulations!

from major oil companies and senior government officials from several oilproducing countries met in the United States of America and demonstrated a commitment to end the practice of routine gas flaring at oil production sites globally latest by 2030. Unfortunately, Nigeria, with the second largest gas flaring record in the world after Russia, is yet to sign the 'Zero Routine Flaring by 2030' initiative.

Stakeholders proffer solutions Stakeholders believe that it is expedient for the government and policy-makers in the oil industry to make every effort to appreciably reduce the quantum of gases being flared in Nigeria and encourage the development of gas infrastructure. While speaking on the issue recently at Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE) conference on gas flaring, its former president, Adedoja Ojelabi, said that in spite of several gas flares-out regulations and policy, the country continues to flare its natural resources.

"The goal post has shifted a few more times, 2001 to 2004, and then National Energy Policy that declared January 1, 2008 then December 31, 2008 as the deadline for gas flares-out in Nigeria.

Some reports have named 2015 as the next deadline", she added Ojelabi identified key issues hampering the effective reduction in gas flaring in the Niger Delta to include legal issues regarding gas flaring regulator y framework, Nigerian government's commitment/capacity to create enabling environment, fiscal and contractual framework for associated gas, lack of infrastructure and huge upfront cost to develop it, access to transmission and markets and energy pricing.

She added that there has been a downside, with the negative impact on the environment, sustainable development, erosion of revenue from gas as a commodity, wealth creation from gas investment opportunities, loss of value for power generation where the country is highly deficient.

"Recent studies have shown the extent of economic loss to the country could range from $2.5 - $17 billion yearly", she added.

not be feasible, thus forcing the embattled Shagari government to shift the target date.

Although, routine gas flaring was outlawed since 1984, according to Section 3 of Nigeria's Associated Gas Reinjection Act 1979, the practice continued unabated during the succeeding military regimes.

Instead of the much-anticipated reduction, statistics from DPR show that the rate of gas flaring grew in leaps and bounds owing to the failure of government to enforce the gas flaring law.

Besides the zero-gas flaring deadline, the Federal Government also had a number of other regulatory commitments that ought to have helped to realise the objective.

For instance, the National Gas Policy (NGP) first reviewed in 1995 by the late General SaniAbacha regime required subsequent production sharing contracts (PSCs) signed with oil companies to include gas utilization clauses. Incentives were also offered under the Associated Gas Utilisation Fiscal incentives as an effort to put in place investment required to transport gas to interested third parties, yet those measures failed to lead to actualisation of the zero-gas flaring target.

However, many Nigerians heaved a sigh of relief when former President OlusegunObasanjo's administration kick-started a new gas flaring phase-out in 2000, setting December 2003 as the new deadline for gas flaring phase-out. This followed its renewed investment in the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG).

But the oil firms preferred 2006 as the

most realistic date to end the flares.

Although both parties later reached an agreement to end gas flaring by the end of 2004, the Presidency later pushed the date further by two years (2006).

However, when the 2006 zero-gas flaring deadline failed to materialise, a new date of 2008 was quickly agreed. While bowing to mounting local and international pressure, government again pledged to halt gas flares in Nigeria by January 1, 2008 as the new zero flare date.

It also threatened punitive action for any breach. Again, on December 17, 2007 yet another shift was announced, this time with a deadline fixed for December 31, 2008.

In 2009, the Senate passed the Gas Flaring Bill, making it illegal for operators to flare gas in Nigeria beyond December 31, 2010. Even this deadline was not met, forcing the House of Representatives to propose December 2012 as the new zerogas flaring date, as well as impose a fine of $500,000 on any company which fails to report, within 24 hours, any emergency flaring on account of equipment failure.

As at April this year, chief executives

Stakeholders believe that it is expedient for the government and policy-makers in the oil industry to make every effort to appreciably reduce the quantum of gases being flared in Nigeria and encourage the development of gas infrastructure.

