Economy
Nigeria’s Gas Output Rises 3.5% to 156.95 BSCF in June 2024
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria’s gas output for June 2024 rose by 3.5 per cent to 156.952 billion standard cubic feet (BSCF) from the 151.632 billion SCF recorded in the previous month (May 2024).
According to gas production data released by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited in its Gas Production and Utilisation Report for June 2024, Associated Gas (AG) accounted for 103.158 billion SCF of gas, representing 65.73 per cent of the country’s total output, while Non-Associated Gas (NAG) accounted for 34.27 per cent of total gas output with 53.794 billion SCF.
Of the total gas output, NNPC noted that 147.634 billion SCF of gas was utilised in the month under review, representing 94.1 per cent of the total gas output, while 9.263 billion SCF of gas, representing 5.9 per cent, was flared.
Giving a breakdown of the volume of gas utilised, the national oil firm stated that 65.776 billion SCF, representing 41.91 per cent of the commodity was used by the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG); domestic sales by the Nigerian Gas Company (NGC) and others stood at 21.598 billion SCF, representing 14 per cent of the total; while 9.527 billion SCF, 2.957 billion SCF and 1.501 billion SCF were utilised as fuel gas, by the Escravos Gas-to-Liquid (EGTL) project, and as Natural Gas Liquid/Liquefied Petroleum Gas (NGL/LPG).
In addition, 29.48 per cent of the total gas output, which is 46.267 billion SCF was reinjected and used as gas lift make-up in the month under review; while 9.263 billion SCF of gas was flared, rising by 0.42 per cent compared with 9.224 billion SCF recorded in May 2024.
The NNPC reported that Shell Nigeria recorded the highest gas output in the month under review, with 37.161 billion SCF of the commodity, comprising 2.845 billion SCF of associated gas and 34.316 billion SCF of non-associated gas.
Total Energies followed with 21.021 billion SCF of gas, with associated gas accounting for 10.952 billion SCF and non-associated gas accounting for 10.070 billion SCF; Mobil recorded 20.584 billion SCF of gas; Chevron Nigeria – 19.538 billion SCF; Star Deep Water’s Agbami Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel 12.661 billion SCF and Total Upstream’s Akpo FPSO – 11.618 billion SCF of gas.
Furthermore, the state oil firm identified the worst offenders in terms of gas flaring in June 2024 including Nigerian Petroleum Development Company/Seplat Petroleum Development Company (NPDC/SPDC) Joint Venture (JV), who flared 100 per cent of their 82 million SCF of gas output, while Seplat also flared 100 per cent of its 108 million SCF gas output.
NPDC-CNL JV produced 208 million SCF of gas and flared 97 per cent of its total output; Enageed (Oil Mining Lease 148) flared 96.97 per cent of its 117 million SCF of gas output; while First Exploration and Production (E&P) Company flared 81 per cent of its 691 million SCF of gas output.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange closed flat on Wednesday, August 5, as the market witnessed weaker trading activity with only two deals executed.
In the midweek session, the volume of securities exchanged by investors dropped 99.9 per cent to 802 units from the 1.6 million units recorded on Tuesday. The value of securities further decreased by 99.6 per cent to N208,240 from the preceding session’s N47.6 million, and the number of deals significantly went down by 93.9 per cent to two deals from the 33 deals recorded a day earlier.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained 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 Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc with 76.9 million units transacted for N5.5 billion.
GNI Plc was also the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units exchanged for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million.
There were no price gainers or losers yesterday.
As a result, the market capitalisation stood unmoving at N2.739 trillion, while the NASD Security Index (NSI) remained unchanged at 4,563.96 points.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira slid against the US Dollar by N2.28 or 0.17 per cent in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Wednesday, August 5, to N1,363.85/$1 from N1,362.55/$1.
The local currency also declined against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N5.97 to close at N1,837.38/£1 compared with Tuesday’s closing rate of N1,831.41/£1, and against the Euro, it crashed by N6.54 to quote at N1,575.25/€1 versus the preceding session’s N1,568.71/€1.
