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Exxon to invest $10 billion in Nigeria

Published

9 hours ago

September 26, 2024

According to a presidential spokesperson, Stanley Nkwocha, on Thursday, who cited business executives, Exxon Mobil Corp has proposed a $10 billion investment in offshore oil operations as part of a new investment push in Nigeria.

The investment was disclosed following talks between Vice President Kashim Shettima and Exxon’s Nigeria CEO, Shane Harris, on Wednesday in New York during the U.N. General Assembly.

Exxon intends to concentrate on advancing the $10 billion-plus Owo project, a substantial deep-water project.

Even though it agreed to sell its onshore assets to Seplat Energy for $1.3 billion, the company still intends to invest $2.5 billion a year to sustain its operations in Nigeria and increase oil output by 50,000 barrels per day (bpd) over the next few years.

Exxon and the Nigerian president’s office are collaborating closely “to secure favourable fiscal arrangements that will make this significant investment possible,” according to a statement from Harris.

An Exxon representative did not immediately answer a request for comment.

The majority of Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings and government revenue come from the production of oil, which rose by 10.15% in the second quarter to an average of 1.41 million barrels per day from 1.22 million barrels per day the previous year.

However, even after enacting a law three years ago to reduce regulatory uncertainty and draw in investments, Africa’s biggest oil producer still faces difficulties in its oil sector, including widespread theft and sabotage.

“This potential investment by ExxonMobil aligns perfectly with President Bola Tinubu administration’s vision for a more investment-friendly Nigeria,” Shettima said. “We are committed to creating an enabling environment for such transformative projects.”

Related Topics:Exxon ExxonMobil Featured Nigeria

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FDI inflows in South Africa slows in Q2, central bank says

Published

6 hours ago

September 26, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

According to central bank figures released on Thursday, South Africa saw inflows of foreign direct investment of 16.6 billion rand ($965.87 million) in the second quarter of 2024, compared with 24.4 billion rand in the first.

In its Quarterly Bulletin, the South African Reserve Bank stated that a non-resident business’s increased equity investment in a domestic broadcasting company was the main driver of the inflows.

From April through June, portfolio investments had outflows of 20.1 billion rand, down from 52.0 billion rand during the first three months of this year.

Between April and June of 2024, the South African GDP expanded by 0.4%1. The majority of the economy’s impetus on the production (supply) side was driven by the finance, manufacturing, trade, and electricity, gas, and water supply businesses.

From the demand (expenditure) perspective, growth was positively impacted by government, household, and inventory accumulation.

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Nigeria’s central bank raises interest rate to 27.25%

Published

1 day ago

September 25, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The Central Bank of Nigeria’s Monetary Policy Committee has raised the benchmark interest rate to 27.25%.

Monetary policy is an economy’s basic interest rate. All other interest rates in an economy are based on the MPR.

Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the apex bank, told the media at a press briefing after the committee’s fifth meeting of the year at the CBN headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday that the committee unanimously voted to tighten monetary policy.

The rate is the fifth consecutive hike this year and is aimed at quelling inflation, supporting the naira and attracting investments. The apex bank raised its rate by 50 basis points from 26.75% in July 2024.
Interest rates have risen 8.5% during the current leadership, which entered office a year ago.

Cardoso said, “The committee was unanimous in its decision to further tighten policy and thus decided as follows, one: raise the MPR to 27.25 per cent.”

The MPC maintained the asymmetric corridor around the MPR at +500 to -100 basis points, raised deposit money banks’ Cash Reserve Ratio to 50% and merchant banks’ to 16% from 14%, and maintained the liquidity ratio at 30%.

He added, “The MPC decided to retain the asymmetric corridor around the MPR at plus 500 to minus 100 basis points. It also raised the Cash Reserve Ratio of deposit Money banks by 500 basis points to 50 per cent from 45 per cent and merchant banks by 200 basis points to 16 per cent from 14 per cent and retain the liquidity ratio at 30 per cent.”

With headline inflation dropping for two months in a row, financial experts had expected the CBN to either keep or slash interest rates.