Economy
IPMAN, Investors in Talks for Modular Refineries
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) is mulling the idea of building modular refineries and it is discussing this with some investors.
The Principal Consultant to IPMAN, Mr Maurice Ibe, disclosed this when he appeared on Prime Time, a programme on Arise News Channel, on Wednesday night.
He was on the show to discuss the supply of diesel and jet fuel to the local oil market by Dangote Refinery.
He said that while the 650,000 barrels per day refinery was a welcomed development, Nigeria would need more than one working refinery, noting that the country could work better and eliminate supply issues by having small refineries spread all over the country
To this effect, the association was speaking to investors to see how that could happen.
Mr Ibu also stressed the need for the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited to explain to Nigerians how funds deployed for oil drilling at the Kolmani River between Bauchi and Gombe states were expended 16 months after former President Muhammadu Buhari flagged off the project with a lot of fanfare and publicity.
He said NNPC was the right authority to provide information on what happened in the project which is estimated to hold about 1 billion barrels of crude oil reserve and 500 billion cubic feet of gas deposit.
Also, the Kolmani Integrated Development Project, which had reportedly attracted Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) of about $3 billion, was designed to house a 120,000-barrels per day refinery, a 500-million standard cubic feet per day gas processing plant, a 300-megawatt capacity power plant, and a fertiliser plant of 2,500 tons per day.
According to the IPMAN consultant, many of the association’s members had argued for and against the drilling campaign in Kolmani, and said that some people think it was a waste of resources.
He added that there needs to be transparency on the money spent in the process, calling on the NNPC to tell the country everything concerning the drilling campaign.
“Honestly, I will try not to delve into that issue. It’s actually within the realm of NNPC. They are better informed, they have the data, they have the feasibility, and they are the ones supervising that project. So, I will not want to delve into discussing that issue in Bauchi.
“A lot of members have argued for and against it. Some think it’s a waste of resources, others think that it is good to explore. So, I would stay neutral on that. I think NNPC would be the better people to speak on what is happening with.
“Frankly, there is a lot that meets the eye, but we don’t have all the information. We are not on the ground. A lot of money has been spent.
“A lot of money has been abused in that process, and what we are saying is that NNPC needs to tell the country what is happening, what has happened, how the resources have been deployed and what has been achieved.
“If it is a total waste of resources, the country needs to know and somebody needs to account for it. But for now, nobody so far is saying anything,” he stressed.
He also said IPMAN had been at the forefront in advocating that the public refineries be made functional, saying that the country’s refineries have been virtually comatose for many years after billions of Dollars were spent on them without producing a single litre of petroleum products.
“The government must do more, pressure more on those currently servicing these refineries to get them functional. Dangote is doing his best. We applaud him for what he has done.“But the country still can’t and will not feel the effect of Dangote Refinery for now because if you look at the price at the pump, PMS is still N680, N660 in some places, some parts of the country are selling at N700 per litre,” he said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil prices rose more than 2 per cent on Thursday amid supply concerns after the US President, Mr Donald Trump, revoked a licence granted to US oil major, Chevron, to operate in Venezuela.
The news led Brent crude oil futures to spike by $1.53 or 2.1 per cent to $74.06 a barrel while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures increased by $1.64 or 2.4 per cent to $70.26.
The Chevron licence revocation means the company will no longer be able to export Venezuelan crude.
However, if Venezuelan state oil company, PDVSA, exports oil previously exported by Chevron, US refineries will be unable to buy it because of U.S. sanctions.
President Trump said this was due to the lack of electoral reform in the South American country alongside with insufficient action on migration.
Chevron has been exporting around 240,000 barrels of Venezuelan crude to the US daily after former US President Joe Biden granted them a waiver.
The amount constitutes around 25 per cent of the country’s total oil production and generates substantial revenues that stay in the Venezuelan economy.
Meanwhile, market analysts noted that the move could also lead to the negotiation of a fresh agreement between the Chevron and PDVSA to export crude to destinations other than the US.
This development could also impact the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, OPEC+, to which Venezuela is a member.
