Economy
Oil Falls Ahead of US-Iran Talks, Logs Biggest Weekly Drop Since 2022
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil futures settled lower on Friday ahead of talks between Iran and the United States aimed at securing a permanent ceasefire.
Brent futures lost 72 cents or 0.8 per cent to trade at $95.20 a barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell by $1.30 or 1.3 per cent to $96.57 a barrel. As a result, these benchmarks posted their biggest weekly decline since 2022.
Despite the ceasefire announced earlier this week, traffic through the critical oil chokepoint remains severely restricted and under supervision and approval by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Crude futures hovered near $100 a barrel as attacks continued and the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz remained heavily restricted, and concerns lingered over potential supply disruptions in Saudi Arabia. Prices in the physical market were at record highs.
Market analysts noted that the key issue for the oil market is whether ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz will resume. However, there are no signs of this happening. If oil supplies from the Persian Gulf remain blocked, oil prices are likely to rise again.
According to Reuters, traffic through the strait remained less than 10 per cent of normal volumes as Iran warned ships to keep to its territorial waters. Most ships that have sailed through the Strait in the past day were linked to Iran.
Iran also wants to charge fees for ships to pass through the Strait under a peace deal.
Oil prices could spike and hit again their peak Iran-war levels at nearly $120 per barrel if a full recovery of vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz takes until July, according to JP Morgan.
Attacks on Saudi energy facilities have cut the kingdom’s oil production capacity by about 600,000 barrels per day and reduced its East-West Pipeline throughput by about 700,000 barrels per day.
Meanwhile, Lebanon said it intends to take part in a meeting with the US and Israeli representatives in Washington next week to discuss and announce a ceasefire.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The over 9 billion shares of Lasaco Assurance Plc issued to shareholders of the company via a rights issue have been listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.
The equities were brought to Customs Street on Wednesday by the organisation, increasing its total issued and fully paid-up share capital.
Lasaco Assurance, which scaled the recapitalisation hurdle of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) in July 2026, raised fresh capital from the capital market to shore up its capital base.
The underwriting firm got about N18.5 billion from the rights issue, which involved the issuance of 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares at a unit price of N2.00.
The exercise was on the basis of five new ordinary shares for every existing six ordinary shares held as of the close of business on Friday, February 20, 2026.
Confirming the listing of the additional stocks of Lasaco Assurance today, the Head of Issuer Regulation Department of NGX RegCo, Mr Godstime Iwenekhai, announced in a circular that, “Trading licence holders are hereby notified that an additional 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each of Lasaco Assurance Plc were today, Wednesday, August 12, 2026, listed on the daily official list of Nigerian Exchange Limited.
“The additional shares arose from the company’s rights issue of 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each at N2.00 per share on the basis of five new ordinary shares for every existing six ordinary shares held as of the close of business on Friday, February 20, 2026.
“With the listing of the additional 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares, the total issued and fully paid-up share capital of Lasaco Assurance Plc has now increased from 11,083,585,855 to 20,319,907,401 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) has said the successful recapitalisation of the insurance industry will strengthen the sector’s ability to support financial stability and economic growth.
NIA Chairman, Mrs Ebelechukwu Nwachukwu, said a well-capitalised insurance industry would be better positioned to meet its obligations promptly, underwrite complex and large-scale risks and serve as a dependable pillar of the Nigerian economy.
She made the remarks while commending the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) for its structured implementation of the new minimum capital requirements under the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025.
Mrs Nwachukwu said NAICOM’s clear guidelines, systematic verification process, defined timelines and rigorous supervision had provided operators with a credible framework for navigating the recapitalisation exercise.
She described the outcome as a major milestone for the industry and congratulated the 43 insurance and reinsurance companies that have successfully met the prescribed minimum capital requirements.
According to her, the exercise represents “a major win not just for regulators and operators, but for policyholders, investors and the wider Nigerian economy.”
Mrs Nwachukwu said the association would continue to work with NAICOM and other stakeholders to consolidate the gains of the exercise, with emphasis on sustainable industry growth, stronger market conduct and improved consumer confidence.
The official also expressed solidarity with the eight companies still undergoing final verification and regulatory review, urging them to remain confident as NAICOM completes the process within the 14-day review period.
The NIA chairman assured policyholders and the wider business community that the insurance industry would emerge from the recapitalisation exercise stronger, more resilient and better positioned to contribute to Nigeria’s economic development.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria is considering reforms to its crude allocation and pricing framework to ease feedstock supply constraints facing local refiners, including the 700,000-barrel-per-day Dangote Refinery, according to the Crude Oil Refinery-owners Association of Nigeria (CORAN).
The proposed reforms are expected to be discussed this week as the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) reviews the implementation of the domestic crude supply obligation, which requires oil producers to supply Nigerian refineries before exporting crude.
According to CORAN spokesperson, Mr Eche Idoko, one proposal would allow producers within an international oil company’s network to deliver crude directly to nearby refineries, with the volumes reconciled later at the terminal.
Mr Idoko said the arrangement would reduce reliance on trunklines and bring crude closer to refiners, potentially lowering logistics costs and improving supply efficiency.
Another proposal would allow refiners that lift crude directly from production facilities to receive a discount reflecting freight and handling costs incorporated into Brent-linked pricing but not actually incurred by the buyers.
“This could be a win-win for both the producers and refiners,” Mr Idoko said, as per Reuters.
The proposed changes come amid concerns over the cost and availability of domestic crude for Nigerian refiners. Dangote Refinery has previously said Nigeria’s pricing structure adds about $3 to $4 per barrel to its feedstock costs because crude purchases are routed through producers’ trading arms.
Analysts have identified pricing, rather than physical crude availability, as the main constraint affecting domestic crude transactions.
The reforms could help improve operations at the Dangote Refinery, Africa’s largest, which has at times faced constraints in securing sufficient crude supplies locally.
Data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) released on Monday showed that producers’ compliance with the domestic crude supply framework increased to more than 90 per cent, from below 43 per cent in the previous quarter.
The regulator said the figure measures actual crude deliveries against volumes allocated by the commission, rather than the proportion of refinery demand that has been met.
Under the framework, producers are required to offer allocated crude volumes to local refineries, with transactions conducted on a willing-buyer, willing-seller basis.
