Economy
Gas Firms to Boost Nigeria’s Daily Production by One Billion SCF
By Adedapo Adesanya
Major gas-producing companies operating in Nigeria are looking to take concrete steps to increase daily gas production by one billion standard cubic feet (bscf) per annum between 2025 and 2030 to meet the National gas production aspirations as well as bring an end to routine gas flaring.
This followed a charge from the Minister of State Petroleum Resources (Gas), Mr Ekperikpe Ekpo, during an engagement with upstream gas industry stakeholders held at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Towers Abuja on Monday.
The meeting, which brought together key stakeholders in the industry, including MD/CEOs of NNPC Ltd, Shell Companies in Nigeria, Seplat Energy, Renaissance Energy, Total Energies, NAE/AENR, and Esso Exploration, saw them make a pledge to work towards unlocking Nigeria’s natural gas potential for national development.
Mr Ekpo stressed the need for accelerated growth in the sector to meet the federal government’s target of 12 billion scf of gas per day by 2030 from the current 7.3 billion scf production capacity.
“We need to grow natural gas production by at least 1 BCF annually till 2030,” Mr Ekpo said, “Nigeria must emerge among the top 10 natural gas-consuming nations by 2030. To achieve this, we must aggressively increase drilling operations in joint venture assets across all terrains, land, swamp, and offshore, and prioritise the completion of major gas processing and evacuation infrastructure projects.”
Mr Ekpo described the recent divestments by major oil companies as a pivotal moment for Nigeria’s energy sector, noting that it presented opportunities to aggressively exploit and produce both Associated Gas (AG) and Non-Associated Gas (NAG) in the country.
“Capitalizing on these divestments requires a clear strategy to accelerate project timelines, modernize existing facilities, and deploy innovative extraction and processing technologies,” he added.
The minister also stressed the importance of strengthening collaboration with international stakeholders and technical experts to ensure the successful execution of gas infrastructure projects, including the AKK and OB-3 pipelines.
He said these projects are critical to connecting gas resources to domestic and industrial markets, supporting Nigeria’s ambition to become a regional hub for natural gas.
The Gas Minister while commending the NNPC/TotalEnergies JV for ending routine gas flaring in its operations, called on other operators to emulate same in order to reduce their carbon footprints and convert the flared gas to wealth for the nation.
He also emphasized the need for accelerated timelines, enhanced resource allocation, and the exploration of public-private partnerships to overcome funding and technical challenges.
Commission Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Mr Gbenga Komolafe, assured investors of a conducive environment to support the government’s targets for the gas sector and stated that the Commission has identified dedicated gas assets to be included in forthcoming bid rounds.
The Special Adviser to the President on Policy and Coordination, Mrs Hadiza Usman, represented by Mr Esege Esege, noted that President Bola Tinubu is keenly interested in the gas sector realizing its full potential and contributing to national growth and development.
Also, Executive Vice President, Gas, Power, and New Energy NNPC Ltd., Mr Olalekan Ogunleye, assured that NNPC Ltd. and its partners are working together across the gas value chain to meet the target.
“At present, every industry in the domestic gas space is receiving the gas they require due to the very productive cross-sectional collaboration,” he said, adding that efforts are being made to improve affordability.
Mr Ogunleye also provided an update on the AKK and OB-3 pipeline projects, saying both have advanced to 78 per cent and 97 per cent stages of completion, respectively.
“We are working towards the timely completion of these projects,” he assured.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The federal government has been asked by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to suspend the implementation of the controversial tax laws.
In a reaction to the tax reform acts, the president of the group, Mr Afam Osigwe (SAN), the suspension of the laws would allow for a proper investigation into allegations of alterations in the gazetted and harmonised copies.
A member of the House of Representatives, Mr Abdussamad Dasuki, alleged that some parts of the laws passed by the parliament were different from the gazetted copy.
To address the issues raised, the NBA said it is “imperative that a comprehensive, open, and transparent investigation be conducted to clarify the circumstances surrounding the enactment of the laws and to restore public confidence in the legislative process.”
“Until these issues are fully examined and resolved, all plans for the implementation of the Tax Reform Acts should be immediately suspended,” the association declared.
It noted that the controversies “raise grave concerns about the integrity, transparency, and credibility of Nigeria’s legislative process.”
