Economy
NNPC Declares State of Emergency on Oil Production
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) has declared a state of emergency on Nigeria’s oil production after output has remained depressed at 1.46 million barrels per day despite efforts to tackle oil theft and pipeline vandalism.
The chief executive of NNPC Limited, Mr Mele Kyari, declared that with the country’s current assets, the industry has the capacity to produce two million barrels of crude oil daily.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Nigerian Oil Gas Energy Week in Abuja on Tuesday, he said very little effort is all that was needed to increase production.
The NNPC chief declared war on low production, stressing that while the company was ready to work and collaborate with its partners, it was also determined to leave them behind and forge ahead.
“We went down in our production of both oil and gas, nowhere near our capacity or our capability. We can blame anything, oil theft, integrity, divestments and so on and so forth. But the bottom line is that what we did very recently is to take just a deep breath and look at where we are? And when we look at the data for our production by asset, in the last three months, we discovered that we are actually at two million barrels per day. That means we are unable to sustain it.
“And we can blame anything for lack of sustainability. Yes, theft is one of them, vandal actions. But also the sheer inability of all of us, our partners, no exception, including NNPC, our inability to act quickly in a timely manner. Yes, we can blame anything including access to capital. Why don’t we have access to capital? We can blame anything.
“But what we have seen is that we are actually at two million barrels per day without doing any of the major things that we’re talking about, without bringing the new 700,000 barrels that Abdulrazak (IPPG Chairman) has talked about, without restoring the 200,000 or so that will come from divestment.
“Without even doing these, we’re actually there. And that is why we, as a partner of 80 per cent of those who produce oil and gas in this country, have decided that we’ll stop the debate”.
“And we have declared a war. War means war. We have the right troops,” he said.
“We know what to fight. We know what we have to do at the level of assets. And we have engaged our partners. Any partner that doesn’t do what it should do, we will get it done. This is our new way of doing things.
“We can’t wait for anyone. We are moving on. We cannot afford to negotiate any further. So we have stopped the debate. And that is why, by war room, what it means is that we are looking at every asset, every issue that is associated with it. We’ll partner with our counterparties. But if it doesn’t happen, we’ll get it done”.
He accused the operators including NNPC of having “principalities” amongst their staff, pointing out that procurement has been turned into a business thereby increasing cost per barrel in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.
“For us as a company, we are moving to another level and very soon we are going to cap the cost of production. If you like you can call your wife to do the contracting, no problem provided you produce the oil at $20 or so,” he told the operators.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) agreed to raise its oil output quotas by 206,000 barrels per day for May.
Eight members of OPEC+, comprising Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, the UAE, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Oman, agreed to the increase in May quota at a virtual meeting on Sunday, OPEC+ said in a statement.
However, the rise will be in theory, as its key members are unable to raise production due to the US-Israeli war with Iran, which has affected production.
The war has effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important oil route, since the end of February and cut exports from some OPEC+ members, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait and Iraq. These are the only countries in the group which were able to significantly raise production even before the conflict began.
Besides the disruptions affecting Gulf members, others, such as Russia, are unable to increase output due to Western sanctions and damage to infrastructure inflicted during the war with Ukraine. For Nigeria, even as Africa’s largest producer, it has not been able to keep production quotas steady.
The OPEC+ quota increase of 206,000 barrels per day represents less than 2 per cent of the supply disrupted by the Hormuz closure, but it signals readiness to raise output once the waterway reopens.
Also meeting on Sunday, a separate OPEC+ panel called the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC), expressed concern about attacks on energy assets, saying they were expensive and time-consuming to repair and so have an impact on supply.
May’s OPEC+ increase is the same as the eight members had agreed for April at their last meeting held on March 1, just as the war began to disrupt oil flows.
A month later, the largest oil supply disruption on record is estimated to have removed as many as 12 to 15 million barrels per day or up to 15 per cent of global supply.
The eight OPEC+ members have raised production quotas by about 2.9 million barrels per day from April 2025 through December 2025, before pausing increases for January to March 2026. The sub-group holds its next meeting on May 3.
