lHE GUARDIAN, Friday. Februaryll, 2011 BUSINESS 115

Business Autowheels P41 From the humble beginning of Mercedes-Benz with Weststar

Business Travel P43 Mixture of ease, efficiency as private, charter jets come to the fore

Oil prices hit $102.88 on Middle East supply disruption C UDE oil prices in London

dvanced a third day amid renewed concern that unrest in Egypt may lead to a disruption of supplies from the Middle East. Brent crude rose as anti-gov­

ernment demonstrators planned to escalate protests in Egypt, fueling fears that cruefe supplies to Europe may be affected. The International Energy Agency raised its forecast for global crude demand for a fifth month. Brent crude for March settle­

ment rose as much as $1.06 a barrel to $102.88 and was at $102.30 at 11:21 a.m. on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London. Oil for March deliv­ery on the New York Mercantile Exchange was at $86.53 a barrel, down 18 cents, after falling as low as $85.96. Brent's premium over New York-traded oil widened to a record of more than $16. ''Tensions in north Africa are keeping prices high," Hannes Loacker, an analyst at Raiffeisen Zentralbank Oesterreich, said by phone from Vienna. "As long as those risks remain, we'll con­tinue to see a premium."

Hundreds of thousands of people have demonstrated in Cairo's Tahrir Square since Jan. 25, seeking an end to President Hosni Mubarak's rule. The unrest has stoked concern that crude supplies through the Suez Canal and adjacent Suez-Mediterranean Pipeline, which ship 3.5 per centof global oil output, may be interrupted. More protests are planned today, dubbed a "Friday of Defiance." A closure of the canal would

chiefly affect Saudi Arabian and Iranian crude supplies and Indian oil-products car­goes heading northwards, the lEA said yesterday in its monthly Oil Market Re(lort. Crude shipments from Libya, Azerbaijan and Algeria would be affected soutllwards, it said, citing tanker-tracking service APEX. Customers suf­fering the big!!est disrup­tions would be In S/?ain and China, the agency saId. Worldwide oil consum(ltion

will increase by 1.5 million barrels a day this year, or 1.7 per cent, to 89.3 million a day, the lEA s~id in its report yes­terday.

The gain from last month's estimate, amounting to 140,000 barrels a day, is driv­en by developing Asian nations and signs of recovery in North America, according to the report. "The inescapable conclusion

from our market balances is that the physical market has tightened Significantly," the Paris·based adviser said.

Director of Taiwan Trade Centre in Lagos, Ya-Fu Cheng (left); Group Managing Director, Omatek Computers limited, Florence Seriki; and Representative o(Taiwan Trade Mission. Fu-Tien lin, during a factory visit by the Taiwan representatives to Omatek factory, in Lagos, recently.

UI( body projects 7,0461l1w power generation in Nigeria by 2020 By Roselin. Ok.r. lI. TlGERIA'S electricity gener-1 ~ation may rise to 7,046 megawatts (mw) by 2020, going by a projection from UK-based research organisa­tion-Business Monitory International (BMI). The forecast represents 101.3

per cent increase over the present capacity of3,500mw. However, the projection falls

short of Federal Government's target of 40,000mw, which would ensure uninterrupted power supply nationWide, under a seamfess distribution regime The country's-power genera-

By 2015, the country is expected to account for 1.76 per cent of regional thermal generation._.Power con­sumption is expected to increase from an estimated 20.2TWh in 2010 to 27.9TWh by 2015, providing an improvement in market coverage on the basis of 7,0 per cent average yearly growth (2010-2015) in elec­tricity generation. tion increased to about 3,800mw recently from the regular 3,500mw, only to wit­ness a decline to 3,313mw. President Goodluck Jonathan had unfolded the power sec­tor reforms in August 2010, where the Power Holding;

Company of Nigeria (PHCN) was scripted to be unbundled into six generation and udis­tribution companies.

BMI, in its 2011 first quarter report titled: "Nigeria Power Report", released on Wednesday, stated that this

figure is near the top of the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region range. "This equates to 40.2 per cent in 2015-2020, down from 43.6 per cent in 2010-2015".

According to the report, Nigeria would account for 2.13 per cent of MEA regional power generation by 2015, with the country struggling to narrow the sup­ply/demand gap.

The MEA power generation estimate for 2010 is 1,222 ter­awatt hours (TWh), represent­ing an increase of 4.0 per cent over the previous year (where markets were depressed by the economic slowdown).

"We are forecasting an increase in regional genera­tion to 1,518TWh by 2015, repre­senting a rise of 24.2 per cent between 2010 and the end of the period".

MEA thermal power genera­tion in 2010 is estimated at 1,140TWh, accounting for 93.3 per cent of the total electricity supplied in the region. "Our forecast for 2015 is 1,378TWh, implying 20.8 p~r (tnt" , .. -growth in 2010-2015 that reduces slightly the market share of thermal generation to 90.8 per cent. Nigeria's ther- ' mal generation in 2010 will

CONTINUED ON PAGE 16 .. -~-~- ".-""~-"",-------~,,..,,",,,,,, .... ,,,, ... ,,#,,,,",,,,"'''''''''-

Banl< of Agric disburses N41b to 600 firms From Emeka AnufunJ, Abuj. IN a bid to encourage the development and growth of Small and Medium Enterprises in the agricul­tural sector, the newly recap­italised Bank of Agriculture

IBOA) has disbursed N41 bil­ion to over 600 enterprises

across the country in tfie last 10 years. The Managing Director and

Chief Executive Officer of the apex agricultural bank, Dr. Mohammed Kudu Santuraki, disclosed this while receiving the Minister of Agriculture and Rural

Development, Prof. Sheikh to about 30,000 beneficiar- tion, food security, employ- employs about 70 per cent Ahmed Abdullah, in his ies. mentgeneration and wealtll of the population_ office in Kaduna. The benefiCiaries, Santuraki creation. Abdullah explai ned that

A statement by the stated, were sourced from The minister acknowl- "the historyofthe bank goes Assistant Press Secretary in collaboration with 30 insti- edged the key role being to demonstrate the impor­the ministry, Mr Ibrahim tutions, attracting 1.8 mil- played by the bank in agri- tance of a.l?riculture", stress­Mohammed, explained that lion account holders, capaci- cultural financing, especial- ing that it also gives us a the disbursed sum covers ty building for about 2,000 ly the development of small note of the much deficit in various agricultural projects executives selected from and medium. scale agricul- terms of financing agricul-spread across the country. 600 cooperatIves, as well as tural entertpnses_ ture in Nigeria".

Highlighting the major strengthening of market Sheikh assured the bank of He argued that the spe-achievements in the last 10 information, agricultural increased recapitalisation to cialised nature of "this bank years, the man~ging direc- ~xtension and acfvisory serv- enable it meet the increas- demands greater assess as to tor told the mInister that Ices. 109 demands for fundlOg funding, in terms of the bank disbursed N3 bU- The bank, according to the the agricultural sector, depOSits, and really reach­lion on-lending facilities to chief executive, has record- which contributes more ing out in terms of offering about 12 states of the federa- ed "enormous success" in than 45 per cent of the gross ' tion and another N4 billion the area of poverty allevia- domestic product and CONTINUED ON PAGE 16