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 Adedapo Adesanya
Three bellwether stocks weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.31 per cent on Monday, May 18.
This brought the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 54.71 points to 4,133.70 points from 4,188.41 points, and shrank the market capitalisation by N32.73 billion to N2.473 trillion from N2.506 trillion.
Yesterday, FrieslandCampina Wamco Plc contracted by N12.45 to sell at N146.55 per share compared with last Friday’s closing price of N159.00 per share, Central Securities and Clearing System (CSCS) Plc declined by N2.34 to N70.00 per unit from N72.34 per unit, and NASD Plc lost 50 Kobo to trade at N34.50 per share versus N35.00 per share.
The trio overpowered the N5.56 gained Newrest Asl Plc. This stock ended the trading session at N61.15 per unit, in contrast to the previous session’s N55.59 per unit.
During the trading day, the volume of securities traded by investors slid by 56.1 per cent to 514,142 units from 1.2 million units, and the value of securities dropped 29.8 per cent to close at N17.4 million versus N29.8 million, while the number of deals jumped 12.5 per cent to 27 deals from 24 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 60.8 million units exchanged for N4.1 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.9 million units traded for N1.9 billion.
GNI Plc also ended the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units transacted for N1.2 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was a horrible day for the Nigerian Naira in the different segments of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Monday, May 15, as its value further weakened against the United States Dollar.
In the black market window, the Naira lost N5 against the Dollar yesterday to sell for N1,390/$1 compared with the previous value of N1,385/$1, but at the GTBank forex counter, it remained unchanged at N1,383/$1.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), the Nigerian currency depreciated against the greenback by N2.66 or 0.19 per cent to sell for N1,373.70/$1 compared to last Friday’s rate of N1,371.04/$1.
Equally, it fell against the Pound Sterling in the same market segment by N9.05 to trade at N1,839.66/£1 versus N1,830.61/£1, and lost N5.42 on the Euro to close at N1,600.49/€1 versus N1,595.07/€1.
The performance of the local currency during the session indicates early worries despite all signals pointing to stability, amid improved Dollar sales by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), with steady, higher oil receipts to bolster the nation’s reserves.
Activity at the market showed that turnover rose 57.3 per cent to $76.29 million on Monday from $48.49 million posted on Friday.
Over the weekend, S&P raised Nigeria’s credit ratings for the first time since 2012 and highlighted improved FX market liquidity and $10 billion turnover recorded in April 2026 as one of the major gains of the CBN-led FX reforms.
The agency said the liberalisation of the exchange rate has bolstered access to foreign currency and enabled a market-driven exchange-rate environment while supporting investor and consumer confidence.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was bullish on Monday as investors monitored developments in the Iran conflict and weighed the impact of surging oil prices on inflation and US interest-rate expectations.
Ethereum (ETH) gained 0.7 per cent to trade at $2,134.10, Cardano (ADA) rose by 0.6 per cent to $0.2515, Solana (SOL) expanded by 0.3 per cent to $85.11, Binance Coin (BNB) jumped 0.2 per cent to $643.29, TRON (TRX) increased by 0.03 per cent to $0.3565, and Bitcoin (BTC) advanced by 0.02 per cent to $76,912.12.
On the flip side, Dogecoin (DOGE) slid by 1.5 per cent to $0.1044, and Ripple (XRP) decreased by 0.5 per cent to $1.38, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 apiece.
By Dipo Olowookere
A marginal 0.05 per cent loss was recorded by Customs Street on Monday, as sell-offs by market participants remained.
This was driven by the desire of investors to book profits, having witnessed a significant price appreciation on the stocks in their portfolios.
Yesterday, bargain-hunting in the banking space, which resulted in the sector closing 0.17 per cent higher, could not prevent the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited from going down.
Data showed that the consumer goods segment lost 0.26 per cent, the insurance counter depreciated by 0.20 per cent, the industrial goods index shed 0.09 per cent, and the energy industry retreated by 0.03 per cent.
As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) eased by 126.09 points to 250,204.83 points from 250,330.92 points, and the market capitalisation contracted by N81 billion to N160.363 trillion from N160.444 trillion.
NCR Nigeria and Zichis declined by 9.99 per cent each to sell for N161.20 and N26.49, respectively, Industrial and Medical Gases shrank by 9.93 per cent to N38.10, Sovereign Trust Insurance depreciated by 9.86 per cent to N2.65, and DAAR Communications slipped by 9.78 per cent to N2.03.
On the flip side, Oando gained 10.00 per cent to finish at N51.70, University Press also rose by 10.00 per cent to N5.50, Deap Capital soared by 9.96 per cent to N5.96, May and Baker expanded by 9.94 per cent to N52.00, and Trans-Nationwide Express grew by 9.92 per cent to N7.76.
Yesterday, 800.5 million equities worth N37.1 billion exchanged hands in 87,096 deals compared with the 1.1 billion equities valued at N44.3 billion traded in 65,744 deals last Friday. This showed that the number of deals went up by 32.48 per cent, while the trading volume and value went down by 27.23 per cent and 16.25 per cent, respectively.
The most active stock on the first trading session of this week was UBA with a turnover of 65.0 million units worth N2.8 billion, Fidelity Bank traded 57.3 million units for N1.3 billion, Access Holdings sold 42.3 million units valued at N1.1 billion, DAAR Communications exchanged 36.7 million units for N81.8 million, and Secure Electronic Technology transacted 36.6 million units worth N33.0 million.
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