Culled from the Guardian www.cedmagazineng.com November 2015 | 29

EVENT

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OIL AND GAS REPORT

Arc. Musa Sada, Minister of Mines & Steel

Development Company (SPDC) followed with 51.92 billion SCF; Mobil Producing Nigeria flared 42.86 billion SCF while Nigeria Agip Oil Company (NAOC) flared 35.79 billion SCF. Addax Petroleum Development Company burnt 35.6 billion SCF, Total Exploration and Production flared 22.78 billion SCF, Total Upstream Nigeria burnt 18.73 billion SCF, Esso flared 4.517 billion SCF, Chevron Texaco burnt 4.43 billion SCF and Amni Petroleum flared 3.87 billion SCF of gas in the year under review.

In 2014, Shell Petroleum Development Company's (SPDC) increase in levels of oil production resulted in the volumes of flared gas increasing by 12 per cent over the year, and an increase of nine per cent in flaring intensity.

SPDC said that a challenging operating environment and shortfalls in funding from the government-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Company have resulted in delays in the completion of a number of gas-gathering projects.

“SPDC remains committed to further reducing the volume and intensity of gas flaring with a number of associated gasgathering projects which are all currently in development. Further progress to reduce flaring needs sustained commitment and funding by all jointventure partners, together with safe access to install the equipment," it noted.

Nigeria's failed LNG projects Efforts by the Federal Government to reduce gas flaring through LNG processing plants in the country have all met brick walls. For example, it took NLNG decades to get off the ground; the other two LNG projects Nigeria is planning to construct - Olokola LNG (OK-LNG) and Brass LNG are also running well behind schedule.

NLNG shareholders - NNPC, Shell, Total and Eni - have upgraded the NLNG

28 | www.cedmagazineng.com November 2015

Before we came in we were flaring about 65 percent; since we have come in and the efforts we have been able to put together we have brought it down to about 20 percent level. But the effort of gas flaring is beyond Nigeria NLG and that sort of issue will be taken upon by the authorities".

plant to six trains since 1999 when production operation started from the first two trains. Train six was completed in December 2007. With six trains now operational, the entire NLNG complex is capable of producing 23.5 million metric tonnes per year (MMmt/y) of LNG. Studies on the 22 MMmt/y, four-train, OK-LNG project began in April 2005, but it has also suffered a delay. The Olokola Liquefied Natural Gas Project is a world-class player in the oil and gas sector of Nigerian economy. The project will initially develop a 2×6.3 million tonnes/year of LNG and ultimate capacity up to 35 million tonnes/year with 30,000 barrels/day of LPG and 15000 barrels/day of Condensate.

The Managing Director of NLNG, Mr. Babs Omotowa, has said that despite the best efforts, the problem of gas flaring was beyond what they could handle alone. He, however, disclosed that his company's efforts have reduced gas flaring significantly down from 65 per cent to 20 per cent.

He noted, "We don't produce gas; we buy gas ourselves. By the coming in of Nigeria LNG we have been able to help to bring down gas flaring significantly.

The many failed attempts to end gas flaring Nigeria has been making frantic efforts, setting and shifting deadlines towards ending the gas flaring. The country's unsuccessful attempts to end gas flaring despite numerous legislations and deadlines could easily be traced back to 1969 when the military junta led by General Yakubu Gowon ordered oil companies operating in the Niger Delta to work towards ending gas flaring by 1974.

The 1974 phase-out plan fell through following the inability of the oil firms to put in place gas utilisation facilities, forcing the government to extend the deadline to 1979. Indications that the country's dream of effective utilisation of its gas resources may ensure long gestation period emerged when the multinational oil firms also failed to meet the 1979 dateline, thus forcing the civilian administration led by Alhaji Shehu Shagari to defer the zero-gas flaring deadline to 1984.

To ensure the realization of the target, an Associated Gas Re-Injection Act of 1979 No. 99 was introduced, demanding that oil corporations operating in Nigeria should produce detailed plans for gas utilisation as well as guarantee zero flares

by January 1, 1984, unless they had a caseby-case exemption obtainable from the relevant ministry. Similar excuses were presented three years later by the oil multinational firms on the reasons the 1984 deadline for zero-gas flaring would

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FROM LEFT:SEN. AHMED ABUBAKAR; FORMER CHAIRMAN, COUNCIL OF REGISTERED BUILDERS OF NIGERIA (CORBON), PROF. AKIN AKINDOYENI; PERMANENT SECRETARY, FEDERAL MINISTRY OF LANDS, HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT, MR GEORGE OSSI, AND THE CHAIRMAN OF CORBON, PROF. BALA KABIR, AT THE BUILDERS CONGRESS 2015 CONFERENCE IN ABUJA

ADDRESSING THE CHALLENGE Stakeholders at the Builders’ Congress 2015 speak on the need to reposition the construction Industry

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here have been calls by stakeholders on the need to reposition the construction industry to become a powerful driver for the economic development of Nigeria especially with the drop in the price of oil in the international market.