Market analysts have warned that oil prices could hit $150 per barrel if the closure of the strait is prolonged and continues, due to damage to energy assets across the critical Middle East region.
As of the time of this report, Brent crude is trading at $108 per barrel, below the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude at $109 per barrel.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Workers at Seplat Energy will resume work after a strike action that impacted production was called off by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) over the weekend, with the company issuing written commitments on pay rises.
Top employees began an indefinite strike last Friday as talks over a collective bargaining agreement and staff welfare issues broke down. The action came at a time when Nigeria is seeking to maximise production amid rising global oil prices.
According to Reuters, in an April 4 letter to the chief executive of Seplat Nigeria, Mr Roger Brown, PENGASSAN said it had directed members at the local energy firm to immediately suspend industrial action after negotiations resumed with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited. Other less-skilled workers are covered by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and did not partake in the strike with PENGASSAN.
The union said talks on a 2026 collective bargaining agreement would continue, with the aim of concluding outstanding issues by April 13. However, according to the publication, the union did not disclose more details about its financial demands.
“We can confirm that the union has suspended its notice of industrial action to allow negotiations to conclude on outstanding items within an agreed framework,” Seplat spokesperson, Mr Ogechukwu Udeagha, said, adding that “operations are recommencing at our various locations.”
Seplat Energy’s group production averaged 131,506 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2025, according to its latest audited results. That is the equivalent of around 7 per cent–9 per cent of Nigeria’s total liquids production.
The company expects output to rise to 155,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, making any sustained disruption particularly sensitive for Nigeria’s supply outlook. This comes as it seeks to scale production while remaining a major supplier of gas to Nigeria’s domestic power market.
With the company’s output expected to rise, any prolonged disruption would have significantly impacted Nigeria’s oil supply and fiscal outlook.
By Dipo Olowookere
The weekly turnover of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited shrank by 27.70 per cent or 1.094 billion equities, partly due to the inability of market participants to trade last Friday as a result of the Good Friday public holiday declared by the federal government.
In the week, investors bought and sold 2.856 billion equities worth N113.597 billion in 215,287 deals versus the 3.950 billion equities valued at N201.312 billion transacted in 359,642 deals in the preceding week.
The activity chart was led by the financial services industry with 1.811 billion shares valued at N61.901 billion in 86,818 deals, contributing 63.41 per cent and 54.49 per cent to the total trading volume and value, respectively.
The services sector traded 299.895 million stocks worth N2.966 billion in 13,797 deals, and the ICT segment exchanged 183.233 million equities for N14.654 billion in 25,287 deals.
Wema Bank, Access Holdings, and Secure Electronic Technology accounted for 734.659 million shares worth N14.134 billion in 12,319 deals, contributing 25.72 per cent and 12.44 per cent to the total trading volume and value apiece.
Data from the NGX said 29 stocks gained weight versus 47 stocks of the previous week, as 57 shares lost weight versus 45 shares in the preceding week, while 62 equities closed flat versus 56 equities a week earlier.
Multiverse led the gainers’ chart after it gained 20.66 per cent to trade at N20.15, UPDC REIT appreciated by 15.49 per cent to N8.20, International Energy Insurance chalked up 12.54 per cent to quote at N3.32, Austin Laz grew by 10.47 per cent to N4.43, and Unilever Nigeria rose by 10.00 per cent to N103.40.
Conversely, Secure Electronic Technology topped the losers’ table after it lost 21.54 per cent to close at N1.02, John Holt declined by 18.47 per cent to N15.45, May and Baker depreciated by 16.57 per cent to N35.00, Aluminium Extrusion moderated by 16.27 per cent to N10.55, and Legend Internet slipped by 16.00 per cent to N6.30.
Business Post reports that the All-Share Index (ASI) was up by 0.39 per cent to 201,698,89 points, and the market capitalisation rose by 0.65 per cent to N129.806 trillion.
In the same vein, all other indices finished higher apart from the main board, insurance, MERI Value, consumer goods, industrial goods and growth indices, which went down by 0.29 per cent, 4.25 per cent, 0.36 per cent, 1.74 per cent, 0.24 per cent, and 0.06 per cent, respectively, while the sovereign bond index closed flat.
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