Economy

NPDC Remits over $608m in 2016

Published

8 years ago

12/01/2017

Modupe Gbadeyanka

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

The Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), the upstream subsidiary company of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), has provided clarification on the reported non-remittance of some crude oil revenue to the Federation Account.

In a presentation to the Senate Ad hoc Committee on the recovery of unremitted revenue, Mr Yusuf Matashi, Managing Director of the firm faulted some of the figures quoted as revenue derived by the company from crude sales.

Providing clarification on the alleged non-remittance of crude proceeds from some divested oil wells (OMLs 61, 62 and 63), Matashi explained that the value of crude oil lifted by NPDC between May 20013 and August 2016 was $3.294 billion as against $3.487 as claimed by the Committee.

The NPDC MD drew the attention of the committee to the fact that on the basis of the Ministerial assignment of the assets to NPDC, cash call funding of the assets by government had ceased and NPDC is funding the cost of production and lifting of crude oil by itself.

He said, “According to our records total crude oil lifted from OMLs 60-63 by NPDC during the period May 2013 TO August 2016 is valued at $3.294 billion against the figure of $3.487 billion.”

On the allegation that NPDC has been lifting crude oil from divested oil well (OMLs 65, 111 and 119) to the tune of $1.847 billion out of which it paid $100 million only, the NPDC MD explained that the OMLs 65, 111 & 119 referred to by the Senate Committee are not part of the divested assets.

He argued that the figures given refer to the Good Valuable Consideration obligation payments in respect of the Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC divested asset (OMLs 4, 38 &41 and OMLs 26, 30, 34, 40 &42.

‘’The $1.847 billion referred to by the committee is the total Good and Valuable Consideration (G&VC) determined by DPR for the divested assets. The $100 million referred to as paid is part of the G&VC which has been paid by NPDC,’’ he said.

While recognizing the balance of $1.747 billion for the G&VC, the NPDC noted that the obligation to pay in the future has not been waived and that the balance as payable to the Federation is recognized in NPDC’s books.

On the report that a total of $344.3442 million worth of crude oil has been unremitted between January and August 2016 including non-payment of due royalties and taxes within the period, the NPDC faulted the claim.

“The committee is invited to note that the actual value of crude oil liftings from all assets divested to NPDC is a total of $584.1 million for the period January to August 2016. NPDC has paid a total of $608.4 million as royalty and PPT,” he said.

Mr Matashi, noted that a total of $608, 417, 937 was made by the NPDC as Royalty and Petroleum Profit Tax in 2016.

Also Providing response to the issues raised by the Senate committee on the legal and operational status of the NPDC, Mr Matashi explained that like all other indigenous oil and gas companies operating in Nigeria, the NPDC is self-funded which means that gross revenue are not remitted to the Federation Account .

He said that the company is however required to pay Royalties to the Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR and Petroleum Profit Tax, PPT to the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS.

Mr Matashi however stated that the NPDC is ready to engage all stakeholders to resolve all outstanding payments noting that the Company is already in talks with statutory agencies to arrive at agreed installed payments of historical liabilities.

The co-chairman of the Senate Ad hoc Committee, Mr Kabiru Marafa expressed the readiness of the Senate to work with the Corporation and other stakeholders to ensure proper accountability and probity in the handling of crude oil proceeds.

Economy

NASD Index Sheds 0.37% as Geo Fluids, FrieslandCampina Count Losses

Published

7 hours ago

10/01/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange dropped 0.37 per cent on Thursday, January 9 as investors booked profit in Geo-Fluids and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc.

The sell-offs in the two securities brought down the value of the bourse by N4.13 billion at the close of business to N1.052 trillion from N1.056 trillion.

In the same vein, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) made a loss of 12.05 points to wrap the session at 3,069.86 points compared with 3,081.91 points recorded at the previous session.

There were two price losers and three price gainers at the Thursday session, indicating a weak investor sentiment.

Geo-Fluids depleted by 25 Kobo to close at N4.60 per unit compared with midweek’s price of N4.85 per unit and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc went down by N1.78 to trade at N38.22 per share versus Wednesday’s value of N40.00 per share.

Conversely, Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc appreciated by 2 Kobo to end at 24 Kobo per unit compared with the preceding day’s 22 Kobo per unit, UBN Property Plc gained 2 Kobo to close at N2.00 per share versus N1.98 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc expanded by 1 Kobo to N16.01 per unit from N16.01 per unit.