This was further highlighted at the maiden edition of 2015 Builders Congress, organised by the Council of Re g i s t e r e d B u i l d e r s o f N i g e r i a (CORBON) with the theme: “Nigerian Building Industr y and National Economy: Synergies and Opportunities.”

The 4-day event which runs from November to 5, is proudly supported by Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB), Quantity Surveyors Registration Board of Nigeria (QSRBN) and Town Planners Registration Council of Nigeria(TPRCN) among others.

In his address, the chairman of CORBON, Prof Kabiru Bala, said part of the agenda of the congress was to unmask the synergies and opportunities in the building industry as well as to provide a platform for principal public and private sector players in the built environment to harness ideas and proffer solutions to projects delivery.

While noting that the congress provided a platform for the public sector, local and international business organisations to network on issues confronting the industry, he regretted that CORBON only received N7.5 million in two years which was not enough to implement most of its programmes and policies.

He appealed to stakeholders to partner with the Council to enable the construction industry contribute meaningfully towards the development of the country.

Also speaking, the permanent secretary, Federal Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Mr George Ossi, said the building industry plays a significant role in economic development and prosperity of a nation saying that the products and services of the industry influence government’s capital expenditure yearly.

According to him, “Since the demand for shelter is the third universally accepted basic need of man after food and clothing, the industry has continued to remain relevant since human existence, so I believe through the congress that CORBON will contribute in

revolutionising the building industry for sustainable economic development.”

He maintained that the industry contributed highly to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of most nations regretting that it was yet to realise its full potentials in Nigeria as it contributed little to the GDP. Ossi identified the challenges hampering the growth of the industry as difficult business environment, dearth of technical expertise, dearth of key building materials and constrained access to credit and among others.

He confirmed that Nigeria cannot realise the Vision 20: 2020 of being the top 20 largest economies in the world without developing the building and construction industry which he said have shown tremendous potentials in contributing to the GDP. The permanent secretary admitted that most contracts awarded to indigenous firms were done as a means of guaranteeing political patronage which were mostly executed by quacks stressing that the development of the industry required concerted efforts from all the stakeholders to create opportunities for development.

On his part, the corps marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Boboye Oyeyemi, said infrastructure was indispensable to the main development target such as urbanisation, industrialisation, export promotion, equitable income distribution and suitable development adding that builders are seen as major players in infrastructure development and sustenance of national development.

Oyeyemi, who was represented by the head of logistics, who is also the assistant corp marshal,Olakunle Motajo, added that other professionals can hide their mistakes and faults under academic and professional covers but the faults and mistakes of a builder are there for all to see Continued on page 22

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www.cedmagazineng.com November, 2015

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OIL AND GAS REPORT

CED PROPERTY and judge in terms of failed structure, poorly constructed building, leaking roof of a building or a badly fitted plumbing in a building.

He advised that the construction industry should not be left in the hands of q u a ck s, t h o s e t h a t e n g a g e i n unwholesome practices and use of substandard materials noting that wellconstructed roads or bridges save cost, lower travel time thereby contributing to economic growth and wealth distribution.

The corp marshal enjoined engineers, town planners, surveyors and architects to synergise and develop ideas and concepts towards meeting the United Nations declaration of 2016 to December 2030 deadline on sustained development in all spheres of life.

He urged CORBON to intensify efforts in providing cheap and affordable

housing for Nigerians especially in Abuja and other urban locations even as he challenged them on the need to arrest sharp practices and eliminate all negative activities of quacks so as to restore confidence in the industry.

He maintained that there was the need for builders to insist on international best practices noting that those involved with designs and execution must consider the environmental impact of designs and develop sound management plans which i n c l u d e s i t e s a f e t y, n o i s e a n d environmental pollutions control and among others.

