Economy
NUPRC Woos Investors to Explore Nigeria’s Oil, Gas Reserves
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has announced that the country’s gas reserves currently stand at 208.83 trillion cubic feet, offering potential investors a huge potential.
According to the Chief Executive of NUPRC, Mr Gbenga Komolafe, following the declaration of the year 2020-2030 as Nigeria’s decade of gas, the country became ripe for more investment.
He said Nigeria has a proven reserve of 36.966 billion barrels of oil and condensate, opening a large opportunity for investments in the upstream oil and gas sector.
Mr Komolafe spoke at the ongoing Nigerian Oil and Gas Opportunity Fair (NOGOF 2023) organized by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, with the theme, Oil and Gas Industry: Catalyst for Fuel for the Industrialisation of Nigeria.
“Nigeria’s role as a major player in the global oil and gas industry is certainly not in doubt, as we are currently the highest oil producer in Africa and the second highest in terms of proven oil reserves with a huge potential for growth.
“As of January 1, 2023, Nigeria boasts 36.966 billion barrels of oil and condensate reserves and 208.83 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves, opening a large opportunity for investments in the upstream oil and gas sector.
“You will agree with me that despite the global clamour for decarbonization and energy transition, oil and gas remain relevant in the global energy mix to guarantee energy security for our teaming population.
“In order to deliver on her commitments towards reduction of carbon footprints, Nigeria has adopted gas as a transition fuel and expects to significantly increase gas consumption during the Decade of Gas declared by the President, Muhammadu Buhari.
“This adoption of natural gas as a transition fuel is a boost for Nigeria; our gas reserves can be harnessed to help the country’s transition to Net Zero by 2060 while driving economic growth and development, thereby simultaneously tackling energy poverty and meeting the commission has intensified efforts climate ambition.”
Represented by the Executive Commissioner, Economic Regulation and Strategic Planning, Mr Kelechi Ofoegbu, the NUPRC boss assured of the Commission’s commitment to growing gas reserves, boosting production and eliminating routine gas flares in all upstream operations across the value chain while also dealing with methane capture and other fugitive gas emissions.
“The significance of this is that more gas would be available for domestic utilization as Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), feedstock for power generation plants, fertilizer plants and petrochemicals, among others.
“Each of these areas shows that gas would truly be the catalyst and fuel for industrialisation as well as provide unique entry points for willing investors and constitute opportunities to build capacity locally.
“The commission, as the upstream petroleum industry regulator, has embarked on the development of a regulatory framework for carbon-make businesses pay for their emissions and pricing system to incentivize emission reductions through carbon credits.
“Accordingly, a new department called Energy Transition and Carbon Monetisation has been created in the Commission to coordinate the drive towards energy transition in the Nigeria oil and gas sector. The new department will drive the focused implementation of the robust regulatory framework for the decarbonisation of upstream operations.
“It will introduce clean mechanisms in field development, mitigate the impact of energy transition and ensure sustained investments in upstream operations whilst improving the environmental credentials of oil and gas. It is our hope that in months to come; we should be able to share the vital lessons from the Nigerian transition success story with the global community.”
Also speaking, the Managing Director of Chevron Nigeria Limited, Mr Richard Kennedy, announced that the company had spent over $1 billion on Nigerian suppliers and service providers in the last few years.
Mr Kennedy, in his goodwill message, said CNL had made significant investments in Nigeria in the last 60 years, assuring that the company remains committed to the NOGICD Act and will continue to build local capacity.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited is seeking review of the controversial Capital Gains Tax increase, fearing it will chase away foreign investors from the country’s capital market.
Nigeria’s new tax regime, which takes effect from January 1, 2026, represents one of the most significant changes to Nigeria’s tax system in recent years.
Under the new rules, the flat 10 per cent Capital Gains Tax rate has been replaced by progressive income tax rates ranging from zero to 30 per cent, depending on an investor’s overall income or profit level while large corporate investors will see the top rate reduced to 25 per cent as part of a wider corporate tax reform.
The chief executive of NGX, Mr Jude Chiemeka, said in a Bloomberg interview in Kigali, Rwanda that there should be a “removal of the capital gains tax completely, or perhaps deferring it for five years.”
According to him, Nigeria, having a higher Capital Gains Tax, will make investors redirect asset allocation to frontier markets and “countries that have less tax.”
“From a capital flow perspective, we should be concerned because all these international portfolio managers that invest across frontier markets will certainly go to where the cost of investing is not so burdensome,” the CEO said, as per Bloomberg. “That is really the angle one will look at it from.”
