Economy
Shell to Resume Export Operations from Forcados Oil Terminal
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) has said the Forcados Oil Terminal would resume export operations by the end of the month when ongoing essential repairs would have been completed.
This was disclosed by the company’s Media Relations Manager, Mrs Abimbola Essien-Nelson, in a statement.
“In addition to the repairs, we are working to remove and clamp theft points on the onshore pipelines to ensure full crude oil receipt at the terminal,” she stated.
According to Mrs Essien-Nelson, the active illegal connections to SPDC joint venture’s production lines and facilities in the western Niger Delta, as well as the inactive illegal connection to the onshore section of the 48” Forcados Export Line, are in the company’s ongoing programme to remove illegal connections on the pipelines that feed the terminal.
She said, “SPDC gives priority to the removal of active illegal connections and to illegal connection points that have leaks. This scheduled programme is continuous as new illegal connections are identified during the surveillance of the pipelines. An example of such an illegal connection is on the onshore section of the 48” Forcados Export Line, which is currently not active and has no sign of leak at the interconnection point.”
Mrs Essien-Nelson reiterated SPDC’s commitment to running its assets safely, reliably and in accordance with globally accepted standards.
“SPDC continues to work tirelessly, alongside government and partners, towards the eradication of crude theft from its infrastructure,” she said.
Large-scale theft from Nigeria’s pipelines has throttled exports, forced some companies to shut in production, and crippled the country’s finances.
Recently, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited discovered a nine-year illegal 4-kilometre pipeline.
NNPC chief, Mr Mele Kyari, said oil theft in the country has been going on for over 22 years, but the dimension and rate it assumed in recent times was unprecedented.
Earlier, he had accused every institution, including the government and religious organisations, of being part of the dirty job. He said make-shift pipelines and stolen fuel had even been found in churches and mosques.
By Dipo Olowookere
The need to make the Nigerian stock market more attractive to retail investors has again been emphasised by a business enthusiast and food expert.
The chief executive of UAC Foods, Mr Oluyemi Oloyede, said efforts must be made by the regulators to ensure the man on the street understands the stock exchange and the capital market like the back of his hand.
In a post on Sunday, Mr Oloyede specifically gave this task to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, noting that it should educate Nigerians on how to trade equities so as to make the space robust, which he insinuated would be good for the economy.
This, he said, can be achieved through an intensive investor education to further improve confidence in the market.
“The Nigerian stock exchange needs to bring the market to the streets, to social media, to the commonplaces where Nigerians can understand what the market is about and break down big concepts to simple, everyday languages. People are putting hard earned money in wrong places,” he said in the post yesterday.
The NGX has been churning out some activities to carry retail investors along, including organising workshops to explain how the market works.
It also recently introduced a cutting-edge web application known as NGX Invest, which is designed to transform the primary market equity capital-raising process, specifically public offers and rights issues.
This online capital-raising platform has been approved by the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and was introduced in line with NGX Group’s commitment to market development.
The platform was created to boost retail participation in the capital market, promote financial inclusion and further deepen the pool of available capital in the market by enhancing its capabilities to fulfil the needs of Issuers and other market stakeholders.
Last year, the NGX released a new edition of a unique comic book, StockTown, designed to promote financial literacy among the younger generation of Nigerians.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian government has stopped the issuance of waivers for the importation of threaded pipes, a key component in oil and gas operations that drains Nigeria’s foreign reserves by over $1 billion annually, as part of efforts to plug capital flight and boost local manufacturing.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Mr Heineken Lokpobiri, announced this at the commissioning of Monarch Alloys Limited’s coating plant in Lagos.
He said Nigeria does not justify importing pipes when local capacity is being developed, stressing that investments like Monarch Alloys must be patronized to stimulate industrialization, reduce import dependency, and create jobs for Nigerians.
“Let me state clearly today: no more waivers for the importation of threaded pipes into this country. We have a duty to support our industries to grow. We will not allow dumping of pipes or such things anymore.
“It makes no sense for Nigeria to continue spending hard-earned forex on products we now have the capacity to produce locally. This is why we are stopping waivers immediately,” he stated.
The directive was handed to the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), which oversees compliance with the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act.
The newly commissioned plant boasts an annual external coating capacity of two million square meters and one million square meters for internal coating. It is designed to meet the needs of both onshore and offshore pipeline projects, including high-spec applications that demand advanced corrosion protection.
Also speaking, the Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr John Owan Enoh, described the facility as a transformative development.
“This investment is a strong testament to Nigeria’s industrialization drive. It reduces our dependence on imports, creates jobs, and expands the value chain,” he said, noting that Monarch Alloys is a model for public-private collaboration and pledged continued government support to ensure a thriving investment environment.
On his part, the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Mr Felix Omatsola Ogbe, praised the initiative as a strategic win for local content, warning that sourcing key elements like pipeline coatings from abroad saps the economy of opportunities and value.
“This facility is aligned with the Nigerian Content Equipment Certificate scheme under the NOGICD Act. It gives companies like Monarch Alloys priority consideration during technical bid evaluations in the oil and gas industry.
“That era must end. This facility introduces high-performance 3LPE and concrete weight coating capability into Nigeria, keeping technical and economic value within our borders.”
“The economic implications are significant including job creation, skills development, stimulation of local manufacturing, and logistics. Monarch Alloys is not just meeting a sectoral need; it is contributing to national development,” Mr Ogbe added, urging operators in the industry to prioritize partnerships with local manufacturers.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange fell by 0.24 per cent on Friday, April 25 after the duo of FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc and Afriland Properties Plc landed on the losers’ table.
FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc depreciated by N2.58 to sell at N35.37 per unit compared with the previous day’s N37.95 per unit, and Afriland Properties Plc lost 2 Kobo to close at N17.78 per share versus Thursday’s closing value of N17.80 per share.
However, Geo-Fluids Plc appreciated by 10 Kobo during the trading day to sell for N1.80 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N1.70 per unit. The rise in the price of the stock could not prevent the fall of the bourse yesterday.
Consequently, the market capitalisation of the trading platform went down by N4.64 billion to N1.914 trillion from N1.918 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) declined by 7.92 points to 3,269.06 points from 3,276.98 points.
The final trading session of the week ended with a surge of 1,695.8 per cent in the volume of securities transacted to 3.7 billion units from the 206.2 milion units transacted in the previous trading day.
Equally, the value of transactions jumped by 2,592.6 per cent to N9.5 billion from N354.1 million on Thursday, and the number of deals decreased by 47.4 per cent to 20 deals from the 38 deals recorded a day earlier.
Impresit Bakolori Plc remained the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 533.9 million units sold for N520.9 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 259.3 million units worth N456.1 million, and Okitipupa Plc with 153.6 million units valued at N4.9 billion.
Also, Okitipupa Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 153.6 million units valued at N4.9 billion, trailed by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 15.6 million units worth N598.5 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 533.9 million units sold for N520.9 million.
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