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DPR, GenCos to Tackle Gas Transportation Challenges in Nigeria

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Gas Development

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has said it will work closely with the electricity generating companies as regards the challenges present in the Nigeria Gas Transportation Network Code (NGTNC).

This was disclosed by the Chief Executive Officer of the agency, Mr Sarki Auwalu, at the NGTNC engagement with the DPR, GenCos and the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) in Abuja.

He said, “I appreciate the remark by one of the Managing Directors of the GenCos that they are sitting on gas.

“We have 203 Trillion Cubic Feet (TCF) of gas that is proven, and 600 TCF about to be proven and we have so much gas project already ongoing.

“What I am saying is that the network code is not only looking at end-users, shippers or transporters.

“It is also looking at gas explorers and producers; when you look at the issues you have highlighted, they are issues we have observed with our interactions with you, we will identify them and work through it.”

He added that the only omission in the concerns of the Gencos was the needs of the explorers and the producers, which determine a lot of things.

He noted that the DPR would continue to engage with NERC towards actualising the goal and commended the Gencos for accepting the code.

Mr Auwalu said that the drive of the code was to help the country to migrate to the gas economy endowed with a huge deposit of the product.

According to him, the code is in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive that the country must migrate to a gas economy.

This, he said, would help to take a lot of Nigerians out of poverty and equally create the needed jobs in the country.

“As you know, the president has declared this decade, a decade of gas, and he has given all the support to ensure that it is achieved,” he said.

He noted that there was a need for the country to change the way things were done to get different results for the growth of the nation.

Mr Auwalu said that there was no misalignment with all the concerns of GenCos but noted that the most important need of the code was to ensure business viability.

He said that the DPR would ensure that all the provision in the gas value chain was keyed into with the code.

“With NERC, Nigeria Gas Company and all the stakeholders we will get things done well, and the essence of the meeting is to get the Gencos to appreciate the code.

“For us, this meeting is the onboarding of the GenCos to the gas network code,” he added.

In his remarks, NERC chairman, Mr Sanusi Garba, said that the most important element to grow the Nigerian economy was gas, adding that the nation cannot make progress without an adequate power supply.

Mr Garba said that there was a need to discuss how 70 to 75 per cent of power generation could be generated through gas.

Represented by the Vice-Chairman, Musilim Oseni, he said that NERC was ready to work with the DPR to ensure that the critical changes needed would be achieved.

He said that NERC was optimistic that the network code would enable the needed milestone to achieve the migration to gas economy.

Also, Mr Nnaemeka Ewelukwa, Managing Director of Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) Plc, said that there was a need for the network code to look at all the electricity value chain.

Mr Eweluka added that issues of charges, cost, invoicing and payment should align for its impact in the sector.

The Representative of the Gencos, Mr Godwin Ogaje, said that they supported the gas network code.

Mr Ogaje pointed out that the major challenge was the big gap between the GTA and the code.

He noted that various changes introduced by the code should be looked into for business viability.

Mr Ogaje listed some of the charges to include capacity charges, commodity charges and capacity obligations, among others.

Adedapo Adesanya is a journalist, polymath, and connoisseur of everything art. When he is not writing, he has his nose buried in one of the many books or articles he has bookmarked or simply listening to good music with a bottle of beer or wine. He supports the greatest club in the world, Manchester United F.C.

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Economy

Four Securities Erase N51.17bn from NASD Exchange

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NASD Exchange

By Adedapo Adesanya

Four securities weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.95 per cent on Friday, erasing N41.17 billion from the bourse, which had its market capitalisation at N2.567 trillion compared with the previous session’s N2.618 trillion.

In the same vein, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) decreased at the close of business by 85.28 points to 4,277.07 points from 4,362.32 points.

The price decliners were led by 11 Plc, which gave up N20.50 to sell at N200.50 per share compared with the preceding day’s N221.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc dropped N16.94 to close at N155.20 per unit versus Thursday’s closing price of N172.14 per unit, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc went down by N2.11 to N84.68 per share from N86.79 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc lost 11 Kobo to end at N16.74 per unit, in contrast to the N16.85 per unit it closed a day earlier.

