Economy
Crude Closes 2020 Positive Despite COVID-19, Price Crash Impacts
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil prices ended the year 2020 on a positive note, in a year marred by the coronavirus pandemic and an oil price crash.
On Thursday, the Brent crude gained 17 cents or 0.33 per cent to sell at $51.80 per barrel, while the United States’ West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose 7 cents or 0.18 per cent to trade at $48.42 per barrel.
Futures might have ended 2020 on a positive note but they suffered a hefty yearly fall, only partially recovering from the hit to crude demand from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Brent, according to market analysis, fell 21.5 per cent for the year, its largest annual drop since 2015 while the WTI fell 20.5 per cent in 2020, its second annual fall in three years.
In terms of month and quarter, Brent crude rose 8.9 per cent in December and 26.5 per cent in the final quarter of the year while WTI saw a 7 per cent rise in December and gained more than 20 per cent for the fourth quarter.
Oil prices were hit during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and this was worsened as Saudi Arabia and Russia engaged in a price war that flooded the world with oil, dropping prices to unprecedented levels.
However, efforts from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) in curbing production excesses helped the market recover a little after instituting a record cut that took away 10 per cent of global supply. This was later tapered in batches with output level expected to rise from January 1.
OPEC+ will meet on Monday and is likely to further relax its output curbs, adding another 500,000 barrels a day to global supply.
Business Post reported that crude was buoyed Wednesday by a larger-than-expected drop in U.S. crude inventories, as well as weakness in the US dollar.
Crude oil inventories decreased by 1.2 per cent for the week ending December 25, according to data released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Inventories decreased by 6.1 million barrels to 493.5 million barrels, more than the market expectation of a fall of 2.1 million barrels.
A weaker dollar is typically seen as a positive for commodities priced in the US unit, making them cheaper to buyers using other currencies. Expectations for a lower trend for the dollar have boosted expectations among bulls for further gains for crude and other commodities in 2021.
Next year, there are expectations that oil demand will rebound more slowly than initially anticipated as the aviation sector takes longer to recover from the coronavirus hit.
Global consumption is expected to come in at 96.9 million barrels a day next year which is up from the 91.2 million barrels per day forecast for 2020, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
On its part, OPEC final 2020 oil demand forecast stood at 9.8 million barrels per day lower than 2019 and projects oil demand to bounce back by 6.2 million barrels per day in 2021.
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.
