Economy
UNSDGF Lauds Sahara Group
By Dipo Olowookere
Leading African energy conglomerate, Sahara Group, has been lauded by the United Nations Sustainability Development Goals Fund (UNSDGF) for its unwavering commitment to spearheading private sector involvement in driving global campaigns for achieving the SDGs.
Speaking at the launch of the new report on Universality, business and SDGs in New York, Paloma Duran, Director, UNSDGF said Sahara’s contribution to the SDGs had boosted the narrative of business being a key stakeholder in promoting sustainability initiatives.
“We truly appreciate the support and dedication from Sahara Group as well as the company’s commitment to its membership of the Private Sector Advisory Group (PSAG) that was formed to better align public-private partnerships for sustainable development through business leaders of major companies from various industries worldwide.
“We are delighted to see Sahara leading the SDG charge through its various Corporate Responsibility initiatives, the Food Africa Project and midwifing platforms for private sector involvement across Africa,” said the UNSDGF Director.
Entitled ‘Universality and the SDGs: A business perspective’, the report is sequel to the maiden edition (‘Business and the United Nations: Working Together towards the Sustainable Development Goals: Framework for Action’) which set tone for private sector perspectives on how companies can address the new 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development through collaboration.
The new report is based on a series of global workshops and dialogues with the private sector and examines some of the key issues facing businesses working to incorporate and implement the SDGs within their organization. Insight and input from over100 companies all over the globe are presented in the report, including common elements gleaned from more structured workshops held in Nigeria, Colombia, Spain, and the United States.
A case study on Sahara Group’s ‘Light Up Nigeria Challenge’ features in the report and highlights how the SDGs can be incorporated into a company’s core business activity, the crucial importance of establishing diverse partnerships to bring about sustainable and targeted change.
Working in conjunction with ENACTUS Nigeria, Sahara Groups hosts the annual ‘Light Up Nigeria Challenge’ to encourage innovation in alternative and renewable energy resources. The competition harvests projects from students from around the country showcasing alternative energy sources and innovations to help ensure sustainable electricity supply in Nigeria.
The 2015 competition, which attracted entries from 28 different schools, involved developing simple models to reduce energy production costs and encourage the use of alternative energy sources in communities, small businesses and schools. “This competition provides a national and international platform for young people to present their ideas and empowers them to make real change in their communities. It also serves to power innovation in the energy sector where the Sahara Group conducts most of its business, helping develop more efficient and environmentally-friendly solutions while contributing to sustainability,” the report stated.
In Nigeria, the PSAG has scored a huge point through the Food Africa project which mirrors how business, the UN and other stakeholders can collaborate to create a sustainable development platform.
The Food Africa Project is a collaborative initiative involving Sahara Group, UNSDGF, Roca Brothers and the Kaduna State Government, directed at empowering communities and alleviating poverty through food security. The 5- year project is an Agro-base initiative envisaged to integrate the entire food value chain – the farmer, wholesaler, retailer and consumer- providing a sustainable source of food security, poverty alleviation and eradication, skill acquisition and social inclusiveness.
The project seeks to: provide employment, eradicate poverty and empower the people – It is estimated that about 500,000 people will be impacted both directly and indirectly by the project; reduce food wastage through the recycling of food produce that do not meet the proposed standards for offtake and increasing production substantially to encourage the development of sustainable food infrastructure in Kaduna State, with initial investment in vegetables.
Sahara’s Executive Director and Co-Founder, Tonye Cole, said the company is committed to pursuing the emergence of formidable PSAG platforms through which the SDG-F can partner with the Private Sector to achieve the SDGs in Nigeria.
Cole said this would enable businesses align their operations with the 17 SDGs as well as continuously gauge their contribution to each global goal, monitoring impact and implementing new ideas to effect improvement. “Increased involvement of the Private Sector will in the long run enhance the sustainability of business as SDGs are good for business.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has once again trimmed its 2024 and 2025 oil demand growth forecasts.
The bloc made this in its latest monthly oil market report for December 2024.
The 2024 world oil demand growth forecast is now put at 1.61 million barrels per day from the previous 1.82 million barrels per day.
For 2025, OPEC says the world oil demand growth forecast is now at 1.45 million barrels per day, which is 900,000 barrels per day lower than the 1.54 million barrels per day earlier quoted.
