Economy

Nigeria’s Oil Production Grew 9% to 2.09m Barrels in 2018

Published

6 years ago

03/01/2019

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr Maikanti Baru, has said the nation’s crude oil daily production recorded an upward swing of about 2.09 million barrels in outgone 2018, translating to a 9 percent increment, compared with the 2017 average daily production of 1.86 million barrels.

Pitched against the low-level daily crude oil production in 2016 and what obtains now, Mr Baru said the nation had maintained a line of consistent year-on-year improvement.

For the crude oil increment and other milestones recorded by NNPC in the outgone 2018, Mr Baru, who made the submission in a comprehensive end of year message to staff of the corporation, touted the new business models his team has emplaced in the national oil company’s old and new business entitles as raison d’être for the giant strides.

A release in Abuja by NNPC Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Mr Ndu Ughamadu, said the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), Nigerian Gas Company (NGC), Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC), Duke Oil, NIDAS and Integrated Data Services Limited (IDSL), were among the re-engineered companies listed by the NNPC GMD in his statement.

Mr Ughamadu said the GMD singled out NPDC, the corporation’s Upstream flagship company, as the major contributor to the Industry’s success story in 2018, expressing enthusiasm on the 52 percent daily crude oil production growth by the company vis-à-vis its 2017 performance.

Mr Baru in the end-of-year statement explained that the average production from NPDC’s operated assets alone grew from an average of 108,000 of oil per day (bod) in 2017 to 165,000bod in 2018, describing the feat as the strongest production growth within the Oil Industry in recent times, even as he added that it was worth being celebrated.

The GMD said NPDC’s equity production share which stands at 172,000bod, representing about 8 per cent of national daily production, was no less impressive, saying the desired results are outcomes of initiatives his Management team emplaced, among which, he noted, are the Asset Management Tea (AMT) structure, Strategic Financing, Units Autonomy and security architecture framework.

Of the Industry milestones in the outgone year, Mr Baru described the 200,000bop addition which the Egina Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO), completed and sailed away to location in August last year, added to nation’s daily production, even as he disclosed that the project achieved First Oil at 11.20pm on December 29, 2018.

In end-of-year statement, the release by the NNPC spokesman stated the NNPC GMD relayed to staff, a save of $1.7 billion dollars by NNPC, with corporation’s Joint Venture (JV) partners over a five-year tenor repayment plan, saying already the corporation has defrayed $1.5 billion of the arrears.

Mr Baru made the promise that NNPC would stick to the Repayment Agreement with the JV Partners while transiting to self-funding IJV modes with the corporations partners, saying that tiding up the Cash Call issues has led to increased commitment and enthusiasm to invest in Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry even as it has also boosted NNPC’s credit profile internationally.

Mr Baru concluded the achievements of NNPC in the Upstream sector by listing other milestones achieved by his team to include: reduction in contracting cycle for Upstream Operations to nine months from an average of 24, even as the corporation targets a six months cycle; lowering of production cost from $27/barrel to $22/barrel; and improving on the security situation in the Niger Delta through constructive engagement and dialogue with relevant stakeholders.

He revealed that in the frontier basins, NNPC has intensified explorations activities in the Benue Trough, with the expected spudding of Kolmani River Well 2 on January 19, 2019, explaining that activities would resume in the Chad Basin as soon as there is a greenlight on the security situation in the enclave.

In the Midstream, the NNPC GMD stated that in 2018, Nigeria achieved an average national daily gas production of 7.90bscf, translating to 3 percent above the 2017 average daily gas production of 7.67bscf.

He said out of the 7.90bscf produced in 2018, an average of 3.32bscfd (42 percent) was supplied to the Export market, 2.5bscfd (32 percent) for Reinjection/Fuel Gas, 1.3bscfd (16 percent) was supplied to the domestic market and about 783mmscfd (10 percent) was flared.

The GMD stated that out of the 1.3bscfd supplied to the domestic market, an average of 71mmscfd went to the Power Sector, while 470mmscfd was supplied to the Industries and the balance of 69mmscf delivered to the West African Market through the West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP).

Dr. Baru said NNPC would bridge the medium-term domestic gas supply deficit by 2020 through the corporation’s Seven Critical Gas Development Projects (&CGDPS), adding that a reputable Project Management consulting firm is collaborating with an NNPC team to achieve accelerated implementation of the projects.

He assured that full implementation of the project would boost domestic gas supply from about 1.5bscf/d to 5bscf/d by 2020, with a corresponding 500 percent increase in power generation and stimulation of gas-based industrialization.

