By Adedapo Adesanya

Oil was up by about 1 per cent on Wednesday as investors focused on developments on US President Donald Trump’s tighter deadline for Russia to end the war in Ukraine and his tariff threats to countries that trade its oil.

The price of Brent crude appreciated by 73 cents or 1.01 per cent to $73.24 a barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude moved up by 79 cents or 1.14 per cent to $70.06 a barrel.

President Trump said he would start imposing measures on Russia, such as secondary tariffs of 100 per cent on trading partners if it did not make progress in ending the war in Ukraine within 10 to 12 days, moving up from an earlier 50-day deadline.

He imposed a 25 per cent tariff on goods imported from India starting from August 1, along with an unspecified penalty for buying Russian weapons and oil.

The US also warned China, the largest buyer of Russian oil, that it could face huge tariffs if it kept buying.

Market analysts noted that while China was unlikely to comply with US sanctions, India has signaled it would do so, which could affect 2.3 million barrels per day of Russian oil exports.

Traders are also watching how the evolving US position could affect broader coordination between the US and the European Union (EU). While the US and EU recently announced a $750 billion energy cooperation deal, the framework has faced logistical constraints and credibility questions as Russian crude continues flowing to Asia through layered intermediaries.

Meanwhile, US crude inventories rose by 7.7 million barrels, the Energy Information Administration said, while US gasoline stocks fell by 2.7 million barrels. Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 3.6 million barrels.

The EIA’s data release follows figures from the American Petroleum Institute (API) that were released a day earlier, which suggested that crude oil inventories grew by 1.539 million barrels.

The US Federal Reserve held interest rates steady in a split decision that gave little indication of when borrowing costs might be lowered, a decision that doesn’t favour the US President.

The Federal Reserve’s Chairman, Mr Jerome Powell also added it was too soon to say whether the central bank will cut its interest rate target in September.

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has disclosed that the Port Harcourt Refining Company is not for sale.

The chief executive of the NNPC, Mr Bayo Ojulari, said this during a town hall meeting on Tuesday at the Abuja headquarters of the organisation.

According to him, the facility, which is undergoing rehabilitation, would be completed to produce petroleum products for local and international consumption.

Recall that recently, Mr Ojulari, speaking with Bloomberg at the 2025 OPEC Seminar in Vienna, Austria, said the facility and others could be put up for sale because “all options are on the table.”

At the gathering yesterday, the NNPC chief said his latest remarks are not a shift from his interview with the international news platform but informed by ongoing detailed technical and financial reviews of the Port Harcourt, Kaduna and Warri refineries.

He noted that the ongoing review indicates that the earlier decision to operate the Port Harcourt refinery prior to full completion of its rehabilitation was ill-informed and sub-commercial.

Although progress is being made on all three refineries, the emerging outlook calls for more advanced technical partnerships to complete and high-grade the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refinery. Thus, selling is highly unlikely as it would lead to further value erosion.

At yesterday’s event, he stressed that Nigeria would keep the refinery, describing the position as a renewed sense of business-focused direction across the organisation.

The town hall served as more than a performance update—it was an opportunity for candid and constructive engagement. The Executive Vice Presidents presented progress reports from the Upstream, Downstream, Finance, Business Services, Gas, Power, and New Energy businesses, highlighting operational achievements, ongoing reforms, and areas requiring attention.

In a tone marked by honesty and leadership, challenges and earlier missteps were acknowledged, and a clear roadmap was outlined for the journey ahead.

Feedback during and after the session revealed a workforce energised and aligned with the leadership’s vision. Described as “reassuring,” “transformational,” and “sustainable,” the atmosphere reflected an optimist outlook among employees and hopefulness about the company’s evolving strategic direction.

 NNPC promised to continue to reposition itself as a commercially driven, professionally managed national energy company, grounded in transparency, focused on performance, and unwavering in its responsibility to its number one stakeholder group, Nigerians.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned Nigeria and other Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries not to prioritise higher earnings over the poor living condition of their citizens so as not to trigger social unrest.

This call came from the Bretton Woods institution in its World Economic Outlook (WEO), July 2025 edition, where it upgraded its forecasts for Nigeria’s economic growth for 2025 and 2026 to 3.4 per cent and 3.2 per cent, respectively.

In the same vein, the IMF raised its forecast for the Sub-Saharan African region to 4.0 per cent for 2025 and 4.3 per cent for 2026, representing a 0.2 percentage point and 0.1 percentage point increase from 3.8 per cent and 4.2 per cent, respectively, projected in the April 2025 WEO.

“Growth is expected to be relatively stable in 2025 in sub-Saharan Africa at 4.0 per cent, before picking up to 4.3 per cent in 2026,” the IMF said.

However, the multilateral institution called for urgent structural and institutional reforms across SSA as the region grapples with a complex mix of economic challenges.

Commenting on the SSA region, Division Chief, Research Department, Ms Deniz Igan said: “Given the challenges Sub-Saharan Africa is facing, this is an important pillar for renewed growth in the region. There’s a need for both structural and institutional reforms. And what we mean there is to give some specific examples.

“Further, regional trade integration is one. More investment in infrastructure transportation is another one. And reform of state-owned enterprises, again, especially in the energy sector and transportation sector, is another priority.”

Ms Igan also stressed the importance of equitable fiscal reforms, noting that efforts to raise revenues must avoid deepening inequality or triggering social unrest.

She advocated the removal of poorly targeted tax exemptions, greater reliance on progressive income taxes, and the need to build public trust through transparent governance. According to her, engaging with stakeholders and sequencing reforms carefully would be essential to protect vulnerable groups and ensure broad-based support for policy changes.

“Now we understand that on the fiscal front, with high debt levels as well, there’s a need for mobilising revenues, and that can generate a sense of unfairness and inequity that could create social backlash.

“And on that front, our advice has been for the design of fiscal reforms that are equitable, that are efficient, and more specifically, there. What we have in mind is removing poorly targeted exemptions in the tax code, making use of progressive income taxes much more, and building trust and support, as we had covered in detail in our October 2024 report in one of our analytical chapters, by engaging with stakeholders, hearing what they need, improving governance and protecting the vulnerable, and at same time, bundling, sequencing and pacing different measures to make sure that the most vulnerable in the society are protected.”