The vision board

By ngozi ekeoma
A vision board is basically a platform where you put pictures of your goals and dreams on it. It can be an actual cardboard where you place pictures and cutouts all over it, a collage, or simply a picture on your desktop. The purpose of having these boards is to help you attract what you want into your life by making it clear to your subconscious exactly what it is you want. This article will give you some pointers on how best to use these types of boards and what is possible when you use one.

The idea of having vision boards has been around for some time but they started to get a lot more popular due to the success of The Secret, a movie that talks about the law of attraction. The basic premise of how and why this works it that when you see in your mind what you want, things will start to happen to bring the images that you have created into reality. This may seem like a bunch of nonsense to many people, which isn’t surprising. How can putting pictures of what you want on a board make them come true?

Well, you have to understand that your goals won’t just come true because you stick pictures of them on some fancy board. They come true because when you make one of these boards and put it where you see it every day, your mind will be focused on your goals a lot more often then normal. When you constantly think about your goals, you will tend to do more towards obtaining those goals. Not only that, your mind will start to notice things around you that will help you reach those goals that you may have not notice if your mind hadn’t been focused on your goals.

Creating this type of board can be a pretty fun project. What you put on the board is really up to you. The point is to find pictures that will help produce a positive feeling inside of you every time you look at it. It’s like visualizing your goals only with a board; you will have physical pictures to look at. You can look through magazines for pictures or even print out pictures from the internet. You can search for examples if you want to have an idea what they look like. There’s no wrong way to do this. As long as looking at the board will remind you of your goals and give you some sort of emotion, then it’s good enough.

I have my own vision board that I have made. Well, it’s not really on a board though. I made it on my computer. I basically just found a bunch of pictures that represented the goals I have in different areas of my life such as physical, relationship, and financial. I have it on my desktop so everyday when I turn my computer on, I see it.

You may be wondering if this actually works. Well, I can tell you from experience that it does. Will miracles happen? Probably not. However, if you constantly have your goals and dreams on your mind, you will have a far greater chance of making them a reality. I think this is why having one of these boards is so effective. Whether creating one of these things will attract what you want into your life or not, they are quick and fun to make so why not give it a try? Who knows, it can change your life. I have several things on mine and one of them came true about 3 months after I created my board. Another came true 15 months after that. I’ll have to wait and see if the other ones materialize.

About author

Ngozi ekeoma is the MANAGING Director and CEO, Nepal Oil & Gas Limited, Barrister Ngozi Ekeoma is A lawyer by professional training, the stylish woman is also a director of Southglobe Limited, a financial outfit in Lagos. Ngozi ekeoma's  success story goes beyond her entrepreneurial skills but also in leadership and community services

Leadership challenges in Africa

By Ngozi Ekeoma

If one seizes the political fallout in North Africa are repeated performance of events in Arab-African relations in the last century, one could argue that the Arab Spring is not necessarily a Spring but a Sisyphean fall back to the beginning of political maturity and independence in the Arab World. After five hundred years of Ottoman rule, events of the last one hundred years opened a new beginning when Arab rulers aligned themselves with European powers to get the Turkish monkey off their heads. The First World War came and unfortunately the Arabs saw not independence but European colonialism in a new guise. England and France staked their claims and the train of history created many conditions and processes which many Arab leaders and thinkers were not clever enough to decipherer quickly and aggressively. What 2013 portrayed in my view is the Greek mythical character, Sisyphus, picking up the stone of Arab pride and dignity from the low valleys of European domination to the top of self-affirmation. In reaching the top of the mountain top, such leaders passed through many problems and challenges. In the following narrative, such an exercise in decoding the Arab Problem provides a parallel inquiry into the impact of the Arab Spring on African politica

l thought and African political activism since convergence of African political freedom after the Second World War and African decolonization and guerilla warfare before the end of apartheid.

