Economy
Aiteo Oil Production Hits 90kpod One Year after OML 29 Acquisition
**Emerges Nigeria’s Leading Oil & Gas Firm
By Dipo Olowookere
Integrated energy group, Aiteo, has announced a peak production of 90kpod just one year after its acquisition of sub-Sharan Africa’s reputedly largest onshore oil bloc OML 29.
Recall that in September 2015, Aiteo acquired OML 29 when Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) fully exited the facility.
At the time of the divestment, average production was 23Kbpod, but Aiteo, one of the frontline sponsors of the just concluded 16th Oil and Gas (NOG) Conference held in Abuja, says it has tripled this figure leveraging the diversity and skills of its work force and bona fides as a dynamic international energy conglomerate.
CEO and Vice Chairman of the firm, Benedict Peters, said the company grew production from 23kbbl/d upon takeover of operations to a peak of 90Kbbl/d in one year.
He also highlighted several existing and developing projects that could potentially grow Aiteo’s asset production to over 150 kbopd and 200mmscf/d.
“Our outlook is bright with 3 producing oil fields and viable crude exports via Bonny terminal. We also have contingent resources to appraise and prospective ones to explore in the medium-to-long term, including full 3D coverage and 2P NNS reserves at 1.6bn bbl.
“Put simply, we have a clear vision for the future with the experience and assets crucial to providing oil and gas consistently on a regional and global scale,” Mr Peters said.
Aiteo’s ambitious five-year objectives include tackling the power challenges in Nigeria head-on through its legacy investments in the gas-to-power value chain.
“This is a testament to our commitment to the transformation of the entire oil & gas value chain into a world-class landscape,” Mr Peters added.
The company’s main subsidiary Aiteo Eastern E&P is also a major infrastructure provider for Nigeria’s oil industry as the operator of the 97km Nembe Creek Trunk Line, an industry-wide evacuation pipeline for produced fluids covering much of the country’s Eastern Delta region.
Aiteo’s Group Managing Director Mr Chike Onyejekwe said: “Our growth drivers remain strong leadership, high commitment and motivation, technical and commercial excellence and superior asset base.
“In the next five years, our operations will continue to be guided by these qualities as we leverage our capabilities comparable to oil majors elsewhere in the world. Indeed, the future is Aiteo.”
In the interim, Aiteo says it is developing a pipeline of power generation projects across Nigeria. The company is confident that its significant gas resources at OML 29 will transform the country’s oil rich Niger Delta region into a power generation hub of repute before long.
Economy
Aradel Holdings Acquires Equity Stake in Chappal Energies
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
A minority equity stake in Chappal Energies Mauritius Limited has been acquired by a Nigerian energy firm, Aradel Holdings Plc.
This deal came a few days after Chappal Energies purchased a 53.85 per cent equity stake in Equinor Nigeria Energy Company Limited (ENEC).
Chappal Energies went into the deal with Equinor to take part in the oil and gas lease OML 128, including the unitised 20.21 per cent stake in the Agbami oil field, operated by Chevron.
Since production started in 2008, the Agbami field has produced more than one billion barrels of oil, creating value for Nigerian society and various stakeholders.
As part of the deal, Chappal will assume the operatorship of OML 129, which includes several significant prospects and undeveloped discoveries (Nnwa, Bilah and Sehki).
The Nnwa discovery is part of the giant Nnwa-Doro field, a major gas resource with significant potential to deliver value for Nigeria.
In a separate transaction, on July 17, 2024, Chappal and Total Energies sealed an SPA for the acquisition by Chappal of 10 per cent of the SPDC JV.
The relevant parties to this transaction are working towards closing out this transaction and Ministerial Approval and NNPC consent to accede to the Joint Operating Agreement have been obtained.
“This acquisition is in line with diversifying our asset base, deepening our gas competencies and gaining access to offshore basins using low-risk approaches.
“We recognise the strategic role of gas in Nigeria’s energy future and are happy to expand our equity holding in this critical resource.
