Economy
PEARL Gathers Stakeholders to Discuss Oilfield-Scale Problems in Nigeria
By Adedapo Adesanya
Pacegate Energy and Resources Limited (PEARL) has taken its advocacy for increased collaboration in the Nigerian oil and gas sector by engaging stakeholders to discuss and share insights on ways to address oilfield-scale problems, proposing the monitoring of antiscalants as one of the solutions.
At a one-day webinar and seminar themed Scale Inhibitor, Application, and Monitoring, stakeholders shared innovative industry development and supply chain updates, analysed global trends and discussed practical ways to apply and monitor scale inhibitions in the industry.
The event, which was held in partnership with the Canadian Energy Solutions (CES) and Jacam Catalyst, had in attendance Ms Sonia Hukil, Second Secretary (Commercial) & Trade Commissioner at Deputy High Commission of Canada to Nigeria; Mr Dave Horton, Chief Technology Officer CES Energy Solutions; Dallas Disney, Technical Service Director Jacam Catalyst; and Mr Mihir Patel, Supply Chain Director, CES Energy Solutions.
Others were Mr Franklin Oranusih, General Manager Sales and Technical at PEARL; Mr Godwin Ejeh, General Manager Operations at PEARL, and Mr Ayodapo Keshinro, General Manager International Sales at Adipro International Corp amongst others.
It was discussed that scaling represents a major challenge for flow assurance as solid deposits grow over time in oil pipelines, valves, pumps etc. hindering the free flow of fluid with a significant reduction in production rates and equipment damages.
The seminar highlighted the need for stakeholders to discuss the processes of applying and monitoring scale inhibitors to address the industry’s pertinent problems.
Speaking at the hybrid event, Mr Franklin Oranusih, General Manager of Sales and Technical at PEARL said scaling is one of the prevailing sectoral challenges of the Nigerian oil and gas sector that affects the operations.
In his words, “scale formation causes technical problems that lead to equipment damage and economic losses. Preventing it relies on discussing and understanding the composing of the scale, appropriate scale inhibitor, and early pre-treatment. However, the use of chemicals, acting as a scale inhibitor, has significantly proven to be the effective and economical approach to control scale deposition.”
The Second Secretary (Commercial) & Trade Commissioner at Deputy High Commission of Canada to Nigeria, Ms Sonia Hukil also commented on the need for strategic interaction and collaborations to promote the advancement of the Nigerian oil and gas industry.
She said, “Nigeria’s upstream sector contributes significantly to the country’s revenue but also there are commercial opportunities for Canadian companies in both the upstream and downstream sectors and it includes opportunities to provide training, technology, storage equipment and many others”.
Also commenting on the importance of collaboration, the Supply Chain Director at CES Energy Solutions, Mr Mihir Patel said addressing difficult sectoral challenges effectively requires partnerships and sustainability.
“To effectively navigate the supply chain market and ensure business continuity, companies must understand the factors that affect product pricing and the key drivers,” he added.
PEARL is an indigenous local content company that provides fluids and chemical solutions to various industries such as oil & gas, refineries, petrochemical, and transportation sectors of Nigeria’s economy.
The company represents Canadian Energy Solutions (CES), exclusively across Africa. The components of Canadian Energy Solutions are formulated by PEARL in its production facility based in Nigeria and are distributed across the world under the brand name – ADIPRO.
Economy
Unlisted Securities Close Flat at Midweek
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange closed flat on Wednesday, August 5, as the market witnessed weaker trading activity with only two deals executed.
In the midweek session, the volume of securities exchanged by investors dropped 99.9 per cent to 802 units from the 1.6 million units recorded on Tuesday. The value of securities further decreased by 99.6 per cent to N208,240 from the preceding session’s N47.6 million, and the number of deals significantly went down by 93.9 per cent to two deals from the 33 deals recorded a day earlier.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc with 76.9 million units transacted for N5.5 billion.
GNI Plc was also the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units exchanged 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 valued at N415.7 million.
There were no price gainers or losers yesterday.
As a result, the market capitalisation stood unmoving at N2.739 trillion, while the NASD Security Index (NSI) remained unchanged at 4,563.96 points.
Economy
Naira Crashes to N1,363/$1 at Official Market
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira slid against the US Dollar by N2.28 or 0.17 per cent in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Wednesday, August 5, to N1,363.85/$1 from N1,362.55/$1.