Oyeyemi challenged CORBON to initiate programmes and courses that would further expose its members to modern trend in the building industry and synergise with other professionals in

CONSTRUCTION SAFETY Builders renew pledge on safety in construction industry

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hile foreign professionals and practitioners are bringing their resources and technological knowhow, their Nigerian counterparts are in position to relief themselves of financial burdens and technological inadequacies, only that there must be an enabling environment that would not put Nigerians in a disadvantage positions.

THE Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB), Lagos State recently pledged to renew its efforts towards enthroning standards and safety within the construction industry.

The builders unanimously expressed concerns over the invasion of the industry by foreigners, on one hand, and artisans on the other.

At the 2015 Builders' Conference gathering, organised by the Nigerian Institute of Builders (NIOB), Lagos Chapter, held at the Sheraton Lagos Hotel, Ikeja last week, NIOB said it was unacceptable that a country of 150 million people, with huge potential in the construction industry to be exporting artisans from neighbouring nations.

But while deliberating on the theme of the event: "Foreign Professionals and Artisans/Craftsmen in Construction Industry: Its Implications on the Nation's Economy", divergence views were expressed by the participants. These 22 | www.cedmagazineng.com November 2015

Build. Tijjani Shu’aib, NIOB President

include legal practitioners, developers and professionals bodies and rep resentatives of artisans/craftsmen.

For instance, the Managing Director, UACN Property, Mr. Hakeem Oguniran, represented by Mr. Yemi Ejidiran, who agreed that it is a thing of concern for foreigners to take over project construction in Nigeria, added that, it could also be of immense benefits to the indigenous professionals, who stand the chance of gaining from the expertise of their foreign counterparts.

According to him, the presence of foreign practitioners is an instrument for cross-fertilization of ideas, a situation that

order to reduce frequent cases of collapsed buildings, loss of lives and properties.

Also, the deputy governor of Bauchi, Nuhu Gidado, said that both CORBON and NIOB needed to synergise on ways of moving the profession forward.

He appealed to CORBON registrar to host the 2nd edition of Builders Congress in Bauchi insisting that builders were supposed to dominate project management.

Responding, the president of Quantity Surveyors Registration Board of Nigeria (QSRBN), Mallam Hussaini Dikko, commended the association for hosting the congress.

Dikko said that quantity surveyors needed to move beyond the basic certificate qualification of the industry. would be of mutual benefits to both parties. "While foreign professionals and practitioners are bringing their resources and technological knowhow, their Nigerian counterparts are in position to relief themselves of financial burdens and technological inadequacies, only that there must be an enabling environment that would not put Nigerians in a disadvantage positions.

Beyond concern of foreign invasion of the construction industry, issues of building collapse resonated throughout the deliberation.

Mr. Femi Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), while accusing builders of doing little in exterminating quackery from building industr y, accused government of chasing shadows, by harassing project owners instead of professionals who handled buildings that collapse.

Falana, while charging the institute to take proactive measures to tackle the menace of quacks, noted that their existence and activities are not only embarrassing to the professional builders, but also a direct assault to the professional integrity of registered practitioners.

On the seeming influx of foreigners that are taking advantage of their connections with people in power, the legal luminary counseled builders and other bodies in the construction industry to emulate lawyers and medical practitioners whose functions cannot be performed unless they are members of the two bodies.

Gas flare‌ a major problem in the Niger Delta regionGas production in Nigeria

WASTING ASSETS!

Nigeria burns off $5 billion resources yearly from gas flaring

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igeria is endowed with abundant natural gas resources, which in energy terms, is in excess of the nation's proven crude oil reserve.

Although, it is common knowledge that the economy is substantially dependent and more dedicated to exploration of oil than it is of gas, several deposits of gas have been discovered around oil wells in Nigeria.

However, because of past failure of government to focus and explore the many other natural resources which the country possesses, the gas industry has been practically frustrated and nearly abandoned over the years. This has led to a loss of revenue in a sector where there is a likelihood of generating more revenue.

The single instance of Nigeria Liquified Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited remitting huge resources to government is instructive.

