Economy
Sahara Gas Vessel Imports 7,000MT Cooking Gas into Nigeria
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The newly built vessel acquired by the West Africa Gas Limited (WAGL), MT Sahara Gas, has delivered 7,000 metric tons of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) in its historic maiden voyage to Nigeria to boost availability and safe access to the commodity widely referred to as cooking gas.
WAGL is a Joint Venture of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and leading Energy Conglomerate, Sahara Group.
The JV is run by two companies, NNPC LNG Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of NNPC and Sahara Energy’s Oil and Gas trading arm, Ocean Bed Trading Ltd (BVI).
WAGL, in January 2017, acquired two new vessels, MT Africa Gas and MT Sahara Gas in its bid to reduce transportation bottlenecks, add value to the Nigeria economy through exporting the commodity, deepen the LPG market in West Africa as well as enhance access to clean and safe energy.
The acquisitions were also a strategic response to the lingering challenges of supply, affordability and fraudulent activities motivated by the scarcity of the product.
NNPC’s Group Managing Director, Mr Maikanti Baru, said in keeping with the Federal Government’s economic growth plan, WAGL remained committed to stabilizing the market and ensuring sustainability of the commodity through strategic deliveries within the sub-region.
“This is a historic achievement for the NNPC and Sahara Group that showcases a truly successful partnership by all global standards. The quest is to achieve uninterrupted supply of the commodity and address infrastructural limitations as we continue to implement our zero-tolerance policy against adulterated products and their promoters across the nation.”
Mr Baru said the NNPC/Sahara Group partnership remained a model for successful JVs, adding that both parties were considering various strategies to optimize the delivery of the product across West Africa.
“The Federal Government deserves commendation for implementing policies that are geared towards growing the economy. That we have such a partnership involving the NNPC and Sahara Group is indeed an important global narrative for Nigeria in terms of capacity, expertise, and sustainability,” he added.
Speaking aboard the vessel, Managing Director of Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC), Mr Umar Isa Ajiya, said it was a significant and important milestone not only for Nigeria, Africa and the entire shipping and maritime industry.
“We have a brand new LPG vessel, built by 100% fully owned Nigerian entities and it has picked up LPG from Bonny and brought it to Lagos. This is the first time we are having a wholly owned shipping vessel bringing the product to our shores.
“This is an opportunity to grow and deepen the LPG market in Nigeria such that the use of firewood will come to an end sooner than later. I must commend the shareholders of Sahara Group and NNPC for making it worthy to make this laudable investment,” he said.
Also commending the NNPC/Sahara Group Partnership, Mr Roland Omoregbe, WAGL’s Managing Director, said: “This is the first time the private sector in Nigeria is involved with the NNPC in ensuring that there is enough supply of LPG to the country. We are happy that it has done several voyages into West Africa, including Lome, Ivory Coast, and Ghana and we are counting more.
“The sister vessel, Africa Gas is in the West Africa waters as we speak. We have strategic plans to flood Nigeria with LPG and other cleaner sources of energy to do their domestic chores which will, in turn, save our country and our planet.”
Moroti Adedoyin-Adeyinka, Chief Executive Officer, Asharami Synergy Plc (a Sahara Group Downstream Company) said: “What we see here today speaks to the power of collaboration and the great things that can be achieved when the private and public sector work together with the right strategy, expertise and capacity. At Sahara, this is the kind of collaboration that we push for; one that makes our economy better and saves our planet.”
Moroti Adedoyin-Adeyinka, Chief Executive Officer, Asharami Synergy Plc(A Sahara Group Downstream Company) said: “What we see here today speaks to the power of collaboration and the great things that can be achieved when the private and public sector work together with the right strategy, expertise and capacity. At Sahara, this is the kind of collaboration that we push for; one that makes our economy better and saves our planet.”
LPG/C Africa Gas has performed five Transatlantic voyages loading butane from US Gulf Coast and discharging in West Africa mainly in Abidjan, Tema, and Lome. The vessel also traded once in South America for a spot voyage in September 2017.
LPG/C Sahara Gas has performed four Transatlantic Voyages around the West African region, with her berthing in Lagos, being her first trade in Nigeria, after it loaded from Bonny and discharged in Lagos. Sahara Gas also had a spot trade in France in April 2017.
Total volumes traded by both vessels include 150,000 MT in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, 35,000 MT in Tema, Ghana, 2,500 MT in Lome, Togo, and the recently delivered 7,000 MT in Lagos, Nigeria. Africa Gas is currently discharging in Abidjan and heads out to Tema, Ghana and Lome, Togo in a fortnight.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a mixed outcome on Wednesday, January 15 after it welcome a new entrant.
Paintcom Investment Nigeria Plc joined the OTC securities exchange yesterday with shares admitted at a unit price of N10.72 and a market capitalisation of N8.5 billion.
However, when trading activities closed for the session, the alternative stock exchange went down by 0.10 per cent, with the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) depreciating by 3.03 points to 3,093.16 points from the 3,096.19 points recorded in the previous session.
