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 Modupe Gbadeyanka
The federal government has been asked by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to suspend the implementation of the controversial tax laws.
In a reaction to the tax reform acts, the president of the group, Mr Afam Osigwe (SAN), the suspension of the laws would allow for a proper investigation into allegations of alterations in the gazetted and harmonised copies.
A member of the House of Representatives, Mr Abdussamad Dasuki, alleged that some parts of the laws passed by the parliament were different from the gazetted copy.
To address the issues raised, the NBA said it is “imperative that a comprehensive, open, and transparent investigation be conducted to clarify the circumstances surrounding the enactment of the laws and to restore public confidence in the legislative process.”
“Until these issues are fully examined and resolved, all plans for the implementation of the Tax Reform Acts should be immediately suspended,” the association declared.
It noted that the controversies “raise grave concerns about the integrity, transparency, and credibility of Nigeria’s legislative process.”
“These developments strike at the very heart of constitutional governance and call into question the procedural sanctity that must attend lawmaking in a democratic society,” it noted.
“Legal and policy uncertainty of this magnitude has far-reaching consequences. It unsettles the business environment, erodes investor confidence, and creates unpredictability for individuals, businesses, and institutions required to comply with the law. Such uncertainty is inimical to economic stability and should have no place in a system governed by the rule of law.
“Nigeria’s constitutional democracy demands that laws, especially those with profound economic and social implications, emerge from processes that are transparent, accountable, and beyond reproach. Anything short of this undermines public trust and weakens the foundation upon which lawful governance rests.
“We therefore call on all relevant authorities to act swiftly and responsibly in addressing this controversy, in the overriding interest of constitutional order, economic stability, and the preservation of the rule of law,” the organisation stated.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Demand for hot stocks, including MRS Oil Plc, buoyed the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.52 per cent on Tuesday, December 23.
The energy company was one of the three price gainers for the session as it chalked up N19.69 to sell at N216.59 per share versus the previous day’s value of N196.90 per share.
Further, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc gained N2.95 to close at N56.75 per unit versus N53.80 per unit and Golden Capital Plc appreciated by 84 Kobo to N9.29 per share from Monday’s N8.45 per share.
Consequently, the market capitalisation went up by N10.95 billion to N2.125 trillion from N2.125 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) rose by 18.31 points to 3,570.37 points from 3,552.06 points.
Yesterday, the NASD bourse recorded a price loser, the Central Securities Clearing System Plc (CSCS), which gave up 17 Kobo to close at N33.70 per unit against the previous trading value of N33.87 per unit.
The volume of securities traded at the session went down by 97.6 per cent to 297,902 units from the previous day’s 12.6 million units, the value of securities decreased by 98.5 per cent to N10.5 million from N713.6 million, and the number of deals remained flat at 32 deals.
By value, Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc ended as the most actively traded stock on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units exchanged for N16.4 billion. This was followed by Okitipupa Plc, which traded 178.9 million units valued at N9.5 billion, and MRS Oil Plc with 36.1 million units worth N4.9 billion.
In terms of volume, also on a year-to-date basis, InfraCredit Plc led the chart with a turnover of 5.8 billion units traded for N16.4 billion. Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc ranked second with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.7 million, while Impresit Bakolori Plc followed with the sale of 536.9 million units valued at N524.9 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
It was another bullish trading session for the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited as it closed higher by 0.59 per cent on Tuesday.
The market further rallied due to continued interest in large and mid-cap stocks on the exchange by investors rebalancing their portfolios for the year-end.
Yesterday, Aluminium Extrusion sustained its upward trajectory after it further appreciated by 9.96 per cent to N14.90, as Austin Laz gained 9.81 per cent to close at N2.91, Custodian Investment improved by 9.69 per cent to N38.50, and First Holdco soared by 9.35 per cent to N50.30.
Conversely, Royal Exchange declined by 7.22 per cent to N1.80, Champion Breweries shrank by 6.57 per cent to N15.65, NASCON lost 5.36 per cent to trade at N105.05, Sovereign Trust Insurance depreciated by 5.28 per cent to N3.77, and Japaul went down by 4.51 per cent to N2.33.
At the close of business, 29 shares ended on the gainers’ table and 27 shares finished on the losers’ log, representing a positive market breadth index and bullish investor sentiment.
This raised the All-Share Index (ASI) by 895.06 points to 153,354.13 points from 152,459.07 points and lifted the market capitalisation by N579 billion to N97.772 trillion from the previous day’s N97.193 trillion.
VFD Group finished the day as the busiest stock after it recorded a turnover of 192.0 million units worth N2.1 billion, GTCO exchanged 63.5 million units valued at N5.6 billion, Access Holdings traded 49.8 million units for N1.0 billion, First Holdco sold 45.8 million units valued at N2.3 billion, and Secure Electronic Technology transacted 38.3 million units worth N28.4 million.
In all, market participants bought and sold 677.4 million units valued at N20.8 billion in 27,589 deals compared with the 451.5 million units worth N13.0 billion traded in 33,327 deals on Monday, showing an improvement in the trading volume and value by 50.03 per cent and 60.00 per cent apiece, and a shortfall in the number of deals by 17.22 per cent.
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