During the trading day, the value of transactions jumped by 172.1 per cent to N29.9 million from the preceding session’s N10.9 million, and the volume of trades soared by 136.5 per cent to 955,096 units from the previous 403,901 units, while the number of deals went down by 11.4 per cent to 31 deals from 35 deals.

Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 68.6 million units sold for N4.7 billion.

GNI Plc also ended the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units exchanged for N8.4 billion, trailed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.

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Economy

Cautious Trading, Profit-taking Weaken Nigeria’s Stock Exchange by 0.66%

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Nigeria's stock exchange

By Dipo Olowookere

The last trading session of this week on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited ended on a negative note, with a 0.66 per cent loss on Friday.

This was influenced by sustained selling pressure and cautious trading, which forced investors into profit-taking.

Data obtained by Business Post showed that the energy sector fell by 4.66 per cent, the insurance counter dipped by 2.23 per cent, the consumer goods index depreciated by 0.96 per cent, and the banking segment shed 0.28 per cent, while the industrial goods space remained unchanged.

At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) of Nigeria’s stock exchange went down by 1,531.81 points to 232,049.02 points from 233,580.83 points, and the market capitalisation dropped N983 billion to settle at N148.905 trillion compared with Thursday’s N149.888 trillion.

Aradel was the worst-performing equity after it lost 10.00 per cent to close at N1,417.50. International Energy Insurance slipped by 9.95 per cent to N5.79, Trans-Nationwide Express depreciated by 9.89 per cent to N3.28, eTranzact crashed by 9.79 per cent to N14.75, and UPDC slumped by 9.72 per cent to N28.12.

The best-performing equity for the day was Universal Insurance, which gained 6.32 per cent to close at N1.01, McNichols grew by 5.52 per cent to N8.60, Linkage Assurance expanded by 4.67 per cent to N1.57, NGX Group appreciated by 4.35 per cent to N120.00, and Transcorp increased by 3.62 per cent to N41.50.

As look at the activity level indicated that investors traded 388.7 million stocks worth N18.4 billion in 44,631 deals compared with the 393.7 million stocks valued at N19.2 billion executed in 45,813 deals a day earlier, representing a decline in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 1.27 per cent, 4.17 per cent, and 2.58 per cent, respectively.

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Economy

Official FX Market Sees Naira Dip to N1,380.93/$1

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naira official market

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira recorded a loss of 82 Kobo or 0.06 per cent against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, June 26, exchanging at N1,380.93/$1, in contrast to the previous day’s rate of N1,380.11/$1.

Equally, the domestic currency further weakened against the Pound Sterling in the official FX market yesterday by N6.06 to settle at N1,824.90/£1 versus the preceding session’s N1,818.84/£1, and lost N10.74 on the Euro to sell at N1,577 .58/€1 versus N1,566.84/€1.

At the GTBank forex counter, the Naira depreciated against the greenback during the session by N4 to close at N1,387/$1, in contrast to Thursday’s value of N1,383/$1, and at the parallel market, it was unchanged at N1,395/$1.

Interbank FX activity among financial institutions has fluctuated amid a sharp slowdown in forex market interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), as it allows demand and supply to move the market.

Also, a stronger greenback has generally put significant pressure on emerging-market currencies.

Nigeria has accessed the first tranche of a proposed $5 billion derivatives financing arrangement with First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC, the largest lender in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The $5 billion facility, approved by the National Assembly earlier this year, is part of the federal government’s plan to diversify external financing sources and reduce borrowing costs. Structured as a Total Return Swap with First Abu Dhabi Bank, proceeds are earmarked for refinancing debt and supporting infrastructure financing.

If the proceeds are brought into the country through the official FX market, the transaction will increase the currency reserves or Dollar liquidity.

At the cryptocurrency market, Solana (SOL) grew by 2.2 per cent to $71.92, Cardano (ADA) gained 1.1 per cent to trade at $0.1474, Ripple (XRP) also appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $1.05, Dogecoin (DOGE) expanded by 0.9 per cent to $0.0755, and Ethereum (ETH) improved by 0.4 per cent to $1,578.84.

On the flip side, TRON (TRX) slid 0.6 per cent to $0.3203, Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 0.3 per cent to $564.33, and Bitcoin fell by 0.2 per cent to $60,219.37, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.

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