Economy
Nigeria Declares Better Performance for Oil in 2020
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr Timipre Sylva, has declared that the Nigerian oil and gas industry performed better in 2020, attributing it to collaboration among various federal government agencies in the sector.
The Minister said this in Bayelsa at a review meeting with the Permanent Secretary, Directors and chief executives of agencies in the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.
He also expressed optimism that more outstanding results would be recorded in the sector in 2021.
He listed some key achievements of the Nigeria petroleum industry to include the signing of the Final Investment Decision for Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas, NLNG, Train 7 project, the commencement of the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano, AKK, pipeline project, championed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, and implementation of the deregulation of the downstream sector of the petroleum industry, among others.
Other notable accomplishments, the minister stated, included the completion and commissioning of the 17-storey headquarters building of the NCDMB and commissioning of the Waltersmith modular refinery, developed with 30 per cent equity from the NCDMB.
He applauded the performance of the Ministry and its agencies over the past 12 months, stating that they delivered creditably on their respective mandates, despite the challenges imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Also speaking, the Executive Secretary of Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Mr Simbi Kesiye Wabote, commended Mr Sylva for instituting a review meeting for all agencies under the ministry, where they would also plan for the future of the sector.
Giving a scorecard of his agency, Mr Wabote noted that the board had delivered on several initiatives in support of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources’ priorities, one of them being the launch of the NOGTECH Hackathon and Science Technology Innovation Challenge (STIC) as a strategy of developing innovation to address pilferage, sabotage and losses of petroleum products.
Mr Wabote stated that the NCDMB was supporting the goal of the Federal Government to build partnerships on gas flare commercialization programme and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) penetration.
To this end, he noted that the NCDMB was catalysing local manufacturing of 1.2 million composite LPG cylinders per annum in Bayelsa and Lagos State.
He said: “The board is also supporting flare-out projects through Duport Midstream Company’s 300 million standard cubic feet per day (MMscfd) gas gathering hub in Edo and NEDO 110 MMscfd gas processing project in Delta State.
“The board is also supporting the establishment of LPG storage/filling plants in five states and as well as LPG distribution depots in six states.”
On the Ministry’s target to increase crude oil production to three million barrels per day, the Executive Secretary confirmed that NCDMB signed Service Level Agreements, SLA, with the Oil Producers Trade Section, Independent Petroleum Producers Group, IPPG, and Nigeria LNG as a strategy of fast-tracking projects approvals and ease of doing business.
He added that the NCDMB earlier in the year launched the $50 million Nigerian Content Research and Development Fund and Oloibiri Museum and Research Centre in support of enhanced oil recovery.
On the goal of Supporting and Enhancing Cost Reduction, Mr Wabote said: “NCDMB automated its business process and upgraded its NOGICJQS and initiated collaborative interfaces with the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) Customs and Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR).
“Towards increasing domestic refining capacity, NCDMB has so far enabled a combined capacity of 80,000 barrels per day (bpd) modular refining capacity through its investments in Waltermith in Imo, Azikel Refinery in Bayelsa and Duport in Edo States, with other proposals under review.
“NCDMB is also working to achieve the Ministry’s target on job creation and poverty alleviation. On that plane, the board is currently developing three oil and gas parks for manufacturing of oil and gas components, with each expected to create 2,000 jobs opportunities at full operation.
“He added that the board also increased the size of the Nigerian Content Intervention Fund (NCI Fund) from $200 million to $350 million, with additional products on Working Capital and Business Support for Women in Oil & Gas.
“Other initiatives included the Board’s Human Capacity Development programmes to increase employability and incubate entrepreneurs, interventions in vocational education, ICT laboratory among others.”
Also speaking, Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mr Mele Kyari noted that Nigeria is currently one of the most expensive territories in the world for upstream projection, adding, however, that part of the corporation’s mandate was to reduce cost by at least five per cent.
He said: “We have reduced costs substantially and there are a number of interventions. We have set a target for the industry and our partners to bring down the cost of production to at least $10 to a barrel.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
Three bellwether stocks weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.31 per cent on Monday, May 18.
This brought the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 54.71 points to 4,133.70 points from 4,188.41 points, and shrank the market capitalisation by N32.73 billion to N2.473 trillion from N2.506 trillion.
Yesterday, FrieslandCampina Wamco Plc contracted by N12.45 to sell at N146.55 per share compared with last Friday’s closing price of N159.00 per share, Central Securities and Clearing System (CSCS) Plc declined by N2.34 to N70.00 per unit from N72.34 per unit, and NASD Plc lost 50 Kobo to trade at N34.50 per share versus N35.00 per share.
The trio overpowered the N5.56 gained Newrest Asl Plc. This stock ended the trading session at N61.15 per unit, in contrast to the previous session’s N55.59 per unit.
