Economy
NNPC, Kogi Target 84m Litres of Bio-fuel, Two Million Jobs
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the development of fuel-ethanol processing plant that would produce 84 million litres of bio-fuel per year has been sealed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Kogi State government.
Speaking during the signing of the MoU on Tuesday in Abuja, Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mr Maikanti Baru, said the project would yield a cane mill and a raw and refined Sugar Plant of 126,000 tonnes annually.
He stated that the Bagasse co-generation Plant would also generate 64 Megawatts of power, stressing that the plant would include a carbon dioxide recovery and bottling plant with capacity of 2,000 tonnes per year.
“The Sugarcane Feedstock Plantation would be on a 19,000 hectares and it would produce animal feeds of 63,000 tonnes per year,” the NNPC chief said
Mr Baru said NNPC was pleased to know of another opportunity in the Alape Staple Crop Processing Zone (SCPZ), in Kogi State which is a vast Agro Allied business opportunity that provides suitable agronomics for the cultivation of Sugarcane, Cassava and Oil Palm.
He stated that discussions had been held with the various parties and stakeholders on the Kogi Biofuels Project on the modality for the implementation, adding that Agreements had been reached on the first stage of the project, starting with the signing of an MoU.
Mr Baru said the signing of the MoU would lead to the formation of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to steer the future activities of the proposed project, stressing that the project is central to the attainment of economic development on the basis of value-added investment portfolios, environmental sustainability, climate change mitigation, wealth and job creation to reduce the poverty index, while balancing the ecosystem, and maintenance of national and global security.
GMD said the execution of the MoU was a milestone in the government’s determination to diversify the economy and at the same time compliment Nigeria’s effort in meeting with the growing energy demand.
He said, “NNPC is committed to implementing Nigeria’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement aimed at combating global Climate Change, to which President Muhammadu Buhari signed, and deposited Nigeria’s ‘Instrument of Ratification’ to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in May 2017.”
The NNPC helmsman stated that the Renewable Energy Division of NNPC was created in line with Federal Government’s directive with the sole aim of Industrialising Agriculture in Nigeria through the commercial production of biofuels from selected energy crops as feedstock, while fostering the exploitation of other Renewable Energy Sources.
He added that the project would mitigate against the negative effect of climate change and earn Nigeria Carbon credits from Clean Development Mechanism Projects activities, serving as additional line of profitable business for NNPC, including food production and power generation.
Mr Baru noted that the project would lead to increased diversification of NNPC’s business portfolio and serve as a credible source of additional income for the corporation.
The GMD envisaged that the proposed NNPC Biofuels project in Kaba/Bunu, Kogi State would be an integrated feedstock plantation and process plants complex on a land mass of 20,000 hectares for sugarcane and or 15,000 hectares for cassava with potentials for further expansion.
He explained that NNPC had carried out seven bankable feasibility studies which include three (3) integrated sugarcane fuel ethanol projects in Benue, Kebbi and Gombe States, two integrated cassava fuel ethanol projects in Ondo and Anambra States and two integrated oil palm biodiesel projects in Rivers and Cross River States.
In his remarks, Kogi State Governor, Mr Yahaya Bello, said the MoU was another milestone in the history of the state, stressing that the project would take not fewer than two million citizens of the state out of the street.
He applauded President Muhammadu Buhari and the GMD, Mr Baru, for their doggedness to diversify the Nigerian economy, adding that the state was ready to provide all the needed support for the take-off of the project.
Highpoint of the ceremony was the signing of the agreement between the Governor and the GMD of NNPC.
By Dipo Olowookere
It was another bearish outcome for the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) on Wednesday due to persistent profit-taking.
The local bourse shed 0.05 per cent at midweek as investors tread cautiously, causing the All-Share Index (ASI) to contract by 78.28 points to 146,862.01 points from 146,940.29 points, with the market capitalisation giving up N34 billion to settle at N93.625 trillion compared with the previous day’s N93.659 trillion.
Chams ended the trading day as the worst-performing stock after it lost 10.00 per cent to trade at N3.06, Haldane McCall declined by 8.88 per cent to N4.00, UAC Nigeria slumped by 8.18 per cent to N80.80, and Sunu Assurance moderated by 6.98 per cent to N4.00.
The best-performing stock for the session was Japaul due to its 10.00 per cent rise, closing at N2.53. Prestige Assurance expanded by 9.40 per cent to N1.63, MeCure inflated by 7.72 per cent to N34.90, The Initiates rose by 7.30 per cent to N12.50, and Consolidated Hallmark gained 6.97 per cent to close at N4.30.