Mr Baru said all existing power plants in the country now had a permanent gas supply pipeline infrastructure, even as he stressed that the corporation would continue to expand and integrate its gas pipeline network system to meet increasing domestic gas demand.

He listed key gas pipeline infrastructure projects on which, he noted, significant progress had been made in their execution to include: Escravos-Lagos Pipeline System (ELPS II), Obiafu/Obrikom-Oben (OB3), Odidi-Warri Expansion Pipeline (OWEP), Trans Nigeria Pipeline Project (TNGP) – Ajaokuta-Kaduan-Kano (AKK) Pipeline, Trans Nigeria Pipeline Project (TNGP) and Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline (NGMP) Project.

In the Midstream Refinery Sub-sector, Mr Baru regretted that the nation’s three refineries had not undergone Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) for an aggregate of 42 years combined.

Despite the challenge, he explained that major rehabilitation works were carried out in all the three refineries, saying, WRPC has its Distribution Control System (DCS) successfully upgraded, PHRC had major interventions in Fluid Catalytic Cracking Unit (FCCU) and Power Plant Unit (PPU) fixed, while KRPC was undergoing major repairs of its FCCU, Catalytic Reforming Unit (CRU) and Crude Distillation Unit 2 (CDU2).

He noted that efforts were afoot to get the original builders of the refineries to carry out TAM on them after securing favourable private funding for the exercise.

In the Downstream Sector, Mr Baru noted that even though 2018 was riddled with some supply shortages, he was delighted that the corporation rose to the occasion with the support of President Muhammadu Buhari and the resilience and hard work of NNPC staff, saying as at today, there is fuel availability in the nook and cranny of the country.

The GMD disclosed that NNPC imported a total of 15,874,734.82 MT of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) otherwise called petrol through the DSDP and the NFSF arrangement in 2018, representing 62 percent increase over the 2017 supplies of 9,807,264.61MT, saying that as at today, the national oil company has 2.98 billion litres, equivalent to over 59 days sufficiency at 50 million litres daily evacuation rate.

Mr Baru said the corporation’s depots had been resuscitated and put to use through decanting of over 140 million litres of PMS nationwide, explaining that systems 2B and 2E pipelines supplying petroleum products to South West, South-South and South East Regions have been resuscitated.

GMD assured that NNPC was on track in respect of the corporation’s 12 key Business Focus Areas (BUFA), and the vision of President Buhari to improving the status of oil and gas infrastructure through ensuring products availability to support national economic recovery and growth.

He lauded the contribution of the corporation’s downstream outfit, NNPC retail, saying it played a significant role in ensuring continuous supply of petroleum products to Nigerians through its mega, affiliates and leased stations.

Mr Baru touted the company’s sale of 1.2 billion litres of petroleum products in 2018 as against 1.1 billion litres in 2017, representing a 7 percent increase.

He said the feat was achieved through an addition of 40 new affiliate and leased stations, which he said, brought the company’s network to 618 stations nationwide.

He enthused NNPC Retail had transformed from loss making to profitability.

“We are currently planning for a better performance and achievement in 2019 especially with the continuous innovations and creativity in the downstream sector and the performance bond signed by all the relevant heads of our operating units. Continuous improvement as one of the principles of World Class Organizations is going to remain our key word in 2019. 2018 was empirically better than 2017, we believe, plan and strive to achieve a better performance come 2019, by God’s Grace”, Mr Baru concluded in his end-of-year statement.

Economy

Trump Tariffs: Nigeria Faces Lower FX Earnings, Higher Tariffs on Wheat, Cars

Published

15 hours ago

03/04/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

President Donald Trump on Wednesday imposed reciprocal tariffs on imports from all countries of the world. This has been regarded as the biggest shake-up in the international trading system in decades and has the propensity to significantly affect trade.

According to the US government, there will be a baseline levy of 10 per cent on all imports and far higher tariffs on many key trading partners.

The Trump administration said, “For years, hard working American citizens were forced to sit on the sidelines as other nations got rich and powerful, much of it at our expense.”

Nigeria, a key trade partner of imports and exports, faces 27 per cent in US tariffs and a 14 per cent reciprocal tariff.

Giving a breakdown of how this may impact countries particularly on the continent, African Export and Import Bank (Afreximbank) in a research published on Thursday noted that these tariffs could reduce export revenues, increase production costs, and disrupt investment flows, particularly for nations heavily reliant on US trade.

For Nigeria, it could affect some key exports like crude oil, cocoa, and rubber as well as impact imports like wheat, refined petroleum, and vehicles.

In the fourth quarter of 2024, the US was Nigeria’s fourth top trading partner by import as it carried out 6.4 per cent of its total imports from the US, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) valued at N1.055 trillion.

