Economy
FG Unveils Phases of Autogas Rollout Plan
By Adedapo Adesanya
The federal government has unveiled the phased plan to convert 200,000 commercial vehicles to run on gas this year.
This followed a meeting between Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr Timipre Sylva and oil marketers in Abuja towards the deployment of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) popularly called autogas in Nigeria.
According to Mr Sylva, the autogas rollout plan is to ensure that it made available alternatives required before the removal of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) otherwise known as petrol, stressing that the deployment of autogas was one of such key alternatives.
He also stated that the government would be supporting them with 50 per cent of the conversion kits to fast-track the process, adding that additional support as required would be given, going forward.
“We said we must provide alternative fuel and the alternative that we concluded on was the autogas alternative. To provide it for our people,” he stated.
He added, “Since this agreement between us (government and marketers), a lot of work has been going on and we have come to a certain point where we need to take it further. But we cannot move further without ensuring that you as our partners are fully on board.”
In the framework, the government explained that with abundant gas reserves of about 206.53 trillion cubic feet, a population of about 200 million people, and the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act, which eliminated the continuous absorption of petrol subsidy, it was now vital to deploy autogas.
It stated that its priority now was the rapid and strategic introduction of Natural Gas Vehicles as an alternative fuel for transportation in Nigeria in line with the approved National Gas Policy.
“This will pave the pathway to full deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector in Nigeria while reducing the effect of deregulation on transportation costs,” the document read in part.
It added, “The Ministry of Petroleum Resources was charged with the responsibility to provide autogas (LPG, CNG, LNG) as an alternative and competitive fuel for mass transportation
“CNG was selected as the fuel of choice because it holds a comparative advantage due to its ease of deployment, its comparatively lower capital requirements, commodity’s supply stability, existing in-country volumes, and local market commercial structure which relies predominantly on the Naira.
“Hence a single track CNG deployment is proposed in the initial phase and other alternatives can be considered as the market attains maturity.”
Three implementation options were highlighted in the document, as the government stated that in the first option, its target was to convert one million public transport vehicles and install 1,000 refuelling centres within 36 months.
For the first 18 months, it targets to achieve 500,000 conversions and 580 refuelling centres supplied by five Original Equipment Manufacturers, among other targets.
In the plan, the government targets to convert 200,000 commercial vehicles this year, including tricycles, cars, mini-buses and large buses.
The cities captured in Phase 1 of the project include Abuja, Kaduna, Kano, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Ondo, Oyo, Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Niger, and Rivers.
Cities under Phase 2 were listed as Sokoto, Katsina, Jigawa, Borno, Bauchi, Gombe, Yobe, Osun, Ekiti, Enugu, Anambra, Imo, Cross River, Abia, Akwa Ibom and Plateau. For Phase 3 cities, they were listed as Kebbi, Zamfara, Yobe, Gombe, Taraba, Adamawa, Benue and Ebonyi
On the selection criteria for network operators, the government stated that the marketer must own and/or operate a minimum of 21 stations nationwide.
The dealer must own and/or operate a minimum of five stations in each proposed city and must be willing to demonstrate creditworthiness and the ability to pay back within the stipulated time frame.
Senior officials of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria, as well as other key players in the downstream sector, attended the meeting.
On his part, the Executive Secretary, MOMAN, Mr Clement Isong, explained that marketers were willing to partner with the government and expressed delight in the government’s resolve to support marketers with 50 per cent of the required conversion kits.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange faced south on Tuesday, March 10, by 0.64 per cent, with the market capitalisation dropping N16.25 billion to close at N2.540 trillion versus the preceding session’s N2.556 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) shrinking by 27.15 points to 4,245.97 points from 4,273.12 points.
The red team had more members than the green team yesterday, with the former comprising four and the latter three.
Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc depreciated by N2.43 to sell at N80.00 per share versus N83.78 per share, Afriland Properties Plc lost N1.90 to trade at N17.60 per unit versus N19.50 per unit, Geo-Fluids Plc declined by 30 Kobo to N3.00 per share from N3.30 per share, and Acorn Petroleum Plc declined by 2 Kobo to N1.33 per unit from N1.35 per unit.
Conversely, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc appreciated by N2.85 to N136.70 per share from N133.85 per share, Lagos Building Investment Company (LBIC) Plc added 25 Kobo to sell at N4.00 per unit compared with Monday’s price of N3.75 per unit, and First Trust Mortgage Bank Plc gained 1 Kobo to settle at N1.91 per share versus N1.90 per share.
The volume of securities surged during the session by 1,253.2 per cent to 14.9 million units from 1.1 million units, the value of securities jumped 180.7 per cent to N132.7 million from N47.3 million, and the number of deals increased by 61.1 per cent to 58 deals from 36 deals.
