Economy
Artisinal, Modular Refineries will Drive Local Inclusion—FG
By Adedapo Adesanya
The federal government has said that the integration of artisanal and modular refinery operators into the mainstream oil and gas sector will drive the inclusion of more local content in the industry while advancing the use of home-grown technology in the refining of petroleum products.
This was disclosed by Vice President, Mr Yemi Osinbajo, on Tuesday in a virtual address delivered at a national summit on the Integration of Artisanal and Modular Refinery Operations in Nigeria, convened by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Niger Delta Affairs, Mr Ita Enang.
The Vice President explained that the integration of artisanal refiners will curb environmental issues in the Niger Delta, promote the availability of petroleum products, stabilize prices, eliminate shipping costs and provide employment opportunities for the people.
“We are confident that the integration of artisanal and modular refinery operations into the oil and gas sector will not only promote the inclusion of more local content in the industry; it will advance the use of home-grown technology in the refining of petroleum products and also curtail illegal oil activities in the Niger Delta region,” he said.
Mr Osinbajo had in 2016 toured oil-producing communities in the Niger Delta as part of the new administration’s bid to address lingering issues in the region.
“One of the nagging issues we were confronted with during my tour was how to deal with the proliferation of artisanal refinery and its attendant negative environmental impact. Our solution was to promote the establishment of modular refineries,” Prof. Osinbajo recollected.
Speaking on how to resolve the issue, the Vice President noted that artisanal refiners will be seen as investors and considered for strategic equity partnerships with technical and financial partners.
“This vision is hinged on the commitment of this present administration to develop the region and ensure that the people of the region benefit maximally from the wealth of their land. Indeed, the New Vision speaks to a progressive partnership between the federal government, state government, private sector, and the local communities,” he stated.
Explaining the federal government’s position on the adoption of a viable model, Mr Osinbajo said the transition from artisanal refineries to modular refineries has been delayed because of the operators’ expectation that the process will be fully underwritten by the government.
“However, what this framework envisages is a private sector-led partnership with equity participation from the state government or its agencies, registered local cooperative societies and the integration of regional refinery stakeholders, with the private investor having majority equity.”
While calling on stakeholders at the summit, to fashion a workable and viable blueprint that will guide and facilitate the integration of artisanal and modular refinery operators, the Vice President said the gains of a seamless integration were enormous.
“We are confident that the integration of artisanal and modular refinery operations into the oil and gas sector will curtail illegal oil activities in the Niger Delta regions.
“It will also promote the availability of petroleum products, stabilize prices, eliminate shipping costs and provide employment opportunities for the youths in the region and Nigeria in general.
“We recognize that with enough artisanal and modular refineries in the country, we should be able to conserve foreign exchange now utilized for the importation of petroleum products and promote socio-economic development.
“The resultant proliferation of employment opportunities will also have the effect of curbing youth restiveness which is largely driven by a dearth of socioeconomic opportunity. With most of the youth engaged in productive endeavours, the region will be able to turn a new page in its history.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange improved by 0.33 per cent on Monday, January 26 on the back of renewed appetite for unlisted stocks by investors.
This moved the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) higher by 11.84 points to 3,650.94 points from the 3,639.10 points it ended when the market last opened for business.
In the same vein, the market capitalisation of the alternative stock exchange increased by N7.08 billion to end N2.184 trillion compared with last Friday’s closing value of N2.177 trillion.
Eight securities witnessed movements during the first trading day of this week, with five in the green side and three in the red zone.
FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc led the gainers group after it recorded a price appreciation of N3.47 Kobo to sell at N69.70 per share versus N66.23 per share, Air Liquide Plc added N1.54 to close at N16.94 per unit versus N15.40 per unit, Afriland Properties Plc rose by N1.43 to N16.03 per share from N14.60 per share, IPWA Plc gained 20 Kobo to trade at N2.17 per unit versus N1.97 per unit, and Acorn Petroleum Plc surged by 1 Kobo to N1.30 per share versus last Friday’s N1.29 per share.
On the flip side, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc dropped 14 Kobo to close at N40.67 per unit versus N40.81 per unit, UBN Property Plc shrank by 9 Kobo to N2.00 per share from N2.09 per share, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc lost 6 Kobo to close at 63 Kobo per unit versus 69 Kobo per unit.
Yesterday, the trading volume slipped by 33.3 per cent to 6.8 million units from 10.2 million units, as the trading value declined by 17.3 per cent to N156.7 million from N189.5 million, and the number of deals decreased by 10.2 per cent to 44 deals from 49 deals.