But the value of the trading platform increased by 0.7 per cent or N7.54 billion to settle at N1.068 trillion compared with the preceding day’s N1.061 trillion.
The volume of securities traded in the session went down by 83.2 per cent to 666,494 units from the 3.97 million units recorded in the preceding session, while the value of shares traded during the session jumped by 98.2 per cent to N16.5 million from N8.3 million, with the number of deals going down by 20 per cent to 20 deals from 25 deals.
Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc gained 3 Kobo to close at 30 Kobo per share versus 27 Kobo per share, Mixta Real Estate Plc increased by 23 Kobo to N2.58 per unit from N2.35 per unit, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc added N1.15 to settle at N23.20 per share, in contrast to Tuesday’s closing price of N22.15 per share.
Further, Afriland Properties Plc grew by 75 Kobo to N16.25 per unit from N15.50 per unit and Geo-Fluids Plc expanded by 13 Kobo to N4.79 per share from N4.66 per share.
On the flip side, 11 Plc fell by N27.74 to close at N253.10 per unit compared with the previous session’s N280.84 per unit and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc lost 55 Kobo to finish at N38.95 per share versus N39.50 per share.
FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc remained the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 3.4 million units worth N134.9 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 8.9 million units valued at N43.0 million, and Afriland Properties Plc with 690,825 sold for N11.1 million.
IGI Plc closed the day as the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 23.5 million units sold for N5.3 million, trailed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 8.9 million units valued at N43.0 million, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 3.4 million units worth N134.9 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira depreciated on the American currency in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Wednesday, January 15 by 0.09 per cent or N1.45 to close at N1,551.10/$1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,549.65/$1.
It was the fourth straight session the local currency was losing value on the greenback in the official forex market as the deadline to end the access of Bureaux De Change (BDCs) to the official trading platform nears.
Also, Nigeria’s inflation neared a 29-year high as it rose for the fourth straight month to 34.80 per cent in December 2024 spurred by high festive activities.
On the British currency, which is the Pound Sterling, the domestic currency depreciated by N24.79 to wrap the session at N1,904.43/£1 versus the previous day’s N1,879.64/£1 and against the Euro, it weakened by N14.74 to sell for N1,600.79 per Euro versus N1,586.05/€1.
At the parallel market, the Nigerian Naira traded flat against the US Dollar yesterday at N1,650/$1, according to data obtained by Business Post.
In the cryptocurrency market, most of the tokens gained as the anticipation of Mr Donald Trump’s inauguration as US president is building bullish sentiment for the market, which was also encouraged by a highly anticipated CPI inflation data report in the US.
Litecoin (LTC) grew by 17.7 per cent to quote at $119.82, Ripple (XRP) expanded by 9.0 per cent to a six-year high of $3.10, Solana (SOL) appreciated by 7.2 per cent to trade at $202.81, Dogecoin (DOGE) rose by 5.3 per cent to finish at $0.3789, Ethereum (ETH) increased its value by 4.7 per cent to end at $3,376.28, and Cardano jumped by 3.3 per cent to settle at $1.06, Bitcoin (BTC) gained 2.8 per cent to close at $99,707.22, and Binance Coin (BNB) improved by 1.6 per cent to trade at $710.31, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The oil market rose more than 2 per cent on Wednesday, supported by a large draw in US crude stockpiles and potential supply disruptions caused by new US sanctions on Russia.
Brent crude futures appreciated by $2.11 or 2.64 per cent to $82.03 a barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude grew by $2.54 or 3.28 per cent to close at $80.04 a barrel.
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported an inventory dip of 2 million barrels for the second week of the year.
The change estimated by the EIA compared with a modest draw of around 1 million barrels for the previous week, which also saw sizable fuel inventories build that dragged oil prices lower.
For the week to January 10, the EIA estimated an inventory build of 5.9 million in gasoline, with production averaging 9.3 million barrels daily. This compared with a build of as much as 6.3 million barrels for the previous week when production averaged 8.9 million barrels daily. That build was the second sizable weekly one after 2024 ended with a build of 7.7 million barrels in gasoline inventories.
The latest round of US sanctions on Russian oil could disrupt Russian oil supply and distribution significantly, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its monthly oil market report.
The Paris-based agency said that the sanctions on Iran and Russia cover entities that handled more than a third of Russian and Iranian crude exports in 2024, adding that the market will be in surplus this year as supply growth led by countries outside the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, OPEC+ exceeds subdued expansion in world demand.
This aligns with an earlier projection by the EIA which assumes that OPEC+ would roll back its production cuts and that non-OPEC production would continue leaping forward.
Limiting the gains was fresh developments in the Middle East as Israel and Hamas agreed to a deal to halt fighting in Gaza and exchange Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners.
OPEC in its monthly oil report on Wednesday forecast stronger demand growth than the IEA of 1.45 million barrels per day this year and, in its first look at 2026, predicted a similar expansion of 1.43 million barrels per day next year.
OPEC expects global oil demand to rise by 1.43 million barrels per day in 2026, maintaining a similar growth rate to 2025.
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