The current reserve estimate of Nigerian gas is over 170 trillion cubic feet, with about 50/50 distribution ratio between Associated Gas (AG) and NonAssociated Gas (NAG), according to Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR). Only a small fraction of this quantity is currently being utilized.

About 63 per cent of the AG produced during the production of crude oil is currently being flared.

DPR said that when oil companies began production in the 1960s, the cheapest way to separate the identified product, crude oil, from the associated natural gas was to burn the gas. After Russia, Nigeria flares more gas than any other country in the world in terms of the total volume of gas flared.

Cost implication of gas flaring Available data show that oil and gas companies operating in Nigeria burn over $3.5 to $5 billion yearly from the over 257 flow stations in the Niger Delta.

Specifically, the country flared about

Dr. Ibe Kachukwu, GMD, NNPC

17.15 per cent of the 95,471 metric tonnes of gas produced in June 2015 alone, according to data from Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) stated in its 2015 Statistical Report that Nigeria produced 86,325.2 million standard cubic meters of gas and flared 10,736.8 million standard cubic meters in 2014. Also, NNPC disclosed that Nigeria lost up to $868.8 million, about N173.76 billion to gas flaring in 2014.

NNPC, in its Annual Statistical Bulletin (ASB) for 2014, stated that oil and gas firms in the country flared 289.6 billion standard cubic feet (SCF) of gas, representing 11.47 per cent of the total gas produced in the country last year.

Using the Nigerian Gas Company's (NGC) price of $3 per 1,000 SCF of gas at the current exchange rate realities, the flaring of 289.6 billion SCF of gas translated to a loss of $868.8 million, an e q u iva l e n t o f N 1 7 3 . 7 6 b i l l i o n .

Specifically, the oil and gas companies produced 2.524 trillion SCF of gas, utilised 2.235 trillion SCF and flared 289.6 billion SCF. According to the ASB, the Joint Venture companies comprising the multinational oil companies were the worst offenders in terms of quantity, as they flared 211.836 billion SCF of gas, representing 11.2 per cent of their total gas production of 2.11 trillion SCF. Production Sharing Contract (PSC) companies followed as they flared 66.12 billion SCF of gas, representing 19.95 per cent of their total gas production of 397.58 billion SCF. Sole Risk/Independent oil companies produced 9.71 billion SCF of gas, utilised 1.85 billion SCF and flared 7.86 billion SCF, representing 424.5 per cent of the total gas produced in the sub-sector.

Similarly, Marginal Fields companies utilised only 6.79 billion SCF of a total of 10.57 billion SCF gas produced in the sub-sector, and flared 3.78 billion SCF or 55.7 per cent of their total production.

Gas flaring by companies According toNNPC, Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL) was the biggest offender among companies with 53.6 billion SCF burnt in 2014. Shell Petroleum

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www.cedmagazineng.com November 2015 | 27

OIL AND GAS REPORT THE POWER OF OIL Continued from page 25

and North Sea oil, etc.), it did not benefit all OPEC members. Saudi Arabia with its huge financial cushion of overseas assets could carry the burden for some time, but for many others such as Libya and Nigeria, in desperate need for high oil prices of up to $184 to balance their fiscal budgets, it has become a living nightmare with massive domestic implications and very different roles for OPEC and nonOPEC producers as a result.

During history, oil has always been a blessing and a curse; its discovery has increased living standards for more than a hundred years. Its use as an energ y source also has huge consequences on the environment. For many of us, the black gold has increasingly become a symbol of evil; the only one responsible for pollution of our planet and for the acceleration of climate change. Maybe this is not altogether true.

According to the International Energy Agency, almost two-thirds of global carbon emissions are related to coal, 22% to oil and 15% to gas. Sure 22% is quite significant, but can almost entirely be ascribed to the needs of transport where its energy density still makes it the preferred source of transport energy by far; not only for 26 | www.cedmagazineng.com November 2015

road vehicles but also for shipping and airplanes. If the world wants to meet its ever-growing energy needs, led by rising income levels and population growth and providing energy access to the world's poorest, and still meet the crucial climate change objectives, it may be worthwhile to have a more balanced look on oil in the global energy picture.

