Economy
NMDPRA Targets Gas Utilisation to Cut High Cost of Doing Business
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has disclosed that the country’s natural gas exploitation and utilisation would help cut down the cost of doing business by 40 per cent.
Its chief executive, Mr Farouk Ahmed, at a one-day stakeholders engagement on Gas Utilisation in Nigeria, said that it has become important for companies and homes to key into gas utilisation as alternative fossil fuel.
Mr Ahmed, who was represented by Mr Ogbugo Ukoha, the Executive Director, Distribution, System, Storage and Retailing Infrastructure of NMDPRA, enjoined Nigerians to massively adopt the usage of gas as against diesel and petrol for their daily energy needs.
He said that this would reduce the nation’s carbon footprint and tackle global warming as well as climate change.
“It will also help to reposition the economy for sustainable growth and accelerate job creation since gas is believed to be the future of the nation’s economy,” he noted.
Mr Ahmed said that the essence of the engagement was to encourage large consumers of petroleum products to become aware of the comparative advantages between the different fuels, particularly gas, which he added had been designated as Nigeria’s transition fuel.
He explained that to promote gas usage and investment, the federal government had various initiatives and policy frameworks which included the National Gas Expansion Programme (NGEP) and the Decade of Gas Programme.
He observed that the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 had also enabled investments in the industry.
Mr Ahmed expressed gladness that the government effort was yielding significant results but added that more collaborations were needed to improve domestic gas utilisation.
The NMDPRA boss reiterated that Nigeria was blessed with abundant gas reserves, enough to last the nation for the next 90 years.
According to him, effective gas utilisation will make the nation become richer and the environment safer because it is much cleaner than other petroleum derivatives.
He said another great benefit of gas utilisation was the tendency to reduce the cost of doing business by 40 per cent.
Mr Ahmed called on heavy consumers of energy to convert their diesel generators to gas engines, saying that it was cost-effective.
He also advised consumers on the need to be properly licensed because of the numerous benefits attached.
These, he noted, include ensuring the safety of facilities and regular supplies of the product from the authority.
Delivering a keynote address, Mr Ogbugo Ukoha, the Executive Director, Distribution, System, Storage and Retailing Infrastructure of NMDPRA, said that many institutions were ‘heaviest consumers’ of diesel and have been identified as operating outside the regulatory oversight, which is not in accordance with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
Mr Ukoha, who was represented by Mr Ayo Cardoso, Coordinator, South West of NMDPRA, said the engagement was enlightenment on the need to obtain the requisite petroleum storage urgently.
Mr Ukoha said the exercise was to take advantage of the evolving opportunities in the gas value chain for sustainable business growth.
He said the enactment of the PIA 2021 was designed to enable Nigeria to derive more value from its natural gas.
According to him, Nigeria is embarking on different initiatives, projects and policies to enhance the performance of the oil and gas sector.
He said one of the gas initiatives in Nigeria includes the NGEP, which was designed to provide framework and policy support to extend the gas supply and utilisation in power generation, gas-based industries and emerging niche gas sectors.
“Such sectors are gas in transportation, Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) for cooking and remote virtual gas supply using trucks to convey LNG and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) to industries,” he said.
He noted that natural gas was projected to be the leading fossil fuel and well-positioned as a sustainable fuel for an effective energy transition.
Also speaking, Mr Oladipo Olatunbosun, National President of the Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALPGAM), said that the unaffordability of LPG posed serious challenges to the common man.
Mr Olatunbosun urged the authority to review the pricing of cooking gas to attract more utilisation and penetration.
He appealed to NMDPRA to sanction all illegal LPG skid operators within their operational cycle to create opportunities for legitimate marketers.
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was a bad day for the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on Monday, February 23, after it slumped 0.21 per cent at the close of business.
This pullback was influenced by profit-taking by investors in four securities, which overpowered the gains recorded by six others.
According to data, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc dipped N3.79 to sell at N67.21 per unit compared with the previous N71.00 per unit, UBN Property Plc lost 13 Kobo to close at N1.98 per share versus N2.11 per share, Resourcery Plc fell 3 Kobo to 36 Kobo per unit from 39 Kobo per unit, and Geo-Fluids Plc depreciated 1 Kobo to close at N3.31 per share versus N3.32 per share.
As a result, the bourse’s market capitalisation went down by N5.04 billion to N2.384 trillion from N2.389 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) decreased by 8.42 points to 3,985.90 points from 3,994.32 points.
Business Post reports that NIPCO Plc rose N23.00 to N253.00 per unit from N230.00 per unit, MRS Oil Plc added N14.50 to close at N214.50 per share versus N200.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc grew by N1.85 to N93.40 per unit from N91.55 per unit, NASD Plc soared 40 Kobo to N51.28 per share from N50.88 per share, First Trust Mortgage Bank Plc advanced by 12 Kobo to N1.32 per unit from N1.20 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc improved by 6 Kobo to N3.76 per share from N3.70 per share.
