Economy
Underinvestment, Not OPEC to Blame for Inflation—Al Ghais
By Adedapo Adesanya
The new Secretary-General of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Mr Haitham Al Ghais, has said the group is not to blame for soaring inflation, pointing the finger instead at chronic underinvestment in the oil and gas industry.
In an interview with CNBC’s Hadley Gamble, he said, “OPEC is not behind this price increase.”
“There are other factors beyond OPEC that are really behind the spike we have seen in gas [and] in oil. And again, I think in a nutshell, for me, it is underinvestment — chronic underinvestment,” he added.
“This is the harsh reality that people have to wake up to and policymakers have to wake up to. Once that is realized I think then we can start to think of a solution here. And the solution is very clear. OPEC has a solution: invest, invest, invest,” Mr Al Ghais said.
Asked whether OPEC, which produces roughly 40 per cent of the world’s oil output, should shoulder the blame for surging energy prices driving up inflation, Al Ghais replied: “No, absolutely not. I mean it’s all relative, that’s number one.”
“Number two is OPEC is doing its part. We have been increasing production in line with what we see and a gradual mechanism that has been very transparent … We are doing everything we can to bring the market back to balance but there are economic factors that are really beyond OPEC’s control,” he added.
Al Ghais had echoed other proponents including Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr Timpre Sylva, who said the reason the country was not producing enough was due to the dearth in investment.
“In the last 10 years, over $70 billion worth of investments came to Africa, but sadly less than $4 billion came to Nigeria.
“Surprisingly, we are the biggest in Africa. If we cannot attract investments to Nigeria, you know where we are heading,” he said as the country tried to woo the European Union to consider Nigeria as an alternative gas market.
Mr Al Ghais was appointed for a three-year term as OPEC’s secretary general to succeed Nigerian oil industry veteran Mohammad Barkindo, who died at the age of 63 last month just days before he was due to step down from the organisation.
He also noted that the group has a “solid” relationship with Russia and it always seeks to separate politics from its market stabilizing objectives.
“First of all, if you look at history, if I may, such challenges are not new to OPEC and the OPEC history,” Mr Al Ghais said, citing the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s and the invasion of Kuwait in 1990.
“We try always in our meetings to separate the politics and the political aspects from what we do in terms of managing the market balance and in terms of what we do as OPEC+, I think the methodology is clear,” he continued.
“Russia’s leadership in supporting the declaration of cooperation has been clear since day one, since 2017. The relationship is solid in terms of managing the market.”
Asked whether this means that he trusts Russia, Mr Al Ghais replied: “Yes.”
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited managed to finish in the green territory on Monday after it marginally closed higher by 0.01 per cent.
The last minute escape from the bears was triggered by the gains posted by large-cap equities like Zenith Bank, Aradel Holdings and others, offsetting the losses recorded by GTCO, Oando, First Holdco and others.
According to data obtained by Business Post, only 29 stocks ended on the gainers’ chart, while 44 equities landed on the losers’ table, indicating a negative market breadth index and weak investor sentiment.
Universal Insurance rose by 10.00 per cent to sell for N1.32, Premier Paints appreciated by 10.00 per cent to N11.00, DAAR Communications improved by 9.93 per cent to N1.55, RT Briscoe increased by 9.92 per cent to N8.64, and Morison Industries advanced by 9.91 per cent to N10.98.
On the flip side, Omatek declined by 10.00 per cent to N2.70, Union Homes REIT declined by 9.96 per cent to N85.40, AXA Mansard shrank by 9.94 per cent to N14.31, Deap Capital decreased by 9.90 per cent to N8.46, and C&I Leasing moderated by 9.80 per cent to N6.90.
On the first trading session of this week, market participants bought and sold 762.8 million shares valued at N18.4 billion in 55,374 deals compared with the 687.4 million shares worth N15.0 billion traded in 41,553 deals last Friday, a spike in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 10.97 per cent, 22.67 per cent, and 33.26 per cent, respectively.