Frankly speaking, the phenomenon which carried the name, Arab Spring , may be attractive to many Arabs and Africans but in actual fact what took place is the culmination of several processes coming with unintended consequences for the Arab actors in history. First of all, this phenomenon which is unraveling and its final outcome still puzzle many Western thinkers on the one hand and Arab activists on the other. Why is the case? Two things come to mind immediately. The modernization of Arab society and the Westernization of Arab education are the two processes which owe something to the Ottoman and to the Western missionary. Although the Ottoman failed in the First World War and the triumphant Europeans successfully created their Arab allies and co-partners through Westernization and modernization. The Arab Spring cannot be understood by Africans unless and until they draw a parallel between their peculiar African situation and the peculiar Arab situation. Whereas the Arab liberated themselves from the linguistic and political hegemony of the Ottomans, their approaches to modernity and Westernization brought them closer to European uses of creature-comforts through crass materialism and the deployment of sciences and technology. These patterns of development captured the imagination of most non-Western people and the concept of development administration and social changes in human societies owe their origins to this trend of thought and action among human beings. Anyone who challenges this argument must make a case demonstrating the contrary fact that eating sardines in metallic containers and growingly relying on manufacturing as was becoming the case in Europe since the eighteenth century. All human civilizations up to this time apparently did their best for humankind. Much as the Arab played their role as historical runners in the cosmic relay race, their stars have faded away much earlier before the Ottomans and the European took control of their lives and destinies. If there is indeed an Arab Spring, it is a return to the beginning with opportunities to change things too emotionally power and too scientifically and rationally undesirable within the modern context. The Arab Spring will make sense to me only when the new Arab leadership accepts the trend of thought since the collapse of the Ottoman and the rise of micro-nationalism among themselves. These are the series of historical and political dots that must be combined to see the lines of meaning about Arab political progress and economic development today. The geo-ethnicity and territorial claims; With respect to the question of identity, let us look at Tunisia and see how the Ben Ali regime addressed this problem. Being deeply affected by French imperialism and colonialism, Tunisians entered the era after the Second World War very much captured in the psycho-historical world described by Albert Memmi and Frantz Fanon. Both writers talked about how imperialism, French language policy and the assimilation of their elites in Western ways led to the trends of development which led to this present state of affairs. . In light of this analysis Tunisians opted to be Arab and modern at the same time. But being Arab is reinforced by the historical and psycho-historical streams of emotional and Panarabian solidarity. However, being Arab and Muslim was paralleled to what happened to most Westerners now dancing in the festivals of modernity and scientific self-assertion. There is a serious problem. Can you reconcile your modern Arabness with your identity as Muslims faithful to your medieval premises of life? Forced to face these arguments, Tunisian intellectuals working with the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy argue that there is a breathing ground for both Islam and Arabitude within the context of modern science and technology.

Advocates of this line of thought would look at Mohamed Ghannouchi on aftermath of Ben Malik, harassed by the deposed Ben Ali, who inherited the modernization policies and practices of his predecessor, Habib, Bourgiba. Mr. Ghannouchi now speaks for a new Tunisia which has room for the modernists and the Islamists. True or false, this Tunisia reality parallels what is going on in Egypt, Libya, Syria, Yemen and the other Arab countries. The identity question is more easily handled in Tunisia than in Sudan or elsewhere in Arabdom.

To understand these problems of identity as well as the challenges relating to the political culture as a result of the Arab Spring, it is a fact that the Arab was the only people during the Cold War who suffered from the problems and challenges of three simultaneous conflicts at the same time. There was the American-Soviet rivalry and the pressing demands to align them with one or the other; there was the Arab-Israeli conflict which mobilized all Arabs against the peoples of the state of Israel; there was also the rivalry between Arab radical republicans who abhorred kings and queens and their counterpart running monarchies through the Arab World. What is ironical as well as contradictory about the Arab Spring lies in the heart of the mystery about characters jockeying for control of state and society in the Arab World. Professor Sulayman Nyang of Howard University had articulated this argument when he that the Arab intellectuals are genuinely advocating residual Arabism on the one hand and Islamism on the other, but must seriously, address the pressing question of identity and social change in the world of religious pluralism and gender equality. What is emerging in the political debates of Muslim intellectuals, particularly in the West, is the imperative to balance the demands of religious pluralism on the one hand and social transformation of human life as dictated by modernity and globalization, on the other.




