Economy
Total Energies, Others Flare N23.8bn Gas in May 2021
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria lost N23.8 billion or $57.9 million to gas flaring in May 2021 as oil and gas firms operating in the country, including Total Energies, flared 17.9 billion standard cubic feet (SCF) of gas in the month under review.
This was according to gas production and utilization data for May 2021, presented by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
Using the NNPC’s published average natural gas price of $3.228 for 1,000 SCF of the commodity, the flaring of 17.9 billion SCF translated to a loss of $57.9 million; while using the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) exchange rate of N409.62 to a dollar, this translates to a loss of N23.8 billion.
The quantity of gas flared in May 2021 was 5.1 per cent higher than the 17.095 billion SCF of gas flared in the previous month.
Also, the NNPC report noted that a total of 176.8 billion SCF of gas was produced in the month under review, 6.4 per cent higher compared to the 166.2 billion SCF produced in April 2021.
This means that the gas flare rate, that is the percentage of gas produced that was flared, for May 2021, was 10.2 per cent; this was in comparison with the 10.3 per cent gas flare rate recorded in April 2021.
Furthermore, the NNPC stated that total associated and non-associated gas produced in May 2021, stood at 109.1 billion SCF and 67.7 billion SCF respectively.
In addition, the corporation put total utilized gas at 158.8 billion SCF in May, rising by 6.5 per cent compared with 149.1 billion SCF recorded in April; while total unutilized gas, of which 100 per cent of the volume was flared stood 17.9 billion SCF, compared with 17.1 billion SCF in April 2021.
In its analysis of the total volume of gas utilized, the report explained that 8,695 billion SCF was utilized as fuel gas; 65.3 billion SCF and 9.0 billion SCF of gas were utilized by the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Company (NLNG) and Escravos Gas to Liquids (EGTL) plants, respectively; while 3.8 billion SCF was converted to Natural Gas Liquids (NGL)/Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG).
Furthermore, the report added that total domestic gas sales through the Nigerian Gas Company (NGC) and others, stood at 20.3 billion SCF in April, while 51.632 billion SCF of gas was reinjected and used as gas lift make-up.
The report showed that Total Exploration and Production Nigeria (TEPNG), now Total Energies, flared the most quantity of gas in the month under review, accounting for 23.7 per cent of total gas flared, with 4.3 billion SCF of the commodity. This, however, represented 17.9 per cent of its total gas output of 23.7 billion SCF.
Mobil followed as it flared 2.2 billion SCF of gas, representing 7.8 per cent of its total gas output of 25.2 billion SCF; while Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCO) flared 2.1 billion SCF of gas from its Bonga Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel, representing 89.2 per cent of its total of 2.3 billion SCF of gas produced.
For another month, Seplat in May flared 100 per cent of its total gas output, translating to 134 million standard cubic feet (SCF) of gas; followed by the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company/Seplat Development Company (NPDC/SPDC) joint venture, which flared 96 per cent of their total gas production, translating to 77 million SCF.
Furthermore, the report noted that Belema Oil flared 340 million SCF of gas, representing 95.8 per cent of its total gas production; while First Exploration and Production (E&P) flared 593 million SCF of gas, representing 95 per cent of its total gas output.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange weakened by 0.22 per cent on Tuesday, April 28, with the market capitalisation down by N4.8 billion to N2.420 trillion from N2.425 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) down by 9.01 points to 4,044.96 points from 4,053.97 points.
During the session, the price of Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc went down by N1.82 to N767.05 per share from N78.87 per share, while FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc appreciated by N1.90 to N100.00 per unit from N98.10 per unit.
According to data, the value of trades increased by 265.7 per cent to N27.1 million from N7.4 million units, and the volume of transactions surged by 305.2 per cent to 1.3 million units from 319,831 units, while the number of deals decreased by 6.9 per cent to 27 deals from 29 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with the sale of 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.8 million units exchanged for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units traded for N1.9 billion.