As a result of this relationship, this development could lead to challenges such as reduced oil demand which could lower the country’s foreign exchange earnings.

It could also lead to higher tariffs on wheat, which translates to Nigerians facing higher cost of food particularly bread, noodles, and pastries.

Imported vehicles are not exempt, as the cost of buying cars will increase as importers look to cover their profit margins.

“Impact: Reduced oil demand could lower forex earnings, while higher tariffs on wheat and vehicles could raise local prices,” it said in a post published on X (formerly Twitter).

Economy

NASD OTC Bourse Weakens 0.23%

Published

21 hours ago

03/04/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

Nigeria's Unlisted Securities Market Sheds 0.78%, NASD Shares up 8.31%

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange fell by 0.23 per cent on Wednesday, April 2, after the market resumed from a two-day holiday observed on Monday and Tuesday.

There were three price gainers and three price losers at the first trading session of the new week and month.

FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc lost 23 Kobo during the trading day to close at N36.50 per unit compared with last Friday’s N36.73 per share, Geo-Fluids Plc went down by 22 Kobo to sell at N2.48 per share versus N2.70 per share, and Food Concepts Plc slipped by 13 Kobo to end at N1.17 per unit, in contrast to last Friday’s closing price of N1.30 per unit.

On the flip side, Lagos Building Investment Company (LBIC) Plc grew by 23 Kobo yesterday to end at N2.63 per share compared with the preceding day’s N2.40 per share, IPWA Plc appreciated by 5 Kobo to 55 Kobo per unit from N50 Kobo per unit, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc marginally increased by 1 Kobo to close at 36 Kobo per share versus 35 Kobo per share.

When trading activities ended for the day, the market capitalisation lost N4.45 billion to settle at N1.910 trillion compared with the preceding session’s N1.915 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) shed 7.71 points to 3,308.46 points from 3,316.17 points.

During the session, the volume of securities transacted by investors increased by 625.8 per cent to 9.1 million units from the 1.3 million units, but the value of transactions went down by 17.5 per cent to N7.2 million from N8.8 million, and the number of deals rose by 100 per cent to 22 deals from 11 deals.

Impresit Bakolori Plc remained the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 533.9 million units worth N520.9 million, followed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 70.2 million units sold for N23.8 million, and Geo Fluids Plc with 44.2 million units valued at N89.4 million.

FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, with the sale of 13.7 million units valued at N529.1 million, was the most traded stock by value (year-to-date), trailed by Impresit Bakolori Plc with a turnover of 533.9 million units worth N520.9 million, and Afriland Properties Plc with 17.8 million units sold for N364.2 million.

Economy

The Rising Attraction of Crypto Presales

Published

21 hours ago

03/04/2025

Dipo Olowookere

Crypto presales have become a fundamental pillar within the blockchain fundraising landscape, providing a vantage point to investors for outstanding buying opportunities even before public and secondary markets. Due to these presales, the investor can avail discounted prices for tokens and acquire significant returns on the investment in case the project takes off afterward. For those with an eye on presale crypto, it’s believed that getting to either an illegal or an unreliable presale is pretty hard; thus every avenue must be exploited. Consequently, then, in the world of cryptocurrencies, presale has turned out to be a crucial modality for both developers and investors to somehow pave the way for seeding even better alternatives.

What Do You Mean By Crypto Presale?

Presales are the early fundraising events conducted by blockchain projects that let them sell their native tokens to a limited class of investors before they make an official public offer at retail or before listing on the exchanges. Here, the ones who are privileged to participate are on a whitelisting that mostly consists of very early supporters, venture capitalists, or community representatives. Through participation in a presale, investors get the chance to obtain tokens at lower price points, often including some additional bonuses or incentives. For the projects, presales present their funding opportunity and build a loyal community before going public.

Why Do Crypto Presales Matter to Stakeholders?

It is imperative for a project intending to develop a blockchain project to put on a crypto presale to assist in bridging the gap of capital necessary for the build-up and scaling of the platform; allowing early stakeholders the opportunity to benefit by truly supporting the project in its off-the-ground stages. For the stature investor, the presale is a particular investment opportunity in itself, developing a guarantee that projects of substantial promise might potentially reward high returns. Furthermore, presale tokens are based on either added governance rights, staking returns, or perquisites from the platform in a constrained fashion, vanishing all but one or two.