“We are committed to the cause of developing the significant value inherent in the assets, which will be extremely beneficial to the country.
“Aradel hopes to bring its proven execution competencies to bear in supporting Chappal’s development of these opportunities,” the chief executive of Aradel Holdings, Mr Adegbite Falade, stated.
Economy
Afriland Properties Lifts NASD OTC Securities Exchange by 0.04%
By Adedapo Adesanya
Afriland Properties Plc helped the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange record a 0.04 per cent gain on Tuesday, December 10 as the share price of the property investment rose by 34 Kobo to N16.94 per unit from the preceding day’s N16.60 per unit.
As a result of this, the market capitalisation of the bourse went up by N380 million to remain relatively unchanged at N1.056 trillion like the previous trading day.
But the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) closed higher at 3,014.36 points after it recorded an addition of 1.09 points to Monday’s closing value of 3,013.27 points.
The NASD OTC securities exchange recorded a price loser and it was Geo-Fluids Plc, which went down by 2 Kobo to close at N3.93 per share, in contrast to the preceding day’s N3.95 per share.
During the trading session, the volume of securities bought and sold by investors increased by 95.8 per cent to 2.4 million units from the 1.2 million securities traded in the preceding session.
However, the value of shares traded yesterday slumped by 3.7 per cent to N4.9 million from the N5.07 million recorded a day earlier, as the number of deals surged by 27.3 per cent to 14 deals from 11 deals.
Geo-Fluids Plc remained the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 1.7 billion units sold for N3.9 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 297.5 million units worth N5.3 million.
Also, Aradel Holdings Plc remained the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 108.7 million units worth N89.2 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 297.5 million units sold for N5.3 billion.
Economy
Naira Trades N1,542/$1 as FX Speculators Dump Dollars in Panic
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira continued to appreciate on the US Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), gaining 0.7 per cent or N10.23 on Tuesday, December 10 to trade at N1,542.27/$1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,552.50/$1.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)-backed Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS) platform introduced to tackle speculation and improve transparency in Nigeria’s FX market has been attributed as the source of the Naira’s appreciation.
Speculators holding foreign currencies, particularly the US Dollar, have seen the value of their money drastically drop due to the appreciation of the local currency. This is forcing them to dump greenback into the system and take the domestic currency alternative- a move that has seen available FX increase.
Equally, the domestic currency improved its value against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the trading day by N6.81 to sell for N1,955.12/£1 compared with Monday’s closing price of N1,961.93/£1 and against the Euro, it gained N10.84 to close at N1,613.00/€1, in contrast to the previous day’s rate of N1,623.84/€1.
Data from the FMDQ Securities Exchange showed that the value of forex transactions significantly increased yesterday by $228.85 million or 257.2 per cent to $401.17 million from the preceding session’s $112.32 million.
However, in the parallel market, the Nigerian currency weakened against the US Dollar on Tuesday by N5 to settle at N1,625/$1 compared with the previous day’s value of N1,620/$1.
In the cryptocurrency market, Dogecoin (DOGE) lost 4.8 per cent to sell at $0.39116, Litecoin (LTC) depreciated by 3.3 per cent to trade at $110.25, Binance Coin (BNB) went south by 2.3 per cent to $681.44, Ethereum (ETH) dropped 1.6 per cent to finish at $3,671.08, and Cardano (ADA) slid by 0.5 per cent to $0.8837
Conversely, Ripple (XRP) jumped by 5.4 per cent to $2.23 amid a continued shift for the coin with its parent company seeing the benefits of a crypto-friendly regulatory environment for US-based companies.
XRP is closely related to Ripple Labs, a high-profile payments company targeted by the SEC in 2020 on allegations of selling the token as a security to U.S. investors. Ripple fully cleared a long-drawn court case in 2024.
Further, Solana (SOL) expanded by 0.8 per cent to $219.75, Bitcoin (BTC) grew by 0.4 per cent to $97,446.95, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
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