Economy
Fears About Efficacy of Vaccines Against Omicron Batters Crude Oil
By Adedapo Adesanya
Crude oil prices plunged afresh on Tuesday as vaccine authorities doubted the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines against the Omicron coronavirus variant, renewing worries about oil demand.
As a result, crude prices ended the month of November bearish with Brent crude futures falling by $2.87 or 3.9 per cent to settle at $70.57 per barrel and the United States West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures losing $3.77 or 5.4 per cent to trade at $66.18 per barrel.
The market’s mood was dampened heavily when the head of drugmaker Moderna Inc, Mr Stéphane Bancel told the Financial Times that current vaccines will struggle with Omicron.
“There is no world, I think, where [the effectiveness] is the same level . . . we had with [the] Delta [variant].
“I think it’s going to be a material drop. I just don’t know how much because we need to wait for the data. But all the scientists I’ve talked to … are like, This is not going to be good,” he was quoted as saying.
Mr Bancel added that the high number of mutations on the protein spike the virus uses to infect human cells meant it was likely the current crop of vaccines would need to be modified.
This is a complete turnaround from Pfizer’s CEO statement, Mr Albert Bourla, who said on Monday that its vaccine would likely work on the Omicron variant, adding that he doesn’t believe the variant would fully escape protection with existing vaccines.
Analysts noted that this ominous warning could likely lead to another wave of lockdowns which could result up in a loss of 3 million barrels per day oil demand in the first quarter of 2022.
Also pressuring prices was the statement by the US Federal Reserve Chair, Mr Jerome Powell that the US central bank likely will discuss speeding its reduction of large-scale bond purchases at its next policy meeting.
This is coming amid a strong economy and expectations that a surge in inflation will persist into the middle of next year, which could reduce demand for fuel.
With the latest development, it is now unclear if the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting countries and allies (OPEC+) will put on hold plans to add 400,000 barrels per day to supply in January.
Prior to the Omicron news, the group was already weighing the effects of last week’s announcement by the US and other countries to release emergency crude reserves to cool energy prices.
OPEC+ meets on Thursday, December 2 to decide production levels for January. The group has already postponed a technical panel meeting from Monday to Wednesday to have more time to assess the potential impacts of the Omicron variant on oil demand.
The market will be waiting for corroborating news from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) after the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported an inventory draw in crude oil.
The API estimated the inventory draw for crude oil to be 747,000 barrels.
US crude inventories have shed some 57 million barrels since the beginning of the year.
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.
