Economy
Oando to Double Production to 50,000bpd With Eni Deal
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oando has projected to double its production to 50,000 barrels per day of oil equivalent with the closure of its landmark deal with Eni, which it says is imminent.
This was disclosed by the oil and gas firm’s Chief Operating Officer, Mr Alex Irune, to S&P Global Commodity Insights at the weekend, noting that the firm intends to scale up to 100,000 barrels per day by 2029, thanks to new drilling and security improvements.
The Nigerian company’s bid to buy the Italian major’s entire Nigerian upstream business reflects a major shift in Africa’s biggest oil producer, with local firms replacing departing International Oil Companies (IOCs).
Business Post had reported that the deal had come under scrutiny, including from local workers.
However, Mr Irune disagreed that approvals had been an issue.
“What we are seeing is a careful, considered approach to ensuring that the country isn’t materially impacted in a negative way, ensuring the indigenous players are able to straddle the horse and ride it into the horizon,” he said.
Through the deal, Oando will become one of Nigeria’s biggest domestic producers which is currently “working through the obligations under the Share Purchase Agreement” and is “on track” to close the deal this quarter, Mr Irune said.
The estimated $500 million acquisition covers four oil-producing blocks OMLs 60, 61, 62 and 63, which comprise a joint venture alongside the Brass terminal, onshore exploration concessions and power plants.
Eni currently holds a 20 per cent operating stake in the JV alongside Oando with 20 per cent and state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) with 60 per cent.
Oando, which is run by Mr Adewale Tinubu is currently producing 25,000 barrels per day and following the deal, its JV stake will rise to 40 per cent.
Production rises over the next five years will be achieved through drilling programmes on marginal fields, particularly Qua Iboe (OML 13) and Ebendo (OML 56).
“We’ll be drilling four to five wells on these two fields over the next 18 months. Both fields have easy access to export terminals, including the Escravos pipeline system in the case of OML 56,” he emphasised.
The Eni agreement was first signed in September. It follows home-grown Seplat’s battle to take over ExxonMobil’s onshore business.
Meanwhile, Shell has agreed to sell its onshore assets to a consortium of mostly local companies and Equinor has signed a deal to divest its assets to Mauritius-based Chappal Energies.
The trend indicates an IOC exodus from mature African basins and a shift towards frontiers like Namibia and Guyana, less carbon-intensive projects and less risky offshore developments.
This raises questions about Nigeria’s ability to boost the sector that has been plagued by underinvestment, inadequate exploration and the scourge of crude theft in the Niger Delta.
To this effect, Mr Irune insists that local firms were well-equipped to rejuvenate the sector.
“The government is certainly in support of this transition and keen to see indigenous players step into those roles and deliver,” he said. “If you look at the local companies that have stepped forward…there’s no doubt that the indigenous capacity exists,” he added.
Asked about the apparent delays in approvals, Mr Irune added: “Acquisitions of this nature are relatively novel and for the first time the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has set a framework for divestment where there are certain criteria that you must get through to qualify, and that process takes its course.”
At the same time, local ownership could actually reduce theft, which was costing Nigeria 400,000 barrels per day in August 2023, according to the government’s security adviser, by giving communities a bigger stake in the success of the industry.
“My personal opinion is having indigenous players will definitely improve issues around fairness and this need to engage in sabotage and theft,” he said.
He said with this smaller companies can build a more cohesive and collaborative oil sector.
“We’re not going to be ‘siloed’ global companies with headquarters in Houston. Nigeria is our headquarters,” he pointed out.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
One of the paint makers in Nigeria, Premier Paints Plc, is currently in talks with a new investor, Xenergi Limited, for the purchase of 51 per cent stake in the company.
Xenergi Limited intends to acquire shares of Clover Global Resources Limited and TGHL Capital Limited in the organisation.
Business Post gathered that the new investor will buy 39.02 per cent from Clover Global Resources Limited and 15.20 per cent from TGHL Capital Limited.
The deal, according to a regulatory notice issued on Tuesday on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, will involve about 63 million shares of Premier Paints.
At the current share price of the paint producer, this should be about N630 million as it closed at N10.00 per unit on NGX on December 16, 2025.
