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Tag: Oil

  • 2024 oil bid round for investors with technical know-how, says Lokpobiri

    2024 oil bid round for investors with technical know-how, says Lokpobiri

    The era of giving oil blocs to politicians as patronage is over, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil) Heineken Lokpobiri said yesterday.

    He said the 17 oil blocs put forward for sale under the 2024 bidding round are for investors with financial capacity and technical competence.

    Lokpobiri dropped the hint at the ongoing 2024 Offshore Technology Conference (OTC), in Houston, Texas, United States (U.S.).

    The conference, organised by the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN), has “Sustainable Energy Solutions for Africa’s Future (Nigerian Perspective) as its theme.

    He blamed the non-development of over 90 per cent of marginal fields in the past to the award of oil blocs to politicians.

    The minister the past practice denied the Federal Government of reaping the intended benefits because such awards were not based on technical and financial considerations.

    He said: “We have noticed a lot of idle blocs and little or no investment done on them in the last three years of acquiring them.

    “I can tell you for fact that over 90 per cent of owners of these oil blocs are seeking for renewal without commencing or investing on them.

    “In this regard, we are saying no more to that, and hence, those seeking for blocs must be financially and technically capable to turn it around and not mere portfolio investors.

    “These set of investors are those we consider as men and not boys in the industry. The blocs are not for politicians. So, we are downplaying that kind of investors in this new bid rounds.

    “However, we have taken away the 200 million signature bonus tied to blocs ownership. What we have tried to achieve is to tie such to operations and investment which will encourage investors and drive investment speedily on a field.

    “I have worked closely with the (Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, (NUPRC) to ensure that we achieve a seamless transition and bid round sales this year.”

    Read Also: Dangote, BUA, Lafarge, others get 14 days to appear before House panel

    NUPRC Chief Executive Gbenga Komolafe said the Presidential Executive Orders issued in March were aimed at improving the efficiency and attractiveness of Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.

    Komolafe said that it would increase the nation’s oil and gas reserves, now standing at 37.5 billion barrels of crude oil and condensate reserves and 209.26 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves.

    The NUPRC boss said: “The exercise, which was initially announced on the 29th of April 2024, is a significant leap in our strategic hydrocarbons development initiative.

    “This round introduces twelve meticulously selected blocs across diverse geological spectra – from the fertile onshore basins to the promising continental shelves and the untapped depths of our deep offshore territories.

     “Each bloc has been chosen for its potential to bolster our national reserves and stimulate economic vitality.

    “Our approach is underpinned by the robust legal framework of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021(PIA), which ensures compliance with best practices to boost investors’ confidence.

    “In keeping with the provisions of the PIA and regulations made under the Act, the Commission has issued a licensing round guideline and published a licensing round plan for the twelve blocs.

    “Namely PPL 300-CS; PPL 301-CS; PPL 3008; PPL 3009; PPL 2001; PPL 2002; PML 51; PPL 267; PPL 268; PPL 269; PPL 270; and PPL 271).

    “In addition to these blocs, the seven deep offshore blocs from the 2022 Mini-Bid Round Exercise which cover an area of approximately 6,700 km2 in water depths of 1,150m to 3,100m shall also be concluded along with this Licensing round.

    “To ensure the seamlessness of the licensing round exercise, the NUPRC, in collaboration with our national data repository and multi-client partners, guarantees access to comprehensive and high-quality geological data, facilitating informed decision-making and strategic investments.”

    He said that the blocs on offer have extensive 2D and 3D seismic data coverage, including multi-beam and analogue data.

    “Additionally, a 3D reprocessed Pre-stack Time Migration of remarkable quality is also available to prospective bidders.

    “The availability of advanced seismic datasets and analytical tools via our dedicated portals exemplifies our commitment to excellence and technological advancement.

    “Distinguished investors, industry captains and stakeholders, the licencing round is indeed expected to be a huge success for Nigeria and is a big step toward growing the nation’s oil and gas reserves through aggressive exploration and development efforts boosting production, expanding opportunities for gas utilisation and end-to- end development across the value chain, strengthening energy security and economy, providing occasion to gainfully engage the pool of competent companies in the oil and gas sector with multiplier effect in employment opportunities; enabling transfer of technology, valorising petroleum assets in the Nigerian territory and attracting investments.

