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Disruptions Suck Nigeria’s Crude Oil Output by 70,000bpd

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crude oil in gongola

By Adedapo Adesanya

Nigeria witnessed the biggest crude oil production decline among the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) members in October 2021.

This occurred as the 13-producer group’s overall output rose above the previous month’s figures.

Nigeria’s crude oil output was down by 70,000 barrels per day, following disruptions after recovery in September.

The fall happened as a Royal Dutch Shell venture, the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC), declared force majeure on loadings of Bonny Light crude after a pipeline shut down.

In total, OPEC pumped 27.5 million barrels per day in October, according to a survey cited by Reuters, 190,000 barrels per day higher than the previous month but below the 254,000 increase permitted under the supply deal.

The second-largest decline among OPEC producers was in Libya, one of the countries exempt from OPEC supply curbs, due to a pipeline leak, the survey showed.

Also in another country exempted from the agreement, Iran which has raised exports since the fourth quarter despite US sanctions, showed little change in October. Talks to revive its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, which would allow a larger export recovery, are set to resume.

Venezuela, also exempted, saw output increase slightly, this was helped by the arrival of Iranian condensate to help the South American country convert its extra-heavy oil into exportable crude.

The Reuters survey aims to track supply to the market and is based on shipping data provided by external sources, Refinitiv Eikon flows data, information from tanker trackers such as Petro-Logistics and Kpler, as well as information provided by sources at oil companies, OPEC and consultants.

The survey reported that, overall, involuntary outages in some smaller producers offset higher supplies from Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

OPEC states and their allies, a grouping known as OPEC+, are relaxing output cuts made in 2020 as demand recovers from the coronavirus pandemic, although some members are not delivering the full boosts promised due to a lack of capacity.

The OPEC+ alliance is also wary of pumping too much oil in case of renewed setbacks in the battle against COVID-19.

The supply restraint has helped support oil prices, which are trading near $85 a barrel and close to a three-year high, prompting the United States and other consumers to urge producers to supply more crude.

The OPEC+ agreement allowed for a 400,000 barrels per day production increase in October from all members, of which about 254,000 barrels per day is shared by the 10 OPEC members covered by the deal.

With output undershooting the planned increase last month, OPEC’s compliance with its pledged cuts increased to 118 per cent in October the survey found, from 114 per cent a month earlier.

OPEC+ will meet on Thursday, November 4 to review its policy and is expected to reconfirm its plans for monthly increases of 400,000 barrels per day.

The biggest rises in October came from OPEC’s top two producers, Saudi Arabia and Iraq, which both boosted output largely as promised according to the agreement.

Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Algeria also made increases as called for by their higher October quotas. Angolan exports stop their declining trend and rose in October.

Output declined or did not increase in the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, the survey found, owing to a lack of capacity to produce more.

Adedapo Adesanya is a journalist, polymath, and connoisseur of everything art. When he is not writing, he has his nose buried in one of the many books or articles he has bookmarked or simply listening to good music with a bottle of beer or wine. He supports the greatest club in the world, Manchester United F.C.

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Economy

NASD Index Appreciates 0.69% to 3,095.00 Points

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NASD Unlisted Security Index

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a 0.69 per cent appreciation on Monday, January 13, as investors showed renewed interests in unlisted securities.

During the trading session, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) increased by 21.07 points to wrap the session at 3,095.00 points compared with the 3,073.93 points recorded in the previous session.

In the same vein, the value of the local alternative stock exchange went up by N7.22 billion to close at N1.061 trillion compared with last Friday’s N1.051 trillion.

Yesterday, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc recorded a growth of N3.78 to close at N42.00 per share versus N38.22 per share, Mixta Real Estate Plc improved by 20 Kobo to end at N2.35 per unit versus the preceding closing rate of N2.15 per unit, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc gained 1 Kobo to finish at 25 Kobo per share compared with the previous session’s 24 Kobo per share.

Conversely, Geo-Fluids Plc lost 29 Kobo to quote at N4.56 per unit compared with the preceding day’s N4.85 per unit, and Afriland Properties Plc slid by 75 kobo to end the session at N15.50 per share versus the preceding closing rate of N16.25 per share.

During the session, the volume of securities traded decreased by 27.2 per cent to 3.1 million units from 4.3 million units, the value of securities slumped by 81.5 per cent to N3.2 million from N17.2 million, and the number of deals expanded by 57.9 per cent to 30 deals from 19 deals.