The local currency also declined against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N5.97 to close at N1,837.38/£1 compared with Tuesday’s closing rate of N1,831.41/£1, and against the Euro, it crashed by N6.54 to quote at N1,575.25/€1 versus the preceding session’s N1,568.71/€1.
But at the black market, the Nigerian Naira traded flat against the greenback yesterday at N1,400/$1, and also remained unchanged at the GTBank FX desk at N1,373/$1.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says rates have narrowed to below two per cent, while the country’s external reserves have risen above $52.5 billion, reflecting the impact of its ongoing monetary and foreign exchange reforms.
CBN Governor Yemi Cardoso, represented by the Acting Director of Corporate Communications and Investor Relations, Mrs Hakama Sidi-Ali, disclosed this on Tuesday during the CBN Fair in Gombe. He noted that reforms introduced since 2023 had significantly reduced the disparity between the official FX market and the parallel market.
“The Naira continues to strengthen, with the spread between official and Bureau de Change rates now below two per cent,” he said, adding that reserves at $52.5 billion were supported by sustained inflows and renewed investor confidence in the economy.
Interbank FX transactions slid as weaker market activities dropped total Dollar volume exchanged to $75.35 million, a 51.8 per cent decline from $156.23 million in turnover quoted at the previous close.
The deals at the NFEM window also fell as data from the central bank put Wednesday’s quote at 82 from 139.
In the cryptocurrency market, major were down as global risk sentiment softened as a key world equity index slipped and chipmakers fell.
The MSCI All Country World Index snapped a five-day run to fall 0.2 per cent as chipmakers retreated on both sides of the Pacific. South Korea’s Kospi, a bellwether for the AI trade, dropped 4.4 per cent.
Ripple (XRP) depleted by 1.7 per cent to $1.05, Binance Coin (BNB) decreased by 1.0 per cent to $594.87, Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 0.9 per cent to $0.1884, TRON (TRX) shrank by 0.2 per cent to $0.3261, Solana (SOL) crumbled by 0.1 per cent to $74.00, and Dogecoin (DOGE) went down by 0.1 per cent to $0.0697.
On the flip side, Ethereum (ETH) gained 2.3 per cent to trade at $1,911.41, and Bitcoin (BTC) rose by 0.8 per cent to $64,759.28, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.
Economy
Stock Exchange Gains N71bn on Renewed Bargain-hunting
By Dipo Olowookere
The domestic stock exchange rebounded by 0.05 per cent on Wednesday on the back of renewed bargain-hunting by investors, though the level of activity waned.
After bleeding for a few days, the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited heaved a sigh of relief yesterday, as the All-Share Index (ASI) gained 109.41 points to close at 244,912.24 points compared with the previous day’s 244,802.83 points, and the market capitalisation garnered N71 billion to settle at N158.087 trillion versus Tuesday’s N158.016 trillion.
Business Post reports that despite the rebound recorded by Customs Street at midweek, the market breadth index remained negative, as there were 20 price advancers and 29 price decliners, implying bearish investor sentiment.
Linkage Assurance appreciated by 9.94 per cent to N1.77, AVA Capital rose by 9.55 per cent to N10.90, Fortis Global Insurance advanced by 7.69 per cent to N2.80, McNichols gained 7.34 per cent to finish at N5.85, and Coronation Insurance surged by 5.51 per cent to N2.49.
Conversely, Honeywell Flour depreciated by 9.94 per cent to N16.30, PZ Cussons gave up 9.94 per cent to trade at N74.75, Zichis crashed by 9.74 per cent to N20.76, Learn Africa slipped by 9.62 per cent to N9.40, and Neimeth tumbled by 8.33 per cent to N8.25.
The busiest equity was FCMB, with a turnover of 369.2 million units valued at N4.1 billion. Chams transacted 46.7 million units worth N201.8 million, First Holdco transacted 43.5 million units for N5.7 billion, Access Holdings sold 29.8 million units worth N778.0 million, and Linkage Assurance exchanged 19.6 million units valued at N33.5 million.
At the close of transactions, market participants bought and sold 824.1 million units worth N25.5 billion in 48,114 deals, in contrast to the 1.6 billion units sold for N28.7 billion in 54,160 deals a day earlier, showing a shortfall in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 48.49 per cent, 11.15 per cent, and 11.16 per cent, respectively.