    “In addition, the licencing round presents us with the opportunity to reinforce Nigeria’s commitment to openness and transparency in line with the principles of the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI).

    “On the global scale, the licensing round will no doubt be beneficial to all stakeholders and will in the long run contribute to long-term global energy sufficiency.

    “Interestingly, the licensing round process was formulated in cognisance of global energy sustainability goals,” he added.

  • Oil moves higher on fuel inventory draws

    Oil moves higher on fuel inventory draws

    Crude oil prices rose yesterday after the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported an inventory build of 3.2 million barrels for the last week of March. The authority also estimated draws in both gasoline and middle distillates.

    This compared with an oil inventory build of 3.2 million a week earlier, which pushed prices lower at the time. It also compared with an inventory draw of 2.3 million barrels as estimated by the American Petroleum Institute earlier this week.

    Gasoline inventories, however, shed 4.3 million barrels in the week to March 29, with production averaging 10 million bpd. These figures compared with an inventory build of 1.3 million barrels for the previous week, when production stood at an average of 9.2 million barrels daily.

    In middle distillates, the EIA reported an inventory decline of 1.3 million barrels for the last week of March, with production averaging 4.6 million bpd.

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    This compared with a stock draw of 1.2 million barrels for the previous week and production averaging 4.8 million barrels daily.

    Prices, meanwhile, have been on the rise thanks mainly to geopolitical factors but also on the back of the fact that OPEC+ confirmed its current production policy of caps, which has already tightened oil supply and helped prices move higher.

    Earlier in the week, Brent crude hit the highest since last October as Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian refineries continued fueling concern about global fuel supply security and Iran vowed to take revenge on Israel for the strike on its consulate that killed five.

  • Osun Amotekun seize oil merchant for ‘kidnapping housewife’

    Osun Amotekun seize oil merchant for ‘kidnapping housewife’

    Operatives of the Osun State Security Network, Amotekun, have arrested a middle-aged palm oil merchant, Timothy Babalola, for allegedly kidnapping a 35-year-old housewife.

    It was learnt that the woman, identified as Sofiyat, approached Babalola to help her self palm oil after which the merchant proposed dating. The woman objected on the grounds of being married.

    Sofiyat was allegedly kidnapped in the second week of March from her husband’s house at Ode-Omu, and taken to Babalola’s home in Modakeke.

    Read Also: APC settles for direct primary to pick Ondo Gov candidate

    A statement by the Corps Commandant, Brig.-Gen. Bashir Adewinmbi (rtd) confirmed that Babasola used magic ring to kidnap Sofiyat where she was kept for three weeks.

    “The suspect confessed that he kidnapped Sofiyat for three weeks and was having sex with her randomly. On Monday, he dumped her around campus gate which led to his arrest in Sekona, Ede South Local Government Area.

    “He has since been transferred to the Director of State Security Service (DSS) for further interrogation and prosecution.”

  • Oil price Q1 gain raises revenue hope     

    Oil price Q1 gain raises revenue hope     

    • ’February production drops to 1.54mbpd’

    The cut in oil production measure put in place by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC+) towards the end of last year may be yielding the desired results.

      At the close of the first quarter of the year (Q1), the measure, coupled with an improving macroeconomic outlook, experts said, could bring the $90 per barrel sooner than assumed.

    This is why the experts are optimistic that this continued rise in oil price portends a greater inflow of revenue for the Federal Government to execute its budget for this fiscal year. The Brent Crude closed at the weekend at $87 per barrel and the West Texan Intermediate (WTI) at $83.17 per barrel.

    Nigeria’s 2024 budget  has a projected benchmark price of crude oil selling at $77.96, making for an excess of $9.04 per barrel at the close of the week- a difference that may further increase should crude oil hit the $90 mark being projected by the industry.

    Still, the production output estimate in the budget 2024 is 1.78 million barrels of oil daily.This, experts said, is where the challenge lies for the country. For some time, the country’s oil production output has been epileptic. For instance, the excitement that the country inched closer to actualising her oil production output target of 1.8 million barrels per day recording 1.64 million bpd  production output in January from a previous December 2023 output of 1.55mbpd, may have given rise to concerns given the February figure.