The volume of trades recorded yesterday increased by 82.9 per cent to 6.6 million units from 3.6 million units, but the value of transactions declined by 24.8 per cent to N27.5 million from N36.6 million, and the number of deals went up by 157 per cent to 36 deals from the 14 deals.

FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc remained the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 1.9 million units worth N74.2 million, 11 Plc came next with 12,963 units valued at N3.2 million, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI )Plc was in third with 10.7 million units sold for N2.1 million.

IGI Plc closed the day as the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 10.6 million units sold for N2.1 million, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc came next with 1.9 million units valued at N74.2 million, and Acorn Petroleum Plc occupied the third spot with 1.2 million units worth N1.9 million.

Economy

Naira Gains 47 Kobo at Official Market, Stable at Black Market

Published

7 hours ago

10/01/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Pressure eased on the Naira on Thursday, January 9, in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) segment of the currency market.

It was the first time the local currency was appreciating against the United States Dollar in the official market this week.

The value of the Naira improved against the greenback yesterday by 0.03 per cent or 47 Kobo to sell for N1,541.23/$1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,541.70/$1.

Equally, the domestic currency gained against the Pound Sterling in the spot market during the trading session by N41.11 to quote at N1,858.51/£1, in contrast to Wednesday’s closing price of N1,899.62/£1 and improved its value against the Euro at NAFEM by N5.78 to trade at N1,589.29/€1 versus N1,584.96/€1.

As for the black market, the Nigerian Naira was stable against the Dollar on Thursday as it remained unchanged at N1,650/$1.

In the cryptocurrency market, profit-taking continued after a major fourth-quarter 2024 rally spurred by Donald Trump’s November victory and the hope of a friendlier regulatory environment out of Washington DC.

Also supporting the market was the US Federal Reserve having cut its overnight interest rate by 100 basis points since September. However, that has been cut out after a series of economic reports showed the US economy and inflation have been far stronger than markets and the US central bank expected.

Bitcoin (BTC) went down yesterday by 0.03 per cent to finish at $94,130.63, Dogecoin (DOGE) recorded a value depreciation of 1.9 per cent to sell at $0.3314, Ripple (XRP) also slumped by 1.9 per cent to $2.30, Solana (SOL) fell 1.7 per cent to trade at $190.50, Ethereum (ETH) dropped 1.5 per cent to end at $3,268.93, and Binance Coin (BNB) went south 0.9 per cent to settle at $692.52.

On the flip side, Litecoin (LTC) increased its price by 1.9 per cent end at $104.26 and Cardano (ADA) leapt by 0.6 per cent to close at $0.9359, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.

Economy

Cold Weather Buoys Oil Prices

Published

8 hours ago

10/01/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Oil prices rose more than 1 per cent on Thursday as cold weather affected some parts of the United States and Europe, boosting winter fuel demand.

Yesterday, Brent crude futures were up by 76 cents or 1 per cent at $76.92 a barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures grew by 60 cents or 0.82 per cent to $73.92 per barrel.

In some US states like Texas and Virginia, there were reports of winter storm warnings on Thursday and this has led to diesel futures trading at their highest levels since early October 2024.

Analysts estimated that for the US, Europe and Japan, for every degree Fahrenheit, the temperature drops below its 10-year average, it translates to an increase of 113,000 barrels per day in demand for heating oil and propane.

Extreme winter conditions can lead to disruptions in oil supplies as freezing temperatures may cause temporary freeze-offs and production cuts.

Meanwhile, in his last days as US President, Mr Joe Biden will announce new sanctions targeting Russia’s economy.

The administration is trying to bolster Ukraine’s war effort against Russia before President-elect Donald Trump takes office on January 20. A key target of sanctions so far has been Russia’s oil industry.

The second coming of Mr Trump to the White House has sparked crude oil traders are buying more oil futures due to possible sanctions on Iran and tariffs.

The President-elect has made no secret of his attitude toward Iran, and he demonstrated that during his first term when he withdrew the largest oil producer from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, commonly referred to as the Iran nuclear deal, and slapped back sanctions that the JCPOA had put an end to previously.

The Biden administration that took over in 2020 did not pay as much attention to Iran and sanction enforcement.

As a result, Iran boosted both its production of crude oil and exports, with the latter jumping by over 10 per cent in 2024 to a total of 587 million barrels.

With sanctions in place, the majority of Iran’s barrels went to China, a move that suggests that whatever way Mr Trump chooses to tighten sanction enforcement, it would have an impact on US-Chinese relations.

Pressure came as the US Dollar strengthened further on Thursday.

A stronger makes oil expensive for holders of other currencies, making prices weaker.