Economy

NNPC in Final Talks With Oando, MRS Oil, Others to Revamp Refineries

Published

8 years ago

28/02/2018

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is already in the final stages of discussions with two consortiums of oil investors willing to pump their money into the nation’s moribund refineries in a bid to make them functional again.

According to Reuters, the investors comprises both local and foreign and they would work to fix the three oil facilities located in Warri in Delta State, Port Harcourt in Rivers State and Kaduna in Kaduna State.

The Nigerian government had made efforts in the past to revamp the three refineries, but they breakdown almost immediately after repairs.

The first consortium in talks with the NNPC consists of world’s largest oil trader, Vitol; Italy’s Saipem; US-based General Electric and Nigerian companies, Sahara Group and MRS Oil Nigeria Plc.

The second consortium comprises global commodities trader Trafigura, Italian oil major Eni, Spanish refiner Cepsa and Nigeria’s Oando.

While the first group will handle the Warri and Kaduna refineries, the second group will take care of the Port Harcourt refinery, which consists of two refining plants.

Relying on banking and trading sources for reporting, Reuters said the groups would be paid via the offtake of refined products rather than cash, putting the onus on them to revive the refineries and keep them running smoothly to ensure their investments earn a return.

The move, it explained, is aimed at helping Nigeria, Africa’s biggest crude producer, save billions of Dollars on fuel imports.

President Muhammadu Buhari had pledged to fix the refineries when elected in 2015 but little progress has been made so far.

Nigeria’s refineries operate far below their combined capacity of 445,000 barrels per day (bpd) due to years of neglect, as well as theft from pipelines and sabotage.

This forces the country to import nearly all the fuel it consumes, a hefty burden because of price caps on gasoline. The government said it spent $5.8 billion on imports since late 2017.

Private firms largely stopped importing petrol after the government scrapped subsidy payments to help them sell at the capped price, leaving NNPC to import 90 percent or more of Nigeria’s needs.

At the moment, there is acute shortage of the commodity in the country for the past three months with no end in sight.

Oil minister, Mr Emmanuele Ibe Kachikwu previously said the government would raise $1.2 billion to upgrade its refineries and would end reliance on imports by 2019.

Mr Kachikwu said this month Nigeria planned to announce the names of private investors in its refineries in coming month.

Nigeria’s gasoline consumption is now roughly 40 million liters per day in the nation of almost 200 million people.

Meanwhile, Vitol, Trafigura, Cepsa, Oando, Saipem, Sahara and Eni declined to comment. General Electric was unable to immediately respond to a request for comment. MRS did not respond to requests for comment.

NNPC did not immediately provide a comment.

Further details on the deals being discussed, including the cost of repairs, were not immediately clear.

Economy

NBA Demands Suspension of Controversial Tax Laws

Published

22 hours ago

24/12/2025

Modupe Gbadeyanka

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.

Economy

MRS Oil, Two Others Raise NASD Bourse Higher by 0.52%

Published

24 hours ago

24/12/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

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.

Economy

NGX All-Share Index Soars to 153,354.13 points

Published

1 day ago

24/12/2025

Dipo Olowookere

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.