₦airaland Forum

Nigeria, Africa’s largest oil producer, is grappling with a 27 percent year-to-date drop in active oil rigs, posing a significant challenge to the federal government’s ambitious goal of reaching a daily crude oil output of 2 million barrels per day (bpd) by the end of December 2024.

Latest data from the November 2024 Monthly Oil Market Report of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) shows that the number of functional oil drilling rigs across the country declined to 11 in October.

OPEC data showed that the country operated an average of 17, 17 and 14 oil rigs in the first, second, and third quarters of 2024, respectively.

An oil rig/platform is a large structure that houses facilities for extracting and processing petroleum and natural gas from rock formations beneath the seabed.

The rig count reflects the level of exploration, development, and production activities in a country’s oil and gas sector. Active oil exploration attracts investment and revenues into the country for economic growth.

“Nigeria, a previously bright spot on big oil and gas investors’ radar screens, has dimmed significantly as investor attention is increasingly drawn to new and emerging developments in Namibia, Ivory Coast, Angola, and the Republic of Congo,” NJ Ayuk, executive chairperson of the African Energy Chamber, said.

“With two-thirds or more of its revenue coming from oil, investor flight is a serious problem for Nigeria.”

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed that the country’s foreign capital investments in the industry fell from $720 million in 2016 to $3.64 million by 2023.

According to the report, the petroleum industry received nothing from the $3.38 billion in capital imports into Nigeria during the first three months of 2024.

The federal government had set out to hit the target of 2 million bpd in December this year, a development that now looks like a tall order as the country’s rig declines.

Heineken Lokpobiri, minister of state for petroleum (oil), said: “The shortest way for us to get out of our current economic problems is to increase production.

“And our target is that by December we want to hit at least two million barrels,” Lokpobri said.

In addition, the government claimed that Nigeria is currently revving up output, producing 1.8 million bpd as of November 2024.

Mele Kyari, group chief executive officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), said that the state-owned oil company and its partners have increased crude oil and gas production to 1.8 million barrels per day (mbpd) and 7.4 standard cubic feet per day (scfd) respectively.

“The team has done a great job in driving this project of not just production recovery but also escalating production to expected levels that are in the short and long terms acceptable to our shareholders based on the mandates that we have from the President, the Honourable Minister and the Board,” Kyari explained.

Meanwhile, OPEC’s latest oil market report revealed that Nigeria’s crude oil production recorded an average of 35,000 barrels increase in crude output in October, rising to 1.434 million barrels per day (bpd).

According to the report, production rose from 1.399 million bpd in September, according to secondary data from Nigerian authorities.

Direct communication showed that Nigeria’s average crude oil production for October was 1.333 million bpd, an increase of 9,000 barrels compared to 1.324 million bpd in the previous month.

After a long wait all year, the Federal Republic of Nigeria has announced the launch of a dual-tranche Eurobond offering under its Global Medium Term Note Programme to finance the country’s 2024 fiscal deficit.

According to documents seen by BusinessDay, the government will be issuing $500 million worth of the bonds.

The two tranches of the Eurobond are, 6.5-year bond with a coupon rate of 10.125 percent and the second tranche is a 10-year bond with a coupon rate of 10.625 percent.

The last time Africa’s most populous nation tapped the international debt market was in March 2022, when it raised $1.25 billion at a rate of 8.375 percent through a seven-year Eurobond.

Eurobonds are dollar-denominated debt which is an important source of foreign capital used for development finance. This issuance can serve as a succour for the country’s volatile currency and uncertainties like silence from the fiscal side, poor reserves, low oil production others could cause damage to the credibility of the Nigerian economy.

The bonds are expected to settle on December 9, 2024.

The proceeds from the Eurobond will be used to fund critical infrastructure projects and support economic growth.

This Eurobond issuance marks another significant step in Nigeria’s efforts to diversify its funding sources and attract foreign investment.

Wale Edun, minister of finance had announced plans for the federal government to issue $1.7 billion Eurobond as part of an external borrowing plan to strengthen the country’s finances and support economic reforms last month.

He said, “The first objective is to complete the federal government’s external borrowing program with the approval of the $2.2 billion financing package, which will include access to the international capital market through a combination of Eurobonds and Sukuk bonds—approximately $1.7 billion from the Eurobond offer and $500 million from Sukuk financing.

He disclosed this to State House correspondents on Thursday after the federal executive council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa.

According to him, the financing package will be raised through a combination of Eurobonds and Sukuk bonds, with approximately $1.7 billion expected to come from the Eurobond offer and $500 million from Sukuk financing.

Edo North senator, Adams Oshiomhole, has expressed his support for the financial autonomy of local governments in Nigeria.

On July 11, 2024, the Supreme Court upheld the financial autonomy of local governments.

Oshiomhole, speaking at a forum on local government autonomy organized by the House of Representatives on Monday, emphasized the importance of character in governance and accountability.

He advised local government chairmen to allocate resources to roads, hospitals, and other public services.

On a lighter note, Oshiomhole remarked, “It’s better to have 774 local government chairmen who are thieves than one big thief,” adding that with the autonomy, every local government in Nigeria will produce one or two billionaires, rather than having just one billionaire in the entire state

Kayzz34:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAII1Ts5_1M?si=QHCIigwimGFLQRsf

A Nigerian businesswoman, who runs a makeup business, has expelled five of her students for staying overnight at their boyfriends’ houses on the night before a crucial business appointment.

James39:
How true is this?

The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, has announced that President Bola Tinubu will release Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

This was made known during the 13th memorial anniversary of the late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu in Owerri on Tuesday.

Ambassador Ojukwu emphasized that President Tinubu recognized the significance of Kanu’s release, which would help unveil criminal elements exploiting IPOB to instigate chaos in the Southeast.

“President Tinubu understands the importance of Kanu’s release. It will expose the masqueraders behind the violence and help restore order. I will do whatever it takes to ensure His Excellency grants this request.

“The release of Nnamdi Kanu is essential to distinguishing genuine freedom fighters from criminals causing mayhem in the Southeast,” Ojukwu stated.

She pointed out that the Igbo people were not known for harming their own and urged for collective efforts to reclaim the region from criminality and insecurity.

The ambassador also condemned the violent “sit-at-home” orders imposed in the Southeast, noting that they contradict the principles of self-determination and have hindered economic activities in the area.

“Ndigbo are enterprising and their brother’s keepers. We must reclaim our land and continue to promote the ideals for which Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu stood,” she said.

DAILY POST recalls that Nnamdi Kanu has been in custody since he was repatriated from Kenya.

ebukal67x:
The destruction is minimal compared to what they are doing to Gaza.