During the trading day, the volume of securities traded by investors slid by 56.1 per cent to 514,142 units from 1.2 million units, and the value of securities dropped 29.8 per cent to close at N17.4 million versus N29.8 million, while the number of deals jumped 12.5 per cent to 27 deals from 24 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 60.8 million units exchanged for N4.1 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.9 million units traded for N1.9 billion.
GNI Plc also ended the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units transacted for N1.2 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was a horrible day for the Nigerian Naira in the different segments of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Monday, May 15, as its value further weakened against the United States Dollar.
In the black market window, the Naira lost N5 against the Dollar yesterday to sell for N1,390/$1 compared with the previous value of N1,385/$1, but at the GTBank forex counter, it remained unchanged at N1,383/$1.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), the Nigerian currency depreciated against the greenback by N2.66 or 0.19 per cent to sell for N1,373.70/$1 compared to last Friday’s rate of N1,371.04/$1.
Equally, it fell against the Pound Sterling in the same market segment by N9.05 to trade at N1,839.66/£1 versus N1,830.61/£1, and lost N5.42 on the Euro to close at N1,600.49/€1 versus N1,595.07/€1.
The performance of the local currency during the session indicates early worries despite all signals pointing to stability, amid improved Dollar sales by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), with steady, higher oil receipts to bolster the nation’s reserves.
Activity at the market showed that turnover rose 57.3 per cent to $76.29 million on Monday from $48.49 million posted on Friday.
Over the weekend, S&P raised Nigeria’s credit ratings for the first time since 2012 and highlighted improved FX market liquidity and $10 billion turnover recorded in April 2026 as one of the major gains of the CBN-led FX reforms.
The agency said the liberalisation of the exchange rate has bolstered access to foreign currency and enabled a market-driven exchange-rate environment while supporting investor and consumer confidence.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was bullish on Monday as investors monitored developments in the Iran conflict and weighed the impact of surging oil prices on inflation and US interest-rate expectations.
Ethereum (ETH) gained 0.7 per cent to trade at $2,134.10, Cardano (ADA) rose by 0.6 per cent to $0.2515, Solana (SOL) expanded by 0.3 per cent to $85.11, Binance Coin (BNB) jumped 0.2 per cent to $643.29, TRON (TRX) increased by 0.03 per cent to $0.3565, and Bitcoin (BTC) advanced by 0.02 per cent to $76,912.12.
On the flip side, Dogecoin (DOGE) slid by 1.5 per cent to $0.1044, and Ripple (XRP) decreased by 0.5 per cent to $1.38, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 apiece.
By Dipo Olowookere
A marginal 0.05 per cent loss was recorded by Customs Street on Monday, as sell-offs by market participants remained.
This was driven by the desire of investors to book profits, having witnessed a significant price appreciation on the stocks in their portfolios.
Yesterday, bargain-hunting in the banking space, which resulted in the sector closing 0.17 per cent higher, could not prevent the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited from going down.
Data showed that the consumer goods segment lost 0.26 per cent, the insurance counter depreciated by 0.20 per cent, the industrial goods index shed 0.09 per cent, and the energy industry retreated by 0.03 per cent.
As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) eased by 126.09 points to 250,204.83 points from 250,330.92 points, and the market capitalisation contracted by N81 billion to N160.363 trillion from N160.444 trillion.
NCR Nigeria and Zichis declined by 9.99 per cent each to sell for N161.20 and N26.49, respectively, Industrial and Medical Gases shrank by 9.93 per cent to N38.10, Sovereign Trust Insurance depreciated by 9.86 per cent to N2.65, and DAAR Communications slipped by 9.78 per cent to N2.03.
On the flip side, Oando gained 10.00 per cent to finish at N51.70, University Press also rose by 10.00 per cent to N5.50, Deap Capital soared by 9.96 per cent to N5.96, May and Baker expanded by 9.94 per cent to N52.00, and Trans-Nationwide Express grew by 9.92 per cent to N7.76.
Yesterday, 800.5 million equities worth N37.1 billion exchanged hands in 87,096 deals compared with the 1.1 billion equities valued at N44.3 billion traded in 65,744 deals last Friday. This showed that the number of deals went up by 32.48 per cent, while the trading volume and value went down by 27.23 per cent and 16.25 per cent, respectively.
The most active stock on the first trading session of this week was UBA with a turnover of 65.0 million units worth N2.8 billion, Fidelity Bank traded 57.3 million units for N1.3 billion, Access Holdings sold 42.3 million units valued at N1.1 billion, DAAR Communications exchanged 36.7 million units for N81.8 million, and Secure Electronic Technology transacted 36.6 million units worth N33.0 million.
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