Economy
FG May Scrap Investment Tax Credit in PSC
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Federal Government may remove investment tax credit in Production Sharing Contract (PSC) if the proposed key amendments to the Deep Offshore and Inland Basin Production Sharing Contract (PSC) Act are accepted.
On Thursday, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) noted that this would enable the Federal Government optimize the collection of royalties and other revenue in deep water oil production activities.
In a presentation to the Joint House of Representatives Committees on the amendment of the PSC Act and an Act to establish the National Oil and Gas Museum and Research Centre in Oloibiri, Mr Bello Rabiu, NNPC Chief Operating Officer, Upstream, noted that it was imperative to effect increment in royalties across all categories to increase government take.
“It is our opinion that the proposal to increase the royalty rate for terrains beyond 1000 metres, from zero per cent to three per cent, is commendable but it is necessary to also make corresponding adjustments in other categories,’’ he said.
Under the proposed PSC royalty regime, the calculation of what is due to government shall be based on production and price to guarantee fairness and balance between PSC contractors and Government.
For Royalty based on production within a tranche of 50,000 barrels of crude per day, the NNPC is proposing a royalty tranche rate of 8.0 percent.
Under a production tranche of 50,000 to 100,000 bpd, the royalty tranche rate would increase to 15.5 per cent and would escalate to 28.0 per cent once the production surpasses the 100,000 bpd mark.
To calculate royalty based on price, NNPC proposed that under a $50 per barrel price regime, the tranche incremental royalty rate shall be zero percent but the rate would increase to 0.30 percent if the price hovers between the $50 to $100 mark.
In the same vain, a price regime of $100-$130 would attract royalty of 0.20 percent while an increase of price between $130-$170 translate to royalty rate of 0.10 percent. A price regime of $170 and above would attract zero percent royalty payment.
The NNPC argued that in the alternative, the graduated royalty scale as provided in the Act should be removed while the Minister of Petroleum Resources should be empowered to intermittently set royalties payable for acreages located in deep offshore and inland basin production sharing contracts through regulations based on established economic parameters.
On the provision of investment tax credit, investment tax allowance and associated cost uplift and capital allowances to PSC contractors, the NNPC proposed an outright scrapping of the incentives.
“It is our opinion that these incentives have outlived their usefulness and are now impediments to the Federal Government’s revenue collection efforts. The use of such incentives can be terminated by an amendment of section 4 of the Act,” the agency said.
It called on the National Assembly to seek relevant input from the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to resolve the divergent opinions regarding the methodology for the computation of the taxes which would arise as a result of the proposed royalty regime.
On the Act to establish the National Oil and Gas Museum and Research Centre in Oloibiri, the corporation recommended the establishment of the Museum alone with clear budgetary allocation from the Federal Government under the control and management of the National Commission for Museum and Monuments.
“It is better to refine and upgrade the capacity of the Petroleum Training Institute, in Warri and the National College of Petroleum Studies, Kaduna, in order to avoid duplication of functions and more importantly ensure optimal utilization of funds,” NNPC stated.
Economy
IPMAN Considers Dangote Petrol for Competitive Pump Price
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
More petroleum marketers are looking to take advantage being offered by the Dangote Refinery in Lagos through its bulk-purchase incentives, allowing petrol stations to sell premium motor spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol, cheaper to motorists.
Recall that recently, Dangote Refinery entered into a deal with MRS Oil Nigeria, Ardova Plc, Heyden for the purchase of petrol at least two million litres at N909 per litre.
With this agreement, MRS Oil has been able to dispense to customers at a pump price of N935 per litre across its stations in Nigeria.
For those not under this arrangement, they have been battling with price instability, especially after depot owners recently increased their price to N950 per litre from N909 per litre because of the rise in crude oil prices in the international market.
Worried by this and attracted by the bulk-purchase agreement incentives of Dangote Petroleum Refinery, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association (IPMAN) is already having talks to buy directly from the Lagos-based oil facility.
The national president of the group, Mr Abubakar Maigandi Garima, said members are eager to sign on with Dangote Refinery for the bulk-purchase agreement.
