OUR VISION

Crude Theft: Oil Workers Plan Shutdown Of Sector
By: Leadership Newspaper

Key unions in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry are putting together a major nationwide action to protest exponential oil theft in the country.

LEADERSHIP can exclusively report that a major mobilisation towards this action is at an advanced stage following their resolve to expose those behind the crime.

Escalating oil theft by criminals has been described as a bleeding wound that is eating up resources of the country, with industry operators calling for a declaration of emergency in the oil and gas sector to halt the menace.

Several figures are in the public space showing the level of theft that had occurred during different periods.

Recently, security agents operating across the country reported the recovery of stolen crude oil valued N86.2 billion in August alone.

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17 marginal fields producing in Nigeria –NUPRC
By: Sun Newspaper

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) says 17 marginal oilfields are currently producing out of 30 fields awarded since its inception in 1999.

Mr Gbenga Komolafe, Commission’s Chief Executive, NUPRC, made this known at the Association of Energy Correspondents of Nigeria (NAEC) Strategic International Conference  on Thursday in Lagos.

“Komolafe, who was represented by Mr Abel Nsa, Head, National Oil and Gas Excellence Centre (NOGEC), said marginal fields award was initiated to increase participation of indigenous companies in the upstream sector and build local content capacity.

He said it was also targeted at creating employment opportunities and encouraging increased capital inflow to the sector and create employment opportunities.

The NUPRC boss said: “Since its inception, 30 fields have been awarded and 17 are currently producing.

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Ups and downs of oil outlook
By: Baltic Exchange

Post-sanctions, Russian crude output has not plunged to the depths anticipated by analysts, meaning that the global oil market is expected to stay in surplus for the rest of this year and into next, according to analyst ING.

India and China have picked up a large share of Russia’s sanction-bound crude, with Russian oil accounting for up to 20% of total Chinese oil imports in June, making it China’s largest supplier. “These stronger Russian flows to China come despite overall weaker domestic oil demand due to Covid-related lockdowns,” said Warren Patterson, ING head of commodities strategy.

ING has revised lower its oil price forecast for the remainder of this year as a result of the sustained demand for Russian crude. Its 3Q22 and 4Q22 Brent crude forecasts have dropped from $118 per barrel and $125 per barrel to $100 per barrel and $97 per barrel respectively. ING’s full year 2023 Brent forecast has been revised down from $99 per barrel to $97 per barrel.

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Crude Tankers: Russian Invasion sets the tone but China’s behaviour has the last say
By: Vortexa by Ioannis Papadimitriou, Senior Freight Analyst

Russian-Ukranian conflict managed to shift the crude tanker trade patterns, however Chinese purchasing activity is and will remain a barometer for tanker recovery.

Six months have passed since the invasion of Russia in Ukraine, which caught most of the world and in consequence – shipping markets – by surprise. At the onset of the invasion, diverging opinions came into the spotlight regarding the overall impact that the conflict would have on the crude tanker markets.

In this insight we will attempt to assess the changes in crude tanker demand prior to and after the invasion on the most-affected trade routes, but also on the global shipping stage. Through this, we will try to understand whether the current volatility in the market relies solely upon the developments revolving around the Russian-EU relationship or whether there are other key factors at play.

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