Participating in Crypto Presales

Becoming a spectator in a crypto presale must be well-earned; the investor must display a satisfactory level of underweight. Firstly, the probable investor should know any right projects-that is, to research the whitepapers, the team, and the roadmap. In many projects, one must be on a whitelist, which generally requires performing small tasks such as tracking social media accounts. Often following retweets, sharing posts, or joining other channels of this community will hide a whitelist. Once he/she is whitelisted, an investor will have to send various cryptocurrencies to the required address (mostly Ethereum or BINANCE) in exchange for presale tokens. It is important to check the legitimacy and be secure while scouting a presale.

Risks Associated with Crypto Presales

Well, crypto presales might offer fantastic opportunities, yet none are without risks. Due to the very little regulation in the crypto space, an investor has very minimal protection when it comes to scam projects. Most of the presale projects are in their very initial stages, which in turn makes it difficult to judge the long-term viability of the project. Moreover, the sphere is so great because the presale tokens can see very abrupt spikes or dips once the project is operational. Scams and marauding projects are no joke, thus it falls most urgently on you to research a bunch of these and stake only what you can afford to lose.

Key Factors to Evaluate in a Crypto Presale

There are a few criteria that shall be essential for making a positive effect on the project. The problem that is supposed to be solved must find proper rationale or should not better still just be significant and observable. This means a useful case here, which will only help to justify its chance of adoption. These experienced engineers and advisors are supposed to make the roles in the success of their projects and are commonly rewarded within the scope of project tokens. Tokenomics comes into the equation when fairly transparent with how tokens are used and distributed. A community that stands with a weak amount of support is not in the best interest, though partnerships and community support are in place to partner the project with success and enhance its reputation.

The Role of Community in Crypto Presales

The credibility of the community is very important for crypto presales. If the community is active and supportive, it can push for mass adoption, create network effects, and increase the value of presale tokens. Many projects actively engage their communities by providing forums for discussion using social media pages, forums, and Telegram groups, thus fostering a sense of ownership and loyalty among early supporters. An active community can be taken as a good indicator by investors, showing genuine interest and support towards the forward motion of the project.

Notable Examples of Successful Crypto Presales

Numerous great crypto presales have been able to change the lives of early investors, turning millionaires overnight. For instance, in 2014, holding its presale, Ethereum went on to make over $18 million, which eventually opened up the road for the subsequently occurring DeFi paradigm. Binance Coin (BNB) is the other excellent token that did a presale before launch and has grown to become one of the leading cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. The above few examples represent what crypto presales are capable of doing in the name of innovation and value for early contributors.

The Future of Crypto Presales

The future of presales will be engineered by the evolution of regulations, technological advances, and market trends. With maturity, one would expect to see relatively standardized administrative processes, in the hope of attracting society’s most unfathomable level of belief in us through due diligence by misaligned objectives in governance and scrutinization processes of the presales. Additionally, with the progression of artificial intelligence and IoT into blockchain integration, it is almost certain that there are other horizons to reach for presales. As the noise of presales dissipates, they may subside into more elaborate, more reliable tools of exploitation in the crypto life.

Spotting Scams in Crypto Presales

The increasing popularity of crypto presales has led to a corresponding increase in scam cases that investors need to guard against. Some triggers are extremely risky: especially those offering returns that seem unreasonable or lack transparency. Some of the worst offenders come with anonymous teams, greatly marked-up whitepapers and careful yet chaotic marketing campaigns. One has to complete thorough due diligence to check for such key things as audits, public opinion, and a proven track record by their team. Platforms that provide information on where to buy presale crypto also add insights and ratings from actual users to help in testing authentic projects.

The Relevance of Regulation in Crypto Presales

The regulation has become a key part of influencing the direction of crypto presales. Countries differ from one another; some nations have given in to pre-sales and accepted them as a way to raise revenue, while others have put forth stringent rules about pre-sales. Regulation can save investors by providing transparency and making people accountable, although it does come at the risk of stifling innovation. The harmony between investor protection and the evolution of innovation would be a key factor, using the increasing age of crypto to propel presales in the years to come. Websites that display information on the regulation of presale platforms, where investors can look up the rules governing it, make it easier for investors to navigate.

In Conclusion

Crypto Presales have become vital to the blockchain ecosystem, giving willing investors early access to potentially worthwhile projects with huge returns. For anyone still wondering where to buy presale crypto, the critical point for them is to engage in deep research and due diligence. While they have their risks, presales bestow their support in favor of breakthroughs while nurturing the possibilities of reaping the healthy fruits upon them. In the long run, presales are destined to play a crucial role in fundraising and innovation, and whoever can put in effort into the dynamic and malleable space will surely find the chance circulating it. Understanding the future of crypto assets in a changing world, hence, requires comprehensive realities on presales, be you an investor, developer, or just an enthusiast of the crypto sector.