At the close of trades, CSCS Plc was the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 14.2 million units worth N575.9 million, followed by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 915,905 units sold for N61.7 million, and MRS Oil Plc with 296,801 units traded for N59.3 million.
CSCS Plc was also the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 14.2 million units valued at N576.0 million, trailed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 7.7 million units worth N52.4 million, and Mass Telecom Innovation Plc with 6.3 million units worth N2.5 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
The first trading session of the week at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited ended in a stalemate as investors activated the cautious trading button.
It was observed that the key performance indices of the bourse remained relatively unchanged during the trading day, as the activity level slightly went down at the close of business.
Yesterday, the All-Share Index (ASI) was marginally up by 5.38 points to 165,517.56 points from 165,512.18 points and the market capitalisation gained N4 billion to settle at N105.963 trillion compared with last Friday’s N105.959 trillion.
NPF Microfinance Bank topped the advancers’ log after chalking up 10.00 per cent to sell for N5.61, Morison Industries appreciated by 9.97 per cent to N8.27, Union Homes REIT jumped by 9.95 per cent to N78.45, Deap Capital expanded by 9.94 per cent to N7.85, and Zichis rose by 9.92 per cent to N2.88.
On the flip side, May and Baker declined by 10.00 per cent to N39.15, Neimeth depreciated by 9.81 per cent to N11.95, ABC Transport slipped by 9.33 per cent to N5.15, CWG tumbled by 9.05 per cent to N22.10, and Sovereign Trust Insurance crashed by 8.97 per cent to N3.45.
Investor sentiment remained bearish as Customs Street ended with 35 price gainers and 37 price losers, representing a negative market breadth index.
A total 601.7 million equities worth N17.3 billion were transacted in 58,429 deals during the session compared with 731.7 million equities valued at N19.1 billion traded in 44,005 deals in the preceding trading day, showing a surge in the number of deals by 32.78 per cent and a dip in the trading volume and value by 17.77 per cent and 9.42 per cent apiece.
Chams was the busiest stock for the session with 41.6 million units sold for N210.1 million, Access Holdings exchanged 34.4 million units valued at N768.6 million, GTCO transacted 31.6 million units worth N3.1 billion, Zenith Bank transacted 26.0 million units valued at N1.8 billion, and Guinea Insurance traded 25.0 million units worth N33.2 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira put up a better performance against United States Dollar in the different segments of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Monday, January 26, though it traded flat at the GTBank forex desk at N1,430/$1 at the close of transactions.
In the black market, the Nigerian Naira improved its value against the US Dollar yesterday by N5 to close at N1,480/$1 compared with the preceding trading day’s value of N1,485/$1. It had maintained stability for several days before appreciating on Monday.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) window, the domestic currency further gained N2.68 or 0.19 per cent on the greenback to quote at N1,418.95/$1, in contrast to last Friday’s price of N1,421.63/$1.
Equally, the local currency appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market by N3.05 to settle at N1,921.12/£1 compared with the previous session’s N1,924.17/£1 and chalked up N3.60 on the Euro to trade at N1,682.31/€1, in contrast to the preceding session’s closing price of N1,669.56/€1.
It has been projected that the Naira will continue to trade at expected range buoyed by improved FX market efficiency, higher capital inflows, a current account surplus, and a broad-based economic recovery. It is thus expected to maintain this momentum in the near-term backed by a favourable supply environment as well as sustained diaspora remittances.
Nigeria’s external reserves have maintained a steady growth trajectory, rising to an eight-year high of $46.01 billion as of January 22, 2025, according to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The last time the country’s foreign currency reserves reached a similar level was on August 24, 2018, when they stood at $46.09 billion.
As for the cryptocurrency market, major tokens closed higher as investors looked ahead of the Federal Reserve decision. However, traders fear that gains may be limited as a weaker Dollar and rising geopolitical uncertainty have fueled gains in equities and precious metals, safer havens than digital assets.
Litecoin (LTC) rose by 2.8 per cent to $69.43, Ethereum (ETH) grew by 2.4 per cent to $2,936.42, Solana (SOL) gained 1.7 per cent to sell at $124.33, Cardano (ADA) increased by 1.6 per cent to $0.3520,Binance Coin (BNB) went up by 1.6 per cent to $883.71, Ripple (XRP) which appreciated by 1.2 per cent to $1.89, Bitcoin (BTC) soared by 0.8 per cent to $88,367.32, and Dogecoin (DOGE) advanced by 0.8 per cent to $0.1223, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.
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