If today's evolution continues, the world's energy supply mix will be divided into four almost equal parts: oil,

If today's evolution continues, the world's energy supply mix will be divided into four almost equal parts: oil, gas, coal and low-carbon sources; each of them facing a distinct set of challenges by 2040. Global policy options and governance principles will have to be reviewed to ensure future sustainable developments. It will also have to take the need for radical innovation in transport modes, transport technology and fuel alternatives into account.

gas, coal and low-carbon sources; each of them facing a distinct set of challenges by 2040. Global policy options and governance principles will have to be reviewed to ensure future sustainable developments. It will also have to take the need for radical innovation in transport modes, transpor t technolog y and fuel alternatives into account.

On the policy side, the EU is a pioneer in fighting climate change. It has exceeded its 1997 Kyoto Protocol commitment, launched its energy and climate package in 2008 which included the binding target of a reduction in greenhouse gases by 2020, and introduced a low-carbon roadmap in 2011 to achieve the goal of 80 to 95 percent de-carbonization by 2050.

Their policy side seems to be well on its way. But does the market follow? Today oil, gas, and coal still account for around three quar ters of the energ y consumption within Europe. With its recent launch of an integrated Energy Union, Europe tries to steer away from its dependency on coal and oil towards an independent green economy. Let's hope this initiative is realistic and economically sustainable for the already depressed European economies.

In the US, the situation is totally different; America is now producing more oil domestically than it had imported from foreign sources in recent years. Domestic energy-related emissions have fallen to their lowest level in 20 years too. America has committed itself to a balanced energy mix; is producing more oil, gas and renewable energy than ever before, and has become more energy efficient at the same time.

For many, the alternatives to oil as energy source are not making the progress some had hoped for. Oil is here to stay for the foreseeable future and it looks like a lot more research and investment is needed to find alternatives for today's lifestyles and transport modes. Endless talking will do no good, only radical changes and global innovations will change this picture; meaningfully.

ByBenita Dreesen Culled from The Economist

NIGERIA’S CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY HALL OF FAME.MEET THE LEADERS IN THE INDUSTRY.......

SEPT. 25, 2015 LAGOS NIGERIA

THE POWER OF OIL Back to a new reality

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THE PRICE OF OIL Why it rose stupendously over the past 40 years, why it is likely to fall in the coming decades and what it will mean for world politics, the world economy and the environment

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il price developments over the past 40 years have been truly spectacular. In constant money, prices rose by almost 900% between 1970-72 and 2011-13 (Figure 1). This can be compared with a 68% real increase for a metals and minerals price index, comprising a commodity group which like oil belongs to the exhaustible category.

In our view, a number of political rather than economic forces have shaped the inadequate growth of upstream oil production capacity, the dominant factor behind the long run upward price push. The resource curse, r e p r e s e n t e d by d o m e s t i c a n d international conflicts over the oil rent, is probably the most important explanation to the extraordinary price developments.

We believe the period of excessively high oil prices has now come to an end.

The international spread of two revolutions, described below, will assure much more ample oil supplies and persevering prices far below those

experienced over the past decade.

The shale and conventional oil revolutions: low prices ahead Beginning less than ten years ago, the shale oil revolution - employing innovations in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing - has turned the long run declining oil production trends in the US into rises of 73% between 2008 and 2014. The shale oil costs become broadly competitive at oil prices of $50 per barrel. An exceedingly high rate of productivity improvements in this relatively new industry promises to strengthen the competitiveness of shale output even further.

The US lead in the shale revolution has many explanations, including largescale and long-lasting conventional oil exploitation, a well-developed infrastructure, many small adventurous prospecting and production enterprises, a relatively sympathetic public approach to the industry, and the

hen Marco Polo visited the Persian city of Baku in 1264, contemplating the mining of seep oil, he could not have foreseen that this 'black gold' would become a key driver to fuel the cogs of industry for centuries to come...

By the mid-20th century, the Seven Sisters, a group of multinational oil giants including the predecessors of Exxon Mobil, Chevron and BP dominated the market, mastering the entire value chain. But by 1960, a group of major oil producing countries such as Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Iran, Iraq and Kuwait for med the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and took control of the provision and pricing of this valuable commodity: oil.

