Economy

NNPC Partners Presidential Committee on Oil Theft

Published

7 years ago

18/08/2017

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has pledged support to the Presidential Committee on Harmonised Standard Operating Procedures on Arrest, Detention and Prosecution of Vessels and Persons in Nigeria’s Maritime Environment (HSOP) to tackle the menace of oil theft and other criminal activities in the nation’s waters.

Group Managing Director of NNPC, Dr Maikanti Baru, who disclosed this when he received a delegation from the HSOP Committee led by its Alternate Chairman, Air Vice Marshal Ibrahim Shafi’i, in Abuja on Thursday, stated that the NNPC would provide all the necessary support to enable the committee carry out its mandate successfully in the best interest of the nation.

Mr Baru who was represented by the corporation’s Chief Operation Officer, Corporate Services, Mr Isa Inuwa, stated that the NNPC was interested in the Committee’s work for legal, reputational and environmental reasons.

“NNPC as the leader in the industry has many responsibilities in the committee’s work in the areas of providing leadership across the industry for the adoption, internalization and implementation of this standard operating procedures, to provide advocacy for changes to be made around legal provisions and policy frameworks of government as they affects criminal activities in the oil and gas industry and to provide resources for successful implementation of the committee’s mandate,” Mr Baru Said.

He said the task of the committee was very important to the corporation primarily because of the place of oil and gas in the Nigerian economy and more importantly for the fact that the NNPC has the mandate to manage government’s stake in the country’s oil and gas industry.

He explained that the corporation understood the importance and difficulty in implementing the committee’s mandate and assured them of support to surmount the challenge.

Speaking at the event, the leader of the visiting delegation, AVM Ibrahim Shafi’i stated that the purpose of the visit was to seek NNPC’s continuous support in the areas of capacity development.

He applauded the management of the NNPC for providing unwavering support and commitment to the success of the committee, adding that so far NNPC has given them the best contribution and representation.

AVM Shafi’i stated that the committee which cut across various ministries and agencies was inaugurated by the President Muhammadu Buhari in January this year to essentially seek the cooperation, collaboration and coordination of activities on issues relating to arrest, detention and prosecution of vessels and persons connected with the maritime environment.

He explained that the committee’s terms of reference was in line with the mandate of the African Union and ECOWAS Charter on integrated maritime safety and security in the African continent.

He described the NNPC’s role in the Committee as very critical, adding: “We will be counting on NNPC’s technical know-how to train and enhance our technical capability through specialized trainings, seminars and conferences”.

Members of the Committee are drawn from the NNPC, Nigerian Navy, Nigeria Police Force, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Nigerian Customs Service, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Environment, Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

Economy

Nigeria Led Africa’s Upstream Oil, Gas Investments in 2024

Published

17 hours ago

21/01/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Nigeria ranked as Africa’s leading destination for upstream oil and gas investment in 2024, new research from market intelligence firm, Wood Mackenzie, has shown, accounting for three out of four Final Investment Decisions (FIDs) announced by global oil and gas majors, totaling $13.5 billion.

The FIDs announced within the Nigerian market included Shell’s $122 million investment in the Iseni Gas Project, TotalEnergies’ $566 million commitment to the Ubeta Gas Project and Shell’s approval of the Bonga North Tranche 1 project valued at around $5 billion.

According to the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Energy, Ms Olu Verheijen, these investments reflected Nigeria’s ongoing efforts to unlock its hydrocarbon potential through investor-friendly policies and strategic global partnerships.

Last year, Nigeria introduced several initiatives to create a conducive environment for oil and gas investors, including new tax incentives aimed at attracting up to $10 billion in natural gas investments.

Nigeria, which is Africa’s largest oil producer, also offered tax relief for gas investors, reducing corporate income tax and extending capital allowance benefits – for deepwater gas projects.

Other policies include the Presidential Directive on Local Content Compliance Requirements 2024 to address the reduction in oil and gas investments caused by high operating costs compared to global markets.

Also, the Presidential Directive on Reduction of Petroleum Sector Contracting Costs and Timelines 2024 reduces the time spent to award contracts for oil and gas projects.

