Crude

Nigeria relinquished to Angola the glory it had held on to for over half a decade in August as the largely oil-dependent economy accounted for 1.13 million barrels in output relative to the Southern African country’s 1.17 million. Losing that ground last occurred in April 2017 to the same rival, when the two nations were production by both nations averaged above half a million barrels daily, according to Bloomberg’s data. Crude theft is a massive racket in Nigeria with roots in the Niger Delta region where…

Last week, the Group Managing Director of NNPCL, Mele Kyari, headlined the State House media briefing, expressing concern about the menace of oil theft undermining Nigeria’s production and consequently fiscal capacity. Mr Kyari blamed various sections of the Nigerian society for being complicit in the theft of millions of barrels of crude oil, mentioning even that make-shift pipelines and stolen fuel have been found in churches and mosques. Between January and July, Africa’s biggest oil producer lost an average…

The Nigerian government says it has high hopes the Dangote Refinery will help solve its petroleum importation challenge. And it hopes for more: amid fears of oil glut as nations move to cleaner energy, Nigeria will still be able to sell to the privately-owned refiner for at least 20 years. To do this, the government has locked down a right-of-first-refusal agreement with the company, with Nigeria owning 20 per cent of the firm. The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited,…

Aramco can boost its crude oil output to its maximum capacity of 12 million barrels per day if the Saudi government requests. Oil prices rebounded more than 3 percent last week after a damaged oil pipeline component disrupted output at several offshore Gulf of Mexico platforms.…

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited on Friday launched an applications platform to monitor crude oil theft in the country. The company launched the app in Abuja at the signing of renewed Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs) agreements between NNPC and its partners in oil mining leases. The platform ‘Crude Theft Monitoring Applications’ according to NNPC Limited was created for members of host communities and other Nigerians to report incidents of oil theft and get rewarded. The Group Chief Executive…

Low production rate, theft and pipeline vandalism are the main factors which rob Nigeria of the benefits of high cost of crude oil in the global market.The declaration was made by the Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG) in a communiqué issued at the end of a meeting of its Board of Directors. The communiqué, issued in Abuja on Wednesday, was signed by the board chairman, Asue Ighodalo. Mr Ighodalo stated that declining investment and divestment, high cost of production, and a harsh operating environment, also…

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill was not a short-lived catastrophe. Over 10 years after one of the largest environmental disasters in human history, a sticky oil residue still coats some marshland in the Gulf of Mexico, a new report reveals. Its impacts are still not fully understood.  In the months following BP's 2010 Deepwater calamity, desperate attempts were made to clean up all the crude oil that had spilled into the environment.Some oil was directly recovered. Some was burned, some was skimmed. Some was chemically…

The Nigerian government withdrew $1 billion from the Excess Crude Account (ECA) to fund security amid depleting oil revenue, an official said on Wednesday. Nigeria’s Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, made this revelation while briefing State House Correspondents at the end of the cabinet meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday. Mrs Ahmed’s intervention comes amid concerns raised by the reduction in the balance of the ECA. Reports said Tuesday that the…

Low-priced Russian oil has also reduced the Asian economic giant's imports from Saudi Arabia and Iraq. China is the world's top importer of crude and Russian oil helps Chinese refiners keep costs down. (File / AP)…

The prices of crude oil rose on Tuesday after the European Union agreed in principle to cut 90 per cent of oil imports from Russia by the end of the year. Brent futures contract for July, which expires on Tuesday, rose $2.11, or 1.7 per cent, to $123.78 a barrel by 1103 GMT, after earlier rising to $124.10 – its highest since March 9. The August contract rose from $1.57 to $119.17. The premium of August-loading Brent contracts over a six-month spread hit a nine-week high at close to $15 a…