Economy
Nembe Spill: FG Recovers 16,200 Barrels of Crude, Water Sediments
By Adedapo Adesanya
The federal government has disclosed that so far, 16,200 barrels of crude oil and water sediments have been recovered from the Oil Mining Lease (OML) 29 in Nembe Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
This was disclosed ahead of investigations which are set to return today, to further understand the cause of the spill which commenced on November 5.
The Minister of State for Environment, Mrs Sharon Ikeazor, while speaking on Tuesday after visiting the leak site at the oilfield operated by an indigenous oil firm, Aiteo Eastern Exploration and Exploration Company, said efforts would be made to uncover the cause of the unfortunate incident.
The National Oil Spills Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) had on November 6 visited the leak site to ascertain the cause of the leak from a non-producing well.
The pressure and intensity of the gas and crude leak reportedly hampered the process.
The agency subsequently directed the operator of the oilfield to shut the leak, but it persisted until December 8 when the leak was plugged.
Mrs Ikeazor gave the assurance that the Joint Investigation Visit (JIV) would be conducted in a transparent manner, noting that the federal government ensured prompt response from the first day of the incident.
The JIV is a statutory probe that follows every reported leak incident.
“It is done by representatives of the oil firm, affected communities, regulators and state ministry of environment to ascertain the cause and estimated volume of spilt crude oil,” she said.
Mrs Ikeazor noted that NOSDRA had been on the incident site to ensure that the oil leak was contained within the locality to avert further damage to the environment.
According to her, the response to the incident reduced the impact on the environment, adding that the JIV report would determine the next course of action.
According to her, if the leak is traced to equipment failure, the victims will be compensated but if it is found to be caused by sabotage, there will be no compensation.
On his part, Mr Idris Musa, Director-General of NOSDRA, who accompanied the minister alongside officials of Aiteo, said that the agency was doing its best to mitigate the resultant pollution.
He said that the site had suffered several pollution incidents, adding that the devastation observed was not only caused by the latest incident.
He said that the calm nature of the Santa Barbra River was responsible for the high recovery rate of spilt crude which was largely trapped by booms deployed to reduce the spread of leaked crude.
Aiteo had in 2015 acquired OML 29 for about $2.4 billion following Shell’s divestment.
The asset consists of the 97km Nembe Creek Trunk Line which evacuates crude from onshore oil wells within the oil bloc and other operators to Bonny Export Terminal.
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.
