Economy
AGROCAM Acquires GE’s Gas Engine to Boost Poultry Breeding
By Dipo Olowookere
A leading poultry hatchery in the central African region, located in Douala, and a member company of the JS NOUTCHOGOUIN Group, AGROCAM, has purchased one of GE’s Jenbacher J316 gas engines from Clarke Energy, GE’s distributor of Jenbacher gas engines in Cameroon, to address the fundamental challenges related to long-term power outages, which have a great impact on poultry breeding in Cameroon.
A severe shortage of essential electrical infrastructure in sub-Saharan Africa is making it difficult for efforts aimed at achieving more rapid social and economic development.
According to the International Energy Agency, natural gas will be the fastest-growing fuel in use for power generation in Africa.
Given the critical nature of poultry hatcheries, a half-hour power outage can completely cripple a business, leading to a complete overhaul of the hatchery installations—since all eggs in the incubator would perish as a result of improper storage temperature control and ventilation.
To help meet the demand for alternative energy supply to stabilize and rebuild, AGROCAM previously used a diesel generator for backup to the grid to ensure routine operation of its hatchery, which proved to be costly given the prolonged hours of grid power outages in addition to the environmental pollution associated with diesel generators.
“More than ever before, AGROCAM believes that a stable, reliable and cost-effective source of power is crucial to revive the poultry business in Cameroon, which suffered a big hit from the 2016 avian influenza (or bird flu) outbreak that paralyzed poultry farmers in Douala and the surrounding areas. Energy currently represents 50 percent of our operational costs,” said Noutchogouin Jean Samuel, board chairman, AGROCAM.
“GE’s natural gas-fired Jenbacher gas engine will produce a nominal electrical output to power the hatchery and egg tray production facility, providing a highly efficient, economical solution to meet our needs and realize substantial annual savings,” said Noutchogouin Philippe, managing director, AGROCAM.
GE’s Jenbacher J316 gas engine will produce 813 kilowatts of power. Heat will be recovered from the hot exhaust gases of the generator in the form of hot air and will be injected into the ovens of the egg tray production machines for drying. This will save the cost of fuel currently burned for drying and therefore, it will increase the efficiency and allow for the optimum use of the gas generator.
“The technical maturity and high degree of reliability of GE’s Jenbacher Type 3 gas engines make them a leader in their range. Long service intervals, a maintenance-friendly engine design and low fuel consumption ensure a high operating efficiency, while enhanced components prolong service life,” said Ali Hjaiej, business development director—Africa, Clarke Energy. “As AGROCAM battles local power outages from Cameroon’s unstable grid, GE’s proven, cost-effective, Jenbacher gas engine technology provides AGROCAM with a solution to help meet the growing energy needs of the region while increasing the efficiency and reliability of the customer’s grid.”
GE’s Jenbacher Type 3 gas engines offer proven savings on service and fuel consumption as well as excellent efficiency.
Two-stage mixture cooling enables high flexibility, while the turbocharger bypass evens out extreme operating conditions.
They are also suitable for a range of applicable gas types including natural gas, associated petroleum gas, propane, biogas, sewage gas, landfill gas, coal mine gas and other special gases such as coke, wood and pyrolysis gases.
In addition, the gas engines increase efficiency levels and reduce industrial emissions. The gas engines are designed for 80,000 full-load operation hours before a major overhaul.
“GE’s distributed power portfolio is perfectly suited to support the huge demand for reliable and uninterrupted power in sub-Sahara Africa. With an installed base spanning several countries in Africa, we are powering the continent with our scalable and modular solutions across various applications—particularly renewable and waste-to-energy, industrial power generation and cogeneration/CHP (combined heat and power) and oilfield power generation. In a CHP configuration, our Jenbacher gas engines can deliver electricity and heat at efficiencies of more than 90 percent,” said Oluwatoyin Abegunde, sales director for the sub-Saharan Africa region for GE’s Distributed Power. “By working with Clarke Energy on this important project, we are able to meet the needs of our customer and Cameroon for a more sustainable supply of electricity.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The United Arab Emirates has announced its decision to quit the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to focus on national interests.
This dealt a heavy blow to the oil-exporting group at a time when the US-Israel war on Iran had caused a historic energy shock and rattled the global economy.
The move, which will take effect on May 1, 2026, reflects “the UAE’s long-term strategic and economic vision and evolving energy profile”, a statement carried by state media said on Tuesday.
“During our time in the organisation, we made significant contributions and even greater sacrifices for the benefit of all,” it added. “However, the time has come to focus our efforts on what our national interest dictates.”
The loss of the UAE, a longstanding OPEC member, could create disarray and weaken the oil cartel, which has usually sought to show a united front despite internal disagreements over a range of issues from geopolitics to production quotas.
