Economy
CSCS Stocks Rise 3.57% in One Week at Unlisted Securities Market
By Adedapo Adesanya
Shares of Central Securities Clearing Systems (CSCS) Plc appreciated by 3.57 per cent or 50 kobo at the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange last week.
The company was the only price gainer in the 5-day trading session, closing at N14.50 per share compared with the previous week’s closing price of N14 kobo per share. The company closed the week with a market capitalisation of N72.5 billion.
Also, CSCS ranked top among the four most traded securities by volume for the week as it cleared 35,771 units. FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria Plc came next with 24,797 units, followed by Afriland Properties Plc with 8,605 units while Niger Delta Exploration and Production (NDEP) Plc was the fourth most traded stock by volume in week 36, with 6,116 units on record.
In terms of the value of trades, FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria Plc ranked top among the top four with N3.13 million while NDEP Plc came next with N1.8 million. CSCS Plc stood as the third most traded security by value for the week, raking in N500,130 while Afriland Properties Plc posted N14,284.
Data from the NASD Exchange showed that there was a single price decliner last week and this was Afriland Properties Plc, which currently holds a market capitalisation of N2.28 billion. The share price went down by 9.78 per cent or 18 kobo to close at N1.66 per share in contrast to N1.84 of the preceding week.
Business Post reports that during the week, the unlisted securities market appreciated by 0.43 per cent as the major performance indicators pointed north.
For example, the market capitalisation increased in week 36 by N2.25 billion to settle at N524.64 billion compared with N522.39 Billion it finished at week 35.
In the same vein, the unlisted securities index move up by 3.06 points to close the week at 714.21 points as against 711.15 points it ended a week earlier.
Also, there was a 2.41 per cent increase in the total value of shares transacted by market participants in the week as investors traded a total of N5.5 million shares compared with the previous week’s N5.4 million securities.
However, the volume of stocks traded dropped 70 per cent week-on-week to 75,289 units from 250,096 units achieved in the previous week.
There was equally a drop in the number of deals concluded throughout the week. A total of 21 deals were executed in contrast to the 23 deals of the previous week, indicating a decline of 8.7 per cent or two deals.
On a year-to-date basis, the NASD OTC Securities Exchange maintained its positive position, closing at 2.39 per cent. Also, the year-to-date transactions as at last week stood at 7,822,911,433 shares worth N10.73 billion in 10,666 deals.
Economy
Crude Oil Jumps as EU Slams Fresh Sanctions on Russia
By Adedapo Adesanya
Crude oil prices went up on Wednesday after the European Union (EU) agreed to an additional round of sanctions threatening Russian oil flows that could tighten global crude supplies.
During the session, Brent crude futures jumped by $1.33 or 1.84 per cent to $73.52 a barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose by $1.70 or 2.48 per cent to $70.29 per barrel.
EU ambassadors agreed on a 15th package of sanctions on Russia over its war against Ukraine, targeting its shadow tanker fleet and Chinese firms making drones for the country.
The sanctions would target vessels from third countries supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine and add more individuals and entities to the sanctions list. It will not be adopted until after foreign ministers approve the package on Monday.
The shadow fleet has aided Russia in bypassing the $60 per barrel price cap imposed by the G7 on Russian seaborne crude oil in 2022 and has helped keep Russian oil flowing.
Prices were supported by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) which reported an estimated inventory decline of 1.4 million barrels for the week to December 6. In fuels, however, the EIA estimated sizable builds.
The crude oil inventory figure compares with a draw of 5.1 million barrels for the previous week that pushed prices higher for a while but the gains soon got erased by weak global demand growth prospects.
A day before the EIA, the American Petroleum Institute (API) had estimated inventory changes at a positive 499,000 barrels for the week to December 6.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cut its 2024 global oil demand growth forecast for a fifth straight month and by the largest amount.
In its December report, the cartel expects 2024 global oil demand to rise by 1.61 million barrels per day, down from 1.82 million barrels per day last month.