Business Post observed that despite the loss, the market breadth index was positive after Customs Street finished with 28 price gainers and 23 price losers, implying a strong investor sentiment.
The most traded equity was Cutix with 122.9 million units sold for N369.1 million, FCMB exchanged 80.7 million units worth N879.3 million, Consolidated Hallmark transacted 71.2 million units valued at N286.4 million, Fidelity Bank traded 63.8 million units worth N1.2 billion, and Tantalizers had a turnover of 57.8 million units valued at N136.5 million.
In all, investors bought and sold 747.1 million shares for N12.4 billion in 19,161 deals versus the 2.0 billion shares worth N30.2 billion executed in 23,038 deals on Tuesday, indicating a decline in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 62.65 per cent, 58.94 per cent, and 16.83 per cent, respectively.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira depreciated against the United States Dollar by N3.52 or o.24 per cent in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) to N1,455.38/$1 on Wednesday, December 8, from the N1,451.86/$1 it was traded a day earlier.
It was a similar story for the local currency against the Pound Sterling in the same market window yesterday as its value shrank by N2.51 to close at N1,937.26/£1 versus the preceding session’s N1,934.75/£1 and lost N1.63 against the Euro to settle at N1,692.76/€1 compared with Tuesday’s closing value of N1,691.13/€1.
In the black market segment, the Naira weakened against the greenback yesterday by N5 to sell for N1,470/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,465/$1 but traded flat at N1,460/$1 at GTBank.
The domestic currency faces pressures from increasing year-end Dollar demand as importers and retailers are actively sourcing FX for Christmas and New Year’s sales.
However, this is still stable, reflecting divergent currency dynamics between the regulated official segment and the informal markets as the Naira’s movement remains within the trading band.
This suggests that the FX market is adjusting gradually to seasonal pressures while awaiting further policy signals from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market tumbled despite the Federal Reserve’s decision to trim its fed funds rate range by 25 basis points. Traders were spooked by comments by Federal Reserve’s chairman Jerome Powell who sounded both dovish and hawkish.
While the rate cut is largely anticipated by market participants, looser financial conditions with a resilient US economy could help bolster risk appetite on markets. According to Mr Powell, the US labour market might be weaker than previously thought, while also sounding cautious about gains made in fighting inflation.
Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 7.0 per cent to $0.4311, Solana (SOL) fell by 5.9 per cent to $131.06, Dogecoin (DOGE) slid by 5.6 per cent to $0.1385, Litecoin (LTC) crashed by 3.9 per cent to $81.26, and Ripple (XRP) declined by 3.7 per cent to $2.01.
Further, Ethereum (ETH) moderated by 3.4 per cent to $3,209.84, Binance Coin (BNB) retreated by 2.6 per cent to $871.20, and Bitcoin (BTC) lost 2.5 per cent to sell at $90,316.82, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Crude oil prices settled higher on Wednesday as the US seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, adding to concerns about immediate supplies, with Brent futures up by 27 cents or 0.4 per cent to $62.21 a barrel, and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures up by 21 cents or 0.4 per cent to $58.46 per barrel.
The American government seized a large oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, marking a major escalation in tensions between the two nations.
President Donald Trump confirmed the operation, saying, “We’ve just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela, large tanker, very large, largest one ever seized actually,” adding later that the US will keep the oil.
The US Coast Guard, Federal Bureau of Information (FBI), and Homeland Security, executed a seizure warrant, boarding the tanker by helicopter. The vessel, identified by maritime sources as the Panama-flagged Skipper (formerly named Adisa), had been under US sanctions for several years for its alleged role in transporting Venezuelan and Iranian crude via a shadow oil-shipping network tied to Hezbollah and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force.
According to tracking data, the tanker had recently loaded heavy crude at Venezuela’s Puerto José.
In Caracas, the government of President Nicolás Maduro condemned the seizure, branding it “a blatant theft” and an act of “international piracy.”
The tanker seizure further inflames concerns about immediate supplies in a market that was already worried about movements of Venezuelan, Iranian and Russian barrels.
Meanwhile, the US Federal Reserve reduced its benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point, as expected, which could help lift oil demand by boosting economic growth.
The Chairman of the US Federal Reserve, Mr Jerome Powell declined to say whether there would be another rate cut in the near future, but said the central bank is well positioned to respond to what lies ahead for the economy.
Crude oil inventories in the US decreased by 1.8 million barrels during the week ending December 5, after adding a modest 600,000 barrels in the week prior, according to new data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) released on Wednesday.
The EIA’s data release follows figures from the American Petroleum Institute (API) that were released a day earlier, which suggested that crude oil inventories fell by 4.8 million barrels.
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