Connect with us

Business

Nigeria earned N12.4tn from crude oil in 11 months – Report

Published

on

CRUDE OIL

 

Data from an analysis of the latest oil production data released by the Federal Government has shown that Nigeria produced a total of 440.774 million barrels of crude oil valued at about N12.4tn between January and November 2021.

A document on Crude Oil and Condensate Production for 2021, obtained from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission on Tuesday, indicated that the Federal Government raked in about N12.4tn from crude oil alone sales during the review period.

It was observed that oil production during the 11-month period kept fluctuating, hitting a high of 44.287 million barrels in March, while the least production volume of 37.405 million barrels was recorded in September.

Production volumes in the months of January, February, April, May and June were 42.195 million barrels, 39.869 million barrels, 41.17 million barrels, 41.679 million barrels and 39.4 million barrels respectively.

For the months of July, August, October and November, the country’s crude oil production volumes were 41.026 million barrels, 38.406 million barrels, 38.06 million barrels and 38.247 million barrels respectively.

READ  Insecurity: Nigeria takes delivery pf six more A-29 Super Tucano fighter jets

Data from Statistica, a global statistical firm, on the average monthly prices of a barrel of Brent, the crude against which Nigeria’s oil is priced, showed that the costs of the commodity in January, February, March and April 2021 were $54.77, $62.28, $65.41 and $64.81 respectively.

In May, June, July and August 2021, the average prices were $68.53, $73.16, $75.17 and $70.71 per barrel respectively.

For the months of September, October and November, the average monthly prices of Brent per barrel were put at $74.49, $83.54 and $81.54 respectively.

The country’s official exchange rate during the period was around N400 to the dollar. It stayed above N400/$ from May down to November 2021, after hovering around N379/$ in the earlier months.

Going by an average of N400/$, the various average monthly costs of Brent and the monthly crude oil production figures as stated above, Nigeria earned about N924.41bn from oil in January, N993.22bn in February and N1.16tn in March 2021.

READ  Security alert: The worst is over, Nigeria is safe, says Lai Mohammed

Also, the country’s crude oil earnings in April, May, June and July were about N1.07tn, N1.14tn, N1.15tn and N1.23tn respectively.

Similarly, for the months of August, September, October and November, the Federal Government raked in about N1.09tn, N1.11tn, N1.27tn and N1.25tn respectively.

This implies that the total earnings for the 11-month period in 2021 from the sale of crude oil by the government was in the region of N12.4tn.

Bulk of Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings come from crude oil sale, as the country depends largely on revenue from oil production to run its economy.

Economic experts at the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprises, headed by renowned economist, Dr. Muda Yusuf, in their 2022 Economic Outlook for Nigeria, stated that crude oil would serve as one of the key drivers of Nigeria’s growth this year.

They noted that sustained recovery of global oil prices was envisaged this year, as Nigeria would require crude oil to run its economic activities.

READ  Load shedding: Umahi weeds over 1000 board members, aides

“We expect that the average oil price in 2022 will exceed the budgeted benchmark of $62 per barrel, offering some fiscal headroom,” the stated.

The centre added, “This would be powered by higher energy demand driven by the recovery of economic activities globally.

“This trajectory is expected to impact on our foreign reserves and strengthen the capacity of the Central Bank of Nigeria to support the foreign exchange market.”

Also, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries projected a slow growth momentum in terms of economic recovery this year, adding that oil would be vital in this growth.

OPEC expressed hope that the oil sector would record progress in 2022, but stressed that the challenges posed by the Omicron variant of COVID-19 had been tough.

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Business

Fuel price: NNPC denies adjusting pump prices of petrol, diesel

Published

on

By

 

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited says it has not adjusted the pump price of premium motor spirit (PMS), known as petrol, across its retail outlets.

There have been speculations that NNPC had reduced the price of petrol to N560 per litre — from N568.

 

The national oil company was also quoted as increasing the price of diesel to N920 per litre.

In a statement on Wednesday, signed by Femi Soneye, NNPC’s spokesperson, the firm denied the claims.

 

“NNPC Limited wishes to clarify rumours suggesting a price adjustment for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) and Automotive Gas Oil (Diesel) at its retail stations nationwide,” the statement reads.

 

“The company asserts that these reports are false and urges Nigerians to disregard them entirely.

 

“NNPC Ltd reaffirms its commitment to sustaining the current sufficiency in petroleum products supply across all its retail stations in the country.

On February 9, the NNPC had said there would not be any increase in the cost of petrol.

READ  COVID-19: Nigeria records three new deaths, 299 cases

Continue Reading

Business

Law enforcement agencies investigating $2.4bn unverified FX claims – Cardoso

Published

on

By

The governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, says law enforcement agencies are investigating $2.4 billion unverified foreign exchange (FX) claims.

 

Cardoso spoke during a press conference on Tuesday after the 294th meeting of the monetary policy committee (MPC) in Abuja.

 

On February 5, Olayemi Cardoso, CBN governor, said he inherited a $7 billion FX backlog when he became the head of the apex bank in September 2023, however, it was discovered that $2.4 billion of the sum was invalid following an inquiry into the transactions.

 

Subsequently, the apex bank said all outstanding FX obligations had successfully been settled.

 

While providing clarification on the unverified claims, the CBN governor highlighted various irregularities, such as the disbursement of large sums of FX for requests that were never submitted and allocations made without the necessary naira backing. 

