By Adedapo Adesanya

Oil went down less than 1 per cent on Tuesday as the markets waited for direction from news on diplomatic relations between the US and Iran, while the traders monitored efforts to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Brent futures fell 24 cents or 0.3 per cent to settle at $68.80 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude declined by 40 cents or 0.6 per cent to $63.96 per barrel.

US and Iranian diplomats held talks through mediators in Oman last week in an effort to revive diplomacy, after President Donald Trump positioned a naval fleet in the region, raising fears of new military action.

According to Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson on Tuesday, nuclear talks with the US allowed Iran to gauge the seriousness of the American government and showed enough consensus to continue on the diplomatic track.

Market analysts noted that unless there are concrete signs of supply disruptions, prices will likely start going lower, especially since there was no blockade to the Strait of Hormuz. About a fifth of the oil consumed globally passes through the Strait of Hormuz between Oman and Iran, making any escalation in the area a major risk to global oil supplies.

Iran and fellow Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) members Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq export most of their crude via the strait, mainly to Asia.

The European Union (EU) is moving to propose a list of concessions that Europe should demand from Russia as part of a settlement to end the war in Ukraine. The move is part of efforts to squeeze Russian revenue. Russia was the world’s third-biggest crude producer behind the U.S. and Saudi Arabia in 2025.

Reuters reported that already, India, through its state oil company, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), bought six million barrels of crude from West Africa and the Middle East, traders said, as India steered clear of Russian oil.

The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the US increased by a whopping 13.4 million barrels in the week ending February 6. Official data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) will be released later on Wednesday.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), formerly known as the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), has fixed a collection target of N40.7 trillion for the 2026 fiscal year.

This is hinged on its last year’s record revenue collection of N28.3 trillion, which the Executive Director overseeing Government and Large Taxpayers, Mrs Amina Kurawa, said represents an increase of more than 30 per cent when compared to the N25.5 trillion recorded in 2024.

Mrs Kurawa, while speaking at a staff retreat organised by the service, explained that a bulk of the revenue collected during the period was driven by the non-oil sector.

According to her, the ambitious target for this year will be supported by stronger non-oil revenue contributions and improved collections from royalty-based income streams.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the agency, Mr Zacch Adedeji, urged staff to raise their performance in the coming year, emphasising that transparency and accountability remain central to the agency’s operations.

The organisation also projected growth in non-oil tax receipts in 2026, with Company Income Tax (CIT), Value Added Tax (VAT), and the Development Levy expected to play leading roles in boosting government revenue.

On June 26, 2025, President Bola Tinubu signed into law a historic package of tax reform legislation, marking the most comprehensive overhaul of Nigeria’s fiscal architecture in decades. The four Acts: The Nigeria Tax Act, Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, Nigeria Tax Administration Act, and the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Act, seek to streamline revenue administration, enhance compliance, strengthen intergovernmental coordination, and reposition the tax system to support inclusive growth.

By consolidating over a dozen outdated statutes and introducing modern mechanisms for enforcement, digitalisation, and dispute resolution, these reforms are expected to significantly reshape Nigeria’s fiscal future, which will translate to more Nigerians entering the tax base.

For instance, the Nigeria Tax Act, 2025, repeals and consolidates over a dozen federal tax laws into a single unified statute. It replaces legacy laws such as the Companies Income Tax Act (CITA), Personal Income Tax Act (PITA), Capital Gains Tax Act (CGTA), Value Added Tax Act, and the Stamp Duties Act, among others. This consolidation aims to reduce fragmentation, promote consistency, and modernise Nigeria’s tax framework for a digital and globally integrated economy.

Business Post reports that the Federal Inland Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, 2007, was repealed and formally established the NRS as the central authority for the assessment, collection, accounting, and enforcement of federally collectable taxes and other designated revenues.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) says it has issued the Nigerian Content Equipment Certificate (NCEC) guidance notes to speed up oil and gas industry contracting processes, weed out firms lacking technical capacity to perform, and to reduce Nigeria’s cost of oil production.

The document forms part of concerted efforts to operationalize the Presidential Directives (PDs) on Local Content Requirements, which mandates NCDMB to take further steps to eliminate intermediaries in the contracting process, lacking demonstrable capacity.

Emphasising that one of the key requirements for participating in the Nigerian oil and gas industry contracting process is the possession of NCECs issued by the NCDMB, the document states that “Unmerited possession and/or misapplication of the NCECs during tendering/bid evaluations contribute to contracting delays and admittance of unqualified intermediaries into the contracting process”.

According to NCDMB, the goal of the new document is to “tackle cases of single and multiple NCEC applications not matched to capacities on ground, submission of fake/forged documents, under declaration of personnel, non-existent offices/equipment, and many other dubious applications.”

It will also enhance timely review and approval of applications from genuine service companies as the document provides all the requirements needed to complete credible application at first attempt.

The eight NCEC categories cover Manufacturing & Related Services (MS); Fabrication & Construction (FC); Construction & Moveable Equipment (EC); Services & Support (SS); Quality Control Inspection and Testing (QS); Non-Moveable Assets (DA); Procurement & Supplies (PS); and Consultancy Services (CS).

The document advised service companies to provide details of their specific service offering with sufficient supporting evidence while applying for any of the NCEC categories via the application portal. Providing further explanation, NCDMB stressed that it does not solicit or require any payment for the application, processing, or approval of NCEC or any of its certifications.

It added that “in line with the Presidential directive on Local Content compliance, NCDMB prohibits the use of agents/middlemen/third parties in raising/submission of NCEC application on behalf of service companies. Service Companies registered on the NOGIC-JQS are liable for any claims/documentations submitted in support of application for NCEC or any other NCDMB certifications using their assigned login in details.”

The document also indicated that companies and their subsidiaries or local partners cannot apply for or obtain NCEC as separate companies using the same facilities, equipment, assets, or documentation and NCEC is not transferable for use by another company.”

Continuing, the guidance notes enjoined service companies to only apply for NCECs based on their core service area, noting that spurious applications contribute to delays in the processing of genuine applications, warning that cases determined to constitute abuse of NCEC applications shall attract applicable sanctions.

The NCEC notes also indicated that companies applying for multiple NCECs must have the capacities in terms of assets, facilities, equipment and personnel to execute the scope of activities under the target NCEC categories, adding that NCDMB will carry out facility visits to ascertain the capacities and capabilities claimed by the company in all the multiple NCEC applications.

It stated further that NCECs are not granted in anticipation of establishment of local capacities but are approved based on functional equipment/assets with dedicated resources/utilities in place to operate or perform the services, hence applicants must be ready to demonstrate operability and availability of owned assets/equipment as may be required during facility visit by NCDMB team.

The document also listed services which do not require NCECs. They include GSM service providers, commercial airlines, educational institutes, legal advisory services, public relations and events management, government agencies, and CSR projects with community vendors.

Speaking on the guidance notes, the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Mr Felix Ogbe enjoined oil and gas stakeholders to study the guidance notes while applying for NCECs, warning that submission of forged, altered, or falsified documents constitutes a criminal offence and will attract legal consequences as well as board’s administrative punishments.

He noted that NCDMB had set target timelines for the review and processing of NCEC applications, with the portal providing timestamp of all activities/interactions undertaken from the point of submission of application and all reviews by the board.