Statistics by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) show that Saudi Arabia and Russia dominated oil production volumes for nearly a decade from 2003 to 2012, before the US first passed Russia in 2012 and took the lead as largest global oil producer in 2014 with 13.97 million barrels a day (MBD); followed by Saudi Arabia (11.62 MBD) and Russia (10.85 MBD). This lead has come about mainly thanks to the discovery of shale oil, creating a total of more than a million jobs in the oil and gas industry directly.

Some 40 years ago, a group of prominent experts known as The Club of Rome wrote that the world would run out of barrels by 1990. It now looks as if they were very wrong.

New technologies and oil drilling techniques have drawn new lines. We are looking at a new phase of oil abundance that is well on its way to changing both economics and

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ENERGY

OIL AND GAS REPORT

incentive to the landholder of underground resources ownership.

A series of environmental problems related to shale exploitation have been identified, most of which are likely to be successfully handled as the infant, "wild west" industry matures and as environmental regulation is introduced and sharpened.

Geologically, the US does not stand out in terms of shale resources. A very incomplete global mapping suggests a US shale oil share of no more than 17% of a huge geological wealth widely geographically spread. Given the mainly non-proprietary shale technology and the many advantages accruing to the producing nations, it is inevitable that the revolution will spread beyond the US. We have assessed the prospects of non-US shale oil output in 2035, positing that the rest of the world will by then exploit its shale resources as successfully as the US has done in the revolution's first ten years. With its 17% share of global shale resources, the US in 10 years expanded its output by 3.9 mbd. Assume, then, that the rest of the world is equally as successful as the US was between 2004-2014 in exploiting its share of the resources between 20152035. This would yield rest of world output of 19.5 mbd in 2035, which is similar to the global rise of all oil production in the preceding twenty years - a stunning deduction with farreaching implications in many fields.

Another related revolution is beginning to see the light of the day, but news about it has barely reached the 24

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media. It is being gradually realized t h a t t h e advancements in horizontal drilling and fracking can also be applied to conventional oil extraction. Several basins in the US a n d o t h e r countries are a l r e a d y experiencing this new phenomenon, which we call the conventional oil revolution. In a similar fashion to the output projections for shale oil, we assume that conventional oil in the rest of the world is able to benefit from the application of shale extraction methods just as US conventional oil did. This would yield a further addition of conventional oil amounting to 19.7 mbd by 2035.

The oil output increases are bound to have a strong price-depressing impact, either by preventing price rises from the first-half 2015 levels, averaging some $57 per barrel (Brent spot), or by pushing them back to these levels if an early upward reaction takes place. Our optimistic scenario, which appears increasingly likely, sees a price of $40 by 2035. The price implications of the revolutions will in turn influence many other conditions that shape human life, be they economic, political, diplomatic or military.

Global implications f or the macroeconomy, the environment and for politics The global spread of these revolutions and the ensuing price weakness that we envisage for the coming two decades will, on balance, provide a great advantage both to the oil industry and to the world economy at large.

Successful shale and conventional oil developers could reap benefits similar to those bestowed on the US in its progress in recent years.

Not surprisingly, there would be important negative repercussions on

public income from oil in producing nations that fail to compensate for the effects of the oil price decline by expanding output with the help of the revolutions. Juxtaposed against this conclusion is our supposition that the effects of the resource curse will be ameliorated as prices decline.

The two revolutions will apparently cement and prolong the global fossil fuel dependence, with implications for climate policy. At the same time, the expansion and cheapening of natural gas in consequence of the revolutions will make it possible to shrink coal use in power production, thereby reducing CO2-emissions, as is already evident from the US experience since some years. The effor ts to develop renewables for the purpose of climate stabilization, however, will become more costly, requiring greater subsidies, in consequence of lower fossil prices.

The abundance caused by the revolutions will lead to hard to fathom changes in international political relations. We assert that much of the oil importers' urge for political intervention and control will dissipate as the criticality of access becomes less urgent with normalization of profit levels and more ample and diversified oil availability. For instance, the heavy diplomatic and military presence of the US in the Middle East is likely to be questioned when the country's dependence on oil from the region is further reduced. The growth and geographical diversification of supply would not only suppress prices, but would also promote competition among suppliers and make it more difficult for producers to use energy sales in pursuit of political ends.