This is why the Tunisian, the Libyan, the Egyptian, Syrian, Yemeni and Arabian Gulf phenomena speak volumes to Africans who care to pay attention. Compared to the Africans the Arab enjoyed five things lacking on the African situation. There is a unity of language which manifests itself in two ways: Arabic as a lingual Franca; Arab as a language of ritual efficacy for Muslims using classical Arabic of the Quran. Swahili could have served us well. Unfortunately, during the Festac Festival in 1976, Wole Soyinka urged the Africans to embrace Swahili as an African continental response to language crisis. This call was ignored.

Negotiating the Arab linguistic territory, Arabs will have to start making their pilgrim progress by seeking the ray of light of modernity in the early mornings of this spring. The second is the abundant of resources if there is meaningful Arab nationalism which allocates resources for the mutual transformation of Arab society and people. The third advantage of the Arabs lies in their smaller numbers and their greater chances of bringing science and technology to their people without be necessarily dependent and insolvent in the eyes of the Western powers. The fourth Arab advantage lies in their ability to benefit from a global solidarity mediated by their collective association with the claims and legacies of Prophet Muhammad. This idea was utilized by both Nasserite of Egypt and Baathist of Syria and Iraq, on the one hand, and the Saudi monarchy with its own notion of Faisalism under King Faisal.

Without making any puerile joke on this matter, were the green are leaves symbolically reminding Arabs about Prophet Muhammad choice of colors in this world? Speaking metaphorically, one should say that the claims of the rebels against the tyrannies in the Arab world can only be successful if they can rein in the autocracies of the men in khakis as well as those in royal garments The Holy Prophet of Islam fought against Meccan oppression and the green color represented something colorfully and psychologically. Both ironically and paradoxically, the late Muammar Qaddaffi chose the green color (symbolized in his Green Book) to

differential himself and the Libyan Jamahiriya from Chairman Mao Tsetung and his Red book. What was striking in the last days of his rule was his decision to call himself “King of kings in Africa,” after having overthrown a monarch forty years earlier. The family members of the overthrown Sanusi dynasty are back in circulation. The big question is whether they and the ruling royals will realize the dictates of human history that the days of ruling as opposed to regaining monarchs are gone.

Here our analysis relies on the lessons to be learned from the Arab Situation. The first is the vulnerability of dictatorships. The second is the imperative for struggling democracies to educate their peoples so that they can build certain structures for social living and peaceful communication. The third is the development of a moral economy in which every man, woman and child is instructed in the solid arts of budgeting one’s emotion. In a pluralistic age, ethnocentrism and political pride and prejudice as detrimental to good politics and effective governance. In order for the Arabs to succeed in the twenty first century, they must avoid the errors of the ruling party of Sudan to build a new political culture with room for modernity on the one hand and cultural pluralism on the other. Africa has a long way to go because we have yet to harness our collective traditional knowledge in our dying languages when we go to the banquet of civilizations as argued by the late Leopold Senghor

Principles of Leadership : People Do What People See....What do your people see in you?

 By Ngozi Ekeoma

Two men, down on their luck, sit on a park bench in shabby clothes watching businesspeople in crisp suits rushing to their offices. The first man says, “The reason I’m here is because I refused to listen to anybody.”
“That so?” replies the second fella. “I’m here because I listened to everybody.”
Both practices are recipes for disaster. Successful people don’t take the advice of everyone, nor do they try to do everything on their own. Instead, they find successful models who exemplify the values, skills and qualities they desire to possess.
If you’re a leader, I hope you have already found models to follow, but that’s not what I want to discuss. I want to ask you this simple question: Are you worthy of followers?

