Economy
Oil Rises on Strong China Demand, Supply Cuts
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil rose on Friday and posted a weekly gain as higher Chinese demand and supply cuts from the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) lifted prices.
Brent crude gained 94 cents to settle at $76.61 a barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $1.16 to $71.78 per barrel.
On a week-on-week basis, Brent appreciated by 2.4 per cent, and WTI improved by 2.3 per cent.
Oil has gained this week on hopes of growing Chinese demand. China’s refinery throughput rose in May to its second-highest total on record.
There are also expectations that Chinese demand to keep climbing during the second half.
Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) sees continued good demand for oil from China in the second half of the year, according to its chief executive, Sheikh Nawaf Saud al-Sabah.
Kuwait, an OPEC producer, has been boosting oil product exports to Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas after the sanctions on Russia reshuffled energy trade routes.
Also supporting crude are the voluntary output cuts implemented in May by OPEC+, plus an additional cut by Saudi Arabia in July.
Meanwhile, Russian Energy Minister Nikolai Shulginov said it was “realistic” to reach oil prices of around $80 per barrel.
He also said Russian oil and gas condensate production is expected to fall by around 20 million tonnes (400,000 barrels per day) this year, reiterating the country’s expectations.
Another OPEC member, Iran, saw its crude exports and oil output hit new highs in 2023 despite sanctions from the United States.
Capping oil price gains was the prospect of rising interest rates, which could slow economic growth.
The Bank of England is set to raise interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point next week. The European Central Bank lifted rates to a 22-year high on Thursday, and the US Federal Reserve signalled at least a half of a percentage point increase by year-end.
Oil rigs in the US fell by four to 552 this week, their lowest since April 2022, while gas rigs fell by five to 130, their lowest since March 2022, energy services firm Baker Hughes Co. said.
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.
