Economy
Expect Full Integration of FPSO in Eight Years—Wabote
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian oil and gas industry must strive to develop local capacities to execute full fabrication and integration of Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels in-country within the next eight years, the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Simbi Wabote has said.
He spoke last Tuesday in Lagos when he accompanied the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu and other top officials of the oil and gas industry to inspect the Total Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited’s Egina FPSO docked at the SHI-MCI Yard, LADOL Free Zone.
The Executive Secretary commended Total E&P for setting high Nigerian Content benchmarks with the Egina project, in engineering, fabrication, testing, coating and integration, stressing that the challenge for forthcoming projects would be how to raise the bar.
“Our aim is to stretch the limit to get more for Nigeria. Our aspiration is that come the next seven to eight years, full integration of an FPSO must happen in Nigeria,” he said.
Already the Board and major operating companies are working towards full domiciliation of FPSOs. The Zabazaba deepwater project being promoted by Nigerian Agip Exploration Limited (NAE) in partnership with Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo) and the Bonga South West Aparo (BSWA) deepwater project also developed by SNEPCO have been planned to domicile 50 percent of the fabrication of modules and integration of the FPSOs.
He also charged other operating companies in Nigeria to take a cue from Total’s can-do attitude and their fervent belief in the Nigerian capability. “When the oil price fell to almost $27 a barrel, they did not stop the project. They continued and Nigerians were engaged.”
The first key step he said is for companies “to stop looking for waivers and change the default thinking from ‘it cannot be done here’ to ‘what do we need to do to make it happen’.”
The NCDMB boss also affirmed that the Egina project has changed the narrative about the capacities and capabilities of oil servicing companies in Nigeria. According to him, “the project simply raised the bar in local participation in various scope covering the Wells, Subsea Production Systems, Umbilicals, Flowlines and Risers, FPSO topsides, and Offloading buoy.
“One of the Nigerian contractors that fabricated the Buoy completed it three months ahead of schedule. The argument often put forward by project promoters is that Nigerian Content is expensive and cannot deliver on schedule. Egina has buried that mindset for forever,” he added.
He also underscored the need for new projects to sustain the achievements and employments that were created on the Egina project.
In his remarks, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources commended Total for the feat noting that local capacities deployed to fabricate the Egina FPSO was sufficient to solve the nation’s electricity challenges, refine petroleum products to meet the needs of the populace, build durable roads and address other infrastructural deficiencies.
Mr Kachikwu charged project promoters in all spheres of the energy sector to fast track their projects, noting that the Federal Government was in a hurry to industrialize the nation and increase the volume of crude oil production at competitive costs.
In view of the oil prices which currently hover within the range of 60 dollars per barrel, the Minister informed that the Federal Government will soon prioritize oil production from fields that bring more returns to the nation as against others that operate with high production costs.
He said, “we will begin to pay more emphasis on where we make more money. As you look at your numbers and the terms under which you want to develop these fields, please spend a good amount of time in checking the bottom-line and what goes to the Federation Account.
“There is no need building a huge $70 billion facility without commensurate value addition. Those kinds of things wouldn’t happen anymore. So the terms will change and basis on which you will proceed will change.”
Also speaking, the Managing Director of LADOL, Dr. Amy Jadesimi highlighted the key roles played by the Board on the Egina project.
She said, “The feat would not have been possible if NCDMB had not insisted and if Total had not taken a huge risk when nobody thought it was possible to support us. I also want to thank NCDMB for providing us the financial support.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian government is planning to offer tax incentives to firms investing in key sectors such as agriculture and energy to boost projected growth.
This is part of a new scheme known as the Economic Development Incentive (EDI), which will address long-standing inefficiencies in the current Pioneer Status Incentive (PSI).
The proposed investment-driven incentive framework is designed to stimulate real economic activity by tying tax relief directly to verifiable investments and part of the country’s ongoing tax reform efforts.
The Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, disclosed this in a keynote address at BusinessDay’s Policy Intervention Series held on Tuesday, April 22 in Lagos.
He said a review of the PSI revealed structural flaws that have undermined its effectiveness.
“Once granted a pioneer status, companies may import goods classified as pioneer products tax-free, effectively allowing them to operate without tax obligations—even with minimal value addition to the economy,” he said.
The incentives will mainly be in the form of a multiyear tax credit that companies can use to reduce what they owe the government, Mr Oyedele further explained.
He said investments in sectors including agriculture, energy and manufacturing will enjoy the tax credit based on a prescribed minimum amount of investment for a period ranging from 10 to 20 years.
