Nigeria has replaced Saudi Arabia as the largest crude oil supplier to India after its oil exports to India last month surged by nearly 200 percent, supplying some 745,000 barrels per day. It’s the first time in at least four years that Saudi Arabia, the world’s top crude exporter, has lost the top spot, according to Reuters.
The shift comes as more Indian refiners switch out their long-term contracts with Middle East suppliers in favor of African oil spot purchases. Saudi Arabia also fell behind Russia and Angola last month as the largest crude supplier to China. The petroleum kingpin struggles to maintain market share in Asia as the gap narrows between the Middle East price marker and the international crude oil benchmark Brent, Reuters reported.
India’s African oil imports rose to the highest in more than four years, from 15.5 percent in April to 26 percent in May with tankers mainly from Nigeria and Angola. Meanwhile, the share of Middle Eastern oil to India fell to 54 percent in May from 61 percent in April, with Saudi Arabia supplying some 732,400 barrels per day, according to Reuters.
Oil prices have dropped for Nigeria’s premium over Brent in recent months, which have made the former more attractive to importers. Over the weekend, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation reduced the prices of Nigeria’s crude oil grades to their lowest in over a decade as the West African nation fights for international market share. Nigeria’s exports to the United States have also shrunk from almost one million barrels per day in 2010 to just 30,000 this year, according to Vanguard news in Abuja.
The falling global oil prices have posed tough challenges for oil-dependent Nigeria. Nigeria is Africa’s largest economy and lead oil producer, generating about $70 billion in state revenue each year – more than two-thirds of which comes from exports in gas and oil.
International Business Times
Thursday, June 25, 2015
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Video - Textile industry in Nigeria suffering from shaky economy
Nigeria's falling currency is having a major impact across the country. A slide in oil revenues triggered the decline and now the Central Bank is unable to stem the fall. Ahmed Idris reports from a textile market in Kano where many traders are closing their shops.
Nigeria to get its first IMAX theater
IMAX Corp. (NYSE: IMAX) and Filmhouse Cinemas, Nigeria's largest chain of theatres, announced an agreement for an IMAX theatre to be located in a new construction project in Lagos, the nation's biggest city with a population of more than 20 million. The deal, announced at CineEurope, marks the first-ever IMAX agreement in Nigeria and West Africa. Nigeria now ranks as Africa's largest economy. Today's agreement also underscores the Company's continued expansion in Africa, where in the past year IMAX signed its first-ever deal in Angola and added four new theatres to its network in South Africa.
"Our mission is to establish the best movie-going experience in Nigeria. IMAX will help us realize this goal by delivering an immersive and differentiated experience previously unavailable to Nigerian moviegoers," said Kene Mkparu, CEO, Filmhouse Cinemas. "As we continue our aggressive expansion plans, IMAX will serve as an anchor attraction in our multiplex in Lagos, redefining the premium cinema experience in Nigeria. We are proud to be the first to introduce IMAX in the country and look forward to broadening its reach."
"We are delighted to join forces with Filmhouse Cinemas and enter Nigeria, which represents a key strategic move for our expansion in Africa. Recent reports project that Nigeria's entertainment and media revenues will reach an estimated $8.5 billion by 2018 - more than doubling from 2013," said Andrew Cripps, President, IMAX EMEA. "As the biggest economy on the continent and a market that is extremely under-screened, we believe that together with Filmhouse we can seize the mutual growth opportunities that exist in Nigeria and bring the world's most immersive cinematic experience to more audiences across the country."
Street Insider
"Our mission is to establish the best movie-going experience in Nigeria. IMAX will help us realize this goal by delivering an immersive and differentiated experience previously unavailable to Nigerian moviegoers," said Kene Mkparu, CEO, Filmhouse Cinemas. "As we continue our aggressive expansion plans, IMAX will serve as an anchor attraction in our multiplex in Lagos, redefining the premium cinema experience in Nigeria. We are proud to be the first to introduce IMAX in the country and look forward to broadening its reach."
"We are delighted to join forces with Filmhouse Cinemas and enter Nigeria, which represents a key strategic move for our expansion in Africa. Recent reports project that Nigeria's entertainment and media revenues will reach an estimated $8.5 billion by 2018 - more than doubling from 2013," said Andrew Cripps, President, IMAX EMEA. "As the biggest economy on the continent and a market that is extremely under-screened, we believe that together with Filmhouse we can seize the mutual growth opportunities that exist in Nigeria and bring the world's most immersive cinematic experience to more audiences across the country."
Street Insider
US and other countries to help retrieve money stolen from Nigerian government
The US and other countries have agreed to help Nigeria recover money stolen from the government, President Muhammadu Buhari has said.
The new president said on Tuesday that the country's treasury was "virtually empty".
He vowed to recover billions of dollars "stolen" under previous administrations.
The president won elections in March on a promise to tackle corruption, seen as one of the country's biggest problems.
Nigeria is Africa's biggest oil producer but much of the revenue is said to be stolen.
"The days of impunity and lack of accountability are over," he told a meeting of state governors on Tuesday.
He said Nigeria would get the "facts and the figures to help us recover our stolen funds in foreign countries,'' over the next three months.
He did not specify which other countries had agreed to help recover the money.
In an earlier briefing with journalists, he said it was a "disgrace" that some government workers had not been paid for months.
Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo estimates that Nigeria's debts stand at about $60bn (£38bn).
However, former Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has rejected the claim, saying the debt was much lower, AFP news agency reports.
