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Nigeria receives $16bn investment from IOCs

Published

6 months ago

May 24, 2024

Heineken Lokpobiri, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), revealed on Monday that the country’s oil and gas industry had received approximately $16.6 billion in investments over the previous 12 months.

He gave updates while speaking in Abuja on the oil industry’s accomplishments since President Bola Tinubu took office on May 29, 2023.

Additionally, in a previous meeting with Olivier Le Peuch, the CEO of Schlumberger Limited, Lokpobiri disclosed that the Federal Government was about to finalize a $20 billion agreement to increase Nigeria’s oil and gas production.

The minister stated, “One of our main objectives has been to create an environment where investments can thrive,” when discussing the steps being taken to draw in investments. The absence of the Petroleum Industry Act and erratic policies had discouraged investment for more than ten years.

“Today, I am pleased to announce that our efforts have rekindled investor confidence in the sector. Notable examples include investments committed to the tune of $5bn and $10bn in deepwater offshore assets; and a $1.6bn investment commitment in oil and gas asset acquisition.

The very high global interest is noted in the ongoing bid round of assets coming online, arising from the recent roadshow activities in the United States and Europe.”

Additionally, Lokpobiri noted that since Tinubu took office, Nigeria has seen a rise in the output of crude oil.

“Our foremost achievement is the significant increase in production. When we took office, production was at approximately 1.1 million barrels per day, including condensates.

“Today, I am proud to report that we have increased our production to approximately 1.7 million barrels per day (inclusive of condensate). This increase is a testament to our relentless efforts to streamline operations and resolve conflict among stakeholders,” the oil minister stated.

Among the actions done to boost the output of crude oil, Lokpobiri mentioned that attempts were made to bring idle oil assets back into service.

To resolve industry conflicts and increase output, he added that ongoing conversations were being held with members of the Independent Petroleum Producers Group and multinational oil firms.

Lokpobiri added, “Resolutions of internal joint venture contracts feud between joint venture partners on critical production ﬁelds. Engaging local communities with critical assets running through them to protect the assets, all in a bid to decrease oil theft across the country.

“Consolidating existing security framework with private security firms and government security agencies for pipeline surveillance, which led to a sharp decline in crude oil theft and thus increased production for export.”

Related Topics:Featured IOCs Nigeria Petroleum Products

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VenturesNow

Food prices drive second straight monthly hike in Nigeria’s inflation

Published

2 days ago

November 17, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

According to official statistics released on Friday, Nigeria’s inflation rate increased for the second consecutive month in October, rising to 33.88% in annual terms from 32.70% in September, mostly as a result of increasing food costs.

In an attempt to boost economic development and strengthen public finances, President Bola Tinubu devalued the naira and reduced subsidies, which caused inflation to spike in the second half of last year.

As the effects of the naira devaluation started to lessen in July of this year, a slew of hikes in the price of petroleum and devastating floods that destroyed crops once again exacerbated pricing pressures, making the greatest cost-of-living crisis in decades worse in Africa’s most populous country.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, price increases for basics such as rice, maize, bread, potatoes, and cooking oil prompted food inflation to surge from 37.77% in October to 39.16% year over year.

This year, more than 1.5 million hectares of agriculture have been damaged by torrential rain and floods in 29 of Nigeria’s 36 states, leaving millions hungry and displacing large numbers of people.

In an effort to curb inflation, the central bank has raised interest rates five times this year. On November 26, it is expected to make its final rate decision of the year.

VenturesNow

MTN financial report reveals drop in group service revenue

Published

2 days ago

November 17, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Due to operational difficulties in Sudan and the depreciation of the Nigerian naira, MTN Group, Africa’s largest telecom provider, announced on Thursday an 18.5% decline in service revenue for the third quarter that concluded on September 30.

With 288 million users in 17 African regions, MTN said that its group service revenue dropped from 156.3 billion rand ($6.99 billion) in the same quarter of the previous year to 127.4 billion rand.

Despite stating that “the naira was less volatile on a sequential basis in Q3 than in preceding quarters,” the business reported a 48.7% decline in MTN Nigeria’s income due to the currency’s depreciation.

Due to a stronger Ugandan shilling than the previous year, Uganda’s largest contributor, MTN South Africa (MTN SA), expanded by a meagre 3.3%.

Due to “subscriber registration regulations in Nigeria and a decline in users in Sudan, where the conflict has displaced millions of people,” the business reported that its subscriber base increased by 1.6% to 288 million.

Given the higher demand in Nigeria despite the legal obstacles, MTN plans to increase its capital expenditures, which it expects would total between 28 and 33 billion rand for the entire year.