Economy
NNPC Partners Halliburton to Search Crude Oil Deposits
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The ongoing search for commercial hydrocarbon in the inland sedimentary basins by the Research and Development Division of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has received a boost with a recent partnership with US-based Halliburton Corporation.
Both organisations will step up efforts to achieve the exact location of viable crude oil deposits in the inland.
Speaking in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, the Group General Manager in charge of the R&D Division, Dr Bola Afolabi, disclosed that the collaboration with Halliburton would help fast-track the inland basin exploration efforts through the use of the innovative Neftex solution designed to provide exactitude in drilling for oil.
He said the Halliburton Neftex solution would provide a geophysical mapping structure of the country and would complement the ongoing in-house efforts by the NNPC research centre to develop what is known as “Turonian Cenomanian Cretaceous source rock” for all the basins in Nigeria.
This essentially seeks to identify all the prolific basins in Nigeria by locating the cretaceous kitchen, that is, areas where large crude deposits could be found.
‘’If you take a football field for instance, there are technologies that will direct you to drill for oil within the whole field but we are using a soft wear solution that will tell you with exactitude to drill for instance in goal post one and when you do that you find large oil. That is what we are seeking to achieve with Neftex solution’’, Dr Afolabi explained.
Dr Afolabi said the collaborative research with Halliburton, which had crossed the 65 percent threshold, would take 18 months to complete.
‘’We are so excited about this project and with the assured support of the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Dr Maikanti Baru, our projection is that by the turn of next year, we should be able to help the frontier basin team achieve a pin-point location of possible commercial oil finds for eventual drilling activities’’, he said.
The GGM also informed that research work had reached advance stage on the Federal Government commissioned project assigned by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, to classify Nigeria’s crude oil and natural gas.
‘’The idea is to check Nigeria natural gas and condensate using the OPEC classification model and determine whether it is within the upper limits or lower limits. The ability to do that well will enable Nigeria to properly classify its Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs) and also gas condensate so we don’t mismatch production of oil with condensate because if you do that you may short change yourself,’’ he said.
He also stated that the NNPC research centre was already working on a project to enhance production from existing assets by introducing a cost effective and reliable alternative to drilling new wells. Already successful pilot scheme has been executed in collaboration with its strategic partners – Cypher Crescent Limited.
‘’With minimal cost, remarkable additional production potential was discovered. We are talking about a digital approach to wells & reservoir management. We are applying a first of its kind technology to easily reveal hidden opportunities and propose realistic well intervention programmes. We are seeking to improve the success rate of exploration and production well intervention activities, reduce operations and improve asset integrity, among others”, he said.
Established in 1977 to provide solution to operational and technical challenges of the Nigerian oil and gas industry, the NNPC R&D Division currently has on its employ, three professors, 12 Ph.D holders and handful of master degree graduates in various fields of the sciences ranging from geology to chemistry and physics.
Under the ongoing NNPC restructing, the projection is to transform the 40-year old research outfit into an autonomous and well equipped one-stop shop technology centre in the frontline of petroleum technology development efforts in the West Coast of Africa and beyond.
By Dipo Olowookere
About 0.04 per cent was recovered on Friday from the loss recorded by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) the previous due to profit-taking.
Yesterday, investors were in the market with renewed vigour, mopping up stocks trading at relatively cheaper prices.
According to data, the insurance counter gained 0.41 per cent, the banking sector appreciated by 0.38 per cent, and the consumer goods index grew by 0.14 per cent.
The gains achieved by these three sectors were enough to lift Customs Street at the close of business despite the 0.26 per cent decline printed by the industrial goods segment and the 0.14 per cent loss suffered by the energy industry. The commodity counter was flat during the session.
A total of 43 equities gained weight on the last trading day of this week, while 26 equities shed weight, indicating a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.
Red Star Express increased its share price by 10.00 per cent to N13.20, NCR Nigeria grew by 9.97 per cent to N128.55, SCOA Nigeria inflated by 9.96 per cent to N14.90, Omatek appreciated by 9.94 per cent to N1.77, and Deap Capital expanded by 9.85 per cent to N4.46.
On the flip side, McNichols decreased by 8.81 per cent to N6.00, Legend Internet crumbled by 7.56 per cent to N5.50, Cornerstone Insurance crashed by 6.48 per cent to N6.35, C&I Leasing contracted by 6.29 per cent to N8.20, and Austin Laz slipped by 5.78 per cent to N3.75.