“These developments strike at the very heart of constitutional governance and call into question the procedural sanctity that must attend lawmaking in a democratic society,” it noted.
“Legal and policy uncertainty of this magnitude has far-reaching consequences. It unsettles the business environment, erodes investor confidence, and creates unpredictability for individuals, businesses, and institutions required to comply with the law. Such uncertainty is inimical to economic stability and should have no place in a system governed by the rule of law.
“Nigeria’s constitutional democracy demands that laws, especially those with profound economic and social implications, emerge from processes that are transparent, accountable, and beyond reproach. Anything short of this undermines public trust and weakens the foundation upon which lawful governance rests.
“We therefore call on all relevant authorities to act swiftly and responsibly in addressing this controversy, in the overriding interest of constitutional order, economic stability, and the preservation of the rule of law,” the organisation stated.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Demand for hot stocks, including MRS Oil Plc, buoyed the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.52 per cent on Tuesday, December 23.
The energy company was one of the three price gainers for the session as it chalked up N19.69 to sell at N216.59 per share versus the previous day’s value of N196.90 per share.
Further, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc gained N2.95 to close at N56.75 per unit versus N53.80 per unit and Golden Capital Plc appreciated by 84 Kobo to N9.29 per share from Monday’s N8.45 per share.
Consequently, the market capitalisation went up by N10.95 billion to N2.125 trillion from N2.125 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) rose by 18.31 points to 3,570.37 points from 3,552.06 points.
Yesterday, the NASD bourse recorded a price loser, the Central Securities Clearing System Plc (CSCS), which gave up 17 Kobo to close at N33.70 per unit against the previous trading value of N33.87 per unit.
The volume of securities traded at the session went down by 97.6 per cent to 297,902 units from the previous day’s 12.6 million units, the value of securities decreased by 98.5 per cent to N10.5 million from N713.6 million, and the number of deals remained flat at 32 deals.
By value, Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc ended as the most actively traded stock on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units exchanged for N16.4 billion. This was followed by Okitipupa Plc, which traded 178.9 million units valued at N9.5 billion, and MRS Oil Plc with 36.1 million units worth N4.9 billion.
In terms of volume, also on a year-to-date basis, InfraCredit Plc led the chart with a turnover of 5.8 billion units traded for N16.4 billion. Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc ranked second with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.7 million, while Impresit Bakolori Plc followed with the sale of 536.9 million units valued at N524.9 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
It was another bullish trading session for the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited as it closed higher by 0.59 per cent on Tuesday.
The market further rallied due to continued interest in large and mid-cap stocks on the exchange by investors rebalancing their portfolios for the year-end.
Yesterday, Aluminium Extrusion sustained its upward trajectory after it further appreciated by 9.96 per cent to N14.90, as Austin Laz gained 9.81 per cent to close at N2.91, Custodian Investment improved by 9.69 per cent to N38.50, and First Holdco soared by 9.35 per cent to N50.30.
Conversely, Royal Exchange declined by 7.22 per cent to N1.80, Champion Breweries shrank by 6.57 per cent to N15.65, NASCON lost 5.36 per cent to trade at N105.05, Sovereign Trust Insurance depreciated by 5.28 per cent to N3.77, and Japaul went down by 4.51 per cent to N2.33.
At the close of business, 29 shares ended on the gainers’ table and 27 shares finished on the losers’ log, representing a positive market breadth index and bullish investor sentiment.
This raised the All-Share Index (ASI) by 895.06 points to 153,354.13 points from 152,459.07 points and lifted the market capitalisation by N579 billion to N97.772 trillion from the previous day’s N97.193 trillion.
VFD Group finished the day as the busiest stock after it recorded a turnover of 192.0 million units worth N2.1 billion, GTCO exchanged 63.5 million units valued at N5.6 billion, Access Holdings traded 49.8 million units for N1.0 billion, First Holdco sold 45.8 million units valued at N2.3 billion, and Secure Electronic Technology transacted 38.3 million units worth N28.4 million.
In all, market participants bought and sold 677.4 million units valued at N20.8 billion in 27,589 deals compared with the 451.5 million units worth N13.0 billion traded in 33,327 deals on Monday, showing an improvement in the trading volume and value by 50.03 per cent and 60.00 per cent apiece, and a shortfall in the number of deals by 17.22 per cent.
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