On the changes, the group said that the downgrade for this year owes to more bearish data received in the third quarter of 2024 while the projections for next year relate to the potential impact that will arise from US tariffs.
The oil cartel had kept the 2024 outlook unchanged until August, a view it had first taken in July 2023.
OPEC and its wider group of allies known as OPEC+ earlier this month delayed its plan to start raising output until April 2025 against a backdrop of falling prices.
Eight OPEC+ member countries – Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Oman – decided to extend additional crude oil production cuts adopted in April 2023 and November 2023, due to weak demand and booming production outside the group.
In April 2023, these OPEC+ countries decided to reduce their oil production by over 1.65 million barrels per day as of May 2023 until the end of 2023. These production cuts were later extended to the end of 2024 and will now be extended until the end of December 2026.
In addition, in November 2023, these producers had agreed to voluntary output cuts totalling about 2.2 million barrels per day for the first quarter of 2024, in order to support prices and stabilise the market.
These additional production cuts were extended to the end of 2024 and will now be extended to the end of March 2025; they will then be gradually phased out on a monthly basis until the end of September 2026.
Members have made a series of deep output cuts since late 2022.
They are currently cutting output by a total of 5.86 million barrels per day, or about 5.7 per cent of global demand. Russia also announced plans to reduce its production by an extra 471,000 barrels per day in June 2024.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
A minority equity stake in Chappal Energies Mauritius Limited has been acquired by a Nigerian energy firm, Aradel Holdings Plc.
This deal came a few days after Chappal Energies purchased a 53.85 per cent equity stake in Equinor Nigeria Energy Company Limited (ENEC).
Chappal Energies went into the deal with Equinor to take part in the oil and gas lease OML 128, including the unitised 20.21 per cent stake in the Agbami oil field, operated by Chevron.
Since production started in 2008, the Agbami field has produced more than one billion barrels of oil, creating value for Nigerian society and various stakeholders.
As part of the deal, Chappal will assume the operatorship of OML 129, which includes several significant prospects and undeveloped discoveries (Nnwa, Bilah and Sehki).
The Nnwa discovery is part of the giant Nnwa-Doro field, a major gas resource with significant potential to deliver value for Nigeria.
In a separate transaction, on July 17, 2024, Chappal and Total Energies sealed an SPA for the acquisition by Chappal of 10 per cent of the SPDC JV.
The relevant parties to this transaction are working towards closing out this transaction and Ministerial Approval and NNPC consent to accede to the Joint Operating Agreement have been obtained.
“This acquisition is in line with diversifying our asset base, deepening our gas competencies and gaining access to offshore basins using low-risk approaches.
“We recognise the strategic role of gas in Nigeria’s energy future and are happy to expand our equity holding in this critical resource.
“We are committed to the cause of developing the significant value inherent in the assets, which will be extremely beneficial to the country.
“Aradel hopes to bring its proven execution competencies to bear in supporting Chappal’s development of these opportunities,” the chief executive of Aradel Holdings, Mr Adegbite Falade, stated.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Afriland Properties Plc helped the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange record a 0.04 per cent gain on Tuesday, December 10 as the share price of the property investment rose by 34 Kobo to N16.94 per unit from the preceding day’s N16.60 per unit.
As a result of this, the market capitalisation of the bourse went up by N380 million to remain relatively unchanged at N1.056 trillion like the previous trading day.
But the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) closed higher at 3,014.36 points after it recorded an addition of 1.09 points to Monday’s closing value of 3,013.27 points.
The NASD OTC securities exchange recorded a price loser and it was Geo-Fluids Plc, which went down by 2 Kobo to close at N3.93 per share, in contrast to the preceding day’s N3.95 per share.
During the trading session, the volume of securities bought and sold by investors increased by 95.8 per cent to 2.4 million units from the 1.2 million securities traded in the preceding session.
However, the value of shares traded yesterday slumped by 3.7 per cent to N4.9 million from the N5.07 million recorded a day earlier, as the number of deals surged by 27.3 per cent to 14 deals from 11 deals.
Geo-Fluids Plc remained the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 1.7 billion units sold for N3.9 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 297.5 million units worth N5.3 million.
Also, Aradel Holdings Plc remained the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 108.7 million units worth N89.2 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 297.5 million units sold for N5.3 billion.
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