One of the most important leadership principles I’ve discovered is this: People do what people see. When your team looks at you, when they watch what you do day in and day out, what do they see? If they were to emulate you, how would you rate them?
I base my leadership primarily on my values and a pragmatic approach. I do what I know works. But I’m also very conscious of the fact that others are watching me and following my lead.
What I do, they will do. How I work, they will work. What I value, they will value. So I ask myself: What kinds of traits do I want to model?
1. A Passion for Personal Growth

I know too many people who suffer from what I call “Destination Disease.” They’ve identified a certain career position or financial goal they want to reach, and then they work very hard to achieve that goal. But once they get there, they stop working hard and growing.
This mindset creates two problems for leaders. First, it causes them to stall. You’ll stop improving the moment you lose the tension between where you are and where you have the potential to be. Second, it sets a bad example for their followers. Think about it: How many people in your current circle didn’t see your former self, the one who fought hard to achieve? If you’re resting on your laurels, they’ll assume you are doing what you’ve always done and follow suit.
If you feel yourself slowing down, it’s time for a self-assessment. If you’re done working, retire and get out of the way of your business. But if you stay, you must keep striving. If you slacken, your people will do the same—Destination Disease is highly contagious. To keep it from taking hold, set new, higher goals for yourself and make sure your people see you pursuing them. It’s a surefire way to keep your organization humming.
2. A Heart for People

If you’ve ever seen me in person, you know I don’t blitz through a crowd. Instead, I stroll across a room, shaking hands, saying hello, offering smiles. It’s my way of showing that I care.
I’m a busy guy, but these moments are worth the pause. People want to know that the leaders they follow can be trusted. They want to know that the leader cares about them as people, not just as tools to help realize a vision.
Taking this extra time also forces me to stop and listen. How can you add value to people if you don’t know them and understand what they want? So slow down. Talk. Listen. Connect. This practice will not only help you grow as a leader, it will also establish a caring culture across all levels of your organization.

3. An Ability to Coach Others to Reach Their Potential

“The only difference between a rich person and a poor person,” says Rich Dad Poor Dad author Robert Kiyosaki, “is how they use their time.”
Boy—is that statement ever true of successful people! This is one principle I really try to model for my team. You won’t catch me idling. You will see me trying to wring the most out of every day.
Here’s a good place to segue into another way I like to cultivate leaders: by mentoring them. You can model all sorts of valuable traits, but sometimes people need hands-on help, too.
One of the best things I did for a member of my leadership team years ago was to meet with her every few months to talk about her priorities. She was a good leader and got a lot done, but she sometimes lost sight of the big picture. Our regular meetings helped her to stay on track.
If you can learn to coach people, you’ll help them, your organization and yourself. By coaching, I don’t just mean giving people the skills to do a job. That’s training, which does have value. But coaching—that long-term, guiding relationship—is even more impactful. According to the International Personnel Management Association, training increases productivity by 22 percent, while a combination of training and coaching increases it by 88 to 400 percent!

“You will never maximize your potential in any area without coaching,” Andy Stanley writes in his book Next Generation Leader . “You may be good. You may even be better than everyone else. But without outside input you will never be as good as you could be. Self-evaluation is helpful, but evaluation from someone else is essential.”
So mentor your people. Show them how you seek guidance on your own endless quest for self-improvement. And remember these words by Andrew Carnegie: “As I grow older, I pay less attention to what men say. I just watch what they do.”
Are you doing what you want your team to do?
#ngoziekeoma

Essential Skills for Leadership in the 21st Century- Inspiring the next Generation

By Ngozi Ekeoma

The 21st century presents many new challenges for both employees and business leaders. In an interconnected, fast moving world, we need to learn cognitive flexibility, stress tolerance, and divergent thinking. While technology can make us more effective, new theories of leadership emphasize the importance of trust and establishing long-term relationships. In a competitive world, we need leaders with novel ideas, who are willing to take risks, inspire and motivate, and build new strategic partnerships to address global challenges.  In these endeavors, leaders need to incorporate skills that are more in the realm of psychology and cognitive science. Below is a psychologist’s perspective on what it takes to succeed in the new world of business.


