Economy
Reps Begin Nationwide Petrol Quality Probe Amid Concerns
By Adedapo Adesanya
The House of Representatives has begun a comprehensive investigation into Nigeria’s petroleum products supply chain and the quality of imported and refined products around the country.
The move, unconnected to the ongoing rift between Dangote Refinery and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, aims to ensure transparency, accountability, and security in the nation’s petroleum sector.
The investigation was disclosed in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, during the 2024 Midstream and Downstream Retreat organized by the House Committee on Petroleum Resources Midstream and Downstream themed Enhancing Regulatory Frameworks, Promoting Transparency, and Fostering Sustainable Development in Nigeria’s Oil and Gas Sector.
Chairman of the House Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream), Mr Ikenga Ugochinyere Ikeagwuonu, said the retreat would provide strategic insights into the nation’s petroleum sector, emphasizing the sector’s role in the nation’s economy and the legislature’s responsibility to ensure its transparency.
Mr Ikeagwuonu revealed that the House has mandated both committees to investigate the crude oil supply chain, involving detailed laboratory investigations at local refineries, marketers, importers, and regulatory agencies.
He said the committee will also visit filing stations, depots, and tank farms to verify the quality of imported petroleum products and assess the testing capacity of refineries.
“The committee will undertake detail laboratory investigation at all local refineries, marketers, importers and regulatory agency lab like NMDPRA. We will visit various filing stations, depot and tank farms to verify the quality of imported petroleum products and assess the testing capacity of all refineries
“The collection of these samples will be for specimen and will be transparently done with all the key stakeholders.
“Zonal interaction committees will be constituted in order to ensure smooth movement to all the zones of the country for the purpose of taking samples for the Depot, Tank Farms and refineries for immediate analysis.
“We urge all those to be invited to provide full cooperation and support by providing all necessary documents, facts and insights that would aid our investigation.
“Our investigation will proceed in phases beginning with examination of standards petroleum products that are imported into the country and the crude oil supply chain. This investigation that the house has ordered us the main reason we are at this retreat to brainstorm on how to proceed and this investigation is crucial for restoring trust and ensuring the security and quality Nigeria’s petroleum sector in line with the renewed hope agenda of the president
“We are committed to accountability and transparency and thoroughness, and that we will do throughout the process. The investigation aims at to identify and resolve the issues plaguing Nigeria petroleum sector.
“Our interaction with stakeholders in the Midstream and Downstream sectors is crucial. It is through this interaction we will gain a comprehensive understanding of the challenges faced by our industry and collaboratively decide ways to ensure growth and sustainability.
“We are going to address allegations concerning the alleged importation of substandard petroleum products, the alleged production of substandard petroleum products, the non-availability of crude oil to domestic refineries and other critical issues,” the lawmaker said.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Tajudeen Abbas, represented by Mr Sada Soli, highlighted the significance of the retreat in strengthening and enhancing regulatory frameworks in the oil and gas sector.
Mr Abbas noted that the Petroleum Industry Act has addressed shortcomings in the sector, and this retreat provides an opportunity to reflect on the issues once again.
He noted that the retreat was crucial as it give the opportunity for continued conversation and dialogue initiative by the House of Representatives on strengthening and enhancing the regulatory framework of the oil and gas sector.
“Since the Petroleum Industry Act became a law, which provides the legal governance regulating the physical framework for the Nigerian petroleum industry.
“The Nigerian petroleum industry has witnessed total overhaul as provided by the Act. The PIA through its provisions address the shortcomings in the sector and provides timely remedies. The NNPC has been restructured and repositioned with hope that it will serve the Nigerian citizenry better.
“Through the incorporation of the NNPC as a liability company, the NNPC now is to become a full fledged company free to operate as a business entity and effectively engage with other stakeholders and partners in the competitive market in order to make petroleum products available and affordable to the people.
“This retreat offers us another opportunity to evaluate and implementation of the PIA in promoting transparency, accountability, economic recovery, transformation and growth of the oil sector, as well as the key roles of the players in the industry,” he said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Food Concepts Plc neutralized the gains recorded by three securities, returning the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange into the negative territory with a 0.27 per cent loss on Thursday, December 4.
Yesterday, the share price of the parent company of Chicken Republic and PieXpress declined by 34 Kobo to sell at N3.15 per unit compared with the previous day’s N3.49 per unit.
This shrank the market capitalisation of the OTC bourse by N5.72 billion to N2.136 billion from N2.142 trillion and weakened the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 9.57 points to 3,571.53 points from 3,581.10 points.
Business Post reports that Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc went down by 50 Kobo to N38.50 per share from N38.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc gained 29 Kobo to sell at N55.79 per unit versus N55.50 per unit, and Geo-Fluids Plc added 5 Kobo to close at N4.60 per share compared with Wednesday’s closing price of N4.55 per share.
