The noise of heavy vehicle traffic and portside traders greets you at Idenau on Cameroon’s border with Nigeria. Vigilant gun-toting soldiers, police and security guards patrol the area. Journalists like me are closely monitored and severely restricted. The soldiers are quick to warn that the use of any photographic or recording devices is strictly prohibited […]
The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has approved 3, 280 applications for payment of retirement benefit under life annuity plan. The commission, in its 2018 first quarter report posted on its website, said the 3,280 retirees received N3.61 billion as lump sum payment and were paid annuity premium of N17.96 billion to insurance companies. This, PenCom […]
Crude oil futures gained in mid-morning European trading Friday on mixed cues, with ICE Brent re-testing the $80/b mark on lingering geopolitical concerns but further gains capped by soaring US inventory stocks this week. At 1045 GMT, the December ICE Brent crude futures contract was $80.06/b, up 77 cents from Thursday’s settle at. The NYMEX […]
In the same week that Saudi Arabia made a veiled threat to use oil as a political weapon, the U.S. offered another reminder of its growing energy independence as government data showed shale oil production is forecast to reach a fresh record in November. Production from the nation’s major shale plays is expected to rise […]
The Nigerian Senate on Wednesday passed a resolution calling on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to suspend the excessive ATM card maintenance charges being deducted from customers. The resolution came as part of a motion sponsored by Senator Olugbenga Ashafa (Lagos East, APC) on the illicit and excessive bank charges on customers’ accounts, The […]
Nigeria’s state oil firm NNPC has extended its crude-for-product swap contracts, the country’s main avenue to meet the bulk of its fuel needs, until June 2019, sources familiar with the matter said. Despite having a refining capacity of about 445,000 barrels per day, its plants have been underperforming for years, making Africa’s biggest oil producer […]
Crude oil futures price declines extended in mid-morning European trading hours Thursday, after the US Energy Information Administration reported that US crude stocks rose sharply last week. At 1107 GMT, the December ICE Brent crude futures contract was down $1.04/b from Wednesday’s settle at $79.01/b, while the NYMEX November light sweet crude contract was down […]
Nigeria’s central bank and South African telecommunications firm MTN could soon strike a deal in their dispute over the repatriation of $8.1 billion, Nigeria’s information minister said on Wednesday. The central bank says MTN transferred $8.1 billion of funds out of Nigeria in breach of foreign-exchange regulations. Nigeria, which accounts for a third of the […]
A Nigerian politician who was jailed in Britain for laundering tens of millions of dollars in stolen public funds through British banks and properties lost an appeal against his conviction in London on Wednesday. The Court of Appeal’s ruling against James Ibori, a former governor of oil-producing Delta State in southern Nigeria, is a relief […]
Trafigura executives expect more upward pressure on global oil prices next year as rising U.S. shale output will not be able to fill a gap in supply once U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil come into force in early November. The commodity trader’s chief economist Saad Rahim, speaking at the Argus Global Crude Conference in Geneva, […]