Economy
Oil Rises 1% as Saudi Dismisses Call for More OPEC+ Supply
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil recovered previous losses after top oil producer, Saudi Arabia, dismissed calls for additional supply by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+).
Brent crude rose by $1.29 or 1.07 per cent to trade at $84.25 per barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained $1.29 or 1.04 per cent to sell at $81.48 per barrel.
One of the chairs of the 23-member alliance, Saudi Arabia dismissed calls for additional production increases, saying the group’s unwinding of production cuts was protecting the oil market from wild price swings seen in natural gas and coal markets.
Speaking at a forum in Moscow on Thursday, the Saudi energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said efforts with allies were enough.
“What we see in the oil market today is an incremental (price) increase of 29 per cent, vis-à-vis 500 per cent increases in (natural) gas prices, 300 per cent increases in coal prices, 200 per cent increases in NGLs (natural gas liquids),” the Minister said.
He noted that the alliance was doing a remarkable job acting as the regulator of the oil market, saying the gas markets, coal markets, and other sources of energy need a regulator.
The government official disclosed that OPEC+ would be sticking to its 400,000 barrels per day agreement in November, and then again in the following months.
This lifted the market after the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a crude oil inventory build of 6.1 million barrels for the week to October 8.
At 427 million barrels, inventories are below the five-year average, but even though this has been a fact for a few weeks now, it has not stopped the climb in fuel prices.
Meanwhile, in its monthly report, the International Energy Agency (IEA) increased its global oil demand growth forecast in 2022 by 210,000 barrels per day and now expects total oil demand in 2022 to reach 99.6 million barrels per day, slightly above pre-pandemic levels.
It made upward revisions to its demand forecasts for this year by 170,000 barrels per day, or a total addition of 5.5 million for the year, and by 210,000 barrels per day in 2022, or a total addition of 3.3 million.
The Paris-based agency then estimated that producer group OPEC+ is set to pump 700,000 barrels per day below the estimated demand for its crude in the fourth quarter of this year, meaning demand will outpace supply at least until the end of 2021.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Nigeria slightly surpassed its quota set by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in July 2026.
In the month under review, the country produced about 1.57 million barrels of crude oil per day.
It was the third consecutive month Africa’s largest oil-producing nation was meeting its monthly quota, set to stabilise the price of the commodity on the global market by the oil cartel.
Data released by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) on Wednesday showed that the 1.5 million barrels per day ceiling for Nigeria was surpassed last month.
The agency disclosed in a statement today that the country produced 1.505mbpd of crude oil and 0.17mbpd of condensate, bringing the combined daily production to 1.67mbpd.
In the month under review, the daily peak production of crude oil and condensate was 1.78mbpd, while the lowest daily production was 1.57mbpd.
Although Nigeria met its OPEC quota in the month of July, the statistics show that on a month-on-month basis, production fell by 4 per cent.
This was attributed to the decline in production due to operational challenges experienced at the Erha and Akpo fields, which impacted crude oil output during the period under review.
These disruptions constrained production volumes and contributed significantly to the overall reduction in national crude oil output.
Despite the challenges, production operations across most other producing assets remained relatively stable, with operators implementing measures aimed at maintaining production efficiency and minimising the impact of operational constraints, NUPRC stated.
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.