Meanwhile, the policy has been defended by the chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, who noted that the new tax will make investing in the capital market more attractive by reducing risks, promoting fairness, and simplifying compliance.
He noted that the framework allows investors to deduct legitimate costs such as brokerage fees, regulatory charges, realised capital losses, margin interest, and foreign exchange losses directly tied to investments, thereby ensuring that they are not taxed when operating at a loss.
Mr Oyedele also said the reforms introduced a more inclusive approach to taxation by exempting several categories of investors and transactions.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Food Concepts Plc neutralized the gains recorded by three securities, returning the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange into the negative territory with a 0.27 per cent loss on Thursday, December 4.
Yesterday, the share price of the parent company of Chicken Republic and PieXpress declined by 34 Kobo to sell at N3.15 per unit compared with the previous day’s N3.49 per unit.
This shrank the market capitalisation of the OTC bourse by N5.72 billion to N2.136 billion from N2.142 trillion and weakened the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 9.57 points to 3,571.53 points from 3,581.10 points.
Business Post reports that Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc went down by 50 Kobo to N38.50 per share from N38.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc gained 29 Kobo to sell at N55.79 per unit versus N55.50 per unit, and Geo-Fluids Plc added 5 Kobo to close at N4.60 per share compared with Wednesday’s closing price of N4.55 per share.
Trading data indicated that the volume of securities recorded at the session surged by 6,885.3 per cent to 4.3 million units from the 61,570 units posted a day earlier, the value of securities increased by 10,301.7 per cent to N947.2 million from N3.3 million, and the number of deals went up by 146.7 per cent to 37 deals from the 15 deals achieved in the previous trading session.
At the close of business, Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc was the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with the sale of 5.8 billion units for N16.4 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 170.4 million units worth N8.0 billion, and Air Liquide Plc with 507.5 million units valued at N4.2 billion.
InfraCredit Plc also finished the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units transacted for N16.4 billion, followed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.2 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 536.9 million units traded for N524.9 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
The upward trend witnessed at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited in recent sessions continued on Thursday as it further improved by 0.10 per cent.
This was despite investor sentiment turning bearish after the local equity market ended with 23 price gainers and 28 price gainers, indicating a negative market breadth index.
UAC Nigeria gained 10.00 per cent to finish at N88.00, Morison Industries appreciated by 9.94 per cent to N3.54, Ecobank rose by 8.53 per cent to N36.90, and Coronation Insurance grew by 8.47 per cent to N2.56.
On the flip side, Ellah Lakes depreciated by 10.00 per cent to N13.14, Eunisell Nigeria also shed 10.00 per cent to finish at N72.90, Transcorp Hotels slipped by 9.95 per cent to N157.50, Omatek shrank by 9.23 per cent to N1.18, and Guinea Insurance dipped by 8.46 per cent to N1.19.
Yesterday, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 152.28 points to 145,476.15 points from 145,323.87 points and the market capitalisation chalked up N97 billion to finish at N92.726 trillion compared with the previous day’s N92.629 trillion.
Customs Street was bubbling with activities on Thursday, though the trading volume and value slightly went down, according to data.
A total of 1.9 billion stocks worth N19.2 billion exchanged hands in 23,369 deals during the session versus the N2.3 billion valued at N21.0 billion traded in 21,513 deals a day earlier.
This showed that the number of deals increased by 8.63 per cent, the volume of transactions depleted by 17.39 per cent, and the value of trades decreased by 8.57 per cent.
For another trading day, eTranzact led the activity chart with 1.6 billion units sold for N6.4 billion, Fidelity Bank traded 31.0 million units worth N589.3 million, GTCO exchanged 28.3 million units valued at N2.5 billion, Zenith Bank transacted 27.1 million units for N1.6 billion, and Ecobank traded 21.9 million units worth N744.3 million.
-
Feature/OPED6 years agoDavos was Different this year
-
Travel/Tourism9 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Showbiz3 years agoEstranged Lover Releases Videos of Empress Njamah Bathing
-
Banking7 years agoSort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy2 years agoSubsidy Removal: CNG at N130 Per Litre Cheaper Than Petrol—IPMAN
-
Banking3 years agoFirst Bank Announces Planned Downtime
-
Banking3 years agoSort Codes of UBA Branches in Nigeria
-
Sports3 years agoHighest Paid Nigerian Footballer – How Much Do Nigerian Footballers Earn