Yesterday, 539.9 million shares valued at N16.7 billion were transacted in 48,023 deals versus the 1.0 billion shares worth N31.6 billion executed in 51,227 deals in the preceding day, implying a shrink in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 46.01 per cent, 47.15 per cent, and 6.26 per cent apiece.
Zenith Bank was the most active for the day with 54.6 million stocks sold for N3.8 billion, Jaiz Bank traded 41.5 million units worth N359.4 million, Secure Electronic Technology transacted 37.7 million units valued at N39.2 million, Access Holdings exchanged 30.5 million units for N699.2 million, and Lasaco Assurance transacted 27.2 million units worth N68.3 million.
When the market closed for the day, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 72.21 points to 166,129.50 points from 166,057.29 points and the market capitalisation gained N31 billion to N106.354 trillion from N106.323 trillion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was a positive ending for the Naira this week after it further appreciated against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, January 16 by N1.33 or 0.09 per cent to sell for N1,417.95/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,419.28/$1.
The domestic currency also gained N2.41 against the Euro in the official market to close at N1,647.51/€1 versus the preceding session’s closing price of N1,649.92/€1, however, it suffered a N7.97 loss against the Pound Sterling in the same market window to trade at N1,901.32/£1, in contrast to Thursday’s closing price of N1,893.35/£1.
In the same vein, the Nigerian Naira depleted against the Dollar at the GTBank FX counter by N2 to quote at N1,427/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,425/$1, but strengthened against the greenback at the black market yesterday by N5 to settle at N1,485/$1 versus the N1,490/$1 it was exchanged a day earlier.
Improved supply conditions helped keep the market within range as exporters’ and importers’ inflows in addition to non-bank corporate supply enhanced liquidity as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) made no visible intervention.
Stronger external inflows from foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) and improving current account dynamics, continue to align with structural support in the wider economy.
Nigeria has seen projections of a stronger economic or gross domestic product (GDP) growth and lower inflation in 2026, with these forecasts citing improved macroeconomic fundamentals and reform impacts.
As for the cryptocurrency market, it was mixed following selloff in precious metals and lower US stocks appeared to be denting crypto sentiment.
Gold and silver, both of which also enjoyed big rallies earlier this week, tumbled 1.2 per cent and 5 per cent, respectively while key US stock indexes — the Nasdaq, S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average — all reversed from early gains to modest losses in Friday trade.
Dogecoin (DOGE) shrank by 2.2 per cent to $0.1370, Ripple (XRP) slipped by 0.8 per cent to $2.05, Ethereum (ETH) went down by 0.7 per cent to $3,228.56, and Bitcoin (BTC) slumped by 0.6 per cent to $95,086.80.
Conversely, Litecoin (LTC) appreciated by 3.2 per cent to $74.48, Solana (SOL) rose by 0.4 per cent to $143.70, Cardano (ADA) jumped by 0.2 per cent to $0.3942, and Binance Coin (BNB) increased by 0.1 per cent to $935.88, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil prices settled higher amid lingering worries about a possible US military strike against Iran, a decision that may still occur over the weekend.
Brent crude settled at $64.13 a barrel after going up by 37 cents or 0.58 per cent and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude finished at $59.44 a barrel after it gained 25 cents or 0.42 per cent.
The US Navy’s aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln was expected to arrive in the Persian Gulf next week after operating in the South China Sea.
Market analysts noted that it doesn’t seem likely anything will happen soon. However, the weekends have become the perfect time for actions so as not offset the markets.
The market had risen after protests flared up in Iran and US President Donald Trump signalled the potential for military strikes, but lost over 4 per cent on Thursday as the American president said Iran’s crackdown on the protesters was easing, allaying concerns of possible military action that could disrupt oil supplies.
Iran produces approximately 3.2 million barrels per day, accounting for roughly 4 per cent of global crude production, so it was not a coincidence that markets rallied sharply through Tuesday and Wednesday as President Trump canceled meetings with Iranian officials and posted that “help is on its way” to Iranian protesters, raising fears of potential US military strikes that sent prices surging toward multi-month highs.
Weighing against those fears are potential supply increases from Venezuela.
The Trump administration is exploring plans to swap heavy Venezuelan crude for US medium sour barrels that can actually go straight into Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) caverns, since not all all oil belongs in the reserve.
According to Reuters, the Department of Energy is considering moving Venezuelan heavy crude into commercial storage at the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, while US producers deliver medium sour crude into the SPR in exchange.
Analysts expect higher supply this year, potentially creating a ceiling for the geopolitical risk premium on prices.
Some investors covered short positions ahead of the three-day Martin Luther King holiday weekend in the US.
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