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 duo of 11 Plc and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc helped flip the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange from a three-day losing streak to a 0.27 per cent gain on Thursday, August 13.
11 Plc, which used to be known as Mobil Nigeria, garnered N22.28 to close at N245.03 per unit compared with the preceding day’s N222.75 per unit, and CSCS Plc appreciated by N3.76 to N109.76 per share from N106.00 per share.
The gains offset the N10.00 loss recorded by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, closing at N160.00 per unit compared with N170.00 per unit it finished at midweek.
When the bourse closed for the day, the market capitalisation increased by N7.31 billion to N2.727 trillion from N2.720 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) went up by 12.17 points to 4,544.20 points from 4,532.03 points.
Yesterday, the volume of securities exchanged by investors skyrocketed by 1,173.8 per cent to 1.9 million units from 150,340 units, the value of securities jumped by 1,029.5 per cent to N210.8 million from N18.7 million, and the number of deals soared by 6.3 per cent to 34 deals from 32 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 79.1 million units exchanged for N5.7 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units transacted for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units traded for N415.7 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira-US Dollar exchange rate remained unchanged in the black market segment of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Thursday, August 13, at N1,395/$1.
But at the GTBank forex desk, the Nigerian currency gained N3 against the greenback during the session to settle at N1,367/$1, in contrast to Wednesday’s rate of N1,370/$1.
Similarly, the local currency further appreciated against the Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) yesterday by N2.93 or 0.22 per cent to trade at N1,357.65/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,360.58/$1.
Equally, the Nigerian Naira improved its value against the Pound Sterling at the official market by N6.94 to quote at N1,834.05, in contrast to the preceding session’s N1,840.99/£1, and against the Euro, it firmed up by N5.01 to close at N1,567.00/€1 versus Wednesday’s N1,572.01/€1.
Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) revealed that interbank FX transactions plunged by 53 per cent to $79.097 million from $168.758 million, as banks recorded a sharp cutback in customers’ US dollar demand, with the number of deals down to 98 from 190.
The apex bank announced the removal of restrictions preventing financial institutions that accessed its Standing Lending Facility (SLF) from participating in primary government securities transactions and FX.
Under a revised framework, institutions that accessed the CBN’s discount window will no longer lose access to the facility because of their participation in the NAFEM or primary auctions of government securities.
As for the cryptocurrency market, prices fell as the expected US inflation report failed to push the asset beyond its established trading range.
The US Bureau of Labour Statistics reported that headline inflation rose 0.1 per cent month over month in July and slowed to 3.4 per cent annually from 3.5 per cent in June. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, increased 0.2 per cent during the month and 2.5 per cent from a year earlier.
Cardano (ADA) lost 1.3 per cent to close at $0.1821, TRON (TRX) also shrank by 1.3 per cent to $0.3335, Solana (SOL) fell by 1.0 per cent to $75.60, Dogecoin (DOGE) also declined by 1.0 per cent to $0.06981, Bitcoin (BTC) dropped 0.9 per cent to sell at $63,152.59, Ethereum (ETH) dipped by 0.8 per cent to $1,877.07, Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 0.7 per cent to $608.42, and Ripple (XRP) depreciated by 0.5 per cent to $1.00, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.
By Dipo Olowookere
Weak investor sentiment further crumbled Nigeria’s stock exchange by 0.39 per cent on Thursday, as sell-offs persisted.
Data showed that all the major sectors of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited ended in the red, with the consumer goods index down by 1.22 per cent. The industrial goods space retreated by 0.75 per cent, the insurance segment depreciated by 0.55 per cent, the banking sector tumbled by 0.27 per cent, and the energy counter receded by 0.07 per cent.
At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) went down by 949.71 points to 243,017.38 points from 243,967.09 points, and the market capitalisation dipped by N613 billion to N156.881 trillion from N157.494 trillion.
Unilever Nigeria led the losers’ chart after it depleted by 9.97 per cent to N118.30, Chellarams dropped 9.66 per cent to close at N10.75, NDIF slumped by 9.55 per cent to N147.70, DAAR Communications crashed by 9.25 per cent to N1.57, and Cornerstone Insurance slipped by 9.09 per cent to N5.00.
On the flip side, International Energy Insurance topped the gainers’ log after it grew by 10.00 per cent to N4.84, John Holt expanded by 9.89 per cent to N10.00, Trans-Nationwide Express rose by 9.75 per cent to N2.59, SUNU Assurances gained 8.48 per cent to settle at N3.58, and NEM Insurance appreciated by 6.25 per cent to N34.00.
Business Post reports that there were 16 appreciating stocks and 41 depreciating stocks, representing a negative market breadth index.
Yesterday, 4.2 billion equities worth N50.7 billion were transacted in 41,454 deals versus the 1.5 billion equities valued at N20.9 billion that exchanged hands in 39,085 deals at midweek.
This indicated that the trading volume, value, and number of deals surged by 180.00 per cent, 142.58 per cent, and 6.06 per cent, respectively.
Cornerstone Insurance was the busiest equity on Thursday, with a turnover of 3.6 billion units valued at N18.4 billion, VFD Group exchanged 151.8 million units worth N1.9 billion, Chams sold 33.8 million units for N153.7 million, First Holdco transacted 28.3 million units worth N3.9 billion, and CMFC traded 24.6 million units valued at N78.2 million.