1. CONTRIBUTE UNIQUENESS

"Absorb what is useful, reject what is useless, add what is specifically your own.“ –Bruce Lee

There are so many people out there saying exactly the same thing. To stand out, you have to be original. Being original involves taking time to really think about material that you hear or read. How does this story or research finding relate to finding solutions for the problems that you want to address?

Have an original perspective that inspires people
Apply knowledge from one area to another or synthesize ideas from different disciplines
Tell a different story about the material; Relate it to your own life and work experiences
Find a novel way to communicate key concepts or approach a problem
 Trim the fat off of a theory or operational system; add new elements that improve  

2.  ACT EFFECTIVELY

“Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things.” – Peter Drucker

It’s not about getting things done quickly or doing the most activities in the shortest time. Rather than doing a bunch of busywork, take time to formulate a vision and set priorities and goals. Find a balance between doing the urgent and important things.

What are the short- and long-term challenges that your team/organization will address?
In what way will you contribute unique value in addressing these challenges?
What potential barriers will you face and how will you deal with them?
What skills and resources do you need to optimally provide and support these new services/technologies.
How can your team support people to do their best work and support customers to get the best use out of your products/services
Sometimes doing the right things will not be the most efficient. Gaining the trust of  customers and employees can consume time and resources, but will lead to better long-term stability and effectiveness.

3. BE RESILIENT

“Fall seven times, Stand up eight.” – Japanese Proverb
The truth is that everybody makes mistakes. The bigger your goals, the more mistakes you will make. Being innovative means trying new things; and venturing where nobody has gone before. It’s easier to do things the way they’ve always been done, but your long-term impact will be less. If you want to have a memorable and long-term impact, you need to take strategic risks, and that may mean failing or messing up sometimes. Self-confidence is key. Often this comes from having prior successful experiences. Even if you’re doing something new, remember your prior successes, and the personal qualities you have that created them.

If you believe in your mission and abilities, failure is just a temporary detour.
Most failures contain one or more lessons.  Be willing to admit your contribution to the failure, and be ready to change your thinking about the issue.
 Listen to and collaborate with others, but do not suppress your own voice and goals.
You may need to take time to grieve the loss of a dream, contemplate, and regroup.
Be The Change..

4. EMBRACE CHANGE

“The entrepreneur always searches for change, responds to it, and exploits it as an opportunity. “ – Peter Drucker

 We live in a time of rapid technological, geographical, and economic change. Old formulas don't predict as well, anymore.  New knowledge about the brain and human genome is already leading to radical new ways of viewing the world. Mobile technology makes the world smaller and increases the access  & knowledge of constituents who previously had no voice. This creates many challenges, but also opens the door to new opportunities.

The human brain naturally resists change, seeing it as a threat.
It is important to counteract your brain’s natural, fear-based,  conservative tendencies and cultivate an optimistic attitude to change.
Think about how you can apply your tried and true skills and strengths to this changing landscape. What new needs does the change create?
Pay attention to the thoughts and feelings that change brings up in you. See if you can watch fearful reactions without feeling you have to act on them.

5. STAY GROUNDED

“I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures. “ – Lao Tzu

When you do succeed, do not get too distracted by your ego. Success does not make you invincible or more worthy than other people. Every person has something to contribute and all are worthy of respect (except perhaps human cannibals, etc.).  Similarly, if you don’t get desired results, your preconceived views may need to be tweaked, so be willing to change your thinking.Be patient with the process. Results take time. You may have to go through a stage of investing your time and resources, learning new skills, putting ideas out there and waiting for them to take root.

