Economy
Exit of IOCs Creates Opportunities for Nigerian Firms—Wabote
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Mr Simbi Wabote, has said the divestment of some assets of international oil and gas companies in Nigeria should not create panic.
According to him, this should be viewed as an opportunity for Nigerian companies to step into the field to fill the vacuum, a move he said would boost crude oil production, employment creation, and capital injection.
The Executive Secretary made this known while delivering the keynote address on the divestments in oil and gas: the challenges, the opportunities, and the implications to the industry in Nigeria at the 2023 Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association (PENGASSAN) Energy and Labour Summit in Abuja.
He stated that about 26 oil mining licenses have been divested or acquired by oil and gas companies in the Niger Delta Basin area of Nigeria in the past decade. Some of the divestments currently on the cards include the plan by Shell and ExxonMobil to sell oil and gas assets worth billions of dollars.
He added that this was in addition to Eni’s announcement in September of an agreement with Oando Plc for the sale of NAOC interests in six onshore blocks and the Okpai gas power plant in Delta State.
He emphasized that divestments of oil assets are not necessarily negative, rather they present an avenue for the local capacities and capabilities that have been developed through local content implementation to be brought into the upstream sector.
Mr Wabote outlined several opportunities that would accrue from divestments, such as the injection of new capital, the rejuvenation of divested assets, and an increase in crude oil production through the investment in technologies by the acquiring firms.
Other direct benefits are the creation of direct and indirect employment opportunities by the indigenous companies and their service providers.
He reiterated that the divestments confirm that Nigerians and indigenous companies have come of age and have acquired the technical, managerial, and financial capabilities to play in the big leagues.
He added that “the involvement of our financial institutions on the transactions represents means of efficient capital deployment and capacity building on loans syndication on an international scale. This is also applicable to legal services, insurance, government relations, employee relations, community liaison, and others.”
Aside from the opportunities, the NCDMB boss equally highlighted challenges encountered in the divestment exercises. These revolved around the time required to get necessary regulatory approvals as well as the substantial interests from various groups covering political, legal, communities, and labour.
Among other challenges are the potential for the disruption of oil and gas production, job losses, as well as “access to latest technology especially if the new investors lack the technical expertise or have no support from original equipment manufacturers.”
There are also issues around how “to manage legacy issues or liabilities related to the environment, communities, and other social commitments and pressure on new investors to recoup investments on time to offset loans and address other financial requirements.”
The NCDMB boss assured that the board would continue to partner with industry stakeholders to institute regulations that would ensure that the increasing footprints and stakes of indigenous oil and gas production companies would not lead to a reduction in Nigerian content compliance.
He promised that the board would continue to partner with PENGASSAN to shape a future where Nigeria’s energy industry not only survives but thrives in the face of change.
By Adedapo Adesanya
TotalEnergies EP Nigeria has signed a Sale and Purchase Agreement with Vaaris for the divestment of its 10 per cent non-operated interest in the Renaissance JV licences in Nigeria.
The Renaissance JV, formerly known as the SPDC JV, is an unincorporated joint venture between Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (55 per cent), Renaissance Africa Energy Company Ltd (30 per cent, operator), TotalEnergies EP Nigeria (10 per cent) and Agip Energy and Natural Resources Nigeria (5 per cent), which holds 18 licences in the Niger Delta.
In a statement by TotalEnergies on Wednesday, it was stated that under the agreement signed with Vaaris, TotalEnergies EP Nigeria will sell its 10 per cent participating interest and all its rights and obligations in 15 licences of Renaissance JV, which are producing mainly oil.
Production from these licences, it was said, represented approximately 16,000 barrels equivalent per day in company’s share in 2025.
The agreement also stated that TotalEnergies EP Nigeria will also transfer to Vaaris its 10 per cent participating interest in the three other licences of Renaissance JV which are producing mainly gas, namely OML 23, OML 28 and OML 77, while TotalEnergies will retain full economic interest in these licences, which currently account for 50 per cent of Nigeria LNG gas supply.
Business Post reports that the conclusion of the deal is subject to customary conditions, including regulatory approvals.
“TotalEnergies EP Nigeria has signed a Sale and Purchase Agreement with Vaaris for the sale of its 10 per cent non-operated interest in the Renaissance JV licences in Nigeria.
