Economy
Crude Oil Dips 4% on IEA Members’ Latest Move
By Adedapo Adesanya
The price of crude oil continued its southwards trajectory as it plunged by more than 4 per cent on Wednesday as large consuming nations moved to release the commodity from their reserves to counter supply worries.
Brent crude plunged 4.57 per cent or $4.87 to close at $101.8 per barrel as the United States West Texas Intermediate (WTI) declined by 4.89 per cent or $4.99 to sell for $96.97 a barrel.
According to reports, members of the International Energy Agency (IEA) agreed to release 120 million barrels of crude oil, though 60 million barrels of that 120 million have already been accounted for as part of the 180 million barrel SPR release that the US Department of Energy made last week.
Between the IEA and the United States, 240 million barrels of crude oil are set to be released from the world’s strategic energy stores.
In the US, the first 90 million barrels of the 180 million set to be released from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve will be released between May and July, the DoE said on Monday, through two notices of sale totalling 70 million barrels, plus 20 million barrels set to be released in May.
The second half of the 180 million barrels is set to be released between August and October of this year.
The IEA had agreed on March 1 to release 62 million barrels of crude from their collective stockpiles. Before this year, the IEA last released reserves in 2011.
Prices also saw pressure as the US Federal Reserve said that it would raise rates by less than it had originally planned.
Also, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported an inventory increase of 2.4 million barrels for the week to April 1 compared with a draw of 3.4 million barrels for the previous week.
A day earlier, the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported an estimated crude oil inventory build of 1.56 million barrels.
Demand worries also mounted after authorities in top oil importer China extended a lockdown in Shanghai to cover all of the financial centre’s 26 million people.
The market will be looking out for a semblance of bullish news and this may come as the US and allies on Wednesday prepared new sanctions on Moscow over civilian killings in northern Ukraine.
Documents show member states of the European Union (EU) have proposed sanctions that would ban buying Russian coal and prevent Russian ships from entering EU ports.
However, all the 27 members must agree and the bloc is also working on additional sanctions, including on oil imports.
Britain also urged G7 and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) nations to agree on a timetable to phase out oil and gas imports from Russia.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Nigeria slightly surpassed its quota set by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in July 2026.
In the month under review, the country produced about 1.57 million barrels of crude oil per day.
It was the third consecutive month Africa’s largest oil-producing nation was meeting its monthly quota, set to stabilise the price of the commodity on the global market by the oil cartel.
Data released by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) on Wednesday showed that the 1.5 million barrels per day ceiling for Nigeria was surpassed last month.
The agency disclosed in a statement today that the country produced 1.505mbpd of crude oil and 0.17mbpd of condensate, bringing the combined daily production to 1.67mbpd.
In the month under review, the daily peak production of crude oil and condensate was 1.78mbpd, while the lowest daily production was 1.57mbpd.
Although Nigeria met its OPEC quota in the month of July, the statistics show that on a month-on-month basis, production fell by 4 per cent.
This was attributed to the decline in production due to operational challenges experienced at the Erha and Akpo fields, which impacted crude oil output during the period under review.
These disruptions constrained production volumes and contributed significantly to the overall reduction in national crude oil output.
Despite the challenges, production operations across most other producing assets remained relatively stable, with operators implementing measures aimed at maintaining production efficiency and minimising the impact of operational constraints, NUPRC stated.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The over 9 billion shares of Lasaco Assurance Plc issued to shareholders of the company via a rights issue have been listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.
The equities were brought to Customs Street on Wednesday by the organisation, increasing its total issued and fully paid-up share capital.
Lasaco Assurance, which scaled the recapitalisation hurdle of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) in July 2026, raised fresh capital from the capital market to shore up its capital base.
The underwriting firm got about N18.5 billion from the rights issue, which involved the issuance of 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares at a unit price of N2.00.
The exercise was on the basis of five new ordinary shares for every existing six ordinary shares held as of the close of business on Friday, February 20, 2026.
Confirming the listing of the additional stocks of Lasaco Assurance today, the Head of Issuer Regulation Department of NGX RegCo, Mr Godstime Iwenekhai, announced in a circular that, “Trading licence holders are hereby notified that an additional 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each of Lasaco Assurance Plc were today, Wednesday, August 12, 2026, listed on the daily official list of Nigerian Exchange Limited.
“The additional shares arose from the company’s rights issue of 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each at N2.00 per share on the basis of five new ordinary shares for every existing six ordinary shares held as of the close of business on Friday, February 20, 2026.
“With the listing of the additional 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares, the total issued and fully paid-up share capital of Lasaco Assurance Plc has now increased from 11,083,585,855 to 20,319,907,401 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) has said the successful recapitalisation of the insurance industry will strengthen the sector’s ability to support financial stability and economic growth.
NIA Chairman, Mrs Ebelechukwu Nwachukwu, said a well-capitalised insurance industry would be better positioned to meet its obligations promptly, underwrite complex and large-scale risks and serve as a dependable pillar of the Nigerian economy.
She made the remarks while commending the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) for its structured implementation of the new minimum capital requirements under the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025.
Mrs Nwachukwu said NAICOM’s clear guidelines, systematic verification process, defined timelines and rigorous supervision had provided operators with a credible framework for navigating the recapitalisation exercise.
She described the outcome as a major milestone for the industry and congratulated the 43 insurance and reinsurance companies that have successfully met the prescribed minimum capital requirements.
According to her, the exercise represents “a major win not just for regulators and operators, but for policyholders, investors and the wider Nigerian economy.”
Mrs Nwachukwu said the association would continue to work with NAICOM and other stakeholders to consolidate the gains of the exercise, with emphasis on sustainable industry growth, stronger market conduct and improved consumer confidence.
The official also expressed solidarity with the eight companies still undergoing final verification and regulatory review, urging them to remain confident as NAICOM completes the process within the 14-day review period.
The NIA chairman assured policyholders and the wider business community that the insurance industry would emerge from the recapitalisation exercise stronger, more resilient and better positioned to contribute to Nigeria’s economic development.
