Economy
FG Puts Up Seven Offshore Oil Blocks for Sale
By Adedapo Adesanya
The federal government has announced the commencement of the 2022 Mini Bid Round to spur new exploration and drilling activities in the prospective deep waters offshore Nigeria, with seven offshore oil blocks put on offer for foreign buyers.
In a statement seen by Business Post, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) said this would bring investments that will usher in the next phase of exploration in this region, in accordance with the provision of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.
The industry regulator noted that the programme would follow a transparent and competitive procurement process designed to attract competent third-party investors from across the world that has the capability and proficiency to operate in a deepwater environment.
The last successful bid round was held in April 2007, during which a total of 45 blocks, drawn from the inland Basins of Anambra, Benue, and Chad, the Niger Delta Continental Shelf: Onshore Niger Delta and Deep Offshore were put on offer.
The 2007 bid round was held under a different regulatory regime (the Petroleum Act, 1969) and generated massive interest and participation with its attended revenue which made the exercise a success.
The statement added that the National Data Repository (NDR) of NUPRC and multi-client partners would support the Mini Bid Round underpinned by high-quality datasets. “The blocks have extensive 2D and 3D seismic data coverage, including multi-beam and analogue data. Additionally, a remarkable quality, 3D MegaSurveyPlus reprocessed Pre-stack Time Migration (completed October 2022), with angle stacks and gathers, is also available to prospective bidders. Links to all data can be accessed via the dedicated NUPRC portal,” it added.
The success of the Mini Bid Round will ensure all stakeholders gain value from the country’s resources whilst paying close attention to the reduction in carbon emissions, as well as overall environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations.
A pre-bid conference is scheduled for Monday, January 16, 2023, at Eko Hotels and Suites, Lagos, to provide potential applicants with an opportunity to ask questions they may have concerning the Mini Bid Round process and requirements after which interested companies will be invited to submit their pre-qualification applications by January 31, 2023.
NUPRC added that it would continue to provide further details and roadmaps for the international competitive Mini Bid Round in due course.
By Adedapo Adesanya
UBN Property Plc further sank the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange in the red territory by 0.48 per cent on Wednesday, April 23.
The property investment company lost 7 Kobo of its share value to settle at N2.10 per unit compared with the preceding day’s price of N2.17 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation of the bourse went down by N9.19 billion to N1.908 trillion from N1.917 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) slumped by 105.70 points to 3,259.08 points from the previous session’s 3,274.78 points.
There was a 500.5 per cent rise in the volume of securities transacted in the midweek session to 1.05 million units from the 174,634 units traded in the previous trading day.
However, the value of transactions decreased by 9.1 per cent to N2.6 million from N2.86 million and the number of deals dropped by 31.3 per cent to 11 deals from 16 deals.
At the close of business, Impresit Bakolori Plc remained the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 533.9 million units worth N520.9 million, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 153.6 million units sold for N4.9 billion, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 71.2 million units valued at N24.2 million.
Okitipupa Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 153.6 million valued at N4.9 billion, followed by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with the sale of 14.8 million units for N572.0 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with a turnover of 533.9 million units worth N520.9 million.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Between April and June 2025, the federal government intends to sell bonds between N900 billion and N1.2 trillion to investors.
This information was revealed by the Debt Management Office (DMO) in its Bond Issuance Calendar for Q2 2025
The sales will take place once in a month, precisely on April 28, May 26, and June 23, according to the data released by the DMO.
It was stated that the debt office will offer the debt instrument in two maturities, with N300 billion and N400 billion offered for sale at each auction.
In April and May, the DMO will reopen the 19.30 per cent FGN APR 2029 and 19.89 per cent FGN MAY 2033 bonds, and in June, it will introduce the FGN JAN 2030 and FGN JAN 2032 and five and seven-year, respectively.
In April, the APR 2029 bond will have a remaining tenor of four years, while the MAY 2033 bond will have six years and one month left.
By May, those terms shorten to three years and eleven months, and six years, respectively. Both bonds retain their original coupon rates of 19.30 per cent and 19.89 per cent.
The DMO has also released details for its April auction. The Federal Government plans to raise N350bn through the reopening of the APR 2029 and MAY 2033 bonds.
According to the circular, N200bn will be offered in the APR 2029 and N150bn in the MAY 2033. The auction will be held on Monday, April 28, with settlement on Wednesday, April 30.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira marginally depleted against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Wednesday, April 23.
During the session, it lost 35 Kobo or 0.02 per cent against the greenback to sell for N1,603.51/$1 compared with the previous day’s value of N1,603.16/$1.
Also, in the same official FX market, the value of the local currency depreciated against the Pound Sterling yesterday by N17.31 to quote at N2,137.55/£1 versus Tuesday’s closing price of N2,120.24/£1 and tumbled against the Euro by N19.89 to close at N1,837.58/€1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,817.69/€1.
However, in the parallel market segment, the domestic currency appreciated against the Dollar during the trading day by N5 to trade at N1,605/$1 versus the previous day’s N1,610/$1.
The Nigerian Naira has been under pressure lately after a recent ease in concerns about the country’s FX reserves, which have been been dropping.
A look at the digital currency market showed that it was bearish at midweek due to profit-taking amid declining US Dollar index, which is largely tied to mixed signals out of the world’s largest economy.
Earlier this week, President Donald Trump said he had no intention to fire US Federal Reserve Chair, Mr Jerome Powell, and that a deal with China (which is facing tariffs as high as 245 per cent on some items) would significantly reduce some of its levies.
The mixed signals and frequent tone shift are worrying traders, however, who continue to monitor comments for further cues on positioning, with market analysts noting that trade frictions, geopolitical jitters, and regulatory issues continue to cast long shadows on assets like crypto.
Dogecoin (DOGE) dipped by 4.9 per cent to sell at $0.1730, Ripple (XRP) fell by 3.9 per cent to $2.17, Litecoin (LTC) declined by 2.3 per cent to $82.23, and Binance Coin (BNB) depreciated by 2.2 per cent to $604.59.
In addition, Cardano (ADA) slumped by 1.9 per cent to $0.6837, Solana (SOL) also lost 1.9 per cent to close at $148.13. Bitcoin (BTC) slid by 1.3 per cent to $92,479.80, and Ethereum (ETH) crashed by 1.1 per cent to $1,770.12, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.
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