Economy
Friction as DPR Reopens Filling Stations Shut by LASBCA
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) on Thursday reopened five filling stations shut by the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) in Ajah and Ibeju Lekki axis of the state.
The petrol stations, operated by members of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), members were sealed by the state’s building control agency but the country’s petroleum regulatory agency, being the organisation legally allowed to carry out such an action, said the stations were sealed without consultation.
Speaking at the reopening of the fuel stations, Mr Ayorinde Cardoso, Zonal Operations Controller, DPR, Lagos Zone, argued that LASBCA lacked the constitutional power to shut petroleum products retail outlets because the industry was clearly under the Exclusive List.
He advised state and local government agencies to desist from arbitrary sealing of businesses in the oil and gas sector as it could lead to disruption in the supply of petroleum products.
Mr Cardoso said: “We got information yesterday that LASBCA has shut down about 10 filling stations. We also learnt that a local government council shut down another petrol station in the Magodo area.
“We were not consulted and we need to put the record straight. The oil and gas business is a regulated environment and we know from the 1999 Constitution that oil and gas are matters within the Exclusive Legislative List.
“The Federal Government of Nigeria through the National Assembly is endowed with exclusive power to execute on any item on the exclusive list.”
He explained that “arising from that constitutional powers, the National Assembly enacted the Petroleum Act of 1969.
“This act regulates all matters relating to petroleum such as importation, handling, storage, distribution of petroleum and petroleum products and other flammable oils.
“This act also provides granting of licences to import, handle, store, sell, distribute any petroleum product in Nigeria.”
He said as a result of this, all persons that engaged in the business were licensed by the Minister of Petroleum Resources through the DPR.
According to him, the DPR collaborates with other relevant federal and state government agencies for requisite permits and approvals before the issuance of the licences.
Mr Cardoso said there were prerequisite processes that must be completed before a licence to operate is issued to any operator.
He said these included certificates of incorporation, Memorandum and Articles of Association, Tax Clearance Certificate, Police Report, Fire Report, Approved Building Plan and a Letter from Lands and Survey.
The Zonal Head added that it also carries out an Environmental Impact Assessment Report, Site Layout Plan, Evidence of Land Ownership and Survey Plan.
“Once we have done this and we issue licences to operate, it becomes a federal government property for business and our licence gives the owner the permission to do business in that area.
“So, any issue arising from the licensee, you need to call on the licensor who is the federal government; then we will look at the issue and see how we can resolve it,” he said.
Mr Cardoso said the DPR was interacting with the Lagos State Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources to ensure that agencies of the state government did not disrupt the smooth supply of petroleum products in Lagos.
On its part, Mr Gbadeyan Abdulraheem, Public Relations Officer, LASBCA, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), noted that some of the sealed facilities did not have the agency’s approval or had deviated from the approved plan.
“The DPR can give you the approval to run a filling station but the building itself has to be approved by LASBCA and there are conditions to be met which they didn’t.
“Some of them didn’t follow the radius which is a minimum of 300 meters before siting another one while others were constructed between residential buildings.
“Lagos State government is not interested in victimising or creating problems for anybody. What we are saying is that they should follow the best practices,” Mr Abdulrasheed said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Dangote Petroleum Refinery is preparing to raise about $5 billion through an initial public offering (IPO) expected to conclude in October, in what could become the largest stock market listing in Africa’s history.
The company has already submitted an initial application to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), with approval expected in the coming weeks. Once authorised, the refinery is expected to release its prospectus in September ahead of the public offer.
The primary listing will be on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, although investors across Africa are expected to participate through structured investment instruments rather than a dual listing.
The proceeds will be used to expand the capacity of the 700,000-barrels-per-day refinery in Lagos and possibly support plans to replicate the project in Kenya as Dangote seeks to deepen Africa’s energy independence.
The proposed IPO comes after the refinery benefited from increased demand for refined products during the recent Iran conflict, supplying jet fuel across Africa and into Western Europe as global shortages disrupted markets.
As per Reuters, stock exchanges in South Africa, Kenya, Egypt, Ghana and Rwanda have held discussions with advisers to the transaction as interest in the offering continues to build across the continent.
Kenya alone could account for as much as $500 million of the targeted capital raise, driven largely by demand from institutional investors, including pension funds, the publication reported.
While the company is targeting a $5 billion raise, the final amount will depend on the outcome of the SEC’s review. If achieved, the offering would represent more than four per cent of the Nigerian Exchange’s current market capitalisation.
