Economy
Nigerian Content Intervention Fund Exceeds $500m
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has said the Nigerian Content Intervention Fund has exceeded half a billion dollars.
This was disclosed by the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Mr Simbi Wabote, while speaking at the Sub-Saharan African International Petroleum Conference (SAIPEC) organised in Lagos by the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN).
He indicated that the NCI Fund which is extended as low-cost credit to qualified oil and gas companies covers asset acquisition, project financing, manufacturing, working capital, loan refinancing, women in oil and gas, and research and development.
The NCI Fund is a component of the Nigerian Content Development Fund, NCDF which is accumulated through one per cent deductions from contracts awarded in the upstream sector of the oil and gas industry.
Mr Wabote added that the Board is using the NCDF to catalyse the construction of modular refineries, gas processing plants, LPG terminals and bottling plants, LPG Cylinders manufacturing plants, lube oil blending plants, base oil production plant, methanol production plant, and many others.
He canvassed that a similar fund replicated at the continental level and be utilised to develop huge mega oil and gas projects, particularly as world financial institutions were getting reluctant to finance hydrocarbon-related projects.
He said: “let me use this opportunity to once again canvass for the creation of an African Local Content Fund that could be utilised to set up a bank or finance institution to provide funding for the development of oil and gas projects in Africa.
“This is especially important against the backdrop of the reluctance and outright declaration by some banks and financial institutions to stop funding of hydrocarbon-related projects. I hope the Afrexim Bank, AfDB, or the AU through the AfCFTA Secretariat need to institute a form of contribution, no matter how little, as a fund to support the continent’s need for funds.”
He explained that “in our own case, the deduction of one per cent of every contract awarded to any contractor, subcontractor, alliance partner or any other entity involved in any project, operation, activity, or transaction in the upstream sector of the Nigeria oil and gas industry has resulted in us having a pool of funds to support various intervention programmes.”
Speaking further, the Executive Secretary described the recent spike in crude oil prices above $90 a barrel as an excellent opportunity for African oil producers and its service providers to develop new fields, ensure the security of supply and affordability as well as increase revenue generation.
He noted that the price of crude oil has increased by 50 per cent in 12 months and African oil producers should use the opportunity to also make plans towards energy transition and lowering the cost of services.
Mr Wabote stated that an enabling regulatory framework backed with the appropriate legislation is very fundamental in Local Content practice and commended African oil producers for putting in place investor-friendly laws to promote the oil and gas industry as well as ongoing collaboration among the countries to advance the local content journey.
He noted that such laws will align with the goals of the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement, AFCFTA which seeks to create the world’s largest free trade area by integrating 1.3 billion people across 54 African countries, with the objective of tapping into a combined Gross Domestic Product, GDP of over $3 trillion.
He described AFCFTA as the practice of Local Content on the continental level, noting that it is a huge trading and collaboration platform for the participating countries.
The NCDMB boss harped on the need for African oil producers to utilise existing cross-border infrastructures to unlock the development of stranded assets or bring energy closer to the people. He mentioned that the existing West Africa Gas Pipeline, WAGP and ongoing AKK gas transmission infrastructure provide a good opportunity to serve regional markets.
He also pointed out that the SHI-MCI yard in Lagos which is the only FPSO integration yard infrastructure in Africa has put Nigeria at a vantage position to serve the wider African market.
In his remarks, the Chairman, PETAN, Mr Nicholas Odinuwe advocated for regional collaboration and innovation to enhance the future of the energy sector.
He disclosed that the key enabler for the continent is to create a collaborative ecosystem between the local industry stakeholders alongside the African Continental Free Trade Area, AfCFTA.
Mr Odinuwe encouraged governments across Africa to provide necessary incentives to attract private sector investments across the entire value chain which would trigger a massive economic revolution, human capital development, and deepen local content across the continent.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The United Arab Emirates has announced its decision to quit the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to focus on national interests.
This dealt a heavy blow to the oil-exporting group at a time when the US-Israel war on Iran had caused a historic energy shock and rattled the global economy.
The move, which will take effect on May 1, 2026, reflects “the UAE’s long-term strategic and economic vision and evolving energy profile”, a statement carried by state media said on Tuesday.
“During our time in the organisation, we made significant contributions and even greater sacrifices for the benefit of all,” it added. “However, the time has come to focus our efforts on what our national interest dictates.”
The loss of the UAE, a longstanding OPEC member, could create disarray and weaken the oil cartel, which has usually sought to show a united front despite internal disagreements over a range of issues from geopolitics to production quotas.
UAE Energy Minister Suhail Mohamed al-Mazrouei said the decision was taken after a careful look at the regional power’s energy strategies.
