Economy
Shell to Assist Nigeria Boost Gas Usage to 5bcf/d
By Adedapo Adesanya
Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) has restated its commitment to help grow gas usage in Nigeria to 5 billion cubic feet of gas per day (bcf/d) from its current 1.7 bcf/d by 2022.
This was disclosed by Mr Osagie Okunbor, the Managing SPDC Director and Country Chair of Shell Companies in Nigeria, while speaking at the Nigerian Gas Association’s 12th International Conference and Awards, held virtually under the theme Powering Forward: Enabling Nigeria’s Industrialization via Gas.
Mr Okunbor pledged support to the federal government’s goal of using the country’s proven gas reserves to trigger economic activities for gas-based industrialisation.
He said the multinational’s support is shown in the company’s multi-billion dollars investment in four of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) aptly named Seven Critical Gas Development Projects.
According to him, Shell has invested in the Assa North gas project; four unitised gas fields; Brass Fertilizer Company; and the cluster development of Okpokunou/Tuomo West (OML 35/62) to support the government’s drive for national development.
He said, “I am very happy that NNPC and the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) have taken key roles in these projects. These are positive steps.”
He commended the government’s recent progress in gas development and stated support for NNPC’s aspiration to grow domestic gas usage in Nigeria to 5 billion cubic feet of gas per day from its current 1.7 billion cubic feet of gas per day by 2022.
Mr Okunbor said, “Nigeria has launched out on a few audacious and, frankly, great projects to essentially drive our ambition as a country in this regard. Let’s find a way to make sure that we stay the course and begin to put our efforts in a consistent manner towards downstream where our country can get an ultimate benefit for gas.”
He counselled for robust engagement in discussions for an agreeable price framework in order to attract investments in the country’s rich gas sector.
“A robust pricing framework would be very helpful to unlock Nigeria’s proven gas reserves, especially for Power, Agriculture and Industrial sectors,” he added.
Mr Okunbor said the current pricing regime does not quite fit the wider framework of what the gas industry does.
“We want to incentivise methanol and fertilizer production, which is extremely important, to gear up our agricultural sector but the price regime now in that sector is lower than the kind of prices that you have for supply to the power sector and industrial establishments.
“To make domestic gas work, we do need the right price regime. It might just mean that some sectors are supported more than others that can naturally carry themselves, the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) provides that framework.” Mr Okunbor further said.
He urged policymakers to strike a careful balance between trying to raise funds – in terms of the kind of taxes and royalties that are put on gas – and understanding that this is actually much more of a resource that drives national development.
“Gas is by far more important as a catalyst for development,” he added.
Nigeria has over 200 trillion cubic feet of gas proven and is the world’s 9th largest proven gas reserves.
Mr Okunbor added that the country can satisfy both domestic and export markets of gas if the right policies and processes are put in place and the country continues to drive those policies, processes and gas infrastructure.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange lost 0.27 per cent on Thursday, January 29, weakening the Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 9.79 points to 3,622.77 points from the previous session’s 3,632.56 points, as the market capitalisation recorded a N5.85 billion loss to end at N2.167 trillion compared with Wednesday’s closing value of N2.173 trillion.
Three securities were responsible for the downfall of the alternative stock market, with leaders being Okitipupa Plc, which shrank by N15.70 to end at N218.90 per unit versus the previous day’s N234.60 per unit. Afriland Properties Plc declined by 50 Kobo to close at N14.00 per share compared with the N14.50 per share it finished at midweek, and Food Concepts Plc dropped 9 Kobo to sell at N2.63 per unit versus N2.72 per unit.
Business Post reports that there were two price gainers yesterday led by Nipco Plc, which added N17.48 to its value to settle at N259.48 per share versus N242.00 per share, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc appreciated by 35 Kobo to N40.50 per unit from N40.15 per unit.
During the trading session, the volume of securities went down by 57.3 per cent to 1.9 million units from 4.7 million units, the value of securities decreased by 74.4 per cent to N13.4 million from N52.4 million, and the number of deals slipped by 50 per cent to 16 deals from 32 deals.
When the market closed for the day, CSCS Plc was still the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 15.3 million units traded for N622.9 million, trailed by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 1.6 million units exchanged for N108.4 million, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 8.9 million units worth N60.4 million.
