Economy
Crude Oil Sheds 4% as Saudi Eyes Extra 1mbdp Production
By Adedapo Adesanya
Crude oil prices fell more than four percent on Wednesday, reversing earlier gains after Saudi Arabia announced that it will raise its production capacity by one million barrels per day.
This led to the Brent crude dropping 4.86 percent or $1.67 to trade at $35.50 per barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell by 4.62 percent equivalent to $1.72 to sell at $32.69 per barrel.
The de facto leader of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has unveiled plans to boost oil production capacity to a record 13 million barrels a day, from 12 million bpd now.
As a result of cuts, the kingdom was pumping around 9.7 million barrels per day in the past few months, but has extra capacity of crude in storage.
Futures were looking to recover on Tuesday as they climbed over 10 percent, after crashing by more than 25 percent on Monday. But the news by Saudi Arabia plunged the market back into worry, adding to existing worries caused by the coronavirus spread.
Following a decision taken by Saudi Arabia over the weekend that it would cut its official selling prices by $6 to $8 per barrel, other members of OPEC are now piling in. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) said on Wednesday that it was ready to supply 4 million barrels per day in April, up from about 3 million at present.
This freedom to pump oil follows Russia’s refusal to agree to a cut of 1.5 million barrels per day by members of an OPEC alliance and saying every single member of the alliance could produce as it pleases from April.
Russia would be producing more itself in a bid to recover market share lost to US companies in recent years, following the US replacement of Russia as the world’s biggest oil producer thanks to its recent shale boom.
Analysts believe that Russia wants to gain market share by putting prices low enough to cause US shale production to drop, but might not pay off as it will only add more to an already oversupplied market.
In the face of this, the market continues to face an oil glut and as at Wednesday, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) said for the week ending March 6, crude inventories increased by 7.7. million barrels.
Even at this, OPEC slashed its forecast for 2020 growth in oil demand by 920,000 barrels a day to 60,000 barrels per day on Wednesday, noting expectations for slower economic growth due to the spread of COVID-19 that has been declared a pandemic, with more than 118,000 cases in 114 countries and 4,291 deaths recorded.
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.
