Economy
How Oil Firms Can Achieve Exponential Growth—Verraki
By Dipo Olowookere
Players in the nation’s oil and gas industry have been told what could be done to survive the rough operating terrain they find themselves in. In recent times, prices of crude oil have been unstable on the global market, which is giving some of them somethings to worry about.
Energy Lead and Senior Partner, Real Sector at Verraki, Mrs Abayomi Olarinmoye, while commenting on happenings in the sector, said stakeholders must begin to look at different areas to achieve exponential growth if they intend to stay long in business.
The former Managing Director for Accenture’s Resources Operating Group in Nigeria, while addressing the media at an interactive session, opined that upstream players in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry can gain competitive advantage, operational excellence and financial transparency by embracing more automation in their operations and enjoy several benefits including increased productivity, reduced operational costs and highly engaged employees.
She identified several value-adding opportunities for oil and gas companies to deploy digital technologies which would serve as catalysts to achieve exponential growth.
Mrs Olarinmoye identified the increasing reliance on real-time data by international oil and gas operators and the need for Nigerian players to adopt similar strategies given the existing infrastructure, security and operational challenges.
She further identified utilization of applications as a service business models which allow operators to deploy technology customized to suit the size of their business operations, stressing that she believes that if oil and gas companies maximize the potentials of digital supply chain technologies available today, it would help to establish a new ecosystem of markets and alliance partners.
Commenting on the energy industry in Africa, its technological advancement and the impact of these on business operations, Mrs Olarinmoye said, “The energy industry is getting smarter and more intelligent as business operations and growth decisions are being backed by leading-edge data gathering using more sophisticated tools and internet enabled equipment.
“The Internet of Things has created a paradigm shift in data-gathering – today, collected and derived data are being used to improve asset utilization and to reduce costs. This will help place the industry at the forefront of global competitiveness.”
Further speaking on the use of technology to expedite growth, Mrs Olarinmoye described how new technologies are being used in other parts of the world for data gathering in remote locations, such as drones and other intelligent equipment to inspect pipelines, enabling improved collection of data and communication within an integrated operational infrastructure.
“In order to unlock additional value from their businesses, more oil companies need to deploy digital technologies for predictive asset maintenance and to automate basic, repetitive engineering functions and operations,” she said at the gathering.
To ensure more efficient operations in the industry, she stated that oil and gas players can also unlock value from their business by deploying emerging digital technologies for remote asset monitoring, surveillance and data management.
She stressed that this becomes consequential, given the increasing demand for smarter devices and automated sensors on the field and a move to stay continuously connected with assets in remote locations.
In her words, “Investing in shared platforms for service delivery and adoption of these digital technologies by oil and gas companies will enable the ability to provide critical data in real-time without any downtime, hence improving co-operation within the ecosystems and their communities.”
Mrs Olarinmoye urged industry players to take advantage of Verraki’s best practice techniques to deliver supply chain optimization opportunities, digitize processes and guarantee production and efficiency improvements for oil and gas companies.
Verraki is focused on implementing technology and business solutions designed inherently for Africa and fit for purpose, while curating business ventures that would contribute to unlocking new sources of growth across the continent.
Led by foremost corporate professionals as well as former Accenture leadership in Nigeria, Verraki will apply its global expertise and local insights to partner with enterprises and governments to accelerate the development and transformation of Africa by providing business solutions uniquely tailored for Africa.
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited rallied by 0.28 per cent on Wednesday despite weak investor sentiment, as the bourse ended with 18 price gainers and 38 price losers, implying a negative market breadth index.
The growth recorded yesterday by Customs Street was influenced by the 2.11 per cent rise posted by the energy index, and the 1.79 per cent jump achieved by the banking sector.
The other sectors experienced profit-taking, with the consumer goods losing 1.07 per cent, the insurance counter down by 0.36 per cent, and the industrial goods space down by 0.19 per cent.
Universal Insurance chalked up 10.00 per cent to sell for N1.21, Omatek improved by 9.78 per cent to N2.47, VFD Group expanded by 9.71 per cent to N11.30, CWG appreciated by 9.64 per cent to N21.05, and Livestock Feeds gained 9.56 per cent to close at N7.45.
