Economy
Ardova, Heyden to Sell Dangote Petrol, Diesel at Lower Prices
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Nigerians may soon begin to purchase petroleum products at the retail stations of Heyden Petroleum and Ardova Plc across Nigeria at lower prices.
This is because the two players in the nation’s downstream petroleum sector have entered into a bulk purchase agreement with the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.
Recall that a few weeks ago, MRS Oil Nigeria Plc sealed a deal with Dangote Refinery, enabling it to sell premium motor spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol, at N935 per litre across all its stations nationwide, addressing the long-standing issue of price disparities between states.
This action pushed the share price of MRS Oil at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited to a new 52-week high last Friday, as investors became increasingly optimistic about the company’s future earnings prospects.
Propelled by the economic relief provided by President Bola Tinubu’s crude-for-naira swap initiative, Ardova Plc and Heyden Petroleum agreed to join Dangote Refinery to bring down the prices of petroleum products.
Reports indicate that the bulk purchase agreement with Dangote Petroleum Refinery will enable both Ardova and Heyden to secure a reliable and consistent supply of petroleum products from the world’s largest single-train refinery, ensuring a stable supply of fuel at competitive prices, benefiting consumers across the country.
The arrangement ensures that Ardova and Heyden will have access to a full range of refined products, thereby securing their operations with a reliable supply chain.
The partnership with Dangote Refinery is poised to have a transformative impact on Nigeria’s oil and gas market. By ensuring a stable and affordable supply of fuel products in the over 1,000 retail outlets of the two companies, the agreement will help to alleviate the recurring issue of fuel scarcity that has long plagued Nigeria.
“This framework will see Ardova Plc offtake a full slate of petroleum products from the refinery. While Ardova Plc has been a significant off-taker from the refinery since its inception, this new framework will institutionalise a more robust relationship between the two companies to further enhance the emerging competitive landscape in the downstream oil and gas industry in the country,” a statement from Ardova stated.
Ardova has been a key off-taker from the Dangote Refinery since its inception, but this new framework is expected to formalise and strengthen the partnership between the two companies, creating long-term benefits for both parties.
The Dangote Refinery, which began production in 2024, has already played a pivotal role in addressing these challenges. Its large-scale operations have helped alleviate the supply pressures that often lead to price hikes and fuel shortages.
By Adedapo Adesanya
About 395,000 barrels per day of crude oil were delivered to the Dangote Refinery in December under the crude-for-Naira deal with the federal government through the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.
The volume of black gold supplied to the Lagos-based facility was 40 per cent higher than the 280,000 barrels per day delivered in November.
According to a report from Argus, the crude receipts at the 650,000 barrels per day capacity Dangote refinery rose to a new high in December.
It gathered the data from its tracking systems as well as from Kpler and Vortexa data.
The report said that this was the fourth consecutive month that crude deliveries were all Nigerian and did not include any US WTI.
Deliveries of WTI had been anticipated in December, but did not materialise.
The Dangote Group said it is aiming for 350,000 barrels per day throughput in a first phase of operations.
It had achieved this mark in June as receipts hit 350,000 barrels per day but fell back after that. Since March, when crude delivery began to increase, estimated receipts have averaged a little under 275,000 barrels per day.
Recall that Dangote Refinery had bought some foreign cargoes when NNPC could not adequately supply it with the needed resources.
In July, President Bola Tinubu directed the NNPC to commence sales of crude oil in Naira to local private refiners as part of efforts to boost domestic capacity and reduce foreign exchange pressure on the economy.
Last month’s receipts included cargoes of Nigerian grades Escravos, Bonny Light, CJ Blend, Qua Iboe, and Erha.
Bonny Light was the largest single grade at 140,000 barrels per day.
It was disclosed that three deliveries on very large crude carriers (VLCC) helped boost receipts in the review month.
Argus added that no cargoes of Forcados or Amenam were delivered to Dangote last month, having previously been regular grades at the refinery.
