This weekly market report is provided by Gladius Commodities of Lagos, Nigeria.
ANGOLA
Angola’s National Oil, Gas and Biofuel’s Agency (ANPG), ExxonMobil and state-owned Sonangol signed an addendum to Blocks 30, 44, and 45 in the Namibe Basin to make exploration in the area more competitive. According to the ANPG, ExxonMobil will pursue a potential exploration well in 2024 due to improved fiscal terms.
The ANPG further added that the move represents part of efforts by the Angolan government to attract investment into the oil sector, which accounts for more than 90% of the country’s exports, even as it privatizes state-owned enterprises in a bid to diversify the economy.
NIGERIA
The Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPC), Mele Kyari, announced that NNPC Limited has approximately 2.1 billion liters of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) in stock which would ensure a robust nationwide supply of the product for at least 35 days. Kyari added that the company plans to close the month of April with about 2.8 billion liters, which is equivalent to 47 days of sufficiency and that operations have fully resumed at the various depots in the country with trucks being dispatched to various parts of the country.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, has stated that Nigeria has spent a total of N14.5 billion on frontier exploration services between last year and this year, which involves the search for hydrocarbons in inland basins, predominantly in the north. The Minister stated this during a press interview in Abuja where he added that these funds have unlocked some success, including the discovery of hydrocarbon deposits in the Kolmani River II Well on the Upper Benue Trough, Gongola Basin, in the North-eastern part of the country. Chief Sylva went on to add that the country has also been able to expand its oil and gas exploration footprint to the frontier basins of Anambra, Dahomey, Sokoto, Benue trough, Chad and Bida Basins.
GLOBAL
On Thursday March 16, oil prices crept higher as an upbeat outlook on a Chinese economic recovery helped spur some hopes of a demand rebound this year, although markets remained on edge over a potential banking crisis. U.S. West Texas Intermediate U.S. futures steadied at $67.74 a barrel by 23:07 ET (03:07 GMT), while Brent futures rose 0.2% to $73.86 a barrel.
Oil prices weakened later on Thursday, handing back earlier gains heading back towards the previous session’s 16-month low. Market sentiment remained fragile despite Swiss lender Credit Suisse’s financial lifeline. News that Credit Suisse secured a $54 billion credit facility from the Swiss National Bank helped the market recover somewhat during the early hours of Thursday. However, those gains did not last long as sentiment remained weak amid concerns that rising interest rates coupled with a banking crisis will result in a recession later in the year, severely hitting the demand for oil.
On the supply side, Russia’s exports have remained resilient despite a pledge to reduce output, prompting the International Energy Agency to increase its Russian supply estimate by 300,000 barrels a day in its monthly report.