Mr Oyedele also reiterated that the country has initiated reforms to boost tax revenue as a share of gross domestic product to 18 per cent by 2027 from 13.6 per cent in 2024, adding these proposals seek to drive growth in priority sectors of the economy.
Also, investors in utility projects like power, waterways and ports will have to invest at least N200 billion to qualify for the tax credit.
He explained that if a company invests N10 billion in Year 1, it earns a N500 million tax credit each year for five years and if an additional N5 billion is invested in Year 2, that new investment begins its own five-year 5 per cent cycle—N250 million annually until Year 6 and if the company continues investing progressively, each round of investment starts a new five-year cycle of tax credits, potentially extending the benefit period up to 10 years.
The tax maven further stated that if a business has a N15 million tax liability in a given year and applies N25 million in tax credits, its liability is wiped out entirely, with the N10 million balance rolled over to subsequent years and that if a company fails to follow through on its investment plan or halts capital deployment, unused credits are forfeited and this accountability mechanism ensures that only consistent and credible investments are rewarded.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange slid by 0.35 per cent on Tuesday, April 22 after the return from the Easter break, with the market capitalisation falling by N6.79 billion to N1.917 trillion from the N1.924 trillion recorded last Thursday, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) declining by 11.60 points to 3,274.78 points from the previous session’s 3,286.38 points.
Yesterday, the share price of Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc went down by 60 Kobo to close at N21.50 per unit versus the preceding session’s N22.10 per unit and Geo-Fluids Plc lost 18 Kobo to end at N1.62 per share, in contrast to last Thursday’s N1.80 per share.
On the flip side, the price of FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc appreciated by 16 Kobo to quote at N37.80 per unit versus the previous trading day’s N37.64 per unit.
During the session, there was a 40.5 per cent increase in the volume of securities transacted to 174,634 units from the 124,266 units traded in the previous trading day, but the value of transactions slumped by 43.9 per cent to N2.86 million from N5.1 million, and the number of deals dropped by 48.4 per cent to 16 deals from 31 deals.
At the close of business, Impresit Bakolori Plc remained the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with a turnover of 533.9 million units worth N520.9 million, followed by Okitipupa Plc with the sale of 153.6 million units for N4.9 billion, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 71.2 million units valued at N24.2 million.
Also, Okitipupa Plc remained the most valued stock on a year-to-date with the sale of 153.6 million valued at N4.9 billion, trailed by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with a turnover of 14.8 million units worth N572.0 million and Impresit Bakolori Plc with a turnover of 533.9 million units sold for N520.9 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was a bad day for the Naira on Tuesday, April 22 as its value plummeted against the United States Dollar by N3.23 or 0.2 per cent at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM).
It was the first trading session in the official market after the long Easter Break which started last Friday.
The Nigerian Naira was exchanged with the greenback yesterday at N1,603.16/$1, in contrast to the preceding trading day’s rate of N1,599.93/$1.
However, the local currency closed flat against the Pound Sterling and the Euro in the spot market at N2,120.24/£1 and N1,817.69/€1, respectively.
At the parallel market, the Naira appreciated against the US Dollar during the session by N10 to sell for N1,610/$1 compared with the previous trading session’s N1,620/$1.
In the cryptocurrency market, most of the tokens improved on Tuesday, buoyed by renewed investor optimism and fresh hopes of an ease in US-China trade tensions.
Earlier on Tuesday, remarks from US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who reportedly told investors at a closed-door JPMorgan event that the tariff standoff with China was unsustainable.
Mr Bessent said de-escalation would come “in the very near future,” characterizing current conditions as a “trade embargo.” However, he cautioned that a more comprehensive deal between the two nations could take even years.
Then President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters in the White House later, said that US tariffs on China “will come down substantially” from the current 145 per cent level, allaying concerns of a spiraling trade war.
Ethereum (ETH) jumped by 10.6 per cent to $1,784.93, Dogecoin (DOGE) appreciated by 10.3 per cent to $0.1812, Cardano (ADA) added 9.9 per cent to trade at $0.6971, and Solana (SOL) gained 7.9 per cent to close at $151.25.
Further, Ripple (XRP) grew by 7.5 per cent to $2.25, Bitcoin (BTC) expanded by 6.2 per cent to $93,822.95, Litecoin (LTC) increased by 5.8 per cent to $84.22, and Binance Coin (BNB) went up by 2.3 per cent to $617.20, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) sold flat at $1.00 each.
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