    Data on the website of the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) at the weekend indicated that there was a drop in the country’s production figure, which as at February ending stood at 1.54 mbpd (including crude oil, blended and unblended condensate).

    A breakdown of this figure showed that crude oil production stood at 1.32mbpd; Blended Condensate was 55, 345 bpd and Unblended Condensate was 162, 056 bpd.

    It would be recalled that in statement, the NUPRC last month noted that in line with its mandate and effort to ensure transparency and accountability, released a three- year Regulatory-Action-Plan (RAP) for the country’s upstream oil and gas sector, which aims to raise oil, condensates output to 2.6 million bpd by 2026.

    The Commission had said, then, that “the recent increase in oil production is a good indication that the Commission has begun the implementation of the RAP in earnest and that the action is yielding results. It is interesting to note that the January 2024 production is the highest since January 2022. This, therefore, is a good step towards meeting the 2024 budget target of 1.78 million bpd”.

    But the about 100, 000 bpd drop in production output between January and February may have further drifted the country away from the 1.78mbpd oil output benchmark in the budget. This is why experts are concerned that the country may not really be in a position to take advantage of the high international oil price the commodity offers.

    Read Also: 2027: Obi, Obidients are not our concern now, we are busy with governing Nigeria – Onanuga

    International oil experts have, however, not seized to celebrate the gains being recorded by the commodity, especially as it has set the WTI oil futures on track for a first-quarter gain of nearly 14 per cent for the first time in three sessions and on track to tally a solid gain for the quarter and a third-straight monthly climb.

    This has been a “comeback quarter” for oil, said, a senior market analyst at The Price Futures Group, Phil Flynn, who described the Q1 as a “comeback quarter” for oil.

    “The pessimism that permeated the oil prices when we entered this quarter seemed to dissipate as the hard realities of supply and demand didn’t fit the bearish narratives,” he told MarketWatch, adding that the talk of a recession and the possibility that the OPEC+ would not be able to follow through with its cuts proved to be false.

    Besides, Flynn argued that while geopolitical risk factors have “not led to any major disruptions in oil supplies, they definitely have added to the cost of transportation” and made it “more difficult to procure supplies”.

    With markets closed for Good Friday, oil was on track for quarterly gains. Brent was up 11.8 per cent over the first three months of the year through last week’s closure, while WTI gained 13.5 per cent.

  • The shrine of oil

    The shrine of oil

    Okuama is a little village, obscure, unknown, absent from the map. It is like a meteor. Just when it hit the limelight, it expired.  It, however, still looms in our imagination for intrigues, oil, bloodlust, death and the evisceration of a village.

    From the beginning of time, cities, hermits, villages and even empires have atrophied. We only wish they do not suffer oblivion like Okuama.

    Some that don’t disappear lose lustre, like Rome, Alexandria, Vienna. Or here at home like Calabar. Near Okuama, Warri is not its illustrious past, hence Governor Sheriff Oborevwori wants to be its warrior of return. But what comes to mind are Zaki Biam and Odi. They are testaments to OBJ who still haunts the Nigerian tale like a tortoise.

    Some places go out of sin like Sodom and Gomorrah. Out of floods like the first world. Floods almost blanked out Lokoja last year. Some cities succumb to war. The firefights of the Yoruba Wars lapped up Ijaiye and Old Oyo.

     But evacuations are not new to history. The most famous is Moscow during the Napoleonic onslaughts. The little general arrived the city without people, including Czar Alexander 1. Everyone had left. But it was, unlike Okuama, not a retreat of surrender. It was strategic humility, stooping to conquer. Napoleon’s men were on the run afterwards. In War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy retells the movement of the people out of their town.

    For Okuama, though, it is a mystery. Soldiers came, soldiers went. While the investigations are ongoing and awards go to the army officers and men killed in cold blood, questions are more than answers. Why would senior officers, including a commanding officer, go for an adventure of peace, hardly armed, in a ‘nondescript’ village to resolve land disputes? If it is about land disputes, why was the governor of the state not brought into the picture? The same land disputes between Okuama and Okoloba villages that the governor brought both communities to Asaba for resolution? Both communities signed agreement. So did anyone break the truce? If it was broken how come the army would go there for its resolution without the knowledge and input of the governor, house of assembly, DSS and police, most of who were present at the February dialogue.