Mr Buhari's election victory ending 16 years of rule by the Peoples Democratic Party.
It was the first time an opposition candidate has won a presidential election in Nigeria.
BBC
The new president said on Tuesday that the country's treasury was "virtually empty".
He vowed to recover billions of dollars "stolen" under previous administrations.
The president won elections in March on a promise to tackle corruption, seen as one of the country's biggest problems.
Nigeria is Africa's biggest oil producer but much of the revenue is said to be stolen.
"The days of impunity and lack of accountability are over," he told a meeting of state governors on Tuesday.
He said Nigeria would get the "facts and the figures to help us recover our stolen funds in foreign countries,'' over the next three months.
He did not specify which other countries had agreed to help recover the money.
In an earlier briefing with journalists, he said it was a "disgrace" that some government workers had not been paid for months.
Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo estimates that Nigeria's debts stand at about $60bn (£38bn).
However, former Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has rejected the claim, saying the debt was much lower, AFP news agency reports.
Mr Buhari's election victory ending 16 years of rule by the Peoples Democratic Party.
It was the first time an opposition candidate has won a presidential election in Nigeria.
BBC
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
President Muhammadu Buhari promises to restore Nigeria's 'financial sanity'
Nigeria's president vowed on Tuesday to recover billions of dollars allegedly stolen by officials and restore financial "sanity", accusing previous governments in Africa's biggest economy of throwing the rulebooks "to the dogs".
Muhammadu Buhari's strong words came after a meeting with the governors of Nigeria's states, in which they said they were 658 billion naira ($3.3 billion) in debt and needed federal government support to offset a funding crisis.
Zamfara state governor Abdulaziz Yari Abubakar said the governors had suggested three ways out: the government could refund money spent on federal projects such as roads, banks could extend existing loans to up to 20 years, or the government could share out oil revenues usually saved in the so-called Excess Crude Account (ECA).
The president, who took office last month after defeating Goodluck Jonathan in Nigeria's first transfer of power through the ballot box, vowed to recover billions allegedly stolen by public officials.
"There are financial and administrative instructions in every government parastatal and agency. But all these were thrown to the dogs," Buhari said in a statement after meeting the governors in the capital Abuja.
"The next three months may be hard but billions of dollars can be recovered, and we will do our best," he said. "We will restore sanity to the system."
RUNNING ON EMPTY
Several states borrowed in the domestic bond market and from banks to fund infrastructure projects. But the price of crude, which represents 80 percent of Nigeria's revenue, has since plunged, leaving the government unable to pay bills or salaries.
The naira currency has fallen sharply despite the central bank spending billions of dollars to try and prop it up.
Gross revenues distributable to the three tiers of government - federal, state and local - hit a five-year low in April due to frequent shutdowns of oil and export terminal pipelines and depressed crude prices.
Government revenues distributed for May rose to 409.3 billion naira, up 5.4 percent from the previous month, but the Finance Ministry said oil pipeline shutdowns continued to hamper earnings.
Details of Nigeria's economic and financial position would be published within four weeks, Buhari said.
He said the government would look into whether ECA funds could be used to cover unpaid salaries after saying on Monday that treasury coffers were "virtually empty".
The ECA had $2.078 billion as of June 23, the Finance Ministry said.
Standard Chartered's head of Africa research, Razia Khan, said that the level of state debt was "especially problematic".
"While an early release of the ECA may provide a partial solution, it is not yet known how much Nigeria will have managed to accumulate in its ECA in recent months."
Reuters
Muhammadu Buhari's strong words came after a meeting with the governors of Nigeria's states, in which they said they were 658 billion naira ($3.3 billion) in debt and needed federal government support to offset a funding crisis.
Zamfara state governor Abdulaziz Yari Abubakar said the governors had suggested three ways out: the government could refund money spent on federal projects such as roads, banks could extend existing loans to up to 20 years, or the government could share out oil revenues usually saved in the so-called Excess Crude Account (ECA).
The president, who took office last month after defeating Goodluck Jonathan in Nigeria's first transfer of power through the ballot box, vowed to recover billions allegedly stolen by public officials.
"There are financial and administrative instructions in every government parastatal and agency. But all these were thrown to the dogs," Buhari said in a statement after meeting the governors in the capital Abuja.
"The next three months may be hard but billions of dollars can be recovered, and we will do our best," he said. "We will restore sanity to the system."
RUNNING ON EMPTY
Several states borrowed in the domestic bond market and from banks to fund infrastructure projects. But the price of crude, which represents 80 percent of Nigeria's revenue, has since plunged, leaving the government unable to pay bills or salaries.
The naira currency has fallen sharply despite the central bank spending billions of dollars to try and prop it up.
Gross revenues distributable to the three tiers of government - federal, state and local - hit a five-year low in April due to frequent shutdowns of oil and export terminal pipelines and depressed crude prices.
Government revenues distributed for May rose to 409.3 billion naira, up 5.4 percent from the previous month, but the Finance Ministry said oil pipeline shutdowns continued to hamper earnings.
Details of Nigeria's economic and financial position would be published within four weeks, Buhari said.
He said the government would look into whether ECA funds could be used to cover unpaid salaries after saying on Monday that treasury coffers were "virtually empty".
The ECA had $2.078 billion as of June 23, the Finance Ministry said.
Standard Chartered's head of Africa research, Razia Khan, said that the level of state debt was "especially problematic".
"While an early release of the ECA may provide a partial solution, it is not yet known how much Nigeria will have managed to accumulate in its ECA in recent months."
Reuters
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