The weekly market report is provided by Gladius Commodities of Lagos, Nigeria.
ANGOLA
Angola’s National Agency of Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels (ANPG) has announced a scheduled maintenance of TotalEnergies’ Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel, Dalia, located in Block 17.
The scheduled maintenance will take place from February 20 to March 26 this year, and will require more than 500 specialized technicians.
The technicians will include TotalEnergies’ employees and service providers, observing the highest standards of safety, hygiene and environment in force in the oil and gas industry. According to the ANPG, the maintenance will enforce a scheduled stoppage of production from the block, and that the impact of the stoppage is already safeguarded in the production projections established by the Angolan authorities with investors that are part of the Contractor Group of Block 17. The ANPG stated that the maintenance is not affecting the commitments of the supply of Angolan oil in the international market.
NIGERIA
The Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Mele Kyari announced that the country needs N4.2 trillion to meet fuel subsidy requirements this year. The GMD announced this during an interview with Channels television where he further added that the amount is based on the calculation of recent fuel distribution logistics. Kyari stated that at the average, the country has used approximately 63 million liters of fuel this year alone, and that based on that calculation, the country will need an average of $4.2 trillion to meet its fuel subsidy for the year. Kyari stated that for now, the country has to import fuel, however the NNPC is working towards making sure that the ongoing rehabilitation of the refineries in the country is completed as soon as possible, and that the Dangote Refinery starts operations soon so that petroleum products can be produced domestically while generating even more profits for the country.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, stated that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved N117 billion for the construction of Oloibiri Oil Museum in Bayelsa State. The minister announced this while he was speaking during a State House of Representatives briefing in Abuja, where he further added that the contract for the construction of the Oil Museum and Research Centre was awarded to Julius Berger PLC in the sum of N 117 billion with a completion time frame of 30 months. Chief Sylva added that the construction of the museum – which started in the early 80s by the late President Shehu Shagari but could not be continued due to lack of funds – will now be completed, further adding that the museum will serve as a research center to enhance academic activities, boost tourism and further enhance growth in the host community of Oloibiri.
GLOBAL
On Thursday February 9, oil prices dipped in U.S. trading hours after the country’s oil inventories hit their highest in months and on signs that the Federal Reserve could keep raising interest rates. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures inched down 76 cents to $77.71 a barrel, while Brent futures slipped 69 cents to $84.40 a barrel by 13:22 GMT.
Oil prices rose for a third straight day on Wednesday as investors felt more comfortable with risk a day after the Federal Reserve Chair’s remarks eased concerns about future interest rate hikes. Prospects of stronger demand from China provided some support to oil prices, as the world’s second largest oil consumer ended more than three years of stringent zero-COVID policy. Optimism over supply disruptions caused by an earthquake in Turkey and Syria spurred strong gains in crude prices this week. While some pipeline flows from Iraq to Turkey resumed after being stopped earlier this week, exports from the major Ceyhan port are yet to be resumed amid bad weather conditions.