On the flip side, UPDC REIT lost 10.00 per cent to settle at N6.75, Fortis Global Insurance shed 9.92 per cent to quote at N1.18, Deap Capital depreciated by 9.85 per cent to N5.40, Chams went down by 9.47 per cent to N3.06, and Japaul declined by 8.82 per cent to N3.10.
Yesterday, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 562.43 points to 202,585.53 points from 202,023.10 points, and the market capitalisation advanced by N389 billion to N130.404 trillion from N130.015 trillion.
During the session, 1.0 billion stocks worth N40.6 billion exchanged hands in 52,723 deals compared with the 1.1 billion stocks valued at N40.3 billion executed in 78,006 deals a day earlier, indicating an uptick in the trading value by 0.74 per cent, and a shortfall in the trading volume and number of deals by 9.09 per cent and 32.41 per cent apiece.
The activity chart was led by Access Holdings, which sold 233.0 million units valued at N6.1 billion, Fidelity Bank exchanged 113.1 million units worth N2.2 billion, Wema Bank recorded a turnover of 103.3 million units valued at N2.7 billion, Zenith Bank transacted 60.6 million units for N6.5 billion, and Chams traded 47.5 million units worth N154.6 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Crude oil plummeted on Wednesday on hopes of the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz after US President Donald Trump agreed to a two-week ceasefire with Iran.
Brent crude futures moderated to $94.75 a barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude eased to $94.41 a barrel.
President Trump said on Wednesday that the US will work closely with Iran and will be talking about tariff and sanctions relief with Iran.
However, analysts cautioned that the ceasefire is a temporary two-week reprieve rather than a permanent resolution, and the global energy system remains fragile due to structural damage to regional infrastructure.
Reuters reported that Iran could open the strait in a limited and controlled way on Thursday or Friday ahead of a meeting between U.S. and Iranian officials in Pakistan.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported that two ships appeared to have transited the Strait of Hormuz since the US-Iran ceasefire deal. A Greek-owned bulk carrier and a Liberia-flagged vessel both transited the waterway early on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Israel carried out its heaviest strikes on Lebanon since the conflict with Hezbollah broke out last month, even as the Iran-aligned group paused attacks on northern Israel and Israeli troops in Lebanon under the ceasefire.
Also, Saudi Arabia’s East-West Pipeline, a critical artery bypassing the Strait of Hormuz, was reportedly hit in an Iranian drone attack. Prior to the attack, the pipeline was pumping at its emergency capacity of 7 million barrels per day to bypass the shuttered strait.
The strikes occurred just hours after a US-Iran ceasefire announcement, which has so far failed to halt regional hostilities. Other facilities in the kingdom were also targeted in the wave of strikes, which the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed included oil facilities owned by American companies in Yanbu.
US crude stocks rose by 3.1 million barrels to 464.7 million barrels during the week ended April 3, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The National Insurance Commission has issued new guidelines for the collection, management, and administration of the Insurance Policyholders’ Protection Fund.
In a circular issued to all insurance institutions on Tuesday, the regulator also set May 31, 2026, as the deadline for insurers to submit their assessment returns for the 2025 financial year.
Recall that on August 5, 2025, President Bola Tinubu signed into law the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act ( NIIRA 2025).
This landmark legislation repeals the Insurance Act 2003, and consolidates related provisions, ushering in a modern regulatory framework. It lays a strong foundation for sustainable growth and increased investment in the country’s insurance sector.
The commission said the guidelines were issued in exercise of its powers under the 2025 Act and other existing insurance laws and regulations to provide regulatory clarity, improve guidance, and ensure ease of compliance across the industry.
According to NAICOM, the guidelines establish a comprehensive structure for the operation of the IPPF, which serves as a statutory safety net to protect insurance policyholders in the event of distress or insolvency of a licensed insurer or reinsurer. The framework also provides direction on the reimbursement of loans by insurers and reinsurers.
NAICOM stated, “The guidelines ensure regulatory clarity, guidance and ease of compliance, as it provides a comprehensive regulatory framework for the collection, management, and administration of the Fund, which serves as a statutory safety net designed to protect insurance policyholders against distress and insolvency of a licensed insurer or reinsurer, including guidance for the reimbursement of loans by an insurer or reinsurer.
“Please be informed that the IPPF Assessment Returns in respect of the year 2025 shall be submitted to the Commission not later than 31st May 2026, while subsequent submissions shall be in line with Section 4.3 of the Guideline on Insurance Policyholders Protection Fund.”
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