Economy
Sylva to Woo Investors to Nigeria’s Energy Market in London
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr Timipre Sylva, will lead investment-focused dialogue during the Invest in African Energy Reception set to take place in London on January 26.
With the Nigerian energy market on the precipice of another transformation on the back of diversification and market-driven policy implementation, the participation of Mr Sylva is key for securing new capital for Nigeria’s rapidly growing market while enabling new players and financiers to expand their footprint in one of Africa’s biggest oil-producing countries.
Nigeria has emerged as one of the most attractive destinations for foreign investment, owing largely to the signing into law of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) in 2021. With the Act, the Nigerian energy market is more enabling for business than ever, and the Minister will showcase opportunities in the sector during the Invest in African Energy Reception in London.
The Act itself has already unlocked tangible benefits, with the country positioning itself as the biggest oil producer in Africa in 2023, despite a year of production declines owing to challenges associated with oil theft and reduced exploration.
With the state-owned company, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation identifying and shutting down an illegal pipeline responsible for the loss of up to 600,000 barrels per day of crude oil, production rapidly increased to approximately 1.5 million barrels per day in December 2022, setting the country up for an exciting year in 2023.
The country is more ambitious than ever when it comes to expanding the oil and gas market even further, with the government incentivizing E&P activity in a bid to boost production levels further. As such, opportunities for upstream players have opened up, and Minister Sylva will be making a strong case for hydrocarbon exploration during the reception in London.
Nigeria has over 200 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of proven natural gas reserves, and there are opportunities to increase this figure to 600 tcf with advancements in exploration. This has positioned the country as the destination of choice for financiers and project developers from across the natural gas landscape.
Also, at a time when global markets are urgently seeking alternative gas supplies in light of ongoing supply constraints, Nigerian gas has emerged as a top solution, and investors are encouraged to capitalize on the opportunities present across this rapidly growing market.
However, Nigeria’s oil and gas market opportunities transcend exports, with the country well-positioned to feed into regional supply chains. Having signed a deal with Equatorial Guinea that would see Nigerian gas being processed at the country’s Punta Europa facilities while making steady progress to complete the Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline and breaking ground on new project developments, Nigeria is opening new opportunities for electrification and industrialization in Africa on the back of intra-African gas trade, made possible through initiatives such as the African Continental Free Trade Agreement and the progressing Central African Pipeline System.
“Through his participation at the Invest in African Energy Reception in London – taking place in partnership with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and Rystad Energy – Minister Sylva has made clear his commitment to securing new capital for a suite of large-scale projects across the entire energy value chain in Nigeria.
“During the event, the Minister will be driving market-focused dialogue on why investing in Nigeria is so critical, both for the African economy and for the global energy market at large.
“The London event provides financiers and energy players with the unique opportunity to directly engage and connect with a leading government representative from the biggest oil producer in Africa, and the AEC is encouraging all of those interested in expanding their footprint in Africa to join us at this high-level event,” Mr NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the AEC said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Four securities weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.95 per cent on Friday, erasing N41.17 billion from the bourse, which had its market capitalisation at N2.567 trillion compared with the previous session’s N2.618 trillion.
In the same vein, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) decreased at the close of business by 85.28 points to 4,277.07 points from 4,362.32 points.
The price decliners were led by 11 Plc, which gave up N20.50 to sell at N200.50 per share compared with the preceding day’s N221.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc dropped N16.94 to close at N155.20 per unit versus Thursday’s closing price of N172.14 per unit, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc went down by N2.11 to N84.68 per share from N86.79 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc lost 11 Kobo to end at N16.74 per unit, in contrast to the N16.85 per unit it closed a day earlier.
During the trading day, the value of transactions jumped by 172.1 per cent to N29.9 million from the preceding session’s N10.9 million, and the volume of trades soared by 136.5 per cent to 955,096 units from the previous 403,901 units, while the number of deals went down by 11.4 per cent to 31 deals from 35 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 68.6 million units sold for N4.7 billion.
GNI Plc also ended the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units exchanged for N8.4 billion, trailed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
The last trading session of this week on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited ended on a negative note, with a 0.66 per cent loss on Friday.
This was influenced by sustained selling pressure and cautious trading, which forced investors into profit-taking.
Data obtained by Business Post showed that the energy sector fell by 4.66 per cent, the insurance counter dipped by 2.23 per cent, the consumer goods index depreciated by 0.96 per cent, and the banking segment shed 0.28 per cent, while the industrial goods space remained unchanged.
At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) of Nigeria’s stock exchange went down by 1,531.81 points to 232,049.02 points from 233,580.83 points, and the market capitalisation dropped N983 billion to settle at N148.905 trillion compared with Thursday’s N149.888 trillion.
Aradel was the worst-performing equity after it lost 10.00 per cent to close at N1,417.50. International Energy Insurance slipped by 9.95 per cent to N5.79, Trans-Nationwide Express depreciated by 9.89 per cent to N3.28, eTranzact crashed by 9.79 per cent to N14.75, and UPDC slumped by 9.72 per cent to N28.12.
The best-performing equity for the day was Universal Insurance, which gained 6.32 per cent to close at N1.01, McNichols grew by 5.52 per cent to N8.60, Linkage Assurance expanded by 4.67 per cent to N1.57, NGX Group appreciated by 4.35 per cent to N120.00, and Transcorp increased by 3.62 per cent to N41.50.
As look at the activity level indicated that investors traded 388.7 million stocks worth N18.4 billion in 44,631 deals compared with the 393.7 million stocks valued at N19.2 billion executed in 45,813 deals a day earlier, representing a decline in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 1.27 per cent, 4.17 per cent, and 2.58 per cent, respectively.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira recorded a loss of 82 Kobo or 0.06 per cent against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, June 26, exchanging at N1,380.93/$1, in contrast to the previous day’s rate of N1,380.11/$1.
Equally, the domestic currency further weakened against the Pound Sterling in the official FX market yesterday by N6.06 to settle at N1,824.90/£1 versus the preceding session’s N1,818.84/£1, and lost N10.74 on the Euro to sell at N1,577 .58/€1 versus N1,566.84/€1.
At the GTBank forex counter, the Naira depreciated against the greenback during the session by N4 to close at N1,387/$1, in contrast to Thursday’s value of N1,383/$1, and at the parallel market, it was unchanged at N1,395/$1.
Interbank FX activity among financial institutions has fluctuated amid a sharp slowdown in forex market interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), as it allows demand and supply to move the market.
Also, a stronger greenback has generally put significant pressure on emerging-market currencies.
Nigeria has accessed the first tranche of a proposed $5 billion derivatives financing arrangement with First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC, the largest lender in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The $5 billion facility, approved by the National Assembly earlier this year, is part of the federal government’s plan to diversify external financing sources and reduce borrowing costs. Structured as a Total Return Swap with First Abu Dhabi Bank, proceeds are earmarked for refinancing debt and supporting infrastructure financing.
If the proceeds are brought into the country through the official FX market, the transaction will increase the currency reserves or Dollar liquidity.
At the cryptocurrency market, Solana (SOL) grew by 2.2 per cent to $71.92, Cardano (ADA) gained 1.1 per cent to trade at $0.1474, Ripple (XRP) also appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $1.05, Dogecoin (DOGE) expanded by 0.9 per cent to $0.0755, and Ethereum (ETH) improved by 0.4 per cent to $1,578.84.
On the flip side, TRON (TRX) slid 0.6 per cent to $0.3203, Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 0.3 per cent to $564.33, and Bitcoin fell by 0.2 per cent to $60,219.37, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.
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