GNI Plc also finished as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with a turnover of 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units sold for N1.2 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Pressure is beginning to mount on the Nigerian Naira in the different segments of the foreign exchange (FX) market despite an oil windfall triggered by the Middle East crisis.
On Monday, April 27, the domestic currency further weakened against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) by N16.47 or 1.2 per cent to N1,380.71/$1 from the previous day’s N1,364.24/$1.
It was not different against the Pound Sterling in the same market window, as it lost N16.04 to trade at N1,863.76/£1 versus Monday’s closing rate of N1,847.72/£1, and against the Euro, it slipped by N12.72 to close at N1,615.01/€1 versus N1,602.29/€1.
The Naira also depreciated against the Dollar at the black market yesterday by N5 to quote at N1,390/$1 compared with the previous price of N1,385, and at the GTBank forex counter, it further crashed by N9 to settle at N1,379/$1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,370/$1.
The continued decline of the Naira comes as traders increasingly seek other safe-haven currencies amid continued global disruptions.
The benefit awash in the global market is making foreign portfolio investors stay short in Nigerian markets. Despite this, the daily FX publication released showed that interbank turnover rose to $98.829 million across 78 deals, up from $76.65 million.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market remained cautious, with Bitcoin (BTC) trading at $77,216.66 despite surging oil prices and geopolitical tensions over a potential extended US naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
Analysts say the supply overhang has finally dried up, and the sellers who were spooked by macro shifts or quantum fears have already exited, leaving the market much thinner on the sell-side.
Investors will await decisions made by central banks this week. The US Federal Reserve will announce its rate decision later on Wednesday, while the European Central Bank (ECB) follows on Thursday.
Ethereum (ETH) gained 1.5 per cent to trade at $2,324.59, Dogecoin (DOGE) chalked up 1.4 per cent to sell for $0.1016, Solana (SOL) appreciated by 0.6 per cent to $84.85, Cardano (ADA) grew by 0.5 per cent to $0.2483, and Binance Coin (BNB) advanced by 0.2 per cent to $627.15.
However, TRON (TRX) depreciated by 0.6 per cent to $0.3224, and Ripple (XRP) lost 0.03 per cent to sell at $1.39, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) were unchanged at $1.00 each.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil was up by nearly 3 per cent on Tuesday as persistent worries about supply constraints from the closed Strait of Hormuz continued, with Brent futures for June rising by $3.03 or 2.8 per cent to $111.26 a barrel, and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures growing by $3.56 or 3.7 per cent to $99.93 a barrel.
An earlier round of negotiations between the United States and Iran collapsed last week after face-to-face talks failed.
Ship-tracking data showed significant disruptions in the region, with six Iranian oil tankers forced to turn back due to the US blockade, but some traffic is still moving.
Prices trimmed some of the advances after the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the fourth-largest producer in the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), said on Tuesday it would exit the group on this Friday, May 1, 2026.
This dealt a blow to the oil-exporting group and its de facto leader, Saudi Arabia.
The UAE could quickly add between 1 million and 1.5 million barrels per day of output. However, with the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed, analysts said that there’s nowhere for that supply to go.
The UAE joined OPEC in 1967, but tension with Saudi Arabia over production quotas has been building for years.
Under the OPEC+ deal, the country has been held to roughly 3 million barrels per day while sitting on capacity above 4 million. It has been pushing toward 5 million barrels per day by 2027, and that target is hard to achieve with quotas built around someone else’s view of the market.
The war in Yemen broke whatever was left of diplomatic patience.
President Donald Trump said he was unhappy with the latest Iranian proposal to end the war. The proposal would avoid addressing the nuclear programme until hostilities cease and Gulf shipping disputes are resolved.
The Idemitsu Maru, a Panama-flagged tanker carrying 2 million barrels of Saudi oil, and an LNG tanker managed by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) crossed the Strait on Tuesday, shipping data showed.
Vortexa data showed that the amount of crude oil held around the world on tankers that have been stationary for at least seven days rose to 153.11 million barrels as of April 24.
The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the United States fell by 1.79 million barrels in the week ending April 24. The official data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) will be released later on Wednesday.
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