Always keep the meaning of your work at the forefront. Why are you doing what you do? What contribution do you want to make to bettering the lives of others?
Value the simple things in life, such as nature, health, friends, coworkers,  and family. These will sustain you through the difficult times, so remember to feed them.
Practice mindful self-awareness to learn compassion for yourself and others. Much of business is about relationships. If you exude a humble, caring, open attitude, and are a team player, others will be more willing to work with or follow you.
Work hard, but don’t drive yourself like a machine. Life is a marathon, not a sprint., so use your energy wisely and know when you need to  replenish.
You may have underlying needs, that drive you, such as to be acknowledged, have power, be part of a group, be respected, cared about, and so on. The more you understand and acknowledge these needs, the less they will get in the way of your mission.
Using these strategies should help optimize your personal strength and adaptability, passion for your work, ability to act strateically, and work with others in mutually beneficial ways.  While the old model of business emphasized dominance and power, the new models are more abou vision, focus, communication, cognitive flexibility, authenticity, and partnership. The world is becoming too complicated to be effective alone. Forming meaningful, trusting relationships with others who have different skills and knowledge, but similar goals and values is the way to succeed in both small business and large organizations.

Leadership Lessons From Nelson Mandela

By Ngozi Ekeoma

1. Courage is not the absence of fear 

“Mandela was often afraid during his time underground, during the Rivonia trial that led to his imprisonment, during his time on Robben Island. ‘Of course I was afraid!’ he would tell me later. It would have been irrational, he suggested, not to be. ‘I can’t pretend that I’m brave and that I can beat the whole world.’ But as a leader, you cannot let people know. ‘You must put up a front.’ And that’s precisely what he learned to do: pretend and, through the act of appearing fearless, inspire others. It was a pantomime Mandela perfected on Robben Island, where there was much to fear. Prisoners who were with him said watching Mandela walk across the courtyard, upright and proud, was enough to keep them going for days. He knew that he was a model for others, and that gave him the strength to triumph over his own fear.”

2. Lead from the front — but don’t leave your base behind.

“For Mandela, refusing to negotiate was about tactics, not principles. Throughout his life, he has always made that distinction. His unwavering principle — the overthrow of apartheid and the achievement of one man, one vote — was immutable, but almost anything that helped him get to that goal he regarded as a tactic. He is the most pragmatic of idealists.”

3. Lead from the back — and let others believe they are in front.

“Mandela loved to reminisce about his boyhood and his lazy afternoons herding cattle. ‘You know," he

would say, "you can only lead them from behind.’ He would then raise his eyebrows to make sure I got the analogy. As a boy, Mandela was greatly influenced by Jongintaba, the tribal king who raised him. When Jongintaba had meetings of his court, the men gathered in a circle, and only after all had spoken did the king begin to speak. The chief’s job, Mandela said, was not to tell people what to do but to form a consensus. "Don’t enter the debate too early," he used to say. … The trick of leadership is allowing yourself to be led too. ‘It is wise,’ he said, ‘to persuade people to do things and make them think it was their own idea.’”

4. Know your enemy — and learn about his favorite sport.

“As far back as the 1960s, mandela began studying Afrikaans, the language of the white South Africans who created apartheid. His comrades in the ANC teased him about it, but he wanted to understand the Afrikaner’s worldview; he knew that one day he would be fighting them or negotiating with them, and either

way, his destiny was tied to theirs.”

5. Keep your friends close — and your rivals even closer.

“Many of the guests mandela invited to the house he built in Qunu were people whom, he intimated to me, he did not wholly trust. He had them to dinner; he called to consult with them; he flattered them and gave them gifts. Mandela is a man of invincible charm — and he has often used that charm to even greater effect on his

rivals than on his allies. On Robben Island, Mandela would always include in his brain trust men he neither liked nor relied on.… Mandela believed that embracing his rivals was a way of controlling them: they were more dangerous on their own than within his circle of influence. He cherished loyalty, but he was never obsessed by it. After all, he used to say, ‘people act in their own interest.’ It was simply a fact of human nature, not a flaw or a defect.”

