Shell Petroleum Development Company Limited (SPDC), has said that crude oil theft from its facilities dropped by over 200% last year against the percentage obtained in 2015. Likewise, oil spill from sabotage dropped by over 100% compared to 2015. “Crude oil theft on the pipeline network resulted in a loss of about 5,660 barrels of oil per day (bpd) in 2016, which is less than the 25,000bpd in...

Etisalat Nigeria is currently working with lenders and Abu Dhabi state investment fund, Mubadala, to resolve its debt problems brought on by a devaluation of the naira currency. The telecoms company has been in talks to restructure a $1.2billion loan after missing a payment deadline, but sources with knowledge of the matter had said that the talks reached a deadlock on April 28. Responding...

Commercial banks in Nigeria have raised the sum of N26 billion ($81 million) as part of vows to finance agro-based small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) in the country, according to Bola Adesola (photo), the Managing Director of Standard Chartered Bank. Speaking while briefing newsmen in Lagos yesterday, Adesola explained that the contribution comes after the Central Bank directed all...

Nigeria is targeting a 35% increase in its tax base this year from the current 14 million to 17 million payers as the country seeks fund to finance its 2017 budget. To achieve its target the government plans to employ about 7, 500 graduates between 18 and 35 years. Known as the Community Tax Liaison Officers (CTLOs), their job will be to raise awareness and educate citizens at all levels about...

Nigeria’s annual wheat imports rose by 54% to $201 million in the first quarter of this year against the $130.9 million the same period last year, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows. This result, among others, is due to the lack of High Quality Cassava Flour (HQCF), a composite which is mixed with wheat by flour millers for flour production. Explaining the...

Dangote Oil Refinery Company Ltd has awarded DuPont Clean Technologies a contract for the provision of proprietary equipment needed for the construction of its new oil refinery and petrochemical plant in Lekki, Lagos Nigeria. Under the contract, DuPont will be supplying Dangote with equipment such as an alkylation unit, sulfuric acid regeneration (SAR) unit, sulfur recovery unit (SRU) tail gas...

Nigerian fuel marketers have threatened to halt the supply and distribution of oil products across the country if the Federal Government does not pay the $2.2billion subsidy debt owed to them for imports. In a joint statement on Thursday, the marketers explained that majority of the debts were bank charges on loans acquired to order for gasoline cargoes between 2014 and Q1 of...

The Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, (FMITI) says it is partnering with Microsoft to digitally transform services delivery in Nigeria. FMITI through the Microsoft Africa Open4Business programme plans to use integrated cloud technologies to change the reach and scope of government-to-investor services and establish an active and investment friendly environment in the...

The European Commission has granted Nigeria a €143 million support package for near-term humanitarian aid and an extended development support for those in areas ravaged by Boko Haram attacks in Borno State. The package comprises development aid of €123 million from the Nigeria 11th European Development Fund National Indicative Programme and €20 million from the EU...

The National Bureau of Statistics in a report published on Thursday revealed that Nigeria’s annual inflation fell to 16.25% in May against 17.24% in April. The statistics office in a separate food price index disclosed that inflation was at 19.27% compared to the 19.30% in April. “The rise in the (food) index was caused by increases in prices of meat, bread and cereals, fish, potatoes,...