Chevron’s exit could reduce Venezuela oil’s production, giving OPEC+ capacity to increase output.
However, investors were still keeping an eye on signs of a potential peace deal in Ukraine, which could result in higher Russian oil flows.
President Trump said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will visit the US on Friday to sign an agreement on rare earth minerals.
However, the Ukrainian leader said the success of talks would hinge on continued US aid.
The market was pressured by news that US economic growth slowed in the fourth quarter amid cold weather and concerns that tariffs will hurt spending through higher prices.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange closed flat on Wednesday, February 26 with the Unlisted Security Index (NSI) static at 3,268.81 points and the market capitalization unchanged at N1.851 trillion.
The alternative stock exchange closed flat at midweek despite recording six price movers, with two in the green region and four in the red territory.
On the gainers’ side Afriland Properties Plc and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, with the former rising by N1.12 to N22.80 per unit from the preceding day’s N21.68 per unit and the latter expanding by 76 Kobo to settle at N39.86 per share compared with Tuesday’s closing price of N39.10 per share.
However, First Trust Microfinance Bank Plc lost 5 kobo to close at 47 Kobo per unit compared with the previous day’s 52 Kobo per unit, Geo Fluids dropped 34 Kobo to settle at N3.58 per share versus the preceding session’s N3.24 per share, UBN Property Plc went down by 10 Kobo to finish at N1.75 per unit, in contrast to Tuesday’s closing price of N1.85 per unit, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc declined by 14 Kobo to close at N22.01 per share versus N22.15 per share.
During yesterday’s session, the volume of securities transacted by investors jumped by 99.3 per cent to 1.2 million units from the 605,399 units transacted in the previous trading day.
However, the value of transactions slid by 28.5 per cent to N10.6 million from N14.8 million, while the number of deals went up by 58.3 per cent to 38 deals from 24 deals recorded on Tuesday.
At the close of business, Impresit Bakolori Plc was the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 533.8 million units worth N520.9 million, followed by Afriland Properties Plc with 16.4 million units valued at 335.2 million, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 8.3 million units valued at N329.2 million.
Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc ended the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 69.7 million units worth N23.6 million, trailed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 10.9 million units sold for N51.9 million, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 8.3 million units valued at N329.2 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira closed flat on the US Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Wednesday, February 26 at N1,501.95/$1.
Also, the value of the local currency against the Pound Sterling and the Euro remained unchanged in the official market during the session at N1,894.72/£1 and N1,570.11/€1 apiece.
However, the Nigerian currency depreciated against the United States currency by N10 at midweek to quote at N1,500/$1, in contrast to the preceding day’s N1,490/$1.
The outcome of the local currency comes amid ease in the wider economy and recent moves like clearing backlogs, which have led to the country’s foreign reserves losing over $2 billion in the last month.
However, market analysts fear that the continued drop in the foreign reserves may only offer temporary respite to the Naira.
In the cryptocurrency market, most of the tokens fell on Wednesday after the US President, Mr Donald Trump, said he plans to impose a 25 per cent tariff on the European Union (EU) during his first cabinet meeting.
The price of Bitcoin (BTC) depreciated by more than 3 per cent in the last 24 hours to close at $85,878.47.
After the recent market selloff, there were calls that the drop might have been the bottom but Mr Trump’s EU tariff plans seem to have dampened market optimism.
The American President claimed that the 27-member union does not accept US cars and farm products while the US buys from the bloc.
On its part, the EU said it will react firmly and immediately against “unjustified barriers to free and fair trade”
Ethereum (ETH) slumped by 5.9 per cent to $2,341.69, Ripple (XRP) went down by 3.7 per cent to $2.20, Cardano (ADA) fell by 2.9 per cent to trade at $0.6625, Dogecoin (DOGE) depreciated by 1.3 per cent to $0.2076, Binance Coin (BNB) weakened by 1.2 per cent to $614.13, and Solana (SOL) declined by 1.0 per cent to $140.03.
But Litecoin (LTC) recorded a 6.9 per cent appreciation to quote at $126.46, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
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