 

6. Appearances matter — and remember to smile.

“When Mandela was running for the presidency in 1994, he knew that symbols mattered as much as substance. He was never a great public speaker, and people often tuned out what he was saying after the first few minutes. But it was the iconography that people understood. When he was on a platform, he would always do the toyi-toyi, the township dance that was an emblem of the struggle. But more important was that dazzling, beatific, all-inclusive smile.”

7. Nothing is black or white.

“Life is never either/or. Decisions are complex, and there are always competing factors. To look for simple explanations is the bias of the human brain, but it doesn’t correspond to reality. Nothing is ever as straightforward as it appears. Mandela is comfortable with contradiction. As a politician, he was a pragmatist who saw the world as infinitely nuanced. Much of this, I believe, came from living as a black man under an apartheid system that offered a daily regimen of excruciating and debilitating moral choices: Do I defer to the white boss to get the job I want and avoid a punishment? Do I carry my pass? …. Mandela’s calculus was always, What is the end that I seek, and what is the most practical way to get there?”

8. Quitting is leading too.

“Knowing how to abandon a failed idea, task or relationship is often the most difficult kind of decision a leader has to make. In many ways, Mandela’s greatest legacy as President of South Africa is the way he chose to leave it. When he was elected in 1994, Mandela probably could have pressed to be President for life — and there were many who felt that in return for his years in prison, that was the least South Africa could do.…. ‘His job was to set the course,’ says Ramaphosa, ‘not to steer the ship.’ He knows that leaders lead as much by what they choose not to do as what they do.”

Oil Exploration in Nigeria

By Ngozi Ekeoma

Nigeria shares a Joint Development Zone (JDZ) with neighboring SÃo TomÉ and PrÍncipe (STP), which contains 23 exploration blocks. Nigeria and Sao Tome have agreed to split revenues from the blocks on a 60:40 basis, respectively. Block One is currently the only block in the JDZ undergoing development. The block is controlled by Chevron (51 percent), with partners ExxonMobil (40 percent) and Equity Energy Resources (9 percent). Preliminary studies have indicated that the block could contain sizable amounts of Oil (up to 1 billion barrels). If recoverable oil is located, Chevron plans to bring it onstream by 2010.

Blocks Two through Six were also awarded, of which, three have been approved for PSAs, while the remaining two have yet to be signed. Meanwhile, several independent U.S. based companies that were

awarded shares in the blocks have relinquished their awards. Pioneer Natural Resources stated a failure to agree to specific terms of operation on Block Two as the reason for its withdrawal from the project. Pioneers withdrawal has opened the door for Chinas oil and gas company, Sinopec, to invest in the JDZ.

ExxonMobil produces around 750,000 bbl/d of oil in Nigeria. The company plans to invest $11 billion in the countrys oil sector through 2011, with the hope of

increasing production to 1.2 million bbl/d. The majority of the increase will occur at the Erha field, which is located on Block OPL 209. ExxonMobil began producing oil from Erha in April 2006. Output from the field is expected to reach 150,000 bbl/d by the third quarter of 2006, and rise to 190,000 bbl/d by the end of the year. Oil from Erha is stored in an FPSO, with a storage capacity of 2.2 million barrels oil. ExxonMobil uses Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCC), capable of holding up to 300,000 deadweight tons to export the oil from the terminal.

 The company also operates the Yoho field, with current full-field output of around 150,000 bbl/d. Yoho contains around 400 million barrels of oil reserves. ExxonMobil is continuing to expand Yoho field and estimates the expansion project will increase production to 170,000 bbl/d by the third quarter of 2006. The $1.2 billion field is located in the shallow waters of Block OML 104. ExxonMobils Bosi, and Eti/Asasa fields with capacities of 120,000 bbl/d, and 25,000 bbl/d, respectively,

 Ngozi Ekeoma is the current CEO Nepal Oil & Gas Services Limited
She Oversees the company’s management activities and has since lead the repositioning of NEPAL OIL & GAS SERVICES LIMITED towards becoming a reference point for operators in Nigeria’s downstream Oil & Gas sector

Ngozi Ekeoma holds a Bachelor degree in Law, Entrepreneur with an outstanding flair for business 
mrs ekeoma  oversees the company’s management activities and has since lead the repositioning of NEPAL OIL & GAS SERVICES LIMITED towards becoming a reference point for operators in Nigeria’s downstream Oil & Gas sector.

