Economy

Bayelsa Asks FG to Cancel Revocation of Atala Oil Field

Published

5 years ago

15/07/2021

By Dipo Olowookere

The federal government has been urged by the Bayelsa State governor to cancel the revocation of the Atala Oil Marginal Field (OML 46) licence.

The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) had in April 2020 revoked the licence of the Atala Oil Field but the South-South state wants this decision reversed, arguing that the consider oil asset belongs to the state and should be returned.

Speaking on the matter on Wednesday before the commencement of its weekly state executive council meeting in Government House, Yenagoa, the Governor of Bayelsa State, Mr Douye Diri, emphasised that the marginal oil field remains a prized asset of the state to which it is sentimentally attached and called on the federal government to reconsider its decision on the matter.

Mr Diri, who was commenting on the issue publicly for the first time amid the controversy it had generated in recent times, expressed shock over the revocation.

He, therefore, called on all concerned parties, including the DPR, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Minister of State for Petroleum, Mr Timipre Sylva, to consider returning the oil field to the state.

“There has been this issue of the Bayelsa State-owned Atala Oil Field. We kept a studied silent over the matter because we needed to have all the information that led to the revocation of the licence on our state-owned asset.

“Bayelsans are emotionally and sentimentally attached to that asset as it is the only oil asset we own even though it is a marginal oil field. It was a surprise and rude shock to us that the licence was revoked,” Mr Diri was quoted as saying in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Daniel Alabrah.

“Part of what I have done in the last one week of my absence was to state the position of the Bayelsa State Government, which I did very clearly to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“So, our position on Atala Oil Field is that it is a prized asset of Bayelsa State and that revocation should be cancelled. Unequivocally, we have said so and we believe that those in authority would see the reason why we are sentimentally and emotionally attached to the Atala Oil Field.

“Bayelsa State government might not have the financial capacity or the technical know-how. But the government is ready to partner with financial and technical experts to ensure that the field goes into full production.

“Therefore, let me use the opportunity to inform Exco that your government has actually taken a position on the Atala Oil Field and that it should remain property of the Bayelsa State government.

“I call on all who are concerned on the Atala Oil Field, namely DPR, the Petroleum Ministry, NNPC and indeed our own son, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, to do all within their powers to ensure that the Atala Oil Field is returned to Bayelsa State,” he added.

The Governor also disclosed that in the past week, he met with foreign missions and high commissions in Abuja in a bid to attract foreign direct investments to the state.

He stressed that the move was aimed at changing the stereotype of the state on insecurity, and expressed optimism that these dialogues would pay off soon for the state.

Economy

Official FX Market Sees Minor Naira Decline Against Dollar

Published

6 minutes ago

15/05/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira lost 33 Kobo or 0.02 per cent against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Thursday, May 14, to trade at N1,370.89/$1 compared to the preceding day’s N1,370.56/$1.

However, the local currency further appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official FX market during the session by N1.61 to close at N1,851.38/£1 versus N1,852.99/£1, and improved its value against the Euro by N2.21 to trade at N1,602.98/€1 versus Wednesday’s closing price of N1,605.19/€1.

Also, at the GTBank forex counter, the Nigerian currency gained N1 against the Dollar yesterday to sell for N1,381/$1 compared with midweek’s rate of N1,383/$1, and at the black market, it closed flat at N1,385/$1.

Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that interbank FX turnover fell to $78.783 million across 103 deals from $130.549 million the previous day.

The Naira is forecast to be broadly stable, supported by dollar sales by the central bank and steady, higher oil receipts, with the ‌market settling ⁠into a balance.

As of May 12, 2026, the country’s external reserves increased by $150 million or 0.2 per cent to $48.48 billion from $48.33 billion on May 5, 2026, providing support for the domestic currency.

In the cryptocurrency market, major digital coins closed mixed amid broader macroeconomic selling pressure.

Also, the US Senate Banking Committee approved the bipartisan Clarity Act, a key step toward comprehensive crypto market structure legislation that now heads toward a merger with a similar Agriculture Committee bill.

Investors bet that clearer US rules, including the Clarity Act’s separation of payment stablecoins from investment assets, will ease regulatory overhangs on its use case.

On the geopolitical scene, President Trump said the US does not need to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, changing an earlier stance and deepening concerns about elevated energy costs feeding into inflation.

Ripple (XRP) grew by 1.8 per cent to $1.46, Binance Coin (BNB) jumped 1.0 per cent to $676.37, Bitcoin (BTC) improved by 0.7 per cent to $80,371.72, and TRON (TRX) gained 0.6 per cent to sell at $0.3529.