CSCS Plc was also the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 15.3 million units valued at N622.9 million, followed by Mass Telecom Innovation Plc with 10.1 million units sold for N4.1 million, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 8.9 million units transacted for N60.4 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
The gains recorded by RT Briscoe and 40 other equities lifted the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited by 0.22 per cent on Thursday after a day with the bears.
Rebound of the stock exchange was triggered by renewed bargain-hunting activities by the market participants, with RT Briscoe gaining 10.00 per cent to sell for N7.15.
SCOA Nigeria appreciated by 9.91 per cent to N31.60, Deap Capital also jumped by 9.91 per cent to N10.43, Veritas Kapital appreciated by 9.85 per cent to N2.23, and Zichis chalked up 9.80 per cent to trade at N3.81.
Conversely, Haldane McCall depreciated by 9.84 per cent to finish at N3.94, Union Dicon shed 9.79 per cent to close at N8.75, University Press shrank by 8.00 per cent to N5.75, Legend Internet crashed by 7.56 per cent to N5.50, and Austin Laz lost 7.50 per cent to quote at N3.70.
Data indicated that the bourse ended the session with 41 price gainers and 27 price losers, implying a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.
Business Post reports that the industrial goods index was flat yesterday, but this was offset by the others, with the banking space up by 0.68 per cent, the insurance segment rose by 0.64 per cent, the consumer goods counter expanded by 0.46 per cent, and the energy sector grew by 0.10 per cent.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 362.93 points to 165,527.31 points from 165,164.38 points and the market capitalisation gained N232 billion to finish at N105.969 trillion versus the previous day’s N105.737 trillion.
The most traded stock for the day was Cutix with 144.6 million units worth N464.9 million, Veritas Kapital traded 56.6 million units for N124.3 million, GTCO sold 26.0 million units valued at N2.6 billion, Tantalizers exchanged 26.0 million units worth N110.0 million, and Japaul transacted 25.9 million units valued at N67.2 million.
When Customs Street closed for business, the activity chart showed the trading was up by 10.94 per cent to 691.4 million shares from 623.2 million shares, the trading value was down by 6.67 per cent to N15.4 billion from N16.5 billion and the number of deals shrank by 8.32 per cent to 38,665 deals from 42,172 deals.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira appreciated further on the Dollar in the the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Thursday, January 29 by N3.49 or 0.25 per cent to N1,396.99/$1 from the previous session’s N1,400.48/$1.
This was supported by foreign portfolio inflows from a recent bond auction and relatively subdued Dollar demand.
Year old reforms in the FX market as well as structural reforms in the oil sector have eased fears and buoyed investments, boosting foreign capital inflows and stronger diaspora remittances.
Also, the weakening of the Dollar has lent support as the American currency hit a four-year low triggered by tariff uncertainty, policy volatility including threats to US Federal Reserve independence, and rising fiscal deficits.
It also improved its value against the Euro in the official FX market yesterday by N3.75 to quote at N1,671.78/€1 versus midweek’s rate of N1,675.53/€1, but lost N2.05 against the Pound Sterling to trade at N1,932.04/£1 versus Wednesday’s closing rate of N1,929.99/£1.
In the parallel market, it gained N10 against the US Dollar to settle at N1,470/$1 compared with the previous session’s exchange rate of N1,480/$1 but remained unchanged at N1,426/$1 at the GTBank forex desk.
Market traders expect the Naira to remain fairly stable and could strengthen further with a bond auction in the coming week.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was weaker as traders reacted to reports that US President Donald Trump would nominate former Federal Reserve Board member, Mr Kevin Warsh, to replace current Federal Reserve Chair, Mr Jerome Powell. It is believed that Mr Warsh is bearish on crypto.
President Trump said late Thursday he would name his nominee on Friday morning, a day after lambasting Mr Powell and the US central bank for not choosing to reduce rates. The US Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged at its meeting on Wednesday.
Cardano (ADA) fell by 8.1 per cent to $0.3225, Ethereum (ETH) declined by 7.9 per cent to $2,718.16, Solana (SOL) slipped by 7.6 per cent to $113.90, Ripple (XRP) crashed by 7.3 per cent to $1.74, Litecoin (LTC) went down by 6.8 per cent to $63.55, Bitcoin (BTC) depreciated by 6.7 per cent to $82,292.42, Binance Coin (BNB) decreased by 6.6 per cent to $839.47, and Dogecoin (DOGE) retreated by 7.1 per cent to $0.1131, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
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