Economy
FG Backs TotalEnergies Drive to Reactivate Dormant Oil Assets
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian government has reaffirmed its commitment to global energy giant, TotalEnergies, to back its plans to resuscitate dormant assets in order to boost oil production in Africa’s largest oil producer.
The unlocking of inactive and untapped oil and gas assets is part of renewed efforts to ramp up national crude production with an ambitious 3 million barrels per day eyed by the Nigerian government
During a visit to TotalEnergies’ headquarters in Paris and its Research Institute in Pau, France, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Mr Heineken Lokpobiri, emphasized the administration’s readiness to provide the necessary regulatory backing to bring dormant fields into active production.
Mr Lokpobiri said, “Getting inactive and untapped assets to work remains critical in our drive to ramp up production. The Federal Government remains firmly committed to supporting operators in this regard.”
The visit, conducted at the invitation of TotalEnergies, formed part of Nigeria’s ongoing strategic engagement with international stakeholders.
The French multinational is preparing to unlock several assets in Nigeria, some acquired in the most recent marginal field bid round and others held from earlier operations.
“President Bola Tinubu has been unequivocal in his mandate for all operators to unlock dormant fields. As policy maker and supervisor of regulatory agencies, we are pursuing this mission with the full dedication required to actualize it,” Lokpobiri stated.
He noted that the engagement with TotalEnergies aligns with the President’s directive for aggressive production growth and asset optimization in the oil sector.
Nigeria, Africa’s largest crude exporter, has faced challenges in meeting OPEC+ quotas in recent years due to oil theft, underinvestment, and aging infrastructure. Currently, production hovers around 1.5 million barrels per day.
While touring TotalEnergies’ state-of-the-art Research Center in Pau, which includes a Smart Room and technical support centre capable of aiding asset development in real time, the Minister expressed optimism about the collaborative potential.
“Their Smart Room and support center have the capacity to complement our efforts to ramp up production. I reiterated our readiness to provide regulatory support as they unlock these assets. The time to ramp up production is now, and the benefits are mutual.”
TotalEnergies is one of Nigeria’s most significant oil and gas investors, with assets across deepwater, onshore, and gas projects.
The company expressed its intention to deepen its footprint in Nigeria, especially as it repositions its energy mix strategy globally.
“I am particularly pleased that TotalEnergies is taking decisive steps in this direction,” Mr Lokpobiri added.
The visit follows similar engagement with other IOCs, where the government has pledged to reduce bottlenecks, fast-track approvals, and implement investor-friendly policies.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is seeking a reduction in import duty exemptions, which rose to N34 trillion, limiting its ability to increase its revenue generation threshold.
The Comptroller-General of the Customs Service, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed that the value of import duty exemption certificate approvals increased to that level in 2025, describing the policy as one of the major factors restricting its revenue generation.
At an investigative session of the Senate Committee on Finance with revenue-generating agencies in Abuja on Monday, Mr Adeniyi explained that government fiscal policies have continued to impact the revenue-generating capacity of the Customs Service, both positively and negatively.
“The NCS would have generated significantly higher revenue over the years if not for government-approved import duty waivers and other external factors affecting collections,” he said.
He added that the Import Duty Exemption Certificate scheme, introduced in March 2020, accounted for about N34 trillion in approvals in 2025, with nearly 60 per cent covering duty-free importation of military hardware due to Nigeria’s prevailing security challenges.
Other government-backed duty waivers, he noted, covered the importation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), electric and hybrid vehicles, healthcare equipment and medical supplies, industrial machinery and manufacturing inputs, as well as food import intervention programmes.
While acknowledging the impact of the waivers on Customs revenue, Mr Adeniyi argued that fiscal policy should not be assessed solely on the basis of revenue generation but also on its broader economic and social objectives.
He, however, urged the federal government to establish stronger monitoring mechanisms to ensure beneficiaries of duty waivers deliver the intended economic outcomes, including lower consumer prices, increased local production and improved healthcare access.
The committee also expressed displeasure over the absence of several heads of government agencies invited to the hearing, including the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Mr Sani Musa, warned that the affected chief executives must appear at the committee’s next sitting or face severe sanctions under the Senate’s rules.
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By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.40 per cent on Monday, July 13, buoyed by buying interest in 11 Plc, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and UBN Property Plc, which offset the profit-taking in Food Concepts Plc, the parent company of Chicken Republic.
11 Plc gained N20.69 to end at N227.64 per share compared with last Friday’s price of N206.95 per share, CSCS Plc grew by N1.83 to N91.48 per unit from N89.65 per unit, and UBN Property Plc added 1 Kobo to sell at N1.81 per share versus N1.80 per share.
On the flip side, Food Concepts Plc depreciated by 24 Kobo to close at N2.45 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N2.69 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N9.2 billion to N2.587 trillion from N2.578 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) improved by 15.33 points to 4,311.67 points from 4,296.34 points.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors surged by 615.9 per cent to 9.1 million units from the previous 1.3 million units, and the value of securities rose by 997.1 per cent to N320.4 million from the preceding session’s N29.2 million, while the number of deals decreased by 12.5 per cent to 28 deals from last Friday’s 32 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units exchanged for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