 

He said there was an absence of legal validity and adequate documentation in these transactions.

 

READ  Good morning! Here is today’s summary from Nigerian Newspapers: Servicing debt with 90% revenue path to destruction — Tinubu

Cardoso also stressed the gravity of these irregularities, labelling numerous transactions under investigation as “clearly unlawful”.

 

“We brought in Deloitte management consultants who took time and this really did take months. This is not something that happened overnight and a lot of this work was going on and people didn’t know but they took months painstakingly to go through all the documents, all the documents and to ensure that you know, they would have a report, which we could rely on,” he said.

 

“In the course of that, of course, we determined that a number of these transactions did not qualify. In some cases, you had some allocations that were made in millions of dollars, which were never requested for.

 

“We also had somewhere they had no naira and they were also allocated, you know, huge sums of foreign exchange and the list goes on. It was for that reason that we refused to validate those particular transactions.

READ  Security alert: The worst is over, Nigeria is safe, says Lai Mohammed

 

“We refused to validate them because apart from the fact that documentation was not satisfactory, in many cases, they were outright illegal. And the law enforcement agencies, of course, are now looking into those transactions that are, as far as we’re concerned, not valid to be paid. 

 

“I would emphasise that if there’s any information to the contrary, we would in due course consider that but as of today, that is exactly where it stands and the law enforcement agencies are taking a very, very hard look at those transactions.

 

“Other transactions, we have settled and as of today, as I have said before, I will say it again, that the valid transactions as far as the Central Bank of Nigeria is concerned, have been taken care of.”

 

‘FX MARKET IS AS OPEN, TRANSPARENT AS POSSIBLE’

Speaking further, Cardoso addressed the issue of stakeholders who may not be satisfied with the FX official market.

 

READ  Zamfara bandit mad over father’s arrest, holds 150 hostage

According to Cardoso, all verified claims have been settled, adding that anyone is free to access the market.

 

“We are also not mindful of the fact that there may be some stakeholders who over a period of time may have had backlogs in one form or the other,” he said.

 

“We are not unmindful that that could be the case. That some of those may go back, you know, years, a long period of time.

 

“We have done what we can to make the market as open and transparent and liquid as possible. So those particular stakeholders are free to access those markets and take care of the backlogs. We have met the verified backlogs of contractual obligations as we deem them forward transactions.”

 

Meanwhile, on March 21, foreign airlines in Nigeria said they do not support patronising the investors and exporters (I&E) window  for foreign exchange (FX) transactions.

 

 

Continue Reading

Business

UPDATED: FG files tax evasion charges against Binance

Published

on

By

 

The Federal Government has filed a criminal charge against Binance, a popular cryptocurrency platform, for “tax evasion”.

The charge was filed before the federal high court in Abuja on March 25 by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), according to a statement on Monday.

 

The FIRS said the move is aimed at upholding fiscal responsibility and safeguarding the economic integrity of the country.

 

The lawsuit, designated as suit number FHC/ABJ/CR/115/2024, “implicates Binance with a four-count tax evasion accusation.”

 

“Joined with the crypto company as second and third defendants in the suit are Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, both senior executives of Binance currently under the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC),” the statement reads.

 

The FIRS said the charges levied against Binance include non-payment of value-added tax (VAT), company income tax, failure to file tax returns, and complicity in aiding customers to evade taxes through its platform.

READ  Troops bust drug syndicate, recover N7.5m Indian hemp

‘BINANCE FAILED TO REGISTER WITH FIRS’

More so, in the suit, the federal government also accused Binance of failing to register with the FIRS for tax purposes and contravening existing tax regulations within the country.

“One of the counts in the lawsuit pertains to Binance’s alleged failure to collect and remit various categories of taxes to the federation as stipulated by Section 40 of the FIRS Establishment Act 2007 as amended,” the agency said.

 

“Section 40 of the Act explicitly addresses the non-deduction and non-remittance of taxes, prescribing penalties and potential imprisonment for defaulting entities.”

 

The FIRS also detailed specific instances where Binance purportedly violated tax laws, such as failing to issue invoices for VAT purposes, thus obstructing the determination and payment of taxes by subscribers.

 

Citing the Act, the tax body said “any company that transacts business in excess of N25 million annually is deemed by the Finance Act to be present in Nigeria”.

READ  Open cattle grazing must end – Miyetti Allah’s Patron Jibrin

“According to this rule, Binance falls into that category. So, it has to pay taxes like Company Income Tax (CIT) and also collect and pay Value Added Tax (VAT),” the statement further reads.

 

“But Binance did not do this properly. So, the company broke Nigerian laws and could be investigated and taken to court for this infraction.”

 

The agency said it remains resolute in its commitment to ensuring compliance with tax regulations and combating financial impropriety within the cryptocurrency sector.

The federal government had recently accused the cryptocurrency platform of manipulating foreign exchange (FX) rates, leading to a clampdown on crypto trading platforms.

On February 28, two of Binance’s top executives — Nadeem Anjarwalla, a 37-year-old British-Kenyan and Binance’s regional manager for Africa; and Tigran Gambaryan, a 39-year-old US citizen and Binance’s head of financial crime compliance, were detained by the Nigerian authorities for weeks.

 

Subsequently, a federal high court in Abuja ordered Binance Holdings Limited to provide the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) with the comprehensive data or information of all persons from Nigeria trading on its platform.

READ  Security alert: The worst is over, Nigeria is safe, says Lai Mohammed

Continue Reading

Trending News