Nigeria's NNPC signs 10-year gas sale deal with Dangote Refinery

Nigeria's state oil firm, NNPC Ltd said on Wednesday one of its subsidiaries has agreed to supply 100 million standard cubic feet of gas per day to the Dangote oil refinery for the next 10 years.

Financial details were not disclosed.

Under the agreement, NNPC Gas Marketing Limited will supply the refinery built by Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote in Lagos with natural gas for power generation and feedstock. The contract has options for renewal and additional supply.

NNPC, Africa's biggest oil producer, is seeking to promote domestic gas consumption for industrial growth. 

By Isaac Anyaogu,Reuters

Nigeria recovered $5 billion in stolen assets over 25 years

Nigeria has successfully recovered over $5 billion in assets over the past 25 years, according to a report from the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC).

・Nigeria has recovered over $5 billion in stolen assets in the past 25 years.

・Significant amounts were returned from Switzerland and the United States.

・Nigeria has achieved only 29% of key asset recovery indicators.

Nigeria has successfully recovered over $5 billion in assets over the past 25 years, according to a report from the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC).

CISLAC’s Executive Director, Auwal Ibrahim Musa (Rafsanjani), shared this during the launch of the 2024 Report on the Common African Position on Asset Recovery (CARPA) in Nigeria. CARPA, a framework adopted by the African Union in 2020, aims to support African nations in recovering illicit funds.

“Over the past 25 years, Nigeria has recovered over $5 billion in stolen assets, including significant sums returned from Switzerland and the United States. Some notable cases include the Abacha assets, where hundreds of millions of dollars looted by former military ruler Sani Abacha were repatriated after decades of international negotiations,” he said.

Despite these recoveries, Mr. Musa highlighted persistent challenges in managing returned assets, noting that there’s still much to be done, especially when it comes to involving citizens and civil society.

Nigeria has achieved just 29% of key asset recovery indicators, hindered by the absence of a unified anti-corruption strategy and fragmented coordination among agencies, which continue to slow down recovery efforts.

He pointed out the lack of essential frameworks, like whistleblower protection channels, which would empower citizens to report corruption-related issues more safely.

The CISLAC report noted that Nigeria, along with other African nations like Morocco and Kenya, struggles to effectively manage returned assets, which limits their impact on national development.

The report emphasised the need for stronger international cooperation to enhance asset recovery efforts and combat corruption across the continent.

Adekunle Agbetiloye, Pulse 

Related story: Court in Nigeria tells government to account for recovered Abacha loot

Nigeria signs $1.2 billion deal to revamp gas plant for aluminium smelter

Nigeria has signed a $1.2 billion contract with Chinese state-owned engineering firm CNCEC to revamp a gas processing plant crucial for the country's aluminium production, its Petroleum Ministry said.

The contract signed between CNCEC and BFI Group - the core investor in the Aluminum Smelter Company of Nigeria - is the first step towards reviving the dormant smelter, which has been plagued by years of inactivity due to legal disputes and financial issues.

The Petroleum Ministry said late on Monday that the deal would see CNCEC resuscitate the 135 million standard cubic feet per day gas processing plant at the dormant smelter, which can produce around 300,000 tons of aluminium annually.

Minister of State for Gas Epkerikpe Ekpo said the plant's restart would allow Nigeria to develop multiple stages of the aluminium production process and position it "as a major producer of aluminium in Africa and globally".

The plant is expected to produce around one million tons of aluminium annually and generate up to 540 megawatts of electricity, Ekpo said.

By Camillus Eboh, Reuters

Who are the Lakurawa insurgent group threatening Nigeria?

Nigeria's military has said a new Islamist insurgent group from Niger and Mali, known as Lakurawa, was operating in the northwest and officials and residents said it killed 15 people last Friday in its most high profile attack to date.

Here is what we know about the group:


WHO ARE THE LAKURAWA?

The military said the previously unknown Lakurawa was linked to Islamic State and operated in the states of Kebbi and Sokoto.

The Lakurawa first emerged in northwest Nigeria in 2018, when the group started helping locals fight armed gangs known as bandits, local media reported.

But the relationship soon soured as residents began accusing Lakurawa of stealing their cattle and seeking to impose strict Islamic law. The group retreated to the border areas of Niger and Mali but would make some incursions into Nigeria.

Nigeria defence spokesperson Edward Buba said the group was not initially considered a threat.
He said Lakurawa increased its presence in Nigeria after the July 2023 military coup in Niger, which brought a stop to joint military patrols along the countries' borders.

WHAT THREAT DOES LAKURAWA POSE?

Nigeria is already fighting several armed groups, including Islamist militants Boko Haram and its offshoot Islamic State West Africa Province and several bandit gangs.

Another insurgency could further destabilise the region and suck an already stretched military into a long-drawn fight, security analysts said.

"The fact that (Lakurawa members) engage in preaching and impose harsh edicts on local communities indicates they are ambitious, potentially thinking big picture about eventually extending their territorial influence to Nigeria," said James Barnett, a research fellow at the Hudson Institute who has conducted fieldwork in the northwest.

HOW IS NIGERIA HANDLING THE THREAT?

The Nigerian military has resumed joint patrols with Niger and promised to take the offensive to Lakurawa.

The threat by the group was important enough for Nigeria's acting Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Olufemi Oluyede to visit Sokoto to rally his troops.

Oluyede also appealed for support from residents to fight the insurgents. 

By Ope Adetayo, Reuters

Nigeria Sees Crude Output Rising 30% by Year-End on New Deals

Nigeria expects a 30% increase in crude and condensate output as authorities strengthen security around the nation’s oil infrastructure and incentives in the sector attract investment, even though the gain could cross its OPEC+ commitment to limit production.

Output will reach 2 million barrels a day before the end of the year from 1.54 million barrels in September, according to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission. “As at today the country’s crude oil production plus condensate is 1.8 million barrels per day and we’re pushing, working with everyone to increase it to two million barrels a day before December,” Enorense Amadasu, executive commissioner for the Abuja-based agency said at a conference in Lagos on Monday.

While the regulator didn’t disclose the proportion of crude to condensate in its projection, a higher level would push output closer to or over the 1.5 million barrel a day quota that Nigeria agreed with OPEC+ not to exceed. The 23-nation group has implemented the production limits to stave off a surplus and shore up crude prices.

Not all members have followed the plan. The group’s leadership has pressed members like Iraq, Kazakhstan and Russia to fully implement output cuts pledged at the start of the year, and make additional reductions in compensation for over-producing.

Africa’s largest oil producer has stayed below its OPEC+ quota for more than two years due to a lack of investment and widespread theft and vandalism in the oil-rich Niger Delta. President Bola Tinubu’s government has made efforts to draw investors to the sector by offering tax breaks to producers as well as approving pending asset sales.

The upstream regulator is looking to open bids for 31 oil and gas blocks spanning the country’s onshore and offshore acreage as part of measures to further increase production, Amadasu said, without giving a timeline. “These blocks have been carefully selected for its potentials to boost our reserves and stimulate economic activities,” he said.

By Emele Onu, Bloomberg