    The Okuama people had had problem with Okoloba village. They said the Okoloba people who are Ijaws wanted to build a shrine as part of a mansion on Okuama land. They also claim big militants and a former top government official who led a high-profile agency backed the imposition of the shrine. The Okuama, who are Urhobos, balked at it, and this led to the killing of three Okuama villagers. Is it true? The casus belli was the kidnap of one Anthony Aboh, an Ijaw man. The Okuama people say they did not kill him. But he is dead. How come?

    Read Also: NNS Delta hands over 10 suspected oil bunkerers to NSCDC

    So, why would top officers of the army get involved in a local matter in a bucolic retreat? Why in Okuama, and did Okoloba natives take part? If it was a peace meeting, why would it end with apprehending Okuama leaders?

    Reports of reprisal kidnappings between the villagers abound. When I spoke to a top military officer, he said the rift was all about oil. In Niger Delta villages like Okuama and Okoloba, federal officers would not be concerned unless big men are involved, and the magnet is oil.

    There were also claims that the village has been burned. The army denied it, but we have seen videos of Okuama on fire. Who burned it? If the people have fled their town, who remained to set it ablaze? No one expects that the villagers would set their homes ablaze, like Muscovites did in Moscow to sabotage Napoleon. Napoleon himself was stunned. Hear him: “What a terrible sight! And they did this themselves! So many palaces! What an incredible solution! What kind of people! These are Scythians!”.[37]

    If these sins were going on, who then killed the 18? Who had such bloody hands, such audacity? A senior government official told me in pidgin, “our people no try at all.” There is no justification for the killing of men in uniform. Whoever did it must be fished out and made to face the law. Governor Oborevwori warned against hiding them.

    But we must also investigate why soldiers flock like bees to the Niger Delta. If it is bunkering, is that why the army is settling quarrels? It is a paradox that in suing for peace, a crime occurs. We should not turn oil into what the poet Harriet Monroe calls “mysteries the gods forbid.”

    How innocent are soldiers in the region? The army should also investigate its own and probe the scramble of its men to the region. If the casus belli of the row between Okuama and Okoloba is the shrine, it is because of a bigger shrine: oil. For all the breakthroughs to stop oil theft, the Okuama drama shows it is alive and well because many are digging our wells. The god is not on earth. It is under the earth and water. Oil floats on troubled waters, a sea without a plea. A viscous mammy water flirts. It is a dark, slimy, seductive and crude deity. To the god are all the sacrifices of deaths, rage, blood spills and, of course, the conflict of tribes and the death of a village.

    The person I pity is the village  farmer or fisherman who, in the course of their work, knows the killers but can only tell on pain of reprisals and sudden death.

  • ‘Oil sector’s Executive Orders‘ll reinforce NOGICD Act’

    ‘Oil sector’s Executive Orders‘ll reinforce NOGICD Act’

    The Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Felix Omatsola Ogbe, has applauded President Bola Tinubu, for announcing three Presidential Executive Orders directed at incentivising the oil and gas industry, encouraging new investments in the sector, reducing contracting costs and timelines, and promoting cost efficiency in local content requirements.

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    The Executive Orders are the Oil and Gas Companies (Tax Incentives, Exemption, Remission, ETC) Order 2024; Presidential Directive on Local Content Compliance Requirements, 2024 (EO 41); and Presidential Directive on Reduction of Petroleum Sector Contracting Costs and Timelines, 2024 (EO 42).

  • Oil marketers decry dollarisation of freight charges

    Oil marketers decry dollarisation of freight charges

    At a time Nigerians are lamenting the parlous of the economy occasioned by cash crunch, high inflation, the dollarisation of freight charges by some of the ministry and departmental agencies (MDAs) may further aggravate the already worrisome situation, the Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria, (MEMAN) has said.

    The major downstream marketers who raised the alarm, said Nigerians should anticipate more challenges in the petroleum products distribution and supply chain going by the current foreign exchange market intricacies.

    The Executive Secretary of the Association, Clement Isong made this known at a media forum organised by the association in Lagos.

    Isong complained that the market and Nigerians will bear the final brunt of government policy that allows Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to collect charges in dollars.

    He further noted that the complexities of the forex market uncertainty have stopped members from embarking on the importation of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, otherwise known as petrol.