At the close of trades, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc remained the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 1.9 million units worth N74.2 million, followed by 11 Plc with 12,963 units valued at N3.2 million, and IGI Plc with 10.7 million units sold for N2.1 million.

Also, IGI Plc remained the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 10.6 million units sold for N2.1 million, trailed by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 1.9 million units valued at N74.2 million, and Acorn Petroleum Plc with 1.2 million units worth N1.9 million.

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Economy

FX Supply Pressure Weakens Naira to N1,548/$1 at NAFEM

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naira at forex market

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira recorded a 0.38 per cent or N5.86 depreciation on the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Monday, January 13 to close at N1,548.89/$1, in contrast to the preceding session’s N1,543.03/$1.

The local currency weakened further in the official market yesterday as the deadline to cut off Bureaux De Change (BDC) operators from the Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS) built to enhance transparency in the FX system looms.

Recall that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in December opened a 42-day window to allow BDCs to buy FX worth $25,000 per week from the spot market.

However, the domestic currency appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market on Monday by N11.87 to trade at N1,877.43/£1 compared with last Friday’s N1,889.29/£1 and against the Euro, it improved its value by N4.94 to close at N1,578.87/€1, in contrast to the previous trading day’s N1,583.81/€1.

A look at the parallel market indicated that the Nigerian Naira slumped against the greenback yesterday by N5 to sell at N1,655/$1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,650/$1.

In the cryptocurrency market, large positive outcomes came even as risk assets weighed the possibility of US Federal Reserve rate cuts in the wake of Friday’s hotter-than-expected US jobs report.

The biggest gainer was recorded by Dogecoin (DOGE) as it rose by 3.9 per cent to sell at $0.3422, Bitcoin (BTC) grew by 0.9 per cent to trade at $94,843.98, Binance Coin (BNB) appreciated by 0.8 per cent to sell for $687.84, and Solana (SOL) recorded a 0.8 per cent growth to quote at $185.24.

Further, Ripple (XRP) increased its value by 0.7 per cent to close at $2.53, and Cardano jumped by 0.3 per cent to settle at $0.9469.

On the flip side, Ethereum (ETH) depreciated by 1.9 per cent to finish at $3,159.52, and Litecoin (LTC) went down by 0.9 per cent to close at $98.68, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.

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Economy

Oil Prices up as China, India Seek Alternative Supply After Fresh US Sanctions

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oil prices driving up Trump

By Adedapo Adesanya

Oil prices rose on Monday as Chinese and Indian buyers sought new suppliers after the administration of President Joe Biden of the United States imposed toughest sanctions yet on Russian energy.

Last Friday, the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas, as well as 183 vessels that traded oil as part of Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” of tankers. The move is expected to cost Russia billions of Dollars per month.

This pushed the price of Brent higher by $1.25 or 1.6 per cent yesterday to $81.01 per barrel and raised the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude by $2.25 or 2.9 per cent to $78.82 a barrel.

As a result, Chinese and Indian refiners are seeking alternative fuel supplies as they adapt to the severe sanctions on Russian producers and tankers that are designed to curb the revenues of the world’s second-largest oil exporter.

The large sanction gives Ukraine and the US President-elect, Mr Donald Trump, leverage to reach a deal for peace in the almost three years war.

Market analysts note that these sanctions have the potential to take as much as 700,000 barrels per day of supply off the market, which would erase the surplus that we are expecting for this year.

On its part, Goldman Sachs estimated that vessels targeted by the new sanctions transported 1.7 million barrels per day of oil in 2024, or 25 per cent of Russia’s exports. The bank is increasingly expecting its projection for a Brent range of $70-$85 to trade.

The Vladimir Putin-led government said the sanctions risked destabilising global markets, and Russia would seek to counter them.

Many of the tankers named have been used to ship oil to India and China after previous Western sanctions. A price cap imposed by the Group of Seven countries in 2022 shifted trade in Russian oil from Europe to Asia. Some of the ships have also moved oil from Iran, which is also under sanctions.

Also, six European Union countries called on the European Commission to lower the price cap put on Russian oil by G7 countries, arguing it would reduce Russia’s revenue to continue the war while not causing a market shock.

However, weaker demand from major oil buyers, China, could have an impact on the tighter supply as data showed that China’s crude oil imports fell in 2024 for the first time in two decades outside of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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