Economy
NNPC Reviews JV Funding
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has reiterated its resolve to exert energy in exploring oil in the Chad basin.
The NNPC said it was also exploring measures to deal with the intractable Cash Call challenges as it said that funding of Joint Venture (JV) Operations should be the first line to ensure sustainable oil production and reserve growth.
At a meeting of former Group Managing Directors of the NNPC, chaired by current GMD of the agency, Dr Maikanti Kacalla Baru, critical decisions were reached with the aim of moving the oil sector forward.
The meeting endorsed Mr President’s steer for sustaining exploration activities in the frontier basins particularly the ongoing efforts in Chad Basin and the Benue Trough.
The meeting advised the GMD to pay priority attention to the Chad Basin where promising prospects are recorded.
Dr Baru and the former GMDs jointly reviewed the current state of Nigeria’s Oil & Gas Industry, deliberated on ways to resolve issues militating against the progress of the sector and recommended measures to move the sector forward.
During the brainstorming session, they expressed serious concerns on the declining production level and its attendant consequences on the environment and the nation’s revenue.
They further agreed that if the current situation remains unchecked, it could lead to the crippling of the Corporation and the nation’s Oil & Gas Sector, the mainstay of the Nigerian economy.
At the meeting it was agreed that the refineries be rejuvenated using the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and that the refineries must be restructured to operate as an Incorporated Joint venture (IJV) similar to the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) model with credible partners having requisite technical and financial capabilities.
The NNPC was also commended for resolving the fuel supply crisis and urged the Corporation to emplace measures that will ensure sustenance of seamless supply of petroleum products nationwide.
The meeting noted that the PMS price cap of N145/litre is not congruent with the liberalization policy especially with the Foreign Exchange rate and other price determining components such as crude cost, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) charges etc remaining uncapped.
They also noted that for effective functioning of any National Oil company (NOC), the technical components of the country’s Exploration & Production (E & P) must be integrated as part of the country’s NOC and therefore posited that NAPIMS being the technical component of Nigeria’s E & P, and not just an investment vehicle, must remain with and managed by NNPC. Taking NAPIMS out will make NNPC an ineffective NOC.
They argued that current Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) which proposed the incorporation of NAPIMS and taking it out of the NNPC will inhibit the effective functioning of the NNPC as a National Oil Company (NOC).
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited was further pulled back by 0.50 per cent on Tuesday as a result of profit-taking in some heavyweight stocks.
Like the preceding session, the key sectors of Customs Street were depressed yesterday, with the banking index down by 2.82 per cent. The consumer goods declined by 0.52 per cent, the insurance space lost 0.10 per cent, and the energy counter shrank by 0.03 per cent, while the industrial goods segment was flat.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) eased by 1,437.54 points to 241,984.80 points from 243,422.34 points, and the market capitalisation contracted by N922 billion to N155.204 trillion from N156.126 trillion.
The worst-performing stock was International Energy Insurance, which gave up 10.00 per cent to close at N5.76. Vitafoam dipped by 10.00 per cent to N189.00, Austin Laz crashed by 9.93 per cent to N3.90, SUNU Assurances depleted by 9.82 per cent to N3.58, and Sovereign Trust Insurance lost 8.37 per cent to finish at N2.30.
On the flip side, Conoil gained 9.79 per cent to trade at N213.00, Prestige Assurance also expanded by 9.79 per cent to N1.57, Neimeth jumped 9.74 per cent to N8.45, eTranzact chalked up 9.40 per cent to close at N16.30, and Cornerstone Insurance improved by 9.09 per cent to N5.40.
The bourse witnessed heavy sell-offs in some equities, with Sterling Holdings recording the sale of 100.9 million units worth N782.8 million to lead the activity log. UAC Nigeria transacted 49.4 million units valued at N9.1 billion, Access Holdings sold 28.8 million units for N699.3 million, Zenith Bank exchanged 29.4 million units worth N3.0 billion, and GTCO traded 20.2 million units valued at N2.7 billion.
At the close of transactions, market participants bought and sold 535.5 million shares worth N36.8 billion in 55,123 deals compared with 569.1 million shares valued at N31.4 billion traded in 77,652 deals on Monday. This implied that the trading value went up by 17.20 per cent, while the trading volume and the number of deals went down by 5.90 per cent and 29.01 per cent, respectively.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange was further down by 0.48 per cent on Monday, June 16, as a result of the losses printed by three bellwethers, led by MRS Oil Plc, which fell by N15.80 to N142.20 per unit from N158.00 per unit.
Further, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc dipped by N2.94 to close at N180.14 per share versus the previous day’s N183.08 per share, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc crumbled by 38 Kobo to N80.24 per share from N80.62 per share.
Consequently, the market capitalisation of the trading platform moderated by N12.55 billion to N2.605 trillion from N2.605 trillion, while the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) weakened by 20.98 points to 4,333.35 points from 4,354.33 points.
During the trading day, the value of transactions surged by 16.5 per cent to N45.6 million from the preceding session’s N39.2 million, and the number of deals soared by 34.8 per cent to 31 deals from 23 deals, while the volume of securities declined by 30.6 per cent to 688,290 units from 992,164 units.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with a turnover of 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion. The second spot was occupied by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc, with 2.3 billion sold for N6.5 billion, and the third position was taken by CSCS Plc, with 66.9 million units exchanged for N4.6 billion.
GNI Plc also ended the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira suffered a 0.55 per cent or 91 Kobo loss against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Tuesday, June 16, closing at N1,357.18 /$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,356.27/$1.
It also weakened against the Pound Sterling at the official market during the session by N11.53 to trade at N1,820.39/£1 versus Monday’s rate of N1,808.86/£1, but appreciated against the Euro by N2.06 to quote at N1,573.79/€1 versus the preceding session’s N1,575.85/€1.
In the black market, the Nigerian currency crashed against the Dollar yesterday by N5 to sell for N1,385/$1, in contrast to the N1,380/$1 it was traded a day earlier, and at the GTBank FX desk, it traded flat at N1,373/$1.
Nigeria’s gross external reserves surged to $50.505 billion, the highest international Dollar balance since January 2009, affirming expectations that the local currency will remain along a stable band. The FX reserves position was buoyed by inflows from oil sales.
In its Article IV consultation report on Nigeria, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said that the Naira remains significantly undervalued despite recent gains from FX reforms. It noted that its Real Effective Exchange Rate (REER) assessment showed the local currency was still trading below levels supported by the country’s economic fundamentals, saying the Naira should have traded around N1,142.04/$1 using the end-of-2025 exchange rate benchmark, or N1,130.88/$1 when calculated using the average exchange rate for the year.
As for the cryptocurrency market, prices showed renewed risk appetite as total 24-hour trading volume jumped 51 per cent to $207 billion, open interest rose 2.4 per cent to $113.41 billion, and liquidations surged 64 per cent to $561 million, with shorts accounting for the bulk of the forced exits, according to Coindesk data.
Cardano (ADA) slid 2.7 per cent to $0.1731, Binance Coin (BNB) slumped 1.6 per cent to $605.80, Ripple (XRP) declined by 1.5 per cent to $1.22, Bitcoin (BTC) fell 0.8 per cent to $65,739.70, Dogecoin (DOGE) also tumbled by 0.6 per cent to $0.0873, and TRON (TRX) depreciated by 0.6 per cent to $0.3166.
However, Ethereum (ETH) grew by 0.5 per cent to $1,795.40, and Solana (SOL) rose by 0.2 per cent to $73.81, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.
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