He argued that members could not continue to depend on depot owners for products when they can buy directly from the refinery bearing in mind that the minimum quantity to buy from Dangote Refinery is two million litres at N909 per litre.
The desire to be part of the bulk-purchase agreement, it was also gathered, was also apparently being fuelled by the testimonies from motorists who have been praising the impressive burn rate of fuel sourced from Dangote Refinery and sold in MRS filing stations which they said lasts longer compared to other products imported into the country and sold by others.
The management of the Dangote Refinery, citing economic relief provided by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s crude-for-naira swap initiative, had announced a bulk-purchase offer incentives to the three leading downstream sector operators, so that Nigerians could heave a sigh of relief on the reduced pump price.
Economy
World Bank Forecasts 3.6% GDP Growth for Nigeria in 2025
By Adedapo Adesanya
The World Bank has projected a 3.6 per cent economic growth for Nigerian in 2025 and 2026 on the back of ongoing reforms by the federal government.
The Bretton Wood institution in its report titled Global Economic Prospects, January 2025 published on Thursday, said recent reforms, including subsidy removal, Naira liberalisation and the introduction of tax reform bills would help to boost business confidence.
“In Nigeria, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth increased to an estimated 3.3 per cent in 2024, mainly driven by services sector activity, particularly in financial and telecommunication services.
“Macroeconomic and fiscal reforms helped improve business confidence. In response to rising inflation and a weak naira, the central bank tightened monetary policy.
“Meanwhile, the fiscal deficit narrowed due to a surge in revenues driven by the elimination of the implicit foreign exchange subsidy, following the unification of the exchange rate and improved revenue administration,” a part of the report stated.
The World Bank noted that the wider Sub-Saharan Africa, to which Nigeria belongs would see a 4.1 per cent growth in the current year, before seeing a 4.3 per cent rise in 2026.
“Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa, SSA is expected to firm to 4.1 per cent in 2025 and 4.3 per cent in 2026, as financial conditions ease alongside further declines in inflation. Following weaker-than-expected regional growth last year, growth projections for 2025 have been revised upward by 0.2 percentage points, and for 2026 by 0.3 percentage points, with improvements seen across various subgroups. At the country level, projected growth has been upgraded for nearly half of SSA economies in both 2025 and 2026.
“Growth in Nigeria is forecast to strengthen to an average of 3.6 per cent a year in 2025-26. Following monetary policy tightening in 2024, inflation is projected to gradually decline, boosting consumption and supporting growth in the services sector, which continues to be the main driver of growth,” it added.
The global lender disclosed that oil production is expected to increase over the forecast period but remain below the 1.5 million barrels per day quota of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Economy
Nigeria’s Unlisted Securities Close Higher by 0.35%
By Adedapo Adesanya
Four price gainers helped the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange close higher by 0.35 per cent on Thursday, January 16.
The value of the trading platform jumped by N3.69 billion during the session to N1.072 trillion from the N1.068 trillion it closed in the preceding session, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) made an addition of 10.67 points to wrap the session at 3,103.83 points compared with 3,093.16 points recorded at the previous session.
Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc added 3 Kobo to its price yesterday to trade at 33 Kobo per unit compared with Wednesday’s closing price of 30 Kobo per unit, Newrest Asl Plc appreciated by N2.85 to N31.18 per share from N28.53 per share, 11 Plc gained N2.90 to close at N256.00 per unit versus the N253.10 per unit it finished a day earlier, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc grew by 21 Kobo to N39.16 per share, in contrast to midweek’s N38.95 per share.
On Thursday. there was an 85.3 per cent increase in the volume of securities traded by investors to 1.2 million units from the 666,494 units recorded in the preceding session, the value of shares traded surged by 8.9 per cent to N18.0 million from N16.5 million, and the number of deals leapt by 65 per cent to 33 deals from 20 deals.
FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc remained the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 3.4 million units worth N134.9 million, trailed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 8.9 million units sold for N43.0 million, and Afriland Properties Plc valued at 690,825 sold for N11.1 million.
IGI Plc closed the day as the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 23.5 million units sold for N5.3 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 8.9 million units valued at N43.0 million, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc followed with 3.4 million units worth N134.9 million.
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