    Read Also: FG set to increase oil, gas production with new investment climate —Adviser

    He said that it was not easy to put together a correct mathematical calculation of the product’s landing cost to further determine the appropriate pump price.

    The Executive Secretary while sharing his members’ position on the present industry value chain conundrum said their investment was not fully protected with dollarisation of certain charges.

    According to him, “The market and consumers are not immune to government policy that allows Nigeria Ports Authority, NPA, and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, continuous charges in dollars.”

    He also, informed that though marketers receive products from Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) Trading, ship-to-ship products offload is transacted in dollars all of which pushes up the cost of the pump price.

    “We are presently concerned about sustainability, efficiencies, and affordability of energy for Nigerians and we are encouraging the shift to energy transition specifically into gas space,” the MEMAN boss stressed.

    Giving further analysis, Isong said though the Federal Government has been faithful in its avowed intervention process since it exited the petrol subsidy regime, the dollarisation policy is weakening the industry and discouraging investment.

    He placed the blame mostly on fluctuating dollar movement and the unpredictability of the rate.

    For instance, he said marketers pay government agencies (NPA, NIMASA, etc) about $10 per metric ton, and given the current exchange rate would translate to a higher pump price.

  • FG set to increase oil, gas production with new investment climate —Adviser

    FG set to increase oil, gas production with new investment climate —Adviser

    • Security measures in Niger Delta to raise oil output by 200,000 barrels
    • President orders reduction of contract timelines from 36 months to six
    • Govt on course over fuel subsidy removal – Verheijen

    The Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Mrs. Olu Verheijen, yesterday said the Tinubu administration opted for fiscal incentives in the oil and gas Sector with a view to attracting foreign investments.

    The move, according to her, was also motivated to grow revenue and foreign exchange to stabilise the economy and the naira.

    Verheijen, who spoke at a media briefing in Abuja on the energy plan of the government, said enhanced security measures in the Niger Delta are already yielding positive results with crude oil production rising by over 200,000 barrels per day over the last six months.

    Besides, she said the stability in the oil producing areas has increased the availability of NLNG Trains 1-6 from 57% in 2023 to 70% in the first quarter of 2024.

    The President, she said, has also directed that the contracting and project delivery timelines in the Oil and Gas Sector be reduced from 36 months to six months while the removal of fuel subsidy remains firmly on course.

    The Energy Adviser with whom were the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, and the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Temitope Ajayi, among other top government functionaries, said government was working hard to make Nigeria the preferred destination for oil and gas investments in Africa.

    She said: “The oil and gas sector is critical to our ability to do so. However, our current oil and gas production and investment levels fall significantly short of our potential.

    “Since 2016, Nigeria has only accounted for only four per cent (4%) of Africa’s total oil and gas investments, despite possessing thirty-eight per cent (38%) of the continent’s hydrocarbon reserves.

    “His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is determined to re-write this narrative. His focus is to remove obstacles to investments in Nigeria; improve the Investment Climate; position Nigeria as the preferred investment destination for the Oil & Gas sector in Africa; diversify the economy for the benefit of all Nigerians.

    “To achieve these objectives, Mr. President has:

    ·Issued a Presidential Directive to streamline and clarify the scope of the two Regulators in the petroleum sector to provide certainty and create a conducive business environment.

    ·Directed the NSA and Special Adviser on Energy to coordinate enhanced security measures in the Niger Delta.

    “Owing to this directive, the TNP pipeline which had been repeatedly vandalised is now enjoying improved uptime; availability has practically doubled since these directives were implemented.

     “This has translated to increased liquids of over 200,000 barrels/day being transported over the last 6 months. It has increased the utilization of NLNG Trains 1-6 from 57% in 2023 to 70% in Q1 2024.”

    Verheijen explained that one of the objectives of the fiscal incentives recently approved by the President was to accelerate gas reserves production of which  over 70% is currently untapped.

    “We need to address the fundamental issues in sectors so that we can attract capital to the infrastructure, and there is no one who’s going to invest in Infrastructure if they don’t have assurance, the line of sight to the attractiveness of gas supply,” she said.

    Continuing, she said: “So, if gas suppliers are not making any investment because the fiscal terms of the business environment is a very difficult one in which to invest in,  then it will be difficult to continue to mature mainstream projects and downstream projects because you have to deal with the ab initio problem, which is gas supply.

