Economy
Crude Oil Falls as OPEC+ Agrees Voluntary Output Cuts
By Adedapo Adesanya
Crude oil prices fell on Thursday members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) agreed to voluntary output cuts for the first quarter of next year, falling short of market expectations.
As a result, Brent crude futures lost 27 cents or 0.3 per cent to close at $82.83 per barrel, and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures went down by $1.90 or 2.4 per cent to $75.96 a barrel.
On a monthly basis, Brent fell by 5.2 per cent while WTI was down by 6.2 per cent.
Saudi Arabia, Russia and other members of OPEC+, who pump more than 40 per cent of the world’s oil, agreed to voluntary output cuts approaching 2 million barrels per day for the first quarter of 2024.
The cuts agreed to at the meeting were voluntary, they were announced not by the group, but by the individual member states.
Algeria agreed to cut oil production by another 51,000 barrels per day, Kazakhstan agreed to reduce oil output by an additional 82,000 barrels per day, Saudi Arabia agreed to extend its 1 million barrels per day output cut, and Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said that his country would deepen voluntary oil export cuts by 300,000 barrels per day, adding it would roll over the existing 500,000 barrels per day voluntary production cuts.
Oman will cut another 42,000 barrels per day, Iraq will voluntarily cut 211,000 barrels per day, Kuwait will cut 135,000 barrels per day, and the United Arab Emirates will cut 163,000 barrels per day.
At least 1.3 million barrels per day of those cuts, however, were an extension of voluntary curbs that Saudi Arabia and Russia already had in place.
Saudi Arabia warned other OPEC+ members that it could unwind its voluntary 1 million barrels per day cut if other producers don’t agree to cut deeper.
It was joined by Russia, Kuwait, Kazakhstan and Algeria saying cuts would be unwound gradually after the first quarter, market conditions permitting.
The meeting, being held on the same day as global leaders gather in Dubai for the UN climate conference, was originally scheduled for last week but was deferred because of disagreements over output quotas for African producers.
OPEC+ also invited Brazil, a top 10 oil producer, to become a member of the group. The country’s energy minister said it hoped to join in January.
Angola did not announce an additional voluntary cut, instead, it publicly rejected its current quota, and reiterated its proposal for a 1.18 million barrel quota beginning in January. It added that it will not stick to the new OPEC quota.
The next OPEC+ meeting is scheduled for June 1, 2024.
Meanwhile, crude output in the US, the world’s top producer, continued to grow, rising 1.7 per cent in September to a monthly record of 13.24 million barrels per day, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is seeking a reduction in import duty exemptions, which rose to N34 trillion, limiting its ability to increase its revenue generation threshold.
The Comptroller-General of the Customs Service, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed that the value of import duty exemption certificate approvals increased to that level in 2025, describing the policy as one of the major factors restricting its revenue generation.
At an investigative session of the Senate Committee on Finance with revenue-generating agencies in Abuja on Monday, Mr Adeniyi explained that government fiscal policies have continued to impact the revenue-generating capacity of the Customs Service, both positively and negatively.
“The NCS would have generated significantly higher revenue over the years if not for government-approved import duty waivers and other external factors affecting collections,” he said.
He added that the Import Duty Exemption Certificate scheme, introduced in March 2020, accounted for about N34 trillion in approvals in 2025, with nearly 60 per cent covering duty-free importation of military hardware due to Nigeria’s prevailing security challenges.
Other government-backed duty waivers, he noted, covered the importation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), electric and hybrid vehicles, healthcare equipment and medical supplies, industrial machinery and manufacturing inputs, as well as food import intervention programmes.
While acknowledging the impact of the waivers on Customs revenue, Mr Adeniyi argued that fiscal policy should not be assessed solely on the basis of revenue generation but also on its broader economic and social objectives.
He, however, urged the federal government to establish stronger monitoring mechanisms to ensure beneficiaries of duty waivers deliver the intended economic outcomes, including lower consumer prices, increased local production and improved healthcare access.
The committee also expressed displeasure over the absence of several heads of government agencies invited to the hearing, including the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Mr Sani Musa, warned that the affected chief executives must appear at the committee’s next sitting or face severe sanctions under the Senate’s rules.
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By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.40 per cent on Monday, July 13, buoyed by buying interest in 11 Plc, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and UBN Property Plc, which offset the profit-taking in Food Concepts Plc, the parent company of Chicken Republic.
11 Plc gained N20.69 to end at N227.64 per share compared with last Friday’s price of N206.95 per share, CSCS Plc grew by N1.83 to N91.48 per unit from N89.65 per unit, and UBN Property Plc added 1 Kobo to sell at N1.81 per share versus N1.80 per share.
On the flip side, Food Concepts Plc depreciated by 24 Kobo to close at N2.45 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N2.69 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N9.2 billion to N2.587 trillion from N2.578 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) improved by 15.33 points to 4,311.67 points from 4,296.34 points.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors surged by 615.9 per cent to 9.1 million units from the previous 1.3 million units, and the value of securities rose by 997.1 per cent to N320.4 million from the preceding session’s N29.2 million, while the number of deals decreased by 12.5 per cent to 28 deals from last Friday’s 32 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units exchanged for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