The IPO follows a $2.5 billion private placement completed last month, in which a six per cent stake in the refinery was sold, implying a valuation of about $40 billion.
That valuation, however, would place the refinery well above several listed global refining companies. Turkey’s Tupras, which operates a similar combined refining capacity across four facilities, has a market value of roughly $12 billion, while US-listed HF Sinclair, with a comparable processing capacity, is valued at around $16 billion.
Although the NGX generally requires companies on its main board to maintain a minimum free float of 20 per cent, there have been exceptions. Dangote Cement, for instance, currently has a free float of just over 12 per cent.
The publication also reported that investors outside Nigeria are likely to gain exposure through instruments such as global depositary receipts or exchange-traded products linked to the Nigerian-listed shares, rather than through a cross-listing on other African exchanges.
The founder of the 700,000-barrels-per-day capacity plant, Mr Aliko Dangote, said in April that the refinery aims to increase production capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day.
Mr Dangote is also pursuing plans to build another refinery in Lamu along Kenya’s coast in partnership with other East African governments, although it remains unclear whether part of the IPO proceeds will be allocated to that project valued at an estimated $17 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rallied by 0.89 per cent on Tuesday, August 4 amid renewed buying interest in unlisted stocks.
During the session, the market capitalisation added N24.07 billion to end at N2.739 trillion compared with Tuesday’s N2.715 trillion, while the NASD Security Index (NSI) gained 40.11 points to quote at 4,563.96 points compared with the preceding day’s 4,523.85 points.
The NASD OTC Exchange ended the trading session with two price losers and three gainers, led by Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which chalked up N7.80 to close at N119.80 per unit versus the previous session’s N112.00 per unit. Afriland Properties Plc increased its value by N1.27 to N23.95 per share from N22.68 per share, and Nitrox Industrial Gases Plc expanded by N1.15 to N21.15 per unit from N20.00 per unit.
On the flip side, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc slid by N8.64 to sell at N144.00 per share compared with the previous day’s N152.64 per share, and 11 Plc dipped by 1 Kobo to end at N225.00 per unit, in contrast to Monday’s closing price of N225.01 per unit.
Tuesday’s trading data showed that the volume of securities rose by 9.0 per cent to 1.6 million units from 1.5 million units, and the number of deals climbed by 6.5 per cent to 33 deals from 31 deals, while the value of securities dropped by 26.9 per cent to N47.6 million from N65.2 million.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 76.9 million units exchanged for N5.5 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date with 3.4 billion units transacted for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
A 0.38 per cent loss was suffered by Nigerian stocks on Tuesday on the back of continued selling pressure from investors embarking on profit-taking.
Data from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited showed that the contraction was influenced by the 1.78 per cent decline recorded by the insurance sector, the 0.24 per cent slip printed by the consumer goods index, and the 0.09 per cent drop posted by the energy space, offsetting the 0.75 per cent growth achieved by the banking sector and the 0.21 per cent growth recorded by the industrial goods segment.
Investor sentiment was weak during the trading day, as the bourse ended with 13 price gainers and 40 price losers, representing a negative market breadth index.
LivingTrust Mortgage depreciated by 10.00 per cent to N3.42, Multiverse also shed 10.00 per cent to N22.95, McNichols dropped 9.92 per cent to N5.45, Thomas Wyatt dipped by 9.87 per cent to N3.56, and Eterna lost 8.57 per cent to trade at N33.00.
On the flip side, AVA Capital improved by 9.94 per cent to N9.95, Livestock Feeds expanded by 9.71 per cent to N8.65, Neimeth increased by 8.43 per cent to N9.00, AIICO gained 3.47 per cent to settle at N4.18, and Oando grew by 3.30 per cent to N36.00.
A total of 1.6 billion equities valued at N28.7 billion exchanged hands in 54,160 deals yesterday versus the 923.0 million equities worth N37.9 billion traded in 72,544 deals on Monday, indicating a 73.35 per cent surge in the trading volume, a 24.27 per cent decline in the trading value, and a 25.34 per cent slip in the number of deals.
The busiest stock was Japaul, which transacted 904.4 million units for N2.7 billion. Sterling Holdings sold 54.0 million units valued at N431.9 million, FCMB exchanged 49.5 million units worth N545.9 million, Chams traded 44.9 million units for N199.2 million, and Neimeth sold 42.4 million units worth N327.8 million.
Business Post reports that the All-Share Index (ASI) gave up 927.70 points to 244,802.83 points from 245,730.53 points, and the market capitalisation receded by N599 billion to N158.016 trillion from N158.615 trillion.