The most active stock by value (year-to-date) was CSCS Plc with 38.1 million units exchanged for N2.4 billion, Okitipupa Plc occupied the second spot with 6.3 million units worth N1.1 billion, and the third place was taken by MRS Oil Plc with 3.4 million units valued at N507.8 million.
The most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) was Resourcery Plc with 1.05 billion units sold for N408.7 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 130.6 million units transacted for N503.8 million, and CSCS Plc with 38.1 million units worth N2.4 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira further weakened against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Tuesday, March 10.
Yesterday, the local currency depreciated against the greenback by N8.14 or 0.58 per cent to sell at N1,401.40/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,393.26/$1.
In the same vein, the domestic currency tumbled against the Pound Sterling in the official market by N22.67 to trade at N1,885.73/£1 versus Monday’s closing price of N1,863.06/£1, and lost N19.37 against the Euro to settle at N1,631.51/€1, in contrast to the preceding day’s N1,612.14/€1.
Similarly, the Naira crashed against the US Dollar in the black market during the trading day by N5 to close at N1,420/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,415/$1, but gained N3 at the GTBank forex counter to end at N1,416/$1 versus N1,419/$1.
With the latest level, the Naira hit a two-month low despite improvements in externalities that could offer enough backing for the local currency, including a stabilisation of oil prices to levels that could strengthen the current account balance and improve FX liquidity.
The last time the exchange rate hit the N1,400/$1 region was January 27, when the local currency traded at N1,401.2 against the American currency.
Inflows into the FX market have strengthened in recent weeks, but likewise, the US Dollar has strengthened at the international market due to recent upheaval involving the United States, Israel and Iran.
Meanwhile, in the cryptocurrency market, the price of the top 1o coins rallied as easing fears of an oil supply shock, helped by the move toward a possible release of emergency reserves, lifted risk sentiment across global markets.
The gainers were led by Dogecoin (DOGE) which chalked up 1.7 per cent to trade at $0.0926, Cardano (ADA) jumped 0.5 per cent to $0.2599, TRON (TRX) added 0.3 per cent to sell at $0.2867, Bitcoin (BTC) appreciated by 0.2 per cent to $69,619.49, and Ripple (XRP) grew by 0.1 per cent to $1.38.
On the flip side, Ethereum (ETH) crashed by 0.3 per cent to $2,022.42, Solana (SOL) slid 0.2 per cent to $86.57, and Binance Coin (BNB) lost 0.1 per cent to finish at $640.29, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 apiece.
By Dipo Olowookere
The bears took control of Customs Street on Tuesday after equity investors embarked on profit-taking, resulting in the market closing lower by 0.57 per cent.
Sell-offs were witnessed in almost all the key sectors of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited yesterday, as the only riser was the insurance index, which gained 0.04 per cent.
The industrial goods space shrank by 0.71 per cent, the banking counter depreciated by 0.48 per cent, the energy counter fell by 0.29 per cent, and the consumer goods sector also slipped by 0.29 per cent.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) moderated by 1,130.86 points to 196,066.11 points from 197,196.97 points, and the market capitalisation contracted by N726 billion to N125.858 trillion from N126.584 trillion.
Mutual Benefits lost 10.00 per cent to trade at N4.59, NASCON also gave up 10.00 per cent to sell for N147.60, Red Star Express dropped 9.94 per cent to N28.55, Austin Laz slumped 9.88 per cent to N3.74, and SCOA Nigeria depreciated by 9.85 per cent to N27.90.
On the flip side, Premier Paints gained 9.97 per cent to close at N17.65, Sunu Assurances appreciated by 9.95 per cent to N4.75, Conoil improved by 9.95 per cent to N204.40, DAAR Communications expanded by 9.84 per cent to N2.01, and Eterna grew by 9.56 per cent to N51.00.
Business Post observed that there was a stronger selling pressure yesterday after a fall in the global crude oil market. The bourse ended with 26 price gainers and 44 price losers, reflecting a negative market breadth index and weak investor sentiment.
A total of 746.9 million equities valued at N27.9 billion exchanged hands in 65,275 deals during the session versus the 762.5 million equities worth N31.2 billion traded in 86,488 deals in the preceding day, showing a decline in the trading volume, value and number of deals by 2.05 per cent, 10.58 per cent, and 24.53 per cent, respectively.
Leading the activity chart for the session was Access Holdings with 80.3 million shares valued at N2.0 billion, Mutual Benefits sold 52.7 million stocks worth N254.7 million, Fortis Global Insurance transacted 41.4 million equities for N57.7 million, Zenith Bank traded 35.4 million shares worth N3.3 billion, and Jaiz Bank exchanged 31.5 million stocks valued at N343.4 million.
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