Economy

UK Court Grants NNPC $100m Reprieve

Published

9 years ago

05/04/2017

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

A Supreme Court in the United Kingdom has granted a reprieve to Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) over a $100million Bank guarantee in a case involving the agency and a service company, IPCO (Nigeria) Limited.

IPCO had referred its claims to arbitration in Nigeria and obtained an Arbitral Award of $154 million in 2004, with annual interest running at 14 percent, leaving NNPC with no option than to promptly challenge the award at the Federal High Court in Lagos.

The reprieve was the latest in the protracted dispute arising from the contract between NNPC and IPCO for the construction of the Bonny Export Terminal (BET) Project in Port Harcourt, Nigeria.

Reacting to the judgment, NNPC Group Managing Director, Dr Maikanti Baru, said he was delighted on the new development, commending the efforts of the legal team that secured judgment in favour of the corporation.

He said no stone would be left unturned to extricate NNPC from encumbrances that may impede the Corporation’s access to hard earned funds which are much needed to execute developmental projects by the various tiers of government in the country.

The development is a significant decision in the history of the case as the English Supreme Court has not only discharged NNPC from the responsibility to sustain the additional security of $100million in favour of IPCO but it also further reiterated the finding of the English Commercial Court and the Court of Appeal that NNPC has a good prima facie case that IPCO procured the Arbitral Award by fraud.

Additionally, the decision of the Supreme Court has clarified conclusively the limits of an enforcing Court’s power to order security as a condition on the right to have a decision of a properly arguable challenge under the New York Convention 1958 and the English Arbitration Act 1996.

Since 2004, IPCO has repeatedly sought to enforce the award in England prior to the conclusion of NNPC’s challenge of the Arbitral Award in Nigeria.

It would be recalled that in 2008, during one of IPCO’s attempts to secure an order for the enforcement of the award in the UK, NNPC claimed it discovered evidence that IPCO had allegedly forged documents relating to the claims and the related arbitration in Nigeria, and as a result, the parties agreed in 2009 to adjourn the enforcement proceedings in England, in order to await the determination of the fraud allegations in Nigeria.

In 2012, IPCO again applied to the English Commercial Court to enforce the award despite the agreement on the adjournment of the enforcement action.

IPCO’s application was however, dismissed on March 14, 2014, holding inter alia that NNPC had made out a good prima facie case of fraud giving NNPC a realistic prospect of proving that the whole award should be set aside. IPCO however appealed to the UK Court of Appeal.

In 2015, the UK Court of Appeal decided that the delays in the Nigerian proceedings required the English Court to lift the adjournment and to decide whether to allow enforcement following a trial of the fraud allegations in the English Court.

Both the Commercial Court and, the Court of Appeal concluded that the fraud allegations against IPCO were made bona fide, that NNPC has a good prima facie case that IPCO practised a fraud on the Arbitral Tribunal, and that NNPC has a realistic prospect on that basis of proving that the whole award should be set aside.

However, the UK Court of Appeal ordered NNPC to provide an additional security of $100 million (NNPC having previously provided security of $80million) as a condition of being entitled to advance a defence that enforcement should be refused because the award had been procured by IPCO’s alleged fraud.

Subsequently, NNPC appealed to the UK Supreme Court to decide whether the English court, as an enforcing court, is empowered to require security for money payable under the award (or any part thereof) from a party resisting enforcement of such award as a condition for being entitled to advance a good and arguable defence that enforcement would be contrary to English public policy because the award was allegedly procured by fraud.

On March 1, 2017, the UK Supreme Court unanimously set aside the Court of Appeal’s Order, allowing NNPC to advance its defence in the English Commercial Court free of any such conditions.

Economy

Naira Trades N1,348/$1 as CBN Opens Official Market to BDC Operators

Published

2 hours ago

12/02/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira appreciated against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Wednesday, February 11, by N2.07 or 0.15 per cent to N1,348.95/$1 from N1,351.02/$1 as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) moved to further ease shortages and narrow the gap between the official and street rates.

The CBN approved the participation of licensed Bureaux De Change (BDC) operators in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM) as part of efforts to improve forex liquidity in the retail segment of the market and meet the legitimate needs of end users.

The apex bank capped the weekly FX purchases at $150,000, adding that utilisation complies with existing BDC operational guidelines.

In the same official market, the Nigerian currency gained N6.46 against the Pound Sterling to quote at N1,840.11/£1 versus N1,846.57/£1, and added N6.36 on the Euro to close at N1,600.13/€1, in contrast to the preceding session’s N1,606.49/€1.

At the GTBank FX counter, the Nigerian Naira gained N5 on the greenback to settle at N1,358/$1 versus the previous day’s N1,363/$1, but remained unchanged at N1,430/$1 in the black market.

Meanwhile, the digital currency market was bearish yesterday as traders sold their positions after digesting a more hawkish macro outlook.

Analysts mainly attributed the latest crypto selloff to shifting expectations around US macro policy, following a “hawkish shift” in Federal Reserve expectations after Kevin Warsh’s nomination as chairman of the US central bank, which signals tighter liquidity and fewer rate cuts ahead.