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    “And that is exactly what President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has done by fast tracking this policy directives to ensure that we have sufficient gas supply, whether we’re trying to export, whether we’re trying to compress natural gas or liquefied for domestic use, whether we’re trying to have floating energy as an alternative ways of getting gas into the market, all of those things are enabled by these policies.”

    The Special Adviser said the President has also directed that the contracting and project delivery timelines in the Oil and Gas Sector be reduced from 36 months to six months.

    She added: The President has issued directives to reduce contracting timelines and project delivery.

     Benchmarking and analysis revealed that the contracting cycle takes up to 36 months. This Directive should have the effect of compressing this cycle to less than six months in line with global averages.

    “This will expedite the delivery of oil and gas products to the market and enhance overall value for the country.

    Responding to a question, the Special Adviser said the government was on course on the removal of fuel subsidy.

    She said the government was only working assiduously to ensure price stability.

    She said: “The question of subsidy, the subsidy was removed on May 29, 2023. However, the government has the prerogative whether in the US, in the West or other Eastern countries, all governments have the prerogative to maintain price stability and prevent social unrest.

    “So if prices are moving, they reserve the right to intervene. It started in the US during COVID. There was a lot of expansionist moves but also subsidies.

    “All governments deserve that right. And so if for whatever reason the administration has reviewed that it is not the right time to have prices continue to fluctuate given the level of hardship in the country, given inflation, the government has the right to intervene intermittently.

    “All governments do so but it does not take away the fact that the subsidy was removed.”

     On pricing of cooking gas, she said the President has approved the fast tracking of fiscal incentives to enable more investments into the LPG space in  the hope that “if we achieve scale up , we can bring down costs. And we can also incentivize the domestication of some of our LNG production.”

    She added:  “We started it, but unfortunately foreign exchange and the market prices began to increase.

    “We’re going to continue to work and look at more opportunities to improve supply and scale up and enable all LPG into the market at affordable prices. It’s a priority of this administration.

    On the latest executive order signed by the President, Verheijen stressed that the ambition of the administration was “to accelerate our economic growth and diversify the economy for the benefit of all Nigerians.”

  • Why we are not importing petrol, by oil majors

    Why we are not importing petrol, by oil majors

    The exact landing cost of premium Motor Spirit (PMS) or petrol, cannot be easily determined making it difficult to fix the appropriate price of the product’s pump price. This was the position of the of the Executive Secretary, Major Energies marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN), Clement Isong, at a webinar held for media practitioners yesterday.

    The Association, at the webinar, also lamented that the complexity of the foreign exchange (forex) market uncertainty has prevented its members from embarking on the importation of petrol, warning that more challenging complexities lie ahead the country’s petroleum products distribution and supply chain going by the prevailing forex market intricacies.

    Read Also: Petrol prices across Africa

    This, Isong noted, has made its members investment not fully protected, especially with the dollarisation of certain charges placed on the value chain of petrol.

    “The market and consumers are not immune to government policy that allows Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), continuous charges in dollar,” he said.

    Isong also informed that though marketers receive products from Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited retail, ship-ship products offload is transacted in dollar all of which pushes up cost of pump price.

    “We are presently concerned about sustainability, efficiencies and affordability of energy for Nigerians and we are encouraging shift to energy transition specifically into gas space”, the Executive Secretary stated.

  • Oil prices could soar higher this year

    Oil prices could soar higher this year

    Crude oil prices recently hit their second monthly gain in a row as OPEC+ extended their supply curb deal until the end of the second quarter of 2024. The gains have been considerable, with West Texas Intermediate (WTI) adding about $7 per barrel over that of last month.

    Read Also: Navy destroys illegal refineries, boat loaded with stolen crude oil

    Yet, a lot of analysts remain bearish about the commodity’s prospects. In fact, they believe that there is enough oil supply globally to keep Brent around $81 this year and WTI at some $76.50, according to a Reuters poll. Yet, like last year in U.S. shale showed, there is always the possibility of a major surprise.

    “Spare capacity has reached a multi-year high, which will keep overall market sentiment under pressure over the coming months,” Kpler senior analyst Florian Grunberger told Reuters.