Economy
Oil-Producing Communities Urge FG to End Petrol, Diesel Importation
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The federal government has been urged to put an end to the importation of premium motor spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, and automated gas oil (AGO), otherwise known as diesel, because it is putting the nation at the mercy of some oil cartels and international oil companies (IOCs).
This appeal was made by a group known as the Host Communities of Nigeria Producing Oil and Gas (HOSTCOM) over the weekend.
The association was reacting to the recent development involving the lamentation of Africa’s richest man, Mr Aliko Dangote, who claimed that IOCs were frustrating the operations of his $20 billion refinery in Lagos.
HOSTCOM lamented that despite the billions of dollars spent on turnaround maintenance of Nigeria’s refineries, the country remains reliant on importing refined products.
This persistent issue, it argues, highlights the widespread corruption within Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, allegedly orchestrated by influential cabals who are intent on maintaining the status quo of exporting crude oil while importing refined petroleum products, warning that it will not hesitate to publicly name these identified cabals if necessary.
It threatened to renew agitation for greater autonomy and control of its natural resources if the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited and the IOCs fail to sell and supply crude oil to Dangote Refinery and other local refineries in their bid to ensure that Nigeria becomes self-sufficient in the local production of petroleum products.
The National President of HOSTCOM, Mr Benjamin Tamaramiebi, accompanied by his executives and traditional rulers from the Niger Delta region, during a tour of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals and the Dangote Fertiliser Limited complex in Lagos, also called for the removal of the chief executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Mr Farouk Ahmed, over his recent statement that the government would not halt the importation of refined petroleum products.
“Our visit today to the largest and magnificent 650,000 bpd private refinery in Africa (Dangote Refinery) has opened our eyes to several ills, particularly the monumental corruption going on in the Nigerian oil and gas industry,” Mr Tamaramiebi said.
“It is obvious why the existing federal government refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna can never work or operate maximally despite the billions of dollars spent on so-called turn-around maintenance (TAM) over the years.
“It is now clear that some persons in government and outside government have been identified as the cabal holding Nigeria’s oil sector by the jugular. We have identified them, and we shall reveal their names to the people of Nigeria if this trend continues,” he added.
Mr Tamaramiebi called on President Bola Tinubu to support and sustain Dangote Refinery, advising him to “do away with the cabals holding the oil sector to ransom,” emphasising that the government must not tolerate the economic sabotage being carried out by the IOCs operating in Nigeria, which have refused to sell crude oil to the Dangote Refinery and other modular refineries.
“We call on Mr President to direct NNPC or NNPCL to compel the IOCs operating in our communities to sell and supply crude oil to Dangote Refinery and other local refineries in line with Section 109 of the Petroleum Industry Act PIA 2021, particularly Section 109(4)(b), which states that “the supply of crude oil shall be commercially negotiated between the lessee and the crude oil refining licensee, having regard to the prevailing international market price for similar grades of crude oil.”
In his remarks, the Vice President for Oil and Gas at Dangote Industries Limited, Mr Devakumar Edwin, in his remarks, explained that the refinery was established primarily to source and refine local crudes for the benefit of Nigeria while also exporting excess production to boost the economy.
He noted that the lack of sufficient Nigerian crude supplies has necessitated importing crude from other countries and continents, adding that if the refinery had not been designed to process a wide range of crudes, including various African and Middle Eastern crudes as well as US Light Tight Oil, it would have become inactive due to the lack of Nigerian crude supplies.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.24 per cent on Wednesday, December 17, pulling the Unlisted Security Index (NSI) up by 8.62 points to 3,614.64 points from 3,606.02 points.
In the same vein, the market capitalisation added N4.72 billion to close at N2.164 billion compared with the N2.160 trillion it ended on Tuesday.
The growth was inspired by four securities, which finished on the gainers’ log, neutralising the losses printed by two other securities on the trading platform.
MRS Oil Plc gained N17.90 on Wednesday to end at N196.90 per unit versus N179.00 per unit, NASD Plc appreciated by 59 Kobo to N58.50 per share from N57.91 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc added 15 Kobo to sell at N60.19 per unit versus N60.04 per unit, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc rose by 6 Kobo to 64 Kobo per share from 58 Kobo per share.
On the flip side, Golden Capital Plc extended its loss by 76 Kobo to end at N7.75 per unit versus N8.51 per unit, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc slipped by 35 Kobo to N39.65 per share from N40.00 per share.
Yesterday, the volume of transactions increased by 737.3 per cent to 20.4 million units from 2.4 million units, but the value of trades fell by 33.8 per cent to N72.2 million from N109.1 million, and the number of deals slid by 62.5 per cent to 21 deals from 56 deals.
Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units sold for N16.4 billion, the second position was occupied by Okitipupa Plc with 178.9 million units transacted for N9.5 billion, and the third place was taken by MRS Oil Plc with 36.1 million units worth N4.9 billion.
InfraCredit Plc was also the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units traded for N16.4 billion, followed by IGI Plc with 1.2 billion units valued at N420.7 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 536.9 million units worth N524.9 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
A 0.26 per cent growth was achieved by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Wednesday on the back of sustained bargain-hunting by investors.
This happened despite a pocket of profit-taking, with industrial goods losing 0.63 per cent and the energy index shedding 0.05 per cent.
But the insurance space increased by 2.02 per cent, the banking counter appreciated by 1.48 per cent, the commodity sector improved by 0.48 per cent, and the consumer goods segment rose by 0.03 per cent.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 383.71 points to 149,842.82 points from 149,459.11 points and the market capitalisation jumped by N244 billion to N95.525 trillion from N95.281 trillion.
The market breadth index remained positive after the bourse finished with 38 price gainers and 23 price losers, indicating a strong investor sentiment.
The quartet of First Holdco, Lasaco Assurance, Veritas Kapital, and Prestige Assurance gained 10.00 per cent to quote at N39.60, N2.75, N1.76, and N1.65, respectively, while Mecure Industries grew by 9.92 per cent to N50.40.
Conversely, Living Trust Mortgage Bank lost 10.00 per cent to close at N3.15, International Energy Insurance dropped 9.92 per cent to trade at N2.27, McNichols shrank by 6.90 per cent to N2.97, Omatek decreased by 6.84 per cent to N1.09, and Chams dipped by 6.41 per cent to N2.92.
The activity level witnessed a significant surge at midweek, with Ecobank trading 5.3 billion units for N168.7 billion.
Further, First Holdco sold 108.2 million units worth N4.2 billion, Sterling Holdings exchanged 87.3 million units valued at N606.2 million, FCMB transacted 74.3 million units worth N783.6 million, and Access Holdings sold 41.5 million units for N841.4 million.
At the close of trades, market participants traded 5.9 billion units valued at N216.2 billion in 25,205 deals compared with the 1.0 billion units worth N21.8 billion traded in 23,701 deals a day earlier, showing a rise in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 490.00 per cent, 891.74 per cent, and 6.35 per cent, respectively.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira depreciated against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Wednesday, December 17, by N3.67 or 0.25 per cent, closing at N1,455.49/$1, in contrast to Tuesday’s closing price of N1,451.82/$1.
Also, the local currency weakened against the Euro in the official market at midweek by 98 Kobo to close at N1,706.72/€1 versus the previous session’s price of N1,705.74/€1, but improved against the Pound Sterling by 75 Kobo to trade at N1,943.28/£1 compared with the N1,943.98/£1 it traded a day earlier.
At the GTBank forex counter, the Nigerian currency lost N3 against the greenback to finish at N1,463/$1 versus N1,460/$1 and in the parallel market, it remained unchanged at N1,475/$1.
Thin US dollar inflows from exporters, non-bank corporate, foreign portfolio investors and absence of immediate intervention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to strengthen supply triggered fresh pressure.
This is coming off the back of decline in inflows through the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market which decreased to $716.3 million last week from $844.70 million in the previous week , a 15 per cent drop in a week.
The intervention comes as the CBN expect inflows from Detty December to alleviate need for FX demand, but exorbitant local prices may be keeping spending at bay.
Regardless of the seasonal demand, positive FX support for the local currency through 2025 signals a deliberate action to ensure the local currency maintains the trading range amidst growing external reserves. Latest data showed that gross external reserves position advanced to $45.47 billion, reflecting a 11.2 per cent Year-to-Date (YTD) gain.
In the cryptocurrency market, there was selling pressure as traders liquidated positions amid a short-rally, leading Litecoin (LTC) to slip by 5.2 per cent to close at $75.12m, as Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 5.0 per cent to $0.3619, and Dogecoin (DOGE) lost 4.8 per cent to finish at $0.1247.
In addition, Ripple (XRP) depreciated by 4.7 per cent to $1.83, Solana (SOL) crashed by 4.1 per cent to $122.62, Ethereum (ETH) went down by 3.9 per cent to $2,826.62, Binance Coin (BNB) fell by 3.4 per cent to $833.07, and Bitcoin (BTC) tumbled by 0.5 per cent to sell at $86,436.66, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
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