Traders will be watching key US labour market data for signs on the future path of interest rates and broader risk appetite.

Solana (SOL) shed 3.2 per cent to sell at $79.86, Ethereum (ETH) depreciated by 2.7 per cent to $1,958.44, Bitcoin (BTC) dropped 1.5 per cent to $67,540.62, Cardano (ADA) slid 1.5 per cent to $0.2579, Ripple (XRP) dipped 1.4 per cent to $1.37, Binance Coin (BNB) slumped 1.2 per cent to $609.73, Litecoin (LTC) went down by 1.2 per cent to $52.58, and Dogecoin (DOGE) crashed by 1.1 per cent to $0.0917, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.

Economy

Nigerian Stocks Near N115trn Valuation After Midweek’s 0.78% Rise

Published

2 hours ago

12/02/2026

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

The positive momentum witnessed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited lately continued on Wednesday after it further closed higher by 0.78 per cent.

More investors are showing interest in Nigerian stocks because of the recent bull run, leaving the market capitalisation to grow further by N880 billion yesterday to N114.377 trillion from N113.497 trillion, while the All-Share Index (ASI) increased by 1,374.93 points to 178,184.35 points from 176,809.42 points.

Though the level of activity waned at midweek, data showed that it remained high, with a turnover of 939.2 million shares worth N34.0 billion in 61,279 deals compared with the 1.3 billion shares valued at N50.4 billion traded in 58,965 deals in the preceding session.

This showed that the trading volume went down by 27.75 per cent, and the trading value shrank by 32.54 per cent, while the number of deals jumped 3.92 per cent.

The busiest equity on Wednesday was Tantalizers with the sale of 85.3 million units worth N498.8 million, Access Holdings transacted 61.4 million units for N1.5 billion, Chams exchanged 38.6 million units valued at N174.1 million, Japaul sold 38.2 million units worth N89.5 million, and Deap Capital sold 36.8 million units valued at N314.1 million.

Fortis Global Insurance, Consolidated Hallmark, Nestle Nigeria, and Meyer all gained 10.00 per cent each to close at 33 Kobo, N4.95, N2,420.00, and N20.90 apiece, and CAP rose by 9.98 per cent to N99.20.

On the flip side, Honeywell Flour declined by 9.70 per cent to N22.80, Neimeth slipped by 9.15 per cent to N12.90, The Initiates crashed by 5.81 per cent to N19.45, RT Briscoe tumbled by 5.70 per cent to N14.40, and Sterling Holdings depreciated by 5.56 per cent to N7.65.

At the close of business, 49 stocks ended on the gainers’ table and 31 stocks finished on the losers’ chart, showing a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.

As for the performance of the bourse’s sectors, four of the five monitored by Business Post were in green, with the industrial goods down by 0.02 per cent due to profit-taking in Lafarge Africa.

The banking counter improved by 1.58 per cent, the insurance counter appreciated by 1.53 per cent, the consumer goods index gained 1.28 per cent, and the energy sector soared by 0.02 per cent.

Economy

Oil Prices Rise on Fresh Iran-US Tensions

Published

3 hours ago

12/02/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Oil prices gained about 1 per cent on Wednesday, as investors worried about escalating tensions between Iran and the United States, which were preparing to resume negotiations.

Brent crude oil futures chalked up 60 cents or 0.87 per cent to sell for $69.40 a barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures appreciated by 67 cents or 1.05 per cent to $64.63 per barrel.

US President Donald Trump said nothing definitive was decided during his meeting with the Prime Minister of Israel, Mr Benjamin Netanyahu, on Wednesday, but that negotiations with Iran toward a deal would continue.

On Tuesday, the American leader said he was considering sending a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East if a deal is not reached with Iran, even as both oil producers are prepared to resume talks.

US and Iranian diplomats held indirect talks last week in Oman, amid a regional naval buildup by the US threatening Iran. The date and venue of the next round of talks have yet to be announced.

After talks between US and Iranian teams in Oman on February 6, the US government imposed additional sanctions on Iran’s oil sector.

Meanwhile, Iran signalled readiness for nuclear verification while denying any intent to build weapons.

Also supporting oil prices was data showing that US job growth unexpectedly accelerated in January and the unemployment rate fell to 4.3 per cent, signalling a healthy economy.

The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) left its oil supply-demand expectations largely unchanged in its monthly report, but highlighted that global oil demand for the wider group’s crude will drop by 400,000 barrels per day in the second quarter compared to the first.

The OPEC+ group, comprising OPEC nations, plus other allies, began raising output last year after years of cuts, but paused production hikes in the first quarter of 2026 amid predictions of a glut. Eight OPEC+ members meet on March 1, where they are expected to decide whether to resume the hikes in April.

Crude oil inventories in the US increased by 8.5 million barrels during the week ending February 6, according to new data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released on Wednesday. The increase brings commercial stockpiles to 428.8 million barrels according to government data.

EIA’s data release followed earlier figures released by the American Petroleum Institute (API), which suggested that crude oil inventories rose by 13.4 million barrels.