Dangote Group is also maintaining a very consistent slate in terms of gravity and especially sulphur content.
Argus assessed Dangote’s December slate at a weighted average gravity of 36.3°API and under 0.2 per cent sulphur content, compared with 36.4°API and under 0.2 per cent sulphur in November. In March-December, the slate averaged 36.3°API and again, under 0.2 per cent sulphur.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Seplat Energy plans to increase its crude oil production by 140 per cent from about 50,000 barrels a day to roughly 120,000 barrels per day over the next six months, a top executive management disclosed this in a series of interviews with the Financial Times.
Recall that the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) in October 2024 approved Seplat’s acquisition of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPNU) from ExxonMobil as part of a series of approvals.
The completion of the $1.28 billion Seplat-ExxonMobil deal has created Nigeria’s leading independent energy company, with the enlarged company having equity in 11 blocks (onshore and shallow water Nigeria); 48 producing oil and gas fields; 5 gas processing facilities; and 3 export terminals.
The acquisition of the entire issued share capital of MPNU adds the following assets to the Seplat Group: 40 per cent operated interest in OML 67, 68, 70 and 104; 40 per cent operated interest in the Qua Iboe export terminal and the Yoho FSO; 51 per cent operated interest in the Bonny River Terminal (‘BRT’) NGL recovery plant; 9.6 per cent participating interest in the Aneman-Kpono field; and approximately 1,000 staff and 500 contractors will transition to the Seplat Group.
“The assets have had very minimal investments until now,” the oil major’s chief financial officer, Mrs Eleanor Adaralegbe, told the newspaper.
“We expect that once we come in there will be an opportunity to grow that much further,” she added.
The company also plans to revive hundreds of Nigerian oil wells laying fallow, which according to Seplat’s chief executive, Mr Roger Brown, will be done in a collaborative effort with the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited as legally mandated in the country’s oil and gas industry.
“We have no concerns working with NNPC . . . There’s been a massive change with President Tinubu, realising that production is a great way of getting dollars into the country and supporting the currency,” Mr Brown said.
This was backed up by Seplat’s chief operating officer, Mr Samson Ezugworie, who noted that some of the assets will require time and investment so they can begin to produce again after being left idle.
“We have over 600 wells drilled and barely 200 of them are producing. We have significant idle wells that need to be rejuvenated and brought back into production within a short period of time.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria’s external debt servicing costs surged by 38 per cent in the first nine months of 2024, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The surge translated to Nigeria’s apex bank spending a whopping $3.53 billion to service the country’s debts, indicating a $970 million jump compared to $2.56 billion during the same period in 2023.
This was contained in CBN’s International Payment Data published on its website.
The increase underscored the intensifying fiscal pressures facing Nigeria’s economy amid dwindling revenues, inflationary pressures, and currency depreciation.
A month-by-month analysis highlighted the scale of the challenge and showed that in January 2024, Nigeria spent $560.52 million on external debt servicing, marking a sharp increase from $112.35 million in January 2023.
February 2024 followed with $283.22 million, slightly below the $288.54 million recorded the previous year.
March 2024 showed a decline, with $276.17 million spent, compared to $400.47 million in March 2023, a 31 per cent drop.
In April 2024, debt servicing rose to $215.20 million, a 132 per cent increase, compared to $92.85 million in April 2023.
May 2024 saw the highest monthly expenditure of $854.37 million, a staggering 287 per cent jump from $221.05 million in May 2023.
By contrast, June 2024 recorded $50.82 million, slightly lower than the $54.36 million spent in June 2023.
The mid-year trend showed mixed movements as debt servicing fell to $542.50 million in July 2024, a 15 per cent decline from $641.69 million in July 2023.
August 2024 followed a similar trajectory, with $279.95 million spent compared to $309.96 million the previous year, a 10 per cent reduction.
However, September 2024 marked an increase, with $515.81 million spent, up 17 per cent from $439.06 million in September 2023.
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