“Subject to obtaining required regulatory approvals, the transaction is expected to close before January 31, 2026.
“The company will continue to inform the public of the progress of the transaction,” the disclosure signed by the company secretary, Alozie Nwokoro, said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira was flat against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Tuesday, December 16, retaining the previous closing value of N1,451.82/$1.
In the same vein, the local currency saw no movement against the Pound Sterling and the Euro in the spot market during the session at N1,943.98/£1 and N1,705.74/€1, respectively.
Also, the Nigerian Naira remained unchanged in the black market yesterday at N1,475/$1 and was N1,460/$1 at the GTBank forex counter.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has strengthened US Dollar supply with $250 million to authorised dealer banks at the official window cumulatively as foreign portfolio investors, exporters and non-bank corporate supply dripped.
The spread between official and other non-regulated markets decreased to N30.59$/1 from N44.57/$1, from the previous week, research subsidiary of Coronation Merchant Bank Limited said in a report.
FX analysts said foreign exchange inflows through the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market decreased to $716.3 million from $844.70 million in the previous week , a 15 per cent drop in a week.
Foreign portfolio investors accounted for the highest share of inflows at 32.98 per cent, followed by exporters at 30.84 per cent, the CBN (17.36 per cent), Non-bank Corporates (16.94 per cent), others (0.72 per cent) and Individuals (0.63 per cent).
On Monday, Nigeria’s headline inflation rate eased to 14.45 per cent in November 2025, down from 16.05 per cent recorded in October, according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), representing a decrease of 1.6 percentage points month-on-month and marks a significant moderation compared to the same period last year.
As for the cryptocurrency market, there was some recoveries after overall capitalization falling below $3 trillion for the third time in a month. Large-cap assets, particularly those with Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) exposure, are experiencing selling pressure as institutional investors reassess risk.
Ripple (XRP) appreciated by 1.5 per cent to $1.92, Litecoin (LTC) expanded by 1.5 per cent to $78.91, Dogecoin (DOGE) rose by 0.8 per cent to $0.1308, Solana (SOL) went up by 0.4 per cent to $127.60, Binance Coin (BNB) grew by 0.3 per cent to $865.40, and Bitcoin (BTC) gained 0.2 per cent to sell at $86,735.17.
On the flip side, Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 1.0 per cent to $0.3802 and Ethereum (ETH) slumped by 0.4 per cent to $2,935.85, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) were flat at $1.00 each.
By Dipo Olowookere
A marginal 0.01 per cent rise was recorded by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Tuesday. This was different from the flattish mode of the market the previous day.
Investor sentiment remained bullish as Customs Street finished with 31 price gainers and 26 price losers, implying a positive market breadth index.
Aluminium Extrusion topped the gainers’ log after it improved its price by 10.00 per cent to N9.35, Guinness Nigeria appreciated by 9.98 per cent to N263.40, Multiverse expanded by 9.95 per cent to N12.15, MeCure Industries also soared by 9.95 per cent to N45.85, and Sovereign Trust Insurance advanced by 9.89 per cent to N4.11.
Conversely, Haldane McCall led the losers’ chart after it shed 9.93 per cent to settle at N3.72, Veritas Kapital lost 9.09 per cent to close at N1.60, LivingTrust Mortgage Bank also declined by 9.09 per cent to N3.50, and Linkage Assurance depreciated by 5.71 per cent to N1.65.
During the trading day, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 21.23 points to 149,459.11 points from the previous day’s 149,437.88 points and the market capitalisation increased by N14 billion to N95.281 trillion from N95.267 trillion.
Yesterday, traders transacted 1.0 billion equities for N21.8 billion in 23,701 deals compared with the 553.1 million equities valued at N13.3 billion traded in 28,907 deals on Monday, representing a decline in the number of deals by 18.01 per cent, and a surge in the trading volume and value by 80.80 per cent and 63.91 per cent apiece.
Access Holdings traded 385.8 million stocks worth N7.7 billion, Champion Breweries transacted 111.8 million shares valued at N817.8 million, Sterling Holdings exchanged 85.5 million equities for N589.9 million, FCMB sold 74.7 million shares valued at N791.5 million, and First Holdco transacted 51.9 million equities worth N1.8 billion.
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