OPEC also cut its 2025 growth estimate to 1.45 million barrels per day from 1.54 million barrels per day.
The 210,000 barrels per day cut in the 2024 figure is the largest of the five reductions OPEC has made in its monthly reports since August. In July, OPEC had expected world demand to rise by 2.25 million barrels per day.
Weak demand, particularly in top importer China, and non-OPEC+ supply growth were two factors behind the move.
Economy
Again, OPEC Cuts 2024, 2025 Oil Demand Forecasts
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has once again trimmed its 2024 and 2025 oil demand growth forecasts.
The bloc made this in its latest monthly oil market report for December 2024.
The 2024 world oil demand growth forecast is now put at 1.61 million barrels per day from the previous 1.82 million barrels per day.
For 2025, OPEC says the world oil demand growth forecast is now at 1.45 million barrels per day, which is 900,000 barrels per day lower than the 1.54 million barrels per day earlier quoted.
On the changes, the group said that the downgrade for this year owes to more bearish data received in the third quarter of 2024 while the projections for next year relate to the potential impact that will arise from US tariffs.
The oil cartel had kept the 2024 outlook unchanged until August, a view it had first taken in July 2023.
OPEC and its wider group of allies known as OPEC+ earlier this month delayed its plan to start raising output until April 2025 against a backdrop of falling prices.
Eight OPEC+ member countries – Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Oman – decided to extend additional crude oil production cuts adopted in April 2023 and November 2023, due to weak demand and booming production outside the group.
In April 2023, these OPEC+ countries decided to reduce their oil production by over 1.65 million barrels per day as of May 2023 until the end of 2023. These production cuts were later extended to the end of 2024 and will now be extended until the end of December 2026.
In addition, in November 2023, these producers had agreed to voluntary output cuts totalling about 2.2 million barrels per day for the first quarter of 2024, in order to support prices and stabilise the market.
These additional production cuts were extended to the end of 2024 and will now be extended to the end of March 2025; they will then be gradually phased out on a monthly basis until the end of September 2026.
Members have made a series of deep output cuts since late 2022.
They are currently cutting output by a total of 5.86 million barrels per day, or about 5.7 per cent of global demand. Russia also announced plans to reduce its production by an extra 471,000 barrels per day in June 2024.
Economy
Aradel Holdings Acquires Equity Stake in Chappal Energies
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
A minority equity stake in Chappal Energies Mauritius Limited has been acquired by a Nigerian energy firm, Aradel Holdings Plc.
This deal came a few days after Chappal Energies purchased a 53.85 per cent equity stake in Equinor Nigeria Energy Company Limited (ENEC).
Chappal Energies went into the deal with Equinor to take part in the oil and gas lease OML 128, including the unitised 20.21 per cent stake in the Agbami oil field, operated by Chevron.
Since production started in 2008, the Agbami field has produced more than one billion barrels of oil, creating value for Nigerian society and various stakeholders.
As part of the deal, Chappal will assume the operatorship of OML 129, which includes several significant prospects and undeveloped discoveries (Nnwa, Bilah and Sehki).
The Nnwa discovery is part of the giant Nnwa-Doro field, a major gas resource with significant potential to deliver value for Nigeria.
In a separate transaction, on July 17, 2024, Chappal and Total Energies sealed an SPA for the acquisition by Chappal of 10 per cent of the SPDC JV.
The relevant parties to this transaction are working towards closing out this transaction and Ministerial Approval and NNPC consent to accede to the Joint Operating Agreement have been obtained.
“This acquisition is in line with diversifying our asset base, deepening our gas competencies and gaining access to offshore basins using low-risk approaches.
“We recognise the strategic role of gas in Nigeria’s energy future and are happy to expand our equity holding in this critical resource.
“We are committed to the cause of developing the significant value inherent in the assets, which will be extremely beneficial to the country.
“Aradel hopes to bring its proven execution competencies to bear in supporting Chappal’s development of these opportunities,” the chief executive of Aradel Holdings, Mr Adegbite Falade, stated.
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