Economy
Crude Oil Drops 1% on US Recession Warnings
By Adedapo Adesanya
Crude oil fell by about 1 per cent on Wednesday as possible US recession outweighed optimism that China’s lifting of COVID-19 curbs will fuel demand for crude in the world’s top oil importer.
Brent crude went down by 94 cents or 1.1 per cent to settle at $84.98 a barrel, and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude depreciated by 70 cents or 0.9 per cent to trade at 79.48 per barrel.
Fear came into the market after comments from US Federal Reserve officials sparked worries that the country’s central bank may not pause interest rate hikes any time soon.
St. Louis Fed President, Mr James Bullard, and Cleveland Fed President, Loretta Mester, said rates needed to rise beyond 5 per cent to control inflation in the world’s largest economy.
This took out gains expected as data showed retail sales and manufacturing production declined more than forecast in December, on hopes the Fed would now ease up on interest rate hikes.
It also overshadowed support that came from China as the world’s second-largest economy reported positive data that beat forecasts after the country started rolling back its zero-COVID policy in early December.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) said that China’s reopening is set to drive global oil demand to a record high of 101.7 million barrels per day this year, up by 1.9 million barrels per day from 2022.
The Paris-based agency raised its demand growth estimate for 2023 by 200,000 barrels per day from 1.7 million barrels per day growth expected in December.
Almost half of the oil demand growth this year will come from China after the country lifted its COVID-19 restrictions, the IEA said in its closely-watched Oil Market Report (OMR) for January.
At the same time, world oil supply growth in 2023 is set to slow to 1 million barrels per day, following last year’s growth of 4.7 million barrels per day led by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, OPEC+.
It also warned that the European Union (EU) ban on Russian oil products from February 5 could soon mean that “the well-supplied oil balance at the start of 2023 could quickly tighten, however, as western sanctions impact Russian exports.”
Crude inventories figure from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) will be published on Thursday as it was delayed a day due to Monday’s Martin Luther King Day federal holiday.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Nigeria slightly surpassed its quota set by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in July 2026.
In the month under review, the country produced about 1.57 million barrels of crude oil per day.
It was the third consecutive month Africa’s largest oil-producing nation was meeting its monthly quota, set to stabilise the price of the commodity on the global market by the oil cartel.
Data released by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) on Wednesday showed that the 1.5 million barrels per day ceiling for Nigeria was surpassed last month.
The agency disclosed in a statement today that the country produced 1.505mbpd of crude oil and 0.17mbpd of condensate, bringing the combined daily production to 1.67mbpd.
In the month under review, the daily peak production of crude oil and condensate was 1.78mbpd, while the lowest daily production was 1.57mbpd.
Although Nigeria met its OPEC quota in the month of July, the statistics show that on a month-on-month basis, production fell by 4 per cent.
This was attributed to the decline in production due to operational challenges experienced at the Erha and Akpo fields, which impacted crude oil output during the period under review.
These disruptions constrained production volumes and contributed significantly to the overall reduction in national crude oil output.
Despite the challenges, production operations across most other producing assets remained relatively stable, with operators implementing measures aimed at maintaining production efficiency and minimising the impact of operational constraints, NUPRC stated.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The over 9 billion shares of Lasaco Assurance Plc issued to shareholders of the company via a rights issue have been listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.
The equities were brought to Customs Street on Wednesday by the organisation, increasing its total issued and fully paid-up share capital.
Lasaco Assurance, which scaled the recapitalisation hurdle of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) in July 2026, raised fresh capital from the capital market to shore up its capital base.
The underwriting firm got about N18.5 billion from the rights issue, which involved the issuance of 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares at a unit price of N2.00.
The exercise was on the basis of five new ordinary shares for every existing six ordinary shares held as of the close of business on Friday, February 20, 2026.
Confirming the listing of the additional stocks of Lasaco Assurance today, the Head of Issuer Regulation Department of NGX RegCo, Mr Godstime Iwenekhai, announced in a circular that, “Trading licence holders are hereby notified that an additional 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each of Lasaco Assurance Plc were today, Wednesday, August 12, 2026, listed on the daily official list of Nigerian Exchange Limited.
“The additional shares arose from the company’s rights issue of 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each at N2.00 per share on the basis of five new ordinary shares for every existing six ordinary shares held as of the close of business on Friday, February 20, 2026.
“With the listing of the additional 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares, the total issued and fully paid-up share capital of Lasaco Assurance Plc has now increased from 11,083,585,855 to 20,319,907,401 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) has said the successful recapitalisation of the insurance industry will strengthen the sector’s ability to support financial stability and economic growth.
NIA Chairman, Mrs Ebelechukwu Nwachukwu, said a well-capitalised insurance industry would be better positioned to meet its obligations promptly, underwrite complex and large-scale risks and serve as a dependable pillar of the Nigerian economy.
She made the remarks while commending the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) for its structured implementation of the new minimum capital requirements under the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025.
Mrs Nwachukwu said NAICOM’s clear guidelines, systematic verification process, defined timelines and rigorous supervision had provided operators with a credible framework for navigating the recapitalisation exercise.
She described the outcome as a major milestone for the industry and congratulated the 43 insurance and reinsurance companies that have successfully met the prescribed minimum capital requirements.
According to her, the exercise represents “a major win not just for regulators and operators, but for policyholders, investors and the wider Nigerian economy.”
Mrs Nwachukwu said the association would continue to work with NAICOM and other stakeholders to consolidate the gains of the exercise, with emphasis on sustainable industry growth, stronger market conduct and improved consumer confidence.
The official also expressed solidarity with the eight companies still undergoing final verification and regulatory review, urging them to remain confident as NAICOM completes the process within the 14-day review period.
The NIA chairman assured policyholders and the wider business community that the insurance industry would emerge from the recapitalisation exercise stronger, more resilient and better positioned to contribute to Nigeria’s economic development.
