Economy
Kyari Claims Nigeria’s Crude Oil Production Nears 1.7 million Barrels Daily
By Adedapo Adesanya
The chief executive of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Mr Mele Kyari, has claimed that Nigeria’s crude oil production is nearing 1.7 million barrels per day.
He said this when he addressed stakeholders at an engagement between the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists and the NNPC in Lagos on Saturday.
According to him, 1.7 million barrels per day was a boost from the 1.28 million barrels reported in April, noting that oil theft and vandalism were responsible for the decline in output in the country.
“How do you increase oil production? Remove the security challenge we have in our onshore assets. As we all know, the security challenge is real. It is not just about theft, it is about the availability of the infrastructure to deliver the volume to the market.
“No one will put money into oil production when he knows the production will not get to the market. In two years, we removed over 5,800 illegal connections from our pipelines. We took down over 600 illegal refineries – cooking pots or whatever they were. You simply cannot get people to put money until you solve that problem,” he stated.
Due to pipeline vandalism, Mr Kyari said everyone resorted to barging, with some spending $21 to transport a barrel of oil to the terminals.
“Barging is not normal. Barging is not economical, even trucking. In 1991, we didn’t think of barging, even to put oil on the trucks. But that’s what we are doing today,” he stated.
However, Mr Kyari disclosed, “The good news is, there is substantial work being done by the government and I’m not going to speak about it. But I know that this will come to pass. It’s already subsiding. We are already seeing the results.
“As of today’s data, we’re inching to 1.7 million barrels per day. We won’t celebrate this. On April 17, 2020, our production, without doing anything, without drilling new wells, shot to 2.2 million barrels per day. The difference was COVID-19. The thieves, the vandals, everybody went to sleep.
“We should be able to take control of this infrastructure. We are doing many things. I am very sure things are changing, which is why we are seeing the new value coming to the table. Production will improve”.
However, Mr Kyari’s stance contradicts numbers presented in the latest Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR) by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries for May 2024, which said the country’s crude oil production remains at 1.2 million barrels per day based on direct sources.
Based on recent numbers, OPEC said production was at 1.2 million barrels per day, however, it improved to 1.3 million barrels per day by the fourth quarter and remained so until March 2024 when it dropped to 1.2 million barrels per day. Based on this, it shows that production is yet to attain 1.7 million barrels per day, according to OPEC’s statistics.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Six price gainers helped the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange retain its stay in green territory after a 0.23 per cent appreciation on Thursday, February 26.
The price gainers were led by Nipco Plc, which added N25.00 to close at N278.00 per share compared with the previous day’s N253.00 per share, NASD Plc rose by N5.13 to N56.41 per unit versus N51.28 per unit, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc expanded by N2.24 to N102.44 per share from N100.00 per share, Afriland Properties Plc grew by 88 Kobo to N18.88 per unit from N18.00 per unit, 11 Plc increased by 35 Kobo to N277.00 per share from N276.65 per share, and Lagos Building Investment Company (LBIC) Plc gained 27 Kobo to close at N3.75 per unit versus N3.48 per unit.
On the flip side, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc lost N1.75 to sell at N68.25 per share versus N70.00 per share, and Geo-Fluids Plc depreciated by 2 Kobo to N3.25 per unit from N3.27 per unit.
The weight of the advancers fortified the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 9.21 points to 4,034.46 points from 4,025.25 points, and the market capitalisation soared by N5.51 billion to N2.413 trillion from Wednesday’s N2.408 trillion.
Yesterday, the transaction value jumped by 18.8 per cent to N102.8 million from N80.7 million, and the number of deals surged by 18,8 per cent to 38 deals from 32 deals, while the transaction volume went down by 84.9 per cent to 1.3 million units from 8.7 million units.
At the close of business, CSCS Plc was the most traded stock by value (year-to-date) with 34.2 million units worth N2.04 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 6.3 million units sold for N1.1 billion, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 122.1 million units valued at N478.2 million.