Electricity Energy in Indonesia

By Ngozi Ekeoma

Indonesia has installed electrical generating capacity estimated at 24.7 gigawatts, with 80 percent coming from thermal (oil, gas, and coal) sources, 18% from hydropower, and 2% from geothermal. Prior to the Asian financial crisis, Indonesia had plans for a rapid expansion of power generation,

based mainly on opening up Indonesias power market to Independent Power Producers (IPPs). The crisis led to severe financial strains on state-utility Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN), which made it difficult to pay for all of the power for which it had signed contracts with IPPs. PLN has over $5 billion in debt, which has grown markedly in terms of local currency due to the decline in the value of the rupiah. The Indonesian government has been unwilling to take over the commercial debts of PLN.

Indonesia is facing an electricity supply crisis, due to underinvestment in power generation capacity. Intermittent blackouts are a problem across Java. Demand for electrical power is expected to grow by approximately 6-7 percent per year. The majority of Indonesias electricity generation is currently fueled by oil, but efforts are underway to shift generation to lower-cost coal and gas-powered facilities. Hydropower also is being expanded. Sumitomos 1,320-MW Tanjung Jati B plant in

Central Java, a 730-MW plant at Cilegon in West Java financed by Mitsubishi, and a Chinese-funded 600-MW station at Cilacap on the southern coast are all due to be commissioned in mid-2006. However, after these projects are completed, after long delays, there is a lack of adequate new capacity "in the pipeline" to meet the countrys needs.
In January 2003, the World Bank announced that it was planning to finance three micro-hydropower plants in the Indonesian province of Papua (Irian Jaya). A feasibility study on all of the areas water sources has already been conducted, and the results are being studied. By building these facilities, the World Bank hopes to improve services to the local population as well as to encourage development activities in the province.

In October 2003, the World Bank approved a $141 million loan to Indonesia for the purpose of improving the power sector on Java and Bali, which use approximately 80% of Indonesias power generation capacity. The project includes support for a corporate and financial restructuring plan for PLN and technical assistance for a restructuring program for state gas company, Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN), that will provide for increased natural gas supplies for electricity generation. The restructuring plan requires that PLN must restructure two of its subsidiaries, PT Indonesia Power and PT Pembangkit Jawa Bali (PJB). The two together supply about 80% of the power supply for Java and Bali, according to reports.

In 2003, the government renegotiated 26 power plant projects with the IPPs. Of those, five projects will be taken over by the government, in cooperation with PLN and Pertamina. Legislation enected in September 2002, which would have facilitated competition in electricity generation by 2007, was overturned by the Indonesian constitutional court in December 2004. Substitute legislation was enacted in February 2005 which clears the way for full private ownership of electricity generation assets. The Indonesian government sees the need for 24 gigawatts of additional generating capacity by 2013, but foreign investors have largely avoided the Indonesian power sector in recent years due to the poor financial condition of PLN and the uncertain legal climate.

About Author
 Ngozi Ekeoma is the current CEO Nepal Oil & Gas Services Limited
Ngozi ekeoma Oversees the company’s management activities and has since lead the repositioning of NEPAL OIL & GAS SERVICES LIMITED towards becoming a reference point for operators in Nigeria’s downstream Oil & Gas sector
Education
Ngozi Ekeoma has a Bachelor degree in Law, 
Ngozi Ekeoma is an Entrepreneur with an outstanding flair for business and Management, Ngozi ekeoma is the Chief Executive Officer of Nepal Oil and Gas Limited.