In addition to the directives, Nigeria also launched its 2024 oil and gas licensing round, offering 19 blocks for exploration, demonstrating its commitment to continued collaboration with local, regional and international partners.

Market analysts note that with this momentum, further FIDs are anticipated, including TotalEnergies’ expected $750 million commitment to the Ima Shallow Gas Project in 2025.

Economy

UBN Property Triggers 0.22% Loss at NASD OTC Exchange

Published

20 hours ago

21/01/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a 0.22 per cent decline on Monday, January 20, with the market capitalisation shedding N2.35 billion to close at N1.073 trillion compared with the preceding session’s N1.075 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) going down by 6.79 points to wrap the session at 3,105.12 points compared with 3,111.91 points recorded in the previous session.

It was observed that the loss recorded on the first trading day of the week was triggered by UBN Property Plc, which crashed by 20 Kobo to trade at N2.00 per share versus last Friday’s N2.20 per share.

However, the share price of Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc went up by 4 Kobo to 40 Kobo per unit from 36 Kobo per unit, it could not stop the bourse from going down at the close of transactions.

The activity chart showed that on Monday, the volume of securities traded by investors increased by 57.9 per cent to 767,610 units from the 486,215 units traded in the preceding session, while the value of shares traded yesterday slumped by 17.7 per cent to N2.3 million from the N2.8 million recorded in the preceding trading day, as the number of deals declined by 14.3 per cent to 12 deals from the 14 deals carried out in the previous trading day.

At the close of transactions, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with the sale of 4.1 million units worth N162.9 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with a turnover of 9.1 million units valued at N44.0 million, and 11 Plc with the sale of 55,358 for N14.5 million.

Also, Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc closed the day as the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 25.3 million units sold for N5.9 million, Geo-Fluids Plc came next with 9.1 million units valued at N44.0 million, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 4.1 million units worth N162.9 million.

Economy

Naira Weakens to N1,550/$1 at Official Market, Gains N5 at Black Market

Published

21 hours ago

21/01/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The value of the Naira weakened against the US Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Monday, January 20 amid FX pressures associated with this period.

Most people who came into the country for Christmas and New Year holidays are already going back and are in need of forex, putting pressure on the local currency.

Also, the poor performance of the domestic currency could be attributed to end to the 42-day access granted by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to Bureaux de Change (BDC) operators to buy forex at official price.

According to data from the FMDQ Securities Exchange, the Nigerian Naira lost 0.16 per cent or N2.47 on the greeback yesterday to sell at N1,550.05/$1, in contrast to last Friday’s rate of N1,547.58/$1.

Similarly, the Naira slumped against the Pound Sterling in the spot market on Monday by N23.39 to trade at N1,906.98/£1 versus N1,883.59/£1 and depreciated against the Euro by N23.14 to sell for N1,613.48/€1 compared with last Friday’s N1,590.34/€1.

However, in the parallel market, the Nigerian currency improved its value against the Dollar during the session by N5 to quote at N1,665/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,670/$1.

As for the cryptocurrency market, it turned red yesterday as the US President, Mr Donald Trump, didn’t bring up the much-expected subject of crypto in his inauguration speech on Monday afternoon.

Mr Trump had promised a far more friendly crypto policy stance than the previous administration but in the long speech that announced his plans in the coming days, he didn’t make mention of Bitcoin or crypto.

Just over the weekend, the President ignited a speculative frenzy with the Friday evening launch of the Trump meme coin, which was shortly followed by a meme coin associated with his wife, Melania.

Dogecoin (DOGE) crumbled yesterday by 6.3 per cent to $0.3419, Solana (SOL) slumped by 4.7 per cent to $235.32, Cardano (ADA) fell by 3.6 per cent to $0.9777, and Litecoin (LTC) moderated by 1.9 per cent to $114.98.

Further, Ethereum (ETH) went down by 1.7 per cent to $3,241.36, Binance Coin (BNB) retreated by 1.4 per cent to $693.30, Ripple (XRP) depreciated by 1.2 per cent to $3.06, and Bitcoin (BTC) tumbled by 0.8 per cent to $101,746.99, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.