“This is a policy decision. It has been done after a careful look at current and future policies related to the level of production,” the minister said.
OPEC’s Gulf producers have already been struggling to ship exports through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow chokepoint between Iran and Oman through which a fifth of the world’s crude oil and liquefied natural gas supplies normally pass, because of threats and attacks against vessels during the war.
The UAE had been a member of OPEC first through its emirate of Abu Dhabi in 1967 and later when it became its own country in 1971.
The oil cartel, based in Vienna, has seen some of its market power wane as the US has increased its production of crude oil in recent years.
Additionally, the UAE and Saudi Arabia have increasingly competed over economic issues and regional politics, particularly in the Red Sea area.
The two countries had joined a coalition to fight against Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis in 2015. However, that coalition broke down into recriminations in late December when Saudi Arabia bombed what it described as a weapons shipment bound for Yemeni separatists backed by the UAE.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc bested four price decliners on the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on Monday, April 27. The alternative stock market opened the week bullish during the session with a 0.03 per cent uptick.
According to data, the security depository company added N2.61 to its share price to close at N76.26 per unit compared with the preceding session’s N78.87 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation of the platform increased by N820 million to N2.425 trillion from N2.424 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) gained 1.38 points to finish at 4,053.97 points compared with the 4,052.58 points it ended last Friday.
The four price losers were led by NASD Plc, which slumped by N3.80 to sell at N34.70 per share versus N38.50 per share. FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc fell by N1.45 to N98.10 per unit from N99.55 per unit, Food Concepts Plc slid by 27 Kobo to N2.43 per share from N2.70 per share, and Geo-Fluids Plc dipped by 9 Kobo to N2.91 per unit from N3.00 per unit.
The value of securities transacted by market participants went down by 82.0 per cent to N7.4 million from N41.3 million units, the volume of securities declined by 28.5 per cent to 319,831 units from 447,403 units, and the number of deals dropped by 34.1 per cent to 29 deals from 44 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.6 million units sold for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.
Also, GNI Plc was the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units traded for N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with a turnover of 400 million units worth N1.2 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The first trading day of the week in the currency market was bearish for the Naira in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Monday, April 27.
Yesterday, it lost N5.80 or 0.43 per cent against the United States Dollar to trade at N1,364.24/$1, in contrast to the N1,358.44/$1 it was traded last Friday.
In the same vein, the Nigerian currency depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market by N13.70 to close at N1,847.72/£1 versus the preceding session’s N1,834.02/£1, and slumped against the Euro by N11.56 to sell at N1,602.29/€1 versus N1,590.73/€1.
Also, the Nigerian Naira tumbled against the greenback during the trading day by N5 to quote at N1,385/$1 compared with the previous rate of N1,380/$1, and at the GTBank FX desk, it traded flat at N1,370/$1.
The poor performance of the domestic currency could be attributed to liquidity shortage at the official currency market on Monday, which came amid surging demand for international payments. At $76.50 million, interbank liquidity printed higher across 79 deals, up from the $43.572 million reported on Friday.
Nigeria’s gross external reserves declined to $48.45 billion amid a month-long decline in inflows, amid uncertainties in the global commodity market. The depletion of foreign reserves could be partly attributed to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s intervention in the FX market.
The market remains perturbed by persistent concerns over liquidity constraints, policy transparency, and weakening confidence in Nigeria’s FX market, while boosters, including oil prices, continue to look rocky due to stalled discussions and unclear ceasefire negotiations between the US and Iran.
A look at the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin (BTC) has been rejected near $79,000 three times in eight sessions, leaving the level as the de facto ceiling of its current trading range even as major cryptocurrencies trade lower over the past day. It lost 0.9 per cent to sell at $77,003.61.
Analysts say that upcoming US Federal Reserve policy decisions and top tech firms’ earnings this week could provide the catalyst to push bitcoin decisively above $80,000.
The market also continued to weigh Iran’s interim deal proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which failed to advance over the weekend. The White House said US officials were discussing the latest Iranian proposal but maintained “red lines” on any deal to end the eight-week war.
Solana (SOL) dropped 1.8 per cent to $84.25, Ripple (XRP) went down by 1.6 per cent to $1.39, Ethereum (ETH) depreciated by 1.3 per cent to $2,290.00, Binance Coin (BNB) declined by 0.5 per cent to $625.18, and Cardano (ADA) fell by 0.2 per cent to $0.2480.
However, Dogecoin (DOGE) rose by 2.0 per cent to $0.1002, and TRON (TRX) appreciated by 0.2 per cent to $0.3242, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.
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