Tantalizers ended the day as the most active stock with 88.5 million units sold for N329.4 million, Zenith Bank traded 40.2 million units worth N2.9 billion, Veritas Kapital transacted 39.2 million units valued at N92.1 million, Universal Insurance exchanged 29.3 million units for N38.1 million, and First Holdco transacted 27.6 million units worth N1.1 billion.
The sectorial performance yesterday showed that the mood of investors was in the sell region despite the slight growth recorded by Customs Street, as only the energy index closed in green, rising by 2.00 per cent.
The insurance counter was down by 1.99 per cent, the banking industry depleted by 0.64 per cent, the consumer goods shrank by 0.37 per cent, and the industrial goods retreated by 0.08 per cent.
When the first trading day of February 2026 ended on Monday, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 14.23 points to 165,384.63 points from 165,370.40 points, while the market capitalization chalked up N9 billion to finish at N106.162 trillion compared with the previous session’s N106.153 trillion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The two major crude oil grades in the global market fell by more than 4 per cent per barrel on Monday after the most recent tensions between the United States and Iran appeared to have eased.
Brent crude futures went down by $3.02 or 4.4 per cent to settle at $66.30 per barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures declined by $3.07 or 4.7 per cent to $62.14 per barrel.
Last week, markets reacted to the renewed tension in the world’s most important oil-producing and exporting region, and oil prices soared.
However, this weekend, US President Donald Trump said that he believes Iran is “seriously” talking with the US, adding he hopes that negotiations could lead to an “acceptable” deal with the member of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Market analysts noted that with the US President facing weak poll numbers, a military escalation that risks pushing petrol prices sharply higher appears unlikely ahead of the November midterm elections.
Prices were also pressured by a stronger US Dollar and milder weather forecasts. The American currency strengthened as currency traders cheered President Trump’s nomination of Kevin Warsh as the next Federal Reserve chair. A stronger Dollar makes oil more expensive for investors using other currencies.
US futures prices for diesel, used in heating and power generation, fell more than 6 per cent triggered by forecasts of milder weather in the US, the world’s largest oil consumer.
OPEC+ agreed to keep its oil output unchanged for March at a meeting, the producer group said on Sunday. The brief meeting reaffirmed that decision for March, after earlier gatherings did the same for January and February.
The eight producers – Saudi Arabia, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Iraq, Algeria and Oman – raised production quotas by about 2.9 million barrels per day from April through December 2025, roughly 3 per cent of global demand.
In November, the group froze further planned increases for January through March 2026 because of seasonally weaker consumption.
Four OPEC+ producers that have been pumping crude above their respective quotas have filed with the OPEC Secretariat updated compensation plans through June 2026, OPEC said on Monday.
The countries: Iraq, the UAE, Kazakhstan, and Oman filed updated plans to compensate for pumping above OPEC+ quotas through June 2026.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The duo of Presco Plc and Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) Plc has listed additional shares on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.
The extra equities of these two publicly-listed organisations were admitted to the local stock exchange last Friday, increasing their respective total issued and fully paid-up shares.
For Presco, it listed fresh 166,666,667 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each on the daily official list of the NGX on Friday, January 30, 2026, increasing its total issued and fully paid-up stocks from 1,000,000,000 units to 1,166,666,667 units.
The additional equities were from the rights issue of the firm allotted to shareholders on the basis of one new share for every existing six ordinary shares held as at close of business on Monday, October 13, 2025.
In a circular issued over the weekend, the NGX said, “Trading licence holders are hereby notified that additional 166,666,667 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each of Presco Plc were on Friday, January 30, 2026, listed on the daily official list of Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited (NGX).
“The additional shares arose from the company’s rights issue of 166,666,667 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each at N1,420.00 per share on the basis of one new share for every existing six ordinary shares held as at close of business on Monday, October 13, 2025.
“With the listing of the additional 166,666,667 ordinary shares, the total issued and fully paid-up shares of Presco Plc has now increased from 1,000,000,000 to 1,166,666,667 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each.”
As for GTCO, it listed additional125,000,000 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each at N80.00 per unit offered through private placement.
The fresh equities taken to Customs Street have raised the total issued and fully paid-up shares of GTCO from 36,425,229,514 to 36,550,229,514 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each.
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