Economy
Oil Falls as Saudi Discontinues Additional Cut
By Adedapo Adesanya
Crude oil fell on Monday after Saudi Arabia announced that it will not continue with its additional one million barrels daily cut after June.
Brent crude, the international benchmark, which traded above $42 per barrel early yesterday, fell by 3.71 percent or $1.54 to sell at $40.76 per barrel.
Likewise, the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures, which rose above $40, also fell by 3.69 percent or $1.46 to trade at $38.09 per barrel.
The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies known as OPEC+ agreed over the weekend to extend the 9.7 million barrels per day cap to July as laggards like Nigeria and Iran promised to keep up.
Saudi Arabia, which had curtailed output by more than its agreed quota, said at a press conference Monday that those extra reductions will last just one month as planned, as the measures have served their purpose.
Saudi Energy Minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, said that this would not continue in July, when the Kingdom is expected to pump its OPEC quota, amid signs of demand recovery as nations around the world lift strict lockdown measures.
“The voluntary cut has served its purpose and we are moving on. A good chunk of what we will increase in July will go into domestic consumption,” Prince Abdulaziz said.
Saudi, which in May announced an extra cut of one million barrels per day in June, uses its crude for power generation typically increases in the hot summer months, the minister noted.
With this, it means Saudi Arabia will boost output in July to match its output OPEC quota while ending deeper, voluntary cut amid signs of global demand recovering, the Saudi energy minister said on Monday.
The OPEC’s largest producer sharply hiked its official selling prices and this hike erased almost all of the discounts the Kingdom made during its brief price war with Russia, with the steepest increases hitting July exports to Asia.
However, traders are still worried about a possible problem that could arise such as deteriorating relations between the United States and China.
The problem of a second wave of COVID-19 infections are still possible, which will mean government can order a second batch of lockdown. The return of US shale supply is also a big worry.
This is, however, minimal right now as Tropical Storm Cristobal in United States pushed offshore drillers to halt about a third of oil production, amounting to about 636,000 barrels of daily output, due to the storm.
The oil market continues to recover with China’s crude imports hitting a record high last month, while consumption in other major economies such as India is improving.
Also, Libya’s biggest oil fields are gradually resuming production after five months of shutdown due to civil war.
According to reports, output will start at an initial 30,000 barrels per day at Sharara and it will take three months to return to full capacity and supply from El-Feel also restarted.
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.