As for the trading data, the volume of securities jumped 99.7 per cent to 7.3 million units from 3.7 million units, but the value depleted by 26.8 per cent to N61.8 million from N84.5 million, and the number of deals slipped 7.1 per cent to 39 deals from 42 deals.
At the close of trades, CSCS Plc was the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 32.9 million units sold for N1.9 billion, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 120.6 million units valued at N473.4 million, and Resourcery Plc with 1.05 billion units exchanged for N408.7 million.
Resourcery Plc closed the session as the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 1.05 billion units worth N408.7 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 120.6 million units valued at N473.4 million, and CSCS Plc with 32.9 million units traded for N1.9 billion.
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited ended the first trading session of the week on a positive note after it chalked up 0.66 per cent on Monday.
The gains recorded yesterday were boosted by the 3.42 per cent rise by the insurance sector, the 1.44 per cent surge by the banking index, and the 1.30 per cent leap by the industrial goods counter. They offset the 0.20 per cent loss posted by the energy sector and a 0.11 per cent decline suffered by the consumer goods industry.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) closed higher by 1,273.78 points to 196,263.55 points from 194,989.77 points, and the market capitalisation appreciated by N805 billion to N125.969 trillion from N125.164 trillion.
Business Post observed that investor sentiment turned bearish during the session after Customs Street ended with 34 price losers and 33 price gainers, representing a negative market breadth index.
Fortis Global Insurance gained 10.00 per cent to trade at 66 Kobo, Okomu Oil expanded by 10.00 per cent to N1,605.60, Fidson rose by 9.90 per cent to N95.50, NPF Microfinance Bank rose by 9.89 per cent to N6.89, and Infinity Trust Mortgage Bank jumped 9.84 per cent to N17.30.
On the flip side, The Initiates weakened by 10.00 per cent to N17.55, Deap Capital deflated by 9.97 per cent to N6.86, LivingTrust Mortgage Bank went down by 9.92 per cent to N5.90, Multiverse lost 9.92 per cent to close at N22.70 per cent, and Ellah Lakes shrank by 9.77 per cent to N11.55.
Yesterday, market participants traded 1.3 billion shares worth N31.5 billion in 95,091 compared with the 820.5 million shares valued at N28.3 billion in 63,507 deals last Friday, indicating an increase in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 58.44 per cent, 11.31 per cent, and 49.73 per cent apiece.
Japaul ended the session as the busiest stock after selling 474.0 million units worth N2.0 billion, Chams traded 51.5 million units for N221.3 million, Jaiz Bank exchanged 48.3 million units for N566.9 million, Secure Electronic Technology transacted 46.3 million units worth N68.8 million, and Mutual Benefits sold 42.5 million units valued at N242.5 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The first trading day in the currency market in Nigeria ended bearish for the Naira as its value further weakened against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Monday by N2.92 or 0.22 per cent to N1,349.24/$1 from the N1,346.32/$1 it was traded last Friday.
Also in the spot market, the Nigerian currency depreciated against the Pound Sterling by N6.62 during the trading day to close at N1,821.87/£1 versus the preceding session’s N1,815.25/£1, and lost N6.80 on the Euro to settle at N1,591.42/€1, in contrast to the previous rate of N1,584.62/€1.
At the GTBank forex desk, the Nigerian Naira crashed against the greenback yesterday by N1 to quote at N1,357/$1 versus the preceding session’s closing value of N1,356/$1, but in the black market, the Naira appreciated by N5 to close at N1,365/$1 compared with the preceding trading day’s N1,370/$1.
The Naira slide came amid renewed pressure as weekly inflows declined, as Bureaux De Change (BDC) operators were unable to purchase Dollars from banks two weeks after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) reopened the official FX Market window to them.
It had been expected that BDCs would help to further deflate the parallel market premium, but according to reports, BDC operators had yet to commence FX purchases from commercial banks, two weeks after the apex bank said legitimate agents can access up to $150,000 from the banks.
There were no FX inflows from the CBN during the past week, according to a report by the research department of Coronation Merchant Bank.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s external reserves, which provide the CBN with firepower to support the naira, rose to $48.77 billion as of February 19, 2026.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was in the red as a broader risk-off shift tied to an emerging “AI scare trade” in equities is weighing on crypto markets.
This is leading traders to sell, while the sharp liquidation events that typically attract dip buyers have seen no such move recently, with Bitcoin (BTC) down by 3.2 per cent to $62,901.86.
Further, Ethereum (ETH) depreciated by 2.5 per cent to $1,821.13, Cardano (ADA) slid 1.9 per cent to $0.2571, Litecoin (LTC) went down by 1.9 per cent to $50.45, Solana (SOL) shrank 1.8 per cent to $76.54, Dogecoin (DOGE) declined by 1.7 per cent to $0.0912, Ripple (XRP) slumped 1.2 per cent to $1.32, and Binance Coin (BNB) lost 0.6 per cent to sell for $589.88, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
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