But at the black market, the Nigerian Naira traded flat against the greenback yesterday at N1,400/$1, and also remained unchanged at the GTBank FX desk at N1,373/$1.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says rates have narrowed to below two per cent, while the country’s external reserves have risen above $52.5 billion, reflecting the impact of its ongoing monetary and foreign exchange reforms.
CBN Governor Yemi Cardoso, represented by the Acting Director of Corporate Communications and Investor Relations, Mrs Hakama Sidi-Ali, disclosed this on Tuesday during the CBN Fair in Gombe. He noted that reforms introduced since 2023 had significantly reduced the disparity between the official FX market and the parallel market.
“The Naira continues to strengthen, with the spread between official and Bureau de Change rates now below two per cent,” he said, adding that reserves at $52.5 billion were supported by sustained inflows and renewed investor confidence in the economy.
Interbank FX transactions slid as weaker market activities dropped total Dollar volume exchanged to $75.35 million, a 51.8 per cent decline from $156.23 million in turnover quoted at the previous close.
The deals at the NFEM window also fell as data from the central bank put Wednesday’s quote at 82 from 139.
In the cryptocurrency market, major were down as global risk sentiment softened as a key world equity index slipped and chipmakers fell.
The MSCI All Country World Index snapped a five-day run to fall 0.2 per cent as chipmakers retreated on both sides of the Pacific. South Korea’s Kospi, a bellwether for the AI trade, dropped 4.4 per cent.
Ripple (XRP) depleted by 1.7 per cent to $1.05, Binance Coin (BNB) decreased by 1.0 per cent to $594.87, Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 0.9 per cent to $0.1884, TRON (TRX) shrank by 0.2 per cent to $0.3261, Solana (SOL) crumbled by 0.1 per cent to $74.00, and Dogecoin (DOGE) went down by 0.1 per cent to $0.0697.
On the flip side, Ethereum (ETH) gained 2.3 per cent to trade at $1,911.41, and Bitcoin (BTC) rose by 0.8 per cent to $64,759.28, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.
By Dipo Olowookere
The domestic stock exchange rebounded by 0.05 per cent on Wednesday on the back of renewed bargain-hunting by investors, though the level of activity waned.
After bleeding for a few days, the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited heaved a sigh of relief yesterday, as the All-Share Index (ASI) gained 109.41 points to close at 244,912.24 points compared with the previous day’s 244,802.83 points, and the market capitalisation garnered N71 billion to settle at N158.087 trillion versus Tuesday’s N158.016 trillion.
Business Post reports that despite the rebound recorded by Customs Street at midweek, the market breadth index remained negative, as there were 20 price advancers and 29 price decliners, implying bearish investor sentiment.
Linkage Assurance appreciated by 9.94 per cent to N1.77, AVA Capital rose by 9.55 per cent to N10.90, Fortis Global Insurance advanced by 7.69 per cent to N2.80, McNichols gained 7.34 per cent to finish at N5.85, and Coronation Insurance surged by 5.51 per cent to N2.49.
Conversely, Honeywell Flour depreciated by 9.94 per cent to N16.30, PZ Cussons gave up 9.94 per cent to trade at N74.75, Zichis crashed by 9.74 per cent to N20.76, Learn Africa slipped by 9.62 per cent to N9.40, and Neimeth tumbled by 8.33 per cent to N8.25.
The busiest equity was FCMB, with a turnover of 369.2 million units valued at N4.1 billion. Chams transacted 46.7 million units worth N201.8 million, First Holdco transacted 43.5 million units for N5.7 billion, Access Holdings sold 29.8 million units worth N778.0 million, and Linkage Assurance exchanged 19.6 million units valued at N33.5 million.
At the close of transactions, market participants bought and sold 824.1 million units worth N25.5 billion in 48,114 deals, in contrast to the 1.6 billion units sold for N28.7 billion in 54,160 deals a day earlier, showing a shortfall in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 48.49 per cent, 11.15 per cent, and 11.16 per cent, respectively.