But Dogecoin (DOGE) slid by 1.3 per cent to $0.1134, Ethereum (ETH) depreciated by 0.9 per cent to $2,247.38, Solana (SOL) went down by 0.7 per cent to $90.65, and Cardano (ADA) weakened by 0.1 per cent to $0.2656, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.

Economy

Stock Investors Loses N170bn to Selling Pressure

Published

17 minutes ago

15/05/2026

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited gave up 0.10 per cent on Thursday on the back of profit-taking in most of the main sectors of the market.

Data from Customs Street showed that the insurance counter closed in green after it chalked up 0.46 per cent. This was not enough to offset the losses recorded by the others.

Business Post reports that the selling pressure witnessed yesterday contracted the banking space by 0.92 per cent, crashed the consumer goods segment by 0.13 per cent, battered the industrial goods index by 0.03 per cent, and depleted the energy counter by 0.02 per cent.

As a result, the market capitalisation retreated by N170 billion to N161.669 trillion from N161.839 trillion, and the All-Share Index (ASI) moderated by 265.08 points to 252,243.11 points from 252,508.19 points.

Despite the poor outcome, investor sentiment remained strong. The market breadth index was positive during the session after the bourse finished with 37 price gainers and 29 price losers.

Zichis eased by 9.99 per cent to N32.69, FTN Cocoa lost 9.87 per cent to trade at N9.95, Meyer depreciated by 9.83 per cent to N21.55, RT Briscoe shrank by 9.41 per cent to N15.40, and Neimeth contracted by 7.44 per cent to N9.95.

On the flip side, Learn Africa gained 10.00 per cent to sell for N9.90, Fidson appreciated by 9.97 per cent to N124.60, Austin Laz grew by 9.95 per cent to N4.09, Berger Paints rose by 9.92 per cent to N154.00, and Deap Capital increased by 9.90 per cent to N5.77.

Yesterday, market participants transacted 1.0 billion equities valued at N41.6 billion in 74,822 deals versus the 1.9 billion equities worth N118.1 billion traded in 76,557 deals a day earlier, showing a decline in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 47.37 per cent, 6.48 per cent, and 2.27 per cent, respectively.

Chams exchanged 127.9 million shares for N501.2 million, VFD Group sld 10.7.1 million stocks worth N1.2 billion, First Holdco posted a turnover of 75.6 million equities valued at N5.4 billion, Access Holdings traded 50.3 million stocks worth N1.3 billion, and UBA transacted 44.9 million shares for N2.0 billion.

Economy

Crude Oil Slightly Rises as Iran Allows Safe Passage for Ships

Published

3 hours ago

15/05/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Crude oil marginally appreciated on Thursday after it was reported that about 30 vessels had crossed the Strait of Hormuz, with Brent crude oil futures gaining 9 cents or 0.09 per cent to trade at $105.72 a barrel, and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures expanding by 15 cents or 0.15 per cent to $101.17 a barrel.

Iranian state media reported that about 30 Chinese vessels were allowed safe passage by Iran through the Strait, which has been largely shut since the Iran war broke out at the end of February.

Before the report, a Chinese supertanker carrying 2 million barrels of Iraqi crude sailed through the contested waterway on Wednesday after being stranded in the Gulf for more than two months, while a Panama-flagged crude oil tanker managed by Japanese refining group Eneos had also passed.

Bloomberg also reported that the vessels were allowed to pass the Strait of Hormuz with the coordination of the Iranian authorities and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ navy, however, it added that it is yet unknown or unclear whether the US Navy side of the de facto blockade will also let them pass.

The move also follows formal requests by China’s foreign minister as well as its ambassador to Iran, with Iran reportedly agreeing based on safeguarding the two allies’ strategic partnership.

It also comes as President Donald Trump’s ongoing state visit to China, where he and President Xi Jinping agreed that the ‌Strait of ‌Hormuz must be open for ‌the free flow of energy.

President Xi expressed interest in purchasing more US oil to reduce China’s dependence on the Strait of Hormuz, according to the White House. China, the world’s largest oil importer, is not a big buyer of US crude and has not imported any since May 2025 due to a 20 per cent import tariff imposed during the trade war.

Iran, a member of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), also appears to have tightened control over the strait, cutting deals with Iraq and Pakistan to ship oil and liquefied natural gas from the region.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said the global economy is clearly moving into a middle “adverse scenario,” which would see global real GDP growth falling to 2.5 per cent this year from 3.4 per cent growth in 2025, citing the Iran war as the cause.