Economy
Oil Jumps on US Crude Inventories Drop, Red Sea Attack
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil appreciated on Wednesday following a bigger-than-expected weekly withdrawal from US crude stockpiles and on worries about the security of Middle East oil supplies after a tanker attack in the Red Sea.
Brent rose by $1.02 or 1.4 per cent to settle at $74.26 a barrel while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude increased by 86 cents or 1.3 per cent to quote at $69.47 per barrel.
A tanker in the Red Sea off Yemen’s coast was fired on by gunmen in a speedboat and targeted with missiles in what is the latest incident to threaten the shipping lane after Yemeni Houthi forces warned ships not to travel to Israel.
The Iran-aligned Houthi group has sought to support their Palestinian ally Hamas in the Gaza war by firing missiles at Israel and threatening shipping in the busy Bab al-Mandab Strait, next to Yemen at the southern entrance to the Red Sea.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the latest incidents in the busy shipping route off Yemen’s coast.
Houthis have threatened to close the whole area to shipping due to the ongoing Israeli onslaught in Gaza. The group, a few weeks ago, declared war on Israel and sent several ballistic missiles toward Israel.
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported an estimated inventory draw of 4.3 million barrels for the week to December 8.
This compared with a draw of 4.6 million barrels for the previous week, which, however, combined with builds in gasoline and middle distillate inventories to put a lid on prices.
A day earlier, the American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated a draw in crude oil inventories of 2.35 million barrels for the week to December 8, along with a robust build in gasoline inventories and a modest one in middle distillates.
Crude prices held gains after the US Federal Reserve released a statement that it would hold interest rates steady as expected.
The central bank signalled an end to monetary policy tightening to fight inflation and lower borrowing costs coming in 2024.
The market will be watching the next moves as nations reach a historic deal at the COP28 conference to begin reducing global consumption of fossil fuels.
Saudi Arabia’s energy minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, said he was in agreement with the COP28 presidency on the final deal, adding it would not affect the kingdom’s hydrocarbon exports.
The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) on Wednesday said it remained cautiously optimistic about 2024 oil market fundamentals and blamed “exaggerated concerns” about demand for a recent drop in prices.
In its monthly report, the cartel said it remained “cautiously optimistic about the fundamental factors affecting oil market dynamics in 2024” and said speculators had played a major role in pushing prices lower.
OPEC kept its forecast for world oil demand growth in 2023 steady at 2.46 million barrels per day. In 2024, OPEC sees demand growth of 2.25 million barrels per day, also unchanged from last month.
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.