UAE Energy Minister Suhail Mohamed al-Mazrouei said the decision was taken after a careful look at the regional power’s energy strategies.
“This is a policy decision. It has been done after a careful look at current and future policies related to the level of production,” the minister said.
OPEC’s Gulf producers have already been struggling to ship exports through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow chokepoint between Iran and Oman through which a fifth of the world’s crude oil and liquefied natural gas supplies normally pass, because of threats and attacks against vessels during the war.
The UAE had been a member of OPEC first through its emirate of Abu Dhabi in 1967 and later when it became its own country in 1971.
The oil cartel, based in Vienna, has seen some of its market power wane as the US has increased its production of crude oil in recent years.
Additionally, the UAE and Saudi Arabia have increasingly competed over economic issues and regional politics, particularly in the Red Sea area.
The two countries had joined a coalition to fight against Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis in 2015. However, that coalition broke down into recriminations in late December when Saudi Arabia bombed what it described as a weapons shipment bound for Yemeni separatists backed by the UAE.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc bested four price decliners on the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on Monday, April 27. The alternative stock market opened the week bullish during the session with a 0.03 per cent uptick.
According to data, the security depository company added N2.61 to its share price to close at N76.26 per unit compared with the preceding session’s N78.87 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation of the platform increased by N820 million to N2.425 trillion from N2.424 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) gained 1.38 points to finish at 4,053.97 points compared with the 4,052.58 points it ended last Friday.
The four price losers were led by NASD Plc, which slumped by N3.80 to sell at N34.70 per share versus N38.50 per share. FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc fell by N1.45 to N98.10 per unit from N99.55 per unit, Food Concepts Plc slid by 27 Kobo to N2.43 per share from N2.70 per share, and Geo-Fluids Plc dipped by 9 Kobo to N2.91 per unit from N3.00 per unit.
The value of securities transacted by market participants went down by 82.0 per cent to N7.4 million from N41.3 million units, the volume of securities declined by 28.5 per cent to 319,831 units from 447,403 units, and the number of deals dropped by 34.1 per cent to 29 deals from 44 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.6 million units sold for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.
Also, GNI Plc was the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units traded for N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with a turnover of 400 million units worth N1.2 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The first trading day of the week in the currency market was bearish for the Naira in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Monday, April 27.
Yesterday, it lost N5.80 or 0.43 per cent against the United States Dollar to trade at N1,364.24/$1, in contrast to the N1,358.44/$1 it was traded last Friday.
In the same vein, the Nigerian currency depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market by N13.70 to close at N1,847.72/£1 versus the preceding session’s N1,834.02/£1, and slumped against the Euro by N11.56 to sell at N1,602.29/€1 versus N1,590.73/€1.
Also, the Nigerian Naira tumbled against the greenback during the trading day by N5 to quote at N1,385/$1 compared with the previous rate of N1,380/$1, and at the GTBank FX desk, it traded flat at N1,370/$1.
The poor performance of the domestic currency could be attributed to liquidity shortage at the official currency market on Monday, which came amid surging demand for international payments. At $76.50 million, interbank liquidity printed higher across 79 deals, up from the $43.572 million reported on Friday.
Nigeria’s gross external reserves declined to $48.45 billion amid a month-long decline in inflows, amid uncertainties in the global commodity market. The depletion of foreign reserves could be partly attributed to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s intervention in the FX market.
The market remains perturbed by persistent concerns over liquidity constraints, policy transparency, and weakening confidence in Nigeria’s FX market, while boosters, including oil prices, continue to look rocky due to stalled discussions and unclear ceasefire negotiations between the US and Iran.
A look at the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin (BTC) has been rejected near $79,000 three times in eight sessions, leaving the level as the de facto ceiling of its current trading range even as major cryptocurrencies trade lower over the past day. It lost 0.9 per cent to sell at $77,003.61.
Analysts say that upcoming US Federal Reserve policy decisions and top tech firms’ earnings this week could provide the catalyst to push bitcoin decisively above $80,000.
The market also continued to weigh Iran’s interim deal proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which failed to advance over the weekend. The White House said US officials were discussing the latest Iranian proposal but maintained “red lines” on any deal to end the eight-week war.
Solana (SOL) dropped 1.8 per cent to $84.25, Ripple (XRP) went down by 1.6 per cent to $1.39, Ethereum (ETH) depreciated by 1.3 per cent to $2,290.00, Binance Coin (BNB) declined by 0.5 per cent to $625.18, and Cardano (ADA) fell by 0.2 per cent to $0.2480.
However, Dogecoin (DOGE) rose by 2.0 per cent to $0.1002, and TRON (TRX) appreciated by 0.2 per cent to $0.3242, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.
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