Resourcery Plc remained as the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 1.05 billion units exchanged for N408.7 million, trailed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 122.1 million worth N478.2 million, and CSCS Plc with 34.2 million units traded for N2.04 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira further weakened against the Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) for the fourth straight session this week on Thursday, February 26.
At the official market yesterday, the Nigerian Naira lost N3.71 or 0.27 per cent to trade at N1,359.82/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,356.11/$1.
In the same vein, the local currency depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the same market window on Thursday by N8.27 to close at N1,843.23/£1 versus Wednesday’s closing price of N1,834.96/£1, and against the Euro, it crashed by N8.30 to quote at N1,606.89/€1, in contrast to the midweek’s closing price of N1,598.59/€1.
But at the GTBank forex desk, the exchange rate of the Naira to the Dollar remained unchanged at N1,367/$1, and also at the parallel market, it maintained stability at N1,365/$1.
The continuation of the decline of the Nigerian currency is attributed to a surge in foreign payments that have outpaced the available Dollars in the FX market.
In a move to address the ongoing shortfall at the official window, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) intervened by selling $100 million to banks and dealers on Tuesday.
However, the FX support failed to reverse the trend, though analysts see no cause for alarm, given that the authority recently mopped up foreign currency to achieve balance and it is still within the expected trading range of N1,350 and N1,450/$1.
As for the cryptocurrency market, major tokens posted losses over the last 24 hours as traders continued to de-risk alongside equities following Nvidia’s earnings-driven pullback, with Ripple (XRP) down by 2.7 per cent to $1.40, and Dogecoin (DOGE) down by 1.6 per cent to $0.0098.
Further, Litecoin (LTC) declined by 1.3 per cent to $55.87, Ethereum (ETH) slipped by 0.9 per cent to $2,036.89, Bitcoin (BTC) tumbled by 0.7 per cent to $67,708.21, Cardano (ADA) slumped by 0.6 per cent to $0.2924, and Solana (SOL) depreciated by 0.4 per cent to $87.22, while Binance Coin (BNB) gained 0.4 per cent to sell for $629.95, with the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closing flat at $1.00 each.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Crude oil settled lower on Thursday as investors tracked developments in talks between the United States and Iran over the latter’s nuclear programme, weighing potential supply concerns if hostilities escalate.
Brent crude futures lost 10 cents or 0.14 per cent to close at $70.75 a barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures depreciated by 21 cents or 0.32 per cent to $65.21 a barrel.
The US and Iran held indirect talks in Geneva on Thursday over their long-running nuclear dispute to avert a conflict after US President Donald Trump ordered a military build-up in the region.
Prices had gained earlier in the session after media reports indicated the talks had stalled over US insistence on zero enrichment of uranium by Iran, as well as a demand for the delivery of all 60 per cent-enriched uranium to the US.
However, prices then retreated after the two countries extended talks into next week, reducing the immediate strike potential.
Iran’s Foreign Minister, who confirmed talks will continue next week, said Thursday’s talks were the most serious exchanges with the US yet, saying Iran clearly laid out its demand for lifting sanctions and the process for relief.
His counterpart from Oman, who is handling the talks, said significant progress was made in Thursday’s talks. The Omani minister’s upbeat assessment followed indirect talks between Iranian Foreign Minister and US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Geneva, with one session in the morning and the second in the afternoon.
He will also hold talks with US Vice President JD Vance and other US officials in Washington on Friday.
The Trump administration has insisted that Iran’s ballistic missile program and its support for armed groups in the region must be part of the negotiations.
The American President said on February 19 that Iran must make a deal in 10 to 15 days, warning that “really bad things” would otherwise happen.
On Tuesday, he briefly laid out his case for a possible attack on Iran in his State of the Union speech, underlining that while he preferred a diplomatic solution, he would not allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon.
Meanwhile, the US continues to amass forces in the Middle Eastern region, with the military saying it is prepared to execute orders given by the US President.
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