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Nigeria’s $5 billion earnings from gas too low— Vice President Shettima

Published

1 year ago

October 27, 2023

Nigeria’s Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, has described as too low the country’s $5 billion earnings from gas, particularly in comparison with similar earnings by other gas-rich African nations like Egypt, Algeria, and Morocco.

Speaking at the 6th Valuechain Annual Lecture and Awards in Abuja, Shettima asserted that Nigeria ranked ninth in the world for proven reserves and had over 200 trillion cubic feet of undeveloped gas resources.

Meanwhile, according to Statista, Nigeria had 5.91 trillion cubic metrics of proven natural gas reserves in 2022. The amount increased slightly compared to the previous year, continuing the upward trend observed over the period under review.

The Vice President went on to say that there was no way to overestimate the importance of fully utilising the country’s gas reserves for power generation, given that gas not only provided 80% of the country’s electricity generation today but was predicted to overtake all other power generation sources by the end of this decade.

The Vice President, represented by Sodiq Wanka, Special Adviser to the President on Energy and Power Infrastructure, stated, “Today, Nigeria earns around $5 billion from gas production, a figure that is 40% less than in Egypt, which has about 30% of Nigeria’s reserves.

“Our production-to-reserve ratio is less than a third of Egypt’s, less than a quarter of Algeria’s and around 10 per cent of Malaysia’s. In the aftermath of the Russia-Ukraine war, the EU and many other nations were shopping for Liquefied Natural Gas at the same time that Nigeria’s largest LNG assets were operating significantly below capacity because gas supply was inadequate.

“At this rate, according to a decade of gas analysis, we could have a demand-supply gap of up to 10bscfd (billion standard cubic feet per day) of gas by 2030.”

Nigeria holds the largest natural gas reserves on the continent, and exports have increased significantly in the past 23 years. As of 2022, some 32.2 billion standard cubic meters of natural gas was exported by the West-African country.

Related Topics:Featured gas Nigeria Nigerian Gas Vice President Kashim Shettima

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Moroccan annual inflation rises to 0.8% in November

Published

1 day ago

December 21, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Morocco’s statistics office has confirmed that the country’s annual inflation rate, as determined by the consumer price index, increased from 0.7% in October to 0.8% in November.

Monthly, consumer prices decreased by 0.2% from October.

The primary driver of inflation, food costs, grew by 0.8% compared to the previous year, while non-food inflation climbed by 0.7%. Core inflation, which does not include more erratic items like food, increased 2.6% annually and 0.2% monthly.

According to the central bank, inflation is expected to average 1% this year, down from 6.1% last year.

Despite the Al-Haouz earthquake, a spike in inflation, and worldwide economic challenges, Morocco’s GDP grew by 3.4% in 2023.

A recovery in tourism, robust industrial exports, and rising private consumption—all bolstered by prudent macroeconomic policies—were the main drivers of growth.

VenturesNow

Nigeria’s $42bn foreign reserves enough for 9 months’ imports— Central Bank

Published

2 days ago

December 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

According to Olayemi Cardoso, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the nation’s $42.01 billion in foreign reserves can cover imports of goods and services for almost nine months.

Cardoso promised Nigerians improved economic fortunes in 2025 while addressing the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance, and Other Financial Institutions yesterday in Abuja at the presentation of the performance index report.

Cardoso stated: “External Reserves rose from $ 38.35 billion it was on September 30, 2024, to $ 42.01 billion as of December 12, 2024”.

He clarified that third-party receipts in Q3 2024 and revenues from taxes connected to crude oil were the main drivers of the rise in foreign reserves during the specified time.

“We saw remarkable improvements in our trade balance and maintained a current account surplus,” he added.

“Our external reserves level can finance over 9.09 months of import of goods and services or 13.91 months only, higher than the international benchmark of 3.0 months and a robust buffer against shocks”.

On cash shortage, the CBN boss reiterated the N150 million fine against any branch of banks caught illegally distributing new Naira notes to currency hawkers and unscrupulous elements and said the Nigerian economy will improve in 2025 through policies and measures.

He predicted a stronger economic future: “Despite our economy’s challenges, there are clear reasons for optimism.

“The gradual stabilization of the forex market, ongoing banking sector recapitalization, and positive growth trends in key sectors, especially the services sector, indicate a path toward recovery and stability.”