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Finance Minister Promises Affordable Food and Lower Inflation Under Tinubu’s Government

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Finance Minister Wale Edun has assured that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration is committed to ensuring that food remains both available and affordable for Nigerians.

Speaking at the National Economic Dialogue 2024 organized by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group in Abuja on Wednesday, Edun emphasized the government’s dedication to continuing the trend of decreasing inflation rates.

Despite Nigeria’s 25 years of democratic governance, Edun acknowledged that the nation’s economy remains on a growth trajectory. He highlighted the administration’s focus on not only sustaining but accelerating progress in this area.

While democracy is not the sole method for organizing a society, it is widely regarded as the most effective. We are continually striving to enhance our democratic practices, and today’s dialogue represents a step in that direction,” Edun remarked.

The Minister noted that there has been a reduction in inflation, with recent data from the National Bureau of Statistics indicating a drop to 33.40 percent as of July. This decline is a positive sign, and the government is determined to maintain this downward trend in inflation, particularly concerning food prices.

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Edun reiterated that making food more accessible and affordable is a key priority for the administration in the short term. However, despite these efforts, many Nigerians continue to face economic hardships due to high prices for goods and services.

The government’s ongoing commitment is to address these challenges and improve economic conditions for citizens.


 

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Dangote Refinery Resumes Import Of Oil from the US to Increase Production Capacity

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Dangote Refinery has resumed its acquisition of crude oil from the United States, marking a significant shift in its strategy to boost refining capacity and overall production.

In a report by Bloomberg on Wednesday, it was revealed that a cargo of two million barrels of WTI Midland crude, sourced from Chevron Corp., is expected to be delivered to Dangote Refinery next month.

This marks the first purchase of US oil since the refinery paused foreign crude imports.

The move indicates a shift in the refinery’s supply strategy, which had previously been focused on Nigerian crude, particularly as it seeks to ramp up operations.

This new purchase raises questions about the status of the Nigerian government’s Naira-for-crude deal, which was hinted at in early October 2024.

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The agreement, aimed at trading crude oil in exchange for the Nigerian naira, has faced uncertainty.

Some experts suggest that the deal might be stalling, or that the refinery might not be receiving the expected crude oil supply from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC).

Dangote Refinery’s recent decision to purchase crude from Chevron, a major US oil company, comes at a time when the refinery is actively scaling up production capabilities.

The refinery had been under intense scrutiny as it works toward becoming a key player in Nigeria’s oil industry.

While it had been procuring Nigerian oil, this new shipment of WTI Midland crude from the US underscores its reliance on diverse global suppliers to meet its production goals.

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In fact, Chevron has reportedly booked the supertanker Azure Nova to transport the crude from the US Gulf, with the shipment scheduled to arrive at Dangote Refinery around December 5.

While the Nigerian government’s Naira-for-crude initiative remains in question, economist Kelvin Emmanuel recently stated that Dangote Refinery still purchases crude from the Nigerian government in dollars, suggesting that the refinery’s operations may not yet fully align with the federal government’s policy on local crude sales.


 

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NNPCL Launches Utapate Crude to Increase Nigeria’s Oil Exports

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The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has officially launched a new crude oil grade, the Utapate crude oil blend, to enhance the country’s foreign currency earnings and increase its presence in the global energy market.

NNPCL spokesperson Olufemi Soneye made the announcement in a statement on Wednesday.

This significant development was unveiled at the Argus European Crude Conference, held in London, where the Managing Director of NNPC E & P Limited (NEPL), Nicholas Foucart, emphasized that the introduction of Utapate marks a milestone for Nigeria’s crude oil exports.

Foucart shared that production of the Utapate Field began in May 2024, and since then, the output has grown rapidly to 40,000 barrels per day (bpd) with minimal downtime.

He highlighted that five cargoes of the new blend have already been exported, mainly to Spain and the East Coast of the United States.

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Additionally, two more cargoes are scheduled for shipment in November and December 2024, further boosting Nigeria’s crude oil exports.

One of the key reasons for Utapate’s success in the international market is its highly attractive qualities, according to Foucart.

The Utapate crude is sourced from Oil Mining Lease (OML) 13, which is fully operated by NEPL and its partner Natural Oilfield Services Ltd (NOSL), a subsidiary of SEEPCO Ltd. OML 13 holds significant reserves, including 330 million barrels of crude oil, 45 million barrels of condensate, and an impressive 3.5 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas.

This rich reserve underpins the potential for future growth in Nigeria’s crude oil production.

Looking ahead, Foucart outlined plans to ramp up production from the current 40,000 barrels per day to 50,000 bpd by January 2025.

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By June 2025, production is expected to reach between 60,000 and 65,000 bpd, with a longer-term target of 80,000 bpd by the end of 2025.

Lawal Sade, Managing Director of NNPC Trading Limited, explained that the pricing structure of the Utapate blend is similar to that of the Amenam crude.

This is because both are light sweet crudes, highly valued by refiners worldwide for their low sulphur content and efficient yield of high-quality refined products.

The API gravity and other properties of Utapate make it an attractive option for global refineries.


 

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Dangote Petroleum Refinery Begins Exportation Of Products To Neighbouring West African Countries

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Dangote Petroleum Refinery begins exportation of products to neighbouring West African countries. A report was made that the Dangote refinery just shipped gasoline to the coast of Togo, West Africa. Although the shipment of the gasoline is going to the coast of Togo it can also be taken somewhere else in West Africa.

Chairman of NPA, Ghana speaks at the OTL Africa Downstream Oil Conference in Lagos states that importing from Nigeria reduces prices and freight costs for them rather than importing from Europe.

“If the refinery reaches 650,000bpd a day capacity, all that volume cannot be consumed by Nigeria alone, so instead of us importing as we do right now from Rotterdam, it will be much easier for us to import from Nigeria and I believe that will bring down our prices,”


 

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