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

Afriland Properties Lifts NASD OTC Securities Exchange by 0.04%

Published

3 hours ago

11/12/2024

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Afriland Properties Plc helped the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange record a 0.04 per cent gain on Tuesday, December 10 as the share price of the property investment rose by 34 Kobo to N16.94 per unit from the preceding day’s N16.60 per unit.

As a result of this, the market capitalisation of the bourse went up by N380 million to remain relatively unchanged at N1.056 trillion like the previous trading day.

But the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) closed higher at 3,014.36 points after it recorded an addition of 1.09 points to Monday’s closing value of 3,013.27 points.

The NASD OTC securities exchange recorded a price loser and it was Geo-Fluids Plc, which went down by 2 Kobo to close at N3.93 per share, in contrast to the preceding day’s N3.95 per share.

During the trading session, the volume of securities bought and sold by investors increased by 95.8 per cent to 2.4 million units from the 1.2 million securities traded in the preceding session.

However, the value of shares traded yesterday slumped by 3.7 per cent to N4.9 million from the N5.07 million recorded a day earlier, as the number of deals surged by 27.3 per cent to 14 deals from 11 deals.

Geo-Fluids Plc remained the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 1.7 billion units sold for N3.9 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 297.5 million units worth N5.3 million.

Also, Aradel Holdings Plc remained the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 108.7 million units worth N89.2 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 297.5 million units sold for N5.3 billion.

Economy

Naira Trades N1,542/$1 as FX Speculators Dump Dollars in Panic

Published

3 hours ago

11/12/2024

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira continued to appreciate on the US Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), gaining 0.7 per cent or N10.23 on Tuesday, December 10 to trade at N1,542.27/$1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,552.50/$1.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)-backed Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS) platform introduced to tackle speculation and improve transparency in Nigeria’s FX market has been attributed as the source of the Naira’s appreciation.

Speculators holding foreign currencies, particularly the US Dollar, have seen the value of their money drastically drop due to the appreciation of the local currency. This is forcing them to dump greenback into the system and take the domestic currency alternative- a move that has seen available FX increase.

Equally, the domestic currency improved its value against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the trading day by N6.81 to sell for N1,955.12/£1 compared with Monday’s closing price of N1,961.93/£1 and against the Euro, it gained N10.84 to close at N1,613.00/€1, in contrast to the previous day’s rate of N1,623.84/€1.

Data from the FMDQ Securities Exchange showed that the value of forex transactions significantly increased yesterday by $228.85 million or 257.2 per cent to $401.17 million from the preceding session’s $112.32 million.

However, in the parallel market, the Nigerian currency weakened against the US Dollar on Tuesday by N5 to settle at N1,625/$1 compared with the previous day’s value of N1,620/$1.

In the cryptocurrency market, Dogecoin (DOGE) lost 4.8 per cent to sell at $0.39116, Litecoin (LTC) depreciated by 3.3 per cent to trade at $110.25, Binance Coin (BNB) went south by 2.3 per cent to $681.44, Ethereum (ETH) dropped 1.6 per cent to finish at $3,671.08, and Cardano (ADA) slid by 0.5 per cent to $0.8837

Conversely, Ripple (XRP) jumped by 5.4 per cent to $2.23 amid a continued shift for the coin with its parent company seeing the benefits of a crypto-friendly regulatory environment for US-based companies.

XRP is closely related to Ripple Labs, a high-profile payments company targeted by the SEC in 2020 on allegations of selling the token as a security to U.S. investors. Ripple fully cleared a long-drawn court case in 2024.

Further, Solana (SOL) expanded by 0.8 per cent to $219.75, Bitcoin (BTC) grew by 0.4 per cent to $97,446.95, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.

Economy

Chinese Demand, Europe, Syria Development Buoy Oil Prices

Published

5 hours ago

11/12/2024

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Oil prices rose on Tuesday, influenced by increasing demand in China, the world’s largest buyer, as well as developments in Europe and Syria, with Brent crude futures closing at $72.19 per barrel after chalking up 5 cents or 0.07 per cent while the US West Texas Intermediate finished at $68.59 a barrel after it gained 22 cents or 0.32 per cent.

China will adopt an “appropriately loose” monetary policy in 2025 as the world’s largest oil importer tries to spur economic growth. This would be the first easing of its stance in 14 years.

Chinese crude imports also grew annually for the first time in seven months, jumping in November on a year-on-year basis.

Speculation about winter demand in Europe also contributed to the rise in prices as the period has been known for high demand.

In Syria, rebels were working to form a government and restore order after the ousting of President Bashar al-Assad, with the country’s banks and oil sector set to resume work on Tuesday.

Although Syria itself is not a major oil producer, it is strategically located and has strong ties with Russia and Iran – two of the world’s largest oil producers.

Market analysts noted that the tensions in the Middle East seem contained, which led market participants to price for potentially low risks of a wider regional spillover leading to significant oil supply disruption.

The market is also looking forward to the US Federal Reserve, which is expected to make a 25 basis point cut to interest rates at the end of its December 17-18 meeting.

This move could improve oil demand in the world’s biggest economy, though traders are waiting to see if this week’s inflation data derails the cut.

Crude oil inventories in the US rose by 499,000 barrels for the week ending November 29, according to The American Petroleum Institute (API). Analysts had expected a draw of 1.30 million barrels.

For the week prior, the API reported a 1.232-million barrel build in crude inventories.

So far this year, crude oil inventories have fallen by roughly 3.4 million barrels since the beginning of the year, according to API data.

Official data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) will be released later on Wednesday.

Also, the market is getting relief from the recent decision of selected members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, OPEC+ to delay the rollback of 2.2 million barrels per day of oil production cuts to April from January. Another 3.6 million barrels per day in output reductions across the OPEC+ group has been extended to the end of 2026 from the end of 2025.