Economy
Nigeria Loses 4% in Global Market Share of LNG Supply
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria’s plan to grab a profitable chunk in the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) market is suffering a setback as its global share dropped four per cent.
According to the Managing Director of Nigeria LNG Limited, Mr Tony Attah, Nigeria had around 10 per cent supply share 10 years ago but has now lost 4 per cent to 6 per cent.
Mr Attah, speaking at the just-concluded 5th International Conference of the Nigeria Society of Chemical Engineers, explained that the nation moved from the third position to the sixth position in the global supply chart.
“About 10 years ago, we controlled about 10 per cent of the market and number three in the world. But today with the emergence of the shale revolution in the United States and Australia, we have slipped quickly to number five, and again, further down to number six with less than six per cent market share. Nevertheless, I am hoping that train seven will bring us up,” Mr Attah noted.
“However, if you look at the data, we have 200 trillion cubic feet proven reserves (TCF); we have 22 million tonnes per annum capacity that’s less than point 5 per cent of results to capacity ratio analysis.
“Look at Australia, which has 88 million tonnes per annum capacity. This tells me that we can do much more to make a difference in Nigeria and reposition not only our company but also Nigeria and indeed Africa, on the global map,” he added.
“I just want to say a little bit about our performance. Today, we have delivered more than 5,000 LNG cargoes across the world. We have 23 dedicated ships that make the journey day in day out. Nigeria is enabling your economy. Nigeria is enabling your access to energy. Nigeria is enabling you to function.
“We have to date more than 11 billion in asset base and over $108 billion in revenues to our shareholders as expressed upfront with more than $35 billion in dividends delivered but at least $8 billion in taxes to the federal government since we became a taxpayer in 2009.
“Our customers, as I mentioned, proudly describe us as responsible, reliable, and trusted. They are not that many opportunities for Nigeria to be described as such, which is part of our delivering on the vision of helping to build a better Nigeria, starting from the reputation, but also from delivering very reliable energy to the rest of the world.
“Today, we produce about 7.5 billion cubic feet (BCF) of gas on a daily basis. Of that, we as Nigeria LNG take 3.5 BCF almost 40 per cent. The domestic market consumes about 1.5 BCF, which is really just 21 per cent. The industry reinjects about 2.3 BCF much more than is going into the domestic market, which is where the actual national development can happen,” he said further.
“We have said gas is many things to many people. Gas to power will make a big difference in the lives of Nigerians. Today, as we said more than 100 million people have no direct access to power.
“Gas is the bedrock of industrialisation worldwide. Gas to petrochemicals, more than half the things we import today, we can get from gas, gas to agriculture. From fertilizer, you have probably heard of the Dangote fertiliser plant that is being built in Lagos. We can do so much,” Mr Attah disclosed.
He stated further: “That is just too shocking for me to take. I mean, if you benchmark that against the national budget, which is barely $45 billion year-on-year, we are spending by far too much of our forex importing what we already have. But gas is the bedrock for that opportunity if we are to move to the next level of industrialisation.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.24 per cent on Wednesday, December 17, pulling the Unlisted Security Index (NSI) up by 8.62 points to 3,614.64 points from 3,606.02 points.
In the same vein, the market capitalisation added N4.72 billion to close at N2.164 billion compared with the N2.160 trillion it ended on Tuesday.
The growth was inspired by four securities, which finished on the gainers’ log, neutralising the losses printed by two other securities on the trading platform.
MRS Oil Plc gained N17.90 on Wednesday to end at N196.90 per unit versus N179.00 per unit, NASD Plc appreciated by 59 Kobo to N58.50 per share from N57.91 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc added 15 Kobo to sell at N60.19 per unit versus N60.04 per unit, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc rose by 6 Kobo to 64 Kobo per share from 58 Kobo per share.
On the flip side, Golden Capital Plc extended its loss by 76 Kobo to end at N7.75 per unit versus N8.51 per unit, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc slipped by 35 Kobo to N39.65 per share from N40.00 per share.
Yesterday, the volume of transactions increased by 737.3 per cent to 20.4 million units from 2.4 million units, but the value of trades fell by 33.8 per cent to N72.2 million from N109.1 million, and the number of deals slid by 62.5 per cent to 21 deals from 56 deals.
Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units sold for N16.4 billion, the second position was occupied by Okitipupa Plc with 178.9 million units transacted for N9.5 billion, and the third place was taken by MRS Oil Plc with 36.1 million units worth N4.9 billion.
InfraCredit Plc was also the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units traded for N16.4 billion, followed by IGI Plc with 1.2 billion units valued at N420.7 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 536.9 million units worth N524.9 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
A 0.26 per cent growth was achieved by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Wednesday on the back of sustained bargain-hunting by investors.
This happened despite a pocket of profit-taking, with industrial goods losing 0.63 per cent and the energy index shedding 0.05 per cent.
But the insurance space increased by 2.02 per cent, the banking counter appreciated by 1.48 per cent, the commodity sector improved by 0.48 per cent, and the consumer goods segment rose by 0.03 per cent.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 383.71 points to 149,842.82 points from 149,459.11 points and the market capitalisation jumped by N244 billion to N95.525 trillion from N95.281 trillion.
The market breadth index remained positive after the bourse finished with 38 price gainers and 23 price losers, indicating a strong investor sentiment.
The quartet of First Holdco, Lasaco Assurance, Veritas Kapital, and Prestige Assurance gained 10.00 per cent to quote at N39.60, N2.75, N1.76, and N1.65, respectively, while Mecure Industries grew by 9.92 per cent to N50.40.
Conversely, Living Trust Mortgage Bank lost 10.00 per cent to close at N3.15, International Energy Insurance dropped 9.92 per cent to trade at N2.27, McNichols shrank by 6.90 per cent to N2.97, Omatek decreased by 6.84 per cent to N1.09, and Chams dipped by 6.41 per cent to N2.92.
The activity level witnessed a significant surge at midweek, with Ecobank trading 5.3 billion units for N168.7 billion.
Further, First Holdco sold 108.2 million units worth N4.2 billion, Sterling Holdings exchanged 87.3 million units valued at N606.2 million, FCMB transacted 74.3 million units worth N783.6 million, and Access Holdings sold 41.5 million units for N841.4 million.
At the close of trades, market participants traded 5.9 billion units valued at N216.2 billion in 25,205 deals compared with the 1.0 billion units worth N21.8 billion traded in 23,701 deals a day earlier, showing a rise in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 490.00 per cent, 891.74 per cent, and 6.35 per cent, respectively.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira depreciated against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Wednesday, December 17, by N3.67 or 0.25 per cent, closing at N1,455.49/$1, in contrast to Tuesday’s closing price of N1,451.82/$1.
Also, the local currency weakened against the Euro in the official market at midweek by 98 Kobo to close at N1,706.72/€1 versus the previous session’s price of N1,705.74/€1, but improved against the Pound Sterling by 75 Kobo to trade at N1,943.28/£1 compared with the N1,943.98/£1 it traded a day earlier.
At the GTBank forex counter, the Nigerian currency lost N3 against the greenback to finish at N1,463/$1 versus N1,460/$1 and in the parallel market, it remained unchanged at N1,475/$1.
Thin US dollar inflows from exporters, non-bank corporate, foreign portfolio investors and absence of immediate intervention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to strengthen supply triggered fresh pressure.
This is coming off the back of decline in inflows through the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market which decreased to $716.3 million last week from $844.70 million in the previous week , a 15 per cent drop in a week.
The intervention comes as the CBN expect inflows from Detty December to alleviate need for FX demand, but exorbitant local prices may be keeping spending at bay.
Regardless of the seasonal demand, positive FX support for the local currency through 2025 signals a deliberate action to ensure the local currency maintains the trading range amidst growing external reserves. Latest data showed that gross external reserves position advanced to $45.47 billion, reflecting a 11.2 per cent Year-to-Date (YTD) gain.
In the cryptocurrency market, there was selling pressure as traders liquidated positions amid a short-rally, leading Litecoin (LTC) to slip by 5.2 per cent to close at $75.12m, as Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 5.0 per cent to $0.3619, and Dogecoin (DOGE) lost 4.8 per cent to finish at $0.1247.
In addition, Ripple (XRP) depreciated by 4.7 per cent to $1.83, Solana (SOL) crashed by 4.1 per cent to $122.62, Ethereum (ETH) went down by 3.9 per cent to $2,826.62, Binance Coin (BNB) fell by 3.4 per cent to $833.07, and Bitcoin (BTC) tumbled by 0.5 per cent to sell at $86,436.66, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
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