Economy
Kyari to Highlight PIA Benefits at 2021 African Energy Week
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr Mele Kyari, is set to outline the benefits of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) at the 2021 African Energy Week (AEW) set to hold in Cape Town, South Africa.
At AEW 2021, Nigeria’s delegation will be led by Mr Timipre Sylva, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, while Mr Kyari will lead the discussion on the benefits and opportunities of the PIA.
He will also promote the law, emphasizing how Nigeria will serve as a trend for other resource-rich nations looking to secure international investment.
Nigeria has made significant to reform its oil and gas industry in 2021, with the progressive legislation being passed into law that not only restructures the domestic sector but provides a more attractive investment destination for international players.
With the passing of the act, the country has moved to position and stamp itself as Africa’s top energy market.
The PIA comprises a complete overhaul of the administrative, regulatory and fiscal regime in Nigeria’s energy sector, restructuring key petroleum institutions in order to streamline processes and drive the country’s oil and gas industry expansion.
As the country faces challenges of declining oil production from mature fields, coupled with the reduced capital expenditure climate brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, the PIA aims to enhance the sector’s attractiveness for foreign investment, ensuring a market-driven regulatory environment that will accelerate the country’s industry developments.
Notable regulatory reforms implemented through the PIA include the creation of a new upstream regulator, the commission, which has replaced the Department of Petroleum Resources; the creation of a new Nigerian midstream and downstream petroleum regulatory authority; and the complete overhaul of the NNPC – to be replaced by the NNPC Limited which will operate on a commercial basis without government funding.
Accordingly, Nigeria has placed transparency at the centre of its reforms. Additionally, fiscal reforms include the reduction in the taxation and royalty-take of new/converted licenses from the prior regime; and the introduction of a hydrocarbon tax – to replace the existing petroleum profits tax.
By incentivising investment, the government is focused on accelerating development across the entire energy sector value chain.
With over 200 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves and 36 billion barrels of oil, Nigeria is well-positioned to become a global energy player. Now, with a regulatory environment that places an emphasis on stability and transparency, the country is bound to see an influx in foreign capital and international company participation.
Speaking on the development, Mr NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber (AEC) said, “Nigeria has set an incredibly high standard for other African countries. By implementing a complete regulatory, fiscal, and industry overhaul, introducing key institutions and streamlining sectoral regulations, the government has positioned Nigeria as Africa’s most attractive energy sector. the passing of the PIA is exceptional.
“This piece of legislature will usher in a new wave of investment and international participation in the Nigerian sector, and the government should be commended on this achievement. In Cape Town, we are looking forward to Mele Kyari going into detail on the benefits that the passing of the PIA will bring to the country.
“Kyari will advise on the NNPC restructuring, directly engage with investors, and promote the significant opportunities brought about by the PIA.”
AEW 2021, in partnership with South Africa’s Department of Mineral Resources and Energy DMRE, is the AEC’s annual conference, exhibition and networking event. The event unites African energy stakeholders with investors and international partners to drive industry growth and development and promote Africa as the destination for energy investments.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Crude production under the collective Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC ) fell in May to its lowest level in at least 37 years as the blockade of Iran by the United States and disruptions in the Persian Gulf, continued to limit output.
According to a Bloomberg survey released on Friday, output from the organisation’s 11 current members, including Nigeria, dropped by 1.22 million barrels per day to 16.33 million barrels per day last month.
Iran accounted for more than half of the decline. The data excludes the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which departed the cartel last month after six decades of membership.
War between a US-Israeli alliance and Iran has reduced oil supplies from the Middle East, largely closing the Strait of Hormuz waterway. Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the UAE and Kuwait have been forced to cut crude production. Iranian shipments face additional pressure following a US blockade of its ports imposed in mid-April.
Iranian output fell by 710,000 barrels per day to a five-year low of 2.34 million barrels per day in May, the survey showed. Central Command reported that US forces have redirected 127 commercial vessels to enforce the blockade of all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports.
Kuwait recorded the second-largest decline last month, with production falling by 310,000 barrels per day to 490,000 barrels per day, less than one-fifth of pre-war levels. Saudi Arabia, the group’s leader, saw output decrease by 240,000 barrels per day to 6.57 million barrels per day.
The production reductions have not prevented OPEC and its allies from raising quotas over recent months, continuing a year-long process of restoring output halted several years ago.
This comes ahead of a meeting scheduled to be held on Sunday, June 7, where a sub-group of seven members is expected to increase targets by 188,000 barrels again in July. The session is one of four online meetings OPEC and its partners plan to hold that day.
Delegates indicated the alliance has plans for two additional monthly quota increases in August and September. UAE output rose by 300,000 barrels per day to 2.44 million barrels per day in May, according to the survey.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The 2025 third quarter Budget Implementation Report from the Budget Office of the Federation has shown that the federal government exceeded the funds allocation for repayment of debts for the first nine months of the fiscal year by about 18 per cent.
In a report by Punch, the sum of N10.74 trillion was budgeted for debt servicing between January and September 2025, but the government used N12.63 trillion for the purpose, N1.90 trillion or 17.65 per cent more than the allocation for the year.
The funds were spent on domestic debts, foreign debts and sinking fund by the central government in nine months.
Business Post reports that for the whole year, the amount approved by the National Assembly and signed by President Bola Tinubu for debt repayments was N14.31 trillion.
Looking at the nine-month figures, domestic debt service gulped N6.23 trillion, exceeding its N5.39 trillion provision, while foreign debt service was N6.30 trillion versus the budget provision of N5.06 trillion.
According to the report, the figures indicated that 67.2 per cent of the federal government’s retained revenue of N18.63 trillion was spent on debt service in the first nine months of 2025. When the sinking fund is included, debt-related payments consumed about 67.8 per cent of revenue.
It was also observed that aggregate federal government revenue underperformed the budget by N12.03 trillion or 39.24 per cent, as actual revenue of N18.63 trillion fell short of the N30.67 trillion projected for the first three quarters.
In the third quarter alone, the government generated N7.70 trillion versus the quarterly target of N10.22 trillion as a result of persistent oil revenue shortfalls, despite stronger non-oil collections.
The debt burden also crowded out capital spending, as total capital expenditure was N3.10 trillion in the first nine months compared with the N17.58 trillion budgeted for the period, indicating that actual debt-related payments were more than four times capital expenditure.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a loss of 1.13 per cent on Thursday, June 4, shrinking the market capitalisation by N30.03 billion to N2.630 trillion from N2.660 trillion on Wednesday.
Similarly, this brought down the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 50.19 points to 4,396.08 points from the 4,446.27 points recorded a day earlier.
The loss was influenced by the overpowering of the bulls by the bears, after the bourse closed with two price gainers and three price losers, led by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which slumped by N20.03 to sell at N190.38 per unit compared with midweek’s N210.41 per unit. Food Concepts Plc declined by 25 Kobo to trade at N2.50 per share versus the previous day’s N3.00 per share, and Acorn Petroleum Plc crumbled by 2 Kobo to end at N1.32 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N1.34 per unit.
For the gainers, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc added N2.93 to close at N78.34 per share compared with the previous price of N75.41 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc gained 80 Kobo to settle at N16.80 per unit versus N16.00 per unit.
There was a slip in the volume of transactions yesterday by 46.8 per cent to 280,714 units from 527,221 units, as the value of trades dropped 66.5 per cent to N21.8 million from the preceding session’s N64.2 million, and the number of deals fell by 8.7 per cent to 42 deals from 46 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc ended the session as the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 64.7 million units traded for N4.4 billion.
GNI Plc also finished the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units exchanged for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
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