“Under the agreement signed with Vaaris, TotalEnergies EP Nigeria will sell to Vaaris its 10 per cent participating interest and all its rights and obligations in 15 licences of Renaissance JV, which are producing mainly oil. Production from these licences represented approximately 16,000 barrels equivalent per day in the company’s share in 2025.
“TotalEnergies EP Nigeria will also transfer to Vaaris its 10 per cent participating interest in the 3 other licenses of Renaissance JV, which are producing mainly gas (OML 23, OML 28 and OML 77), while TotalEnergies will retain full economic interest in these licenses, which currently account for 50 per cent of Nigeria LNG gas supply. Closing is subject to customary conditions, including regulatory approvals,” the statement reads in part.
The development is part of TotalEnergies’ strategies to dump more assets to lighten its books and debt.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The trading licence of Monument Securities and Finance Limited has been revoked by the regulatory arm of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Group Plc.
Known as NGX Regulations Limited (NGX Regco), the regulator said it took back the operating licence of the organisation after it shut down its operations.
The revocation of the licence was approved by Regulation and New Business Committee (RNBC) at its meeting held on September 24, 2025, a notice from the signed by the Head of Market Regulations at the agency, Chinedu Akamaka, said.
“This is to formally notify all trading license holders that the board of NGX Regulation Limited (NGX RegCo) has approved the decision of the Regulation and New Business Committee (RNBC)” in respect of Monument Securities and Finance Limited, a part of the disclosure stated.
Monument Securities and Finance Limited was earlier licensed to assist clients with the trading of stocks in the Nigerian capital market.
However, with the latest development, the firm is no longer authorised to perform this function.
Economy
NEITI Advocates Fiscal Discipline, Transparency as FG, States, LGs Get N6trn in Three Months
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has called for fiscal discipline and transparency as data showed that federal government, states, and local governments shared a whopping N6 trillion Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) disbursements in the third quarter of last year.
In its analysis of the FAAC Q3 2025 allocation, the body revealed that the federal government received N2.19 trillion, states received N1.97 trillion, and local governments received N1.45 trillion.
According to a statement by the Director of Communication and Stakeholders Management at NEITI, Mrs Obiageli Onuorah, the allocation indicated a historic rise in federation account receipts and distributions, explaining that year-on-year quarterly FAAC allocations in 2025 grew by 55.6 per cent compared with Q3 of 2024 while it more than doubling allocations over two years.
The report contained in the agency’s Quarterly Review noted that the N6 trillion included 13 per cent payments to derivative states. It also showed that statutory revenues accounted for 62 per cent of shared receipts, while Value Added Tax (VAT) was 34 per cent, and Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) and augmentation from non-oil excess revenue each accounted for 2 per cent, respectively.
The distribution to the 36 states comprised revenues from statutory sources, VAT, EMTL, and ecological funds. States also received additional N100 billion as augmentation from the non-oil excess revenue account.
The Executive Secretary of NEITI, Mr Sarkin Adar, called on the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) FAAC, the National Economic Council (NEC), the National Assembly, and state governments to act on the recommendations to strengthen transparency, accountability, and long-term fiscal sustainability.
“Though the Quarter 3 2025 FAAC results are encouraging, NEITI reiterates that the data presents an opportunity to the government to institutionalise prudent fiscal practices that will protect the gains that have been recorded so far in growing revenue and reduce vulnerability to commodity shocks.
“The Q3 2025 FAAC results are encouraging, but windfalls must be managed with discipline. Greater transparency, realistic budgeting, and stronger stabilisation mechanisms will ensure these resources deliver durable benefits for all Nigerians,” Mr Adar said.
NEITI urged the government at all levels to ensure the growth of Nigeria’s sovereign wealth and stabilisation capacity, by committing to regular transfers to the Nigeria Sovereign Wealth Fund and other related stabilisation mechanisms in line with the fiscal responsibility frameworks.
It further advised governments at all levels to adopt realistic budget benchmarks by setting more conservative and achievable crude oil production and price assumptions in the budget to reduce implementation gaps, deficit, and debt metrics.
This, it said, is in addition to accelerating revenue diversification by prioritising reforms that would attract investments into the mining sector, expedite legislation to modernise the Mineral and Mining Act, support reforms in the downstream petroleum sector, as well as the full implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) to expand domestic refining and value addition.
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