Author biographies Marian Radetzki is Professor of Economics at LuleĂĽ University of Technology, Sweden. He has held visiting professorships at Colorado School of Mines, and at Pontificia Catholic University of Chile. In the 1970s, he worked as Chief Economist at the International Copper Cartel, and has undertaken numerous consultancies over the years.

Roberto F. Aguilera is an adjunct research fellow at Curtin University, Australia, and an associate of Servipetrol Ltd., Canada. He has participated in numerous energy studies, including with the World Petroleum Council, US National Petroleum Council and UN Expert Group on Resource Classification.

Their new book, The Price of Oil, will be published by Cambridge University Press in October 2015

CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS The costs of generating energy from renewable sources remain high but the application of analytics is helping to boost efficiency

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he international community is committed to renewable energy. The EU aims for 20% of its energy to come from renewable sources by the end of this decade, and the US hopes to do the same by 2030.

However, meeting these targets will require energy providers, businesses and consumers to switch to renewable sources. And while the costs of renewable energy generation are falling steadily, they are still greater than conventional power - especially following the sharp drop in oil prices seen in 2015.

Even if customers prefer the concept of renewable electricity sources, it is very hard for the industry to supply green energy at the same price. One solution to this is to improve the efficiency of the generation technologies themselves. But another, complementary approach is to optimise their use and application through sophisticated analytics.

Data analysis can boost renewable power in at least three ways. Firstly, analysing weather patter ns and geographic data can help to locate the ideal location for facilities such as a wind farm or wave generator. Secondly, it can be used to find the optimal orientation: which way should the solar panels point, for example. The third area is calibration monitoring performance data from equipment can reveal which equipment is under-performing, and how it can be optimised for its precise environment.

The potential impact of this approach becomes all the greater as the speed of analysis increases. Combining real-time data with historical analysis allows systems to become predictive. This means operators can re-orient and recalibrate their equipment based on live weather data, for example, to ensure the maximum possible yield.

Equally, weather data can be used to

THE POWER OF OIL

when Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990 to spark the second Gulf War, it led to a major price spike in oil prices.

Many believe that this hike was a major contributing factor in the recession of the early 1990s.

Today OPEC is merely a shadow of what it was before; its share of the global oil market has fallen considerably. OPEC members seem to

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geopolitics for a long time.

The changes are many. When OPEC reigned supreme during the 1970s, they could virtually dictate world oil prices to maximize returns for its members.

However the 1980s Iran-Iraq War and subsequent disagreements between the members of OPEC, weakened the alliance considerably. On top of that,

predict when generation will be least effective, so that any maintenance can be carried out. And the power of predictive analytics goes beyond generation: if a producer can predict its output more effectively, it can negotiate with distribution partners to get the best price.

This is turn will make renewable generation more lucrative.

Thus, powerful effectiveness and efficiency gains are on offer to the renewables industr y by aligning equipment to incoming conditions.

This kind of analysis is not without challenges. It requires its own investment, of course, although the cost will most likely fall as the practice is more widely adopted. And the sheer amount of information required can result in paralysis instead of steady improvement.

Renewable energy businesses must stick to their key questions, choosing the right systems they need to inform essential, cost-affecting decisions.

But the gains on offer could tempt energy generation firms to make the investment. In one example, industrial firm GE claims that its own smart wind turbines take temperature data, misalignment and vibrational information to make adjustments that boost energy production by up to 20%.

Of course, many of the techniques described here can equally be applied to non-renewable energy sources, so their impact on the cost differential between green and conventional energy remains to be seen.

Nevertheless, they could certainly help to bring renewable energy sources down to a cost that is low enough to convince more producers and consumers to switch.

Is analytics the key to making renewable energy affordable? Share your thoughts on the Future Realities LinkedIn group, sponsored by Dassault Systèmes.

have lost control of the oil price that has been plummeting by roughly 60% from $100 a barrel or higher to below $50 a few months ago. Although this can partially be ascribed to low-cost producer Saudi Arabia's decision to maintain production as prices fell, hoping that this would push out higher priced producers (shale oil, tar sands Continued from page 26

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