Economy

Mozambique to establish sovereign wealth fund to govern gas revenue

March 27, 2019 | Economy, Government & Regulations, Mozambique

London, UK | – Mozambique’s government plans to establish a sovereign wealth fund to manage income from future gas production, President Filipe Nyusi said. The state will also allocate a fixed portion of revenue to the state budget to fund infrastructure development, poverty reduction and economic diversification, Nyusi said in a speech on Wednesday in the capital, Maputo. Companies including Eni SpA and Anadarko Petroleum Corp. are developing gas discovered nine years ago in deep waters off the coast of Mozambique, one of the world’s …

World Bank sees Nigerian 2018 GDP growth at under 2 percent

November 30, 2018 | Economy, Government & Regulations, Nigeria

Lagos, Nigeria | – The World Bank expects Nigeria’s economy to grow slightly less than 2 percent this year, largely driven by the non-oil industry and services sectors, as the approach of elections keeps foreign investors away, it said on Wednesday. Nigeria emerged from a recession last year but growth remains fragile, with the government borrowing both at home and abroad to help fund its budget. It has raised almost $9 billion from the eurobond market since 2017 to boost growth. “Nigeria’s emergence from recession …

Iran says U.S. sanctions will have “severe consequences” for world order

October 30, 2018 | Economy, Energy Trading & Markets, Government & Regulations

London, UK | –  U.S. sanctions against Iran will have “severe consequences” for the world order, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Tuesday, days before new sanctions on Tehran’s oil exports take effect. Washington reintroduced sanctions against Iran’s currency trade, metals and auto sectors in August after it pulled out from a multinational 2015 deal that lifted sanctions in return for limits on Iran’s nuclear programme. A new set of sanctions on Iranian banking and energy sectors are to take effect Nov. 5, …

Nigeria adopts U.S.$11 billion Dangote refinery under new petroleum policy

August 03, 2017 | Economy, Government & Regulations, Nigeria

Abuja, Nigeria | – The Nigerian government has adopted the U.S.$11 billion Dangote refinery, under its new National Petroleum Policy in order to add value to crude oil, reduce high dependence on imported petroleum products and conserve foreign exchange for other developmental projects. Consequently, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, will lead a government delegation to inspect the progress of work at the 650,000 plant expected to come on stream in 2019. Investigations showed that the visit would enable the government …

Nigeria’s NNPC repays N450 billion debt to federal government

June 22, 2017 | Company Operations, Economy, Government & Regulations

Abuja, Nigeria |  — The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, said it has repaid its N450 billion indebtedness to the Federal Government according to Nigerian local newspaper , the Vanguard. The NNPC in its April 2017 Monthly Financial and Operations Report, released yesterday, said the last tranche of the sum was paid in March 2017, after paying N6.33 billion on a monthly basis over several months. To this end, the NNPC said it transferred N95.56 billion into the Federation Account during the month under review …

Nigeria requires $1.2 billion to repair and upgrade its three refineries

June 12, 2017 | Economy, Nigeria, Refining & Processing

Abuja, Nigeria |  – The Nigerian minister of state for petroleum Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu has said $1.2 billion is required to carry out repairs and refining upgrades if Nigeria needs to terminate its dependence on refined oil imports in two years’ time. Even though Nigeria pumps two million barrels of oil per day, the country’s lack of working refineries forces the government to use its foreign currency reserves to purchase refined oil products from other nations. In a press conference regarding refineries upgrade financing plan …

Nigeria unveils plan to overhaul NNPC and oil sector

November 12, 2016 | Economy, Government & Regulations, Nigeria

Measures include sale of stakes in state oil company NNPC and dealing with corruption Abuja, Nigeria | – Nigeria outlined a plan to overhaul state oil company NNPC and eventually list it on the stock exchange in a bid to modernise and streamline an industry known for graft and mismanagement. The ministry of petroleum released a draft late on Thursday to underpin industry reform stalled for a decade amid disagreements and political infighting over how best to manage the nation’s energy resources. The ministry seeks, …

Nigerian army destroys 74 illegal refineries in Niger Delta

September 09, 2016 | Economy, Nigeria

Abuja, Nigeria | – Nigerian soldiers destroyed 74 illegal oil refineries and several militant camps in the oil-rich Niger Delta, an army spokesman said on Friday. The army carried out raids based on a tip-off in southern Rivers and Bayelsa States on Wednesday, where oil pipelines and refineries are regularly attacked by militants, spokesman Sani Usman said in a statement. No arrests were made, since the militants managed to escape, but some weapons and ammunition were recovered, Usman said. Across the swamps of the Niger …