Economy
Oil Adds $1 Per Barrel as Iraq Exports Deal Stall
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil went up by more than $1 a barrel on Tuesday after a deal to resume exports from Iraq’s Kurdistan stalled, easing oversupply worries that had given investors some concerns.
Brent crude futures gained $1.06 or 1.6 per cent to trade at $67.63 a barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose by $1.13 or 1.8 per cent to end at $63.41 a barrel.
Pipeline oil exports from Iraq’s Kurdistan region to Turkiye had yet to restart on Tuesday despite hopes of a deal to end the deadlock, as two key producers asked for debt repayment guarantees.
The deal between Iraq’s federal and Kurdish regional governments and oil firms aims to resume exports of about 230,000 barrels per day of oil from Kurdistan to the global market via Turkey, halted since March 2023. The restart would exacerbate worries about global oversupply.
However, Turkiye, which holds the final decision, had not implement the move.
Turkiye shut the Iraq-Turkey pipeline after an international arbitration ruling ordered it to pay $1.5 billion to Baghdad for past unauthorized Kurdish shipments. The loss of export revenue has battered the KRG’s finances and complicated budget transfers from the federal government in Iraq.
Analysts noted that the market sold off on reports of a Kurdistan deal, and the lack of a deal has now taken those barrels out of the market.
Overall, the global oil market is bracing for elevated supply and slowing demand, hampered by the take-up of electric vehicles and economic pressures fueled by tariffs by the Donald Trump administration.
In its latest monthly report, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said world oil supply would rise more rapidly this year and a surplus could expand in 2026 as the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) members increase output and supply from outside the producer group grows.
Traders continue to monitor the European Union’s consideration of stricter sanctions on Russian oil exports, as well as any escalation of geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the United States fell by 3.821 million barrels in the week ending September 19. So far this year, crude oil inventories are up just 1.5 million barrels.
Petroleum (gasoline) inventories fell by 1.05 million barrels, while distillate inventories rose by 518,000 barrels from last week.
Official data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) will be released later on Wednesday.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is seeking a reduction in import duty exemptions, which rose to N34 trillion, limiting its ability to increase its revenue generation threshold.
The Comptroller-General of the Customs Service, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed that the value of import duty exemption certificate approvals increased to that level in 2025, describing the policy as one of the major factors restricting its revenue generation.
At an investigative session of the Senate Committee on Finance with revenue-generating agencies in Abuja on Monday, Mr Adeniyi explained that government fiscal policies have continued to impact the revenue-generating capacity of the Customs Service, both positively and negatively.
“The NCS would have generated significantly higher revenue over the years if not for government-approved import duty waivers and other external factors affecting collections,” he said.
He added that the Import Duty Exemption Certificate scheme, introduced in March 2020, accounted for about N34 trillion in approvals in 2025, with nearly 60 per cent covering duty-free importation of military hardware due to Nigeria’s prevailing security challenges.
Other government-backed duty waivers, he noted, covered the importation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), electric and hybrid vehicles, healthcare equipment and medical supplies, industrial machinery and manufacturing inputs, as well as food import intervention programmes.
While acknowledging the impact of the waivers on Customs revenue, Mr Adeniyi argued that fiscal policy should not be assessed solely on the basis of revenue generation but also on its broader economic and social objectives.
He, however, urged the federal government to establish stronger monitoring mechanisms to ensure beneficiaries of duty waivers deliver the intended economic outcomes, including lower consumer prices, increased local production and improved healthcare access.
The committee also expressed displeasure over the absence of several heads of government agencies invited to the hearing, including the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Mr Sani Musa, warned that the affected chief executives must appear at the committee’s next sitting or face severe sanctions under the Senate’s rules.
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By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.40 per cent on Monday, July 13, buoyed by buying interest in 11 Plc, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and UBN Property Plc, which offset the profit-taking in Food Concepts Plc, the parent company of Chicken Republic.
11 Plc gained N20.69 to end at N227.64 per share compared with last Friday’s price of N206.95 per share, CSCS Plc grew by N1.83 to N91.48 per unit from N89.65 per unit, and UBN Property Plc added 1 Kobo to sell at N1.81 per share versus N1.80 per share.
On the flip side, Food Concepts Plc depreciated by 24 Kobo to close at N2.45 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N2.69 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N9.2 billion to N2.587 trillion from N2.578 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) improved by 15.33 points to 4,311.67 points from 4,296.34 points.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors surged by 615.9 per cent to 9.1 million units from the previous 1.3 million units, and the value of securities rose by 997.1 per cent to N320.4 million from the preceding session’s N29.2 million, while the number of deals decreased by 12.5 per cent to 28 deals from last Friday’s 32 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units exchanged for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for 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.