Trading data indicated that the volume of securities recorded at the session surged by 6,885.3 per cent to 4.3 million units from the 61,570 units posted a day earlier, the value of securities increased by 10,301.7 per cent to N947.2 million from N3.3 million, and the number of deals went up by 146.7 per cent to 37 deals from the 15 deals achieved in the previous trading session.
At the close of business, Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc was the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with the sale of 5.8 billion units for N16.4 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 170.4 million units worth N8.0 billion, and Air Liquide Plc with 507.5 million units valued at N4.2 billion.
InfraCredit Plc also finished the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units transacted for N16.4 billion, followed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.2 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 536.9 million units traded for N524.9 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
The upward trend witnessed at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited in recent sessions continued on Thursday as it further improved by 0.10 per cent.
This was despite investor sentiment turning bearish after the local equity market ended with 23 price gainers and 28 price gainers, indicating a negative market breadth index.
UAC Nigeria gained 10.00 per cent to finish at N88.00, Morison Industries appreciated by 9.94 per cent to N3.54, Ecobank rose by 8.53 per cent to N36.90, and Coronation Insurance grew by 8.47 per cent to N2.56.
On the flip side, Ellah Lakes depreciated by 10.00 per cent to N13.14, Eunisell Nigeria also shed 10.00 per cent to finish at N72.90, Transcorp Hotels slipped by 9.95 per cent to N157.50, Omatek shrank by 9.23 per cent to N1.18, and Guinea Insurance dipped by 8.46 per cent to N1.19.
Yesterday, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 152.28 points to 145,476.15 points from 145,323.87 points and the market capitalisation chalked up N97 billion to finish at N92.726 trillion compared with the previous day’s N92.629 trillion.
Customs Street was bubbling with activities on Thursday, though the trading volume and value slightly went down, according to data.
A total of 1.9 billion stocks worth N19.2 billion exchanged hands in 23,369 deals during the session versus the N2.3 billion valued at N21.0 billion traded in 21,513 deals a day earlier.
This showed that the number of deals increased by 8.63 per cent, the volume of transactions depleted by 17.39 per cent, and the value of trades decreased by 8.57 per cent.
For another trading day, eTranzact led the activity chart with 1.6 billion units sold for N6.4 billion, Fidelity Bank traded 31.0 million units worth N589.3 million, GTCO exchanged 28.3 million units valued at N2.5 billion, Zenith Bank transacted 27.1 million units for N1.6 billion, and Ecobank traded 21.9 million units worth N744.3 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira marginally depreciated against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Thursday, December 4 amid renewed forex pressure associated with December.
At the official market yesterday, the Nigerian currency lost 0.01 per cent or 18 Kobo against the Dollar to close at N1,447.83/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,447.65/$1.
It was not a different scenario with the local currency in the same market segment against the Pound Sterling as it further shed N15.43 to sell for N1,930.97/£1 versus Wednesday’s closing price of N1,925.08/£1 and declined against the Euro by 20 Kobo to finish at N1,688.74/€1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,688.54/€1.
Similarly, the Nigerian Naira lost N5 against the greenback in the black market to quote at N1,465/$1 compared with the previous day’s value of N1,460/$1 but closed flat against the Dollar at the GTBank FX counter at N1,453/$1.
Fluctuations in trading range is expected to continue during the festive season as traders expect the Nigerian currency to be stable, supported by intervention s by to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)in the face of steady dollar demand.
Support is also expected in coming weeks as seasonal activities, particularly the stylised “Detty December” festivities, will see inflows that will give the Naira a boost after it depreciated mildly last month, according to a new report.
“As the festive Detty December season intensifies, inbound travel, tourism spending, and diaspora inflows are expected to provide moderate support for FX liquidity,” analysts at the research unit of FMDA said in its latest monthly report for November.
Traders cited by Reuters expect that the Naira will trade within a band of N1,443-N1,450 next week, buoyed by improved FX interventions by the apex bank.
Meanwhile, the crypto market was down as the US Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, core PCE, likely rose in September—moving in the wrong direction. However, volatility indices show no signs of major turbulence.
If the actual figure matches estimates, it would mark 55 straight months of inflation above the US central bank’s 2 per cent target. The sticky inflation would strengthen the hawkish policymakers, who are in favour of slower rate cuts.
Ripple (XRP) depreciated by 4.5 per cent to $2.08, Solana (SOL) went down by 3.8 per cent to $138.11, Litecoin (LTC) shrank by 3.1 per cent to $83.23, Dogecoin (DOGE) slid by 2.5 per cent to $0.1463, Cardano (ADA) declined by 2.1 per cent to $0.4368, Bitcoin (BTC) fell by 0.9 per cent to $91,975.45, Binance Coin (BNB) crumbled by 0.9 per cent to $899.41, and Ethereum (ETH) dropped by 0.7 per cent to $3,156.44, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 apiece.
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