Fuel Subsidy | Foreign Trade | Crude Oil | Deepwater Gas Projects | Port Rehabilitation

FG saves N1.45tn from subsidy removal – Punch

The federal government has so far saved about N1.45tn from earnings generated from the removal of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol between June and September.

This is according to FAAC allocation documents obtained from the website of Nigeria’s Governors Forum and National Bureau of Statistics.

An analysis showed that the funds remitted monthly to the Non-Oil Revenue (Savings) account of the government received the sum of N696.93bn in June, N389.7bn in July, N71bn in August and N289bn in September.

President Bola Tinubu announced the removal of petrol subsidy during his inaugural address on May 29, 2023, saying, “Subsidy is gone.”

Before the removal, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited said it spent N1.828tn on subsidy payments between January 2023 to May 2023 — 55 per cent higher than the amount paid in the corresponding period of 2022.

About N1.15tn was spent on subsidy in the first four months of 2023. 

Crude Oil

NNPCL unveils new crude grade, ships 1.9m/b in October – Punch

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited on Tuesday said it had launched a new crude oil grade ‘Nembe’, and had shipped its first cargo in October consisting of two 950,000 barrels.

A report by Reuters quoting the executive director of crude and condensate at NNPC Trading, Maryamu Idris, on the sidelines of the Argus European Crude conference in London, said the first cargoes of the new grade were sold to France and the Netherlands.

Nembe is similar to other distillate-rich grades such as Forcados, Bonga and Egina. The low-sulphur grade commands a premium to the global Brent benchmark, and is a good grade to compete with Brazilian and Azeri crude grades for European refiners, she added.

Production of Nembe is currently around 50,000 barrels per day, but the NNPCL.

 

Deepwater Gas Projects                  

NCDMB to sanction new deepwater gas projects to boost NLNG’s operations– The Sun

To address the rising concerns of inadequate gas supply to the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited plant, the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has disclosed plans to sanction new deepwater gas projects.

As part of the plans, NCDMB equally promised to support the company along the lines of approving third party gas injectors.

Executive Secretary of NCMDB, Simbi Wabote, stated this at the Nigerian Content Stakeholders Retreat and Award ceremony hosted at the weekend by NLNG in Bonny, Rivers State, in demonstration of its commitment to the advancement of local content in Nigeria.

The three-day event provided a platform for the cohesion of NLNG’s vision of being a globally competitive company helping to build a better Nigeria and the goal of the NCDMB as the umpire for Nigerian Content Development.

Port Rehabilitation         

NPA unveils $1.1 billion port rehabilitation plan to boost trade competitiveness— The Guardian

The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) is embarking on a $1.1 billion port rehabilitation plan to ensure a strong commitment that would fortify the country’s global trade competitiveness.

Speaking yesterday during a panel session at the ongoing 43rd Port Management Association of West and Central Africa (PMAWCA) conference held in Lagos, the Managing Director, NPA, Mohammed Bello-Koko, stated that with almost every port in the country requiring rehabilitation, the authority is initiating a substantial overhaul, starting with the TinCan and Apapa ports in Lagos.

He stated that the objective of the authority is to enhance the physical infrastructure of these ports to accommodate vessels of all sizes and increase the draft at the quay side. He said this is with the aim of achieving draft depths of up to 14 meters expressing that the initiative will render Nigerian ports more competitive on a global scale.