Uche Cecil Izuora A major market disruption occurred in the first quarter of this year with crude oil and petroleum product prices rising significantly particularly following military action in the Middle East on February 28 and the subsequent de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz. According to Oil and Gas 360, quarterly update, which reviewed petroleum markets price developments in 1Q26, covering crude oil prices, petroleum product prices, and refinery inputs, after beginning the year at $61 per barrel (b), the front-month futures price of Brent crude oil finished the quarter at $118/b. The price increase during the…
Author: Orientalnews Staff
Yemisi Izuora The International Energy Agency (IEA, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank are coming together to discuss the energy crisis triggered by the Iran war next Monday, IEA executive director Fatih Birol said on Tuesday. “This energy crisis calls for all hands on deck & international cooperation,” Birol said on social media platform X, stressing the need for the three institutions to support governments worldwide amid the economic fallout from the war. Birol, the IMF’s chief Kristalina Georgieva and the World Bank’s Ajay Banga agreed last week to form a coordination group to help deal…
Uche Cecil Izuora Global energy demand is facing huge demand by the rapid expansion of digital infrastructure. Recent data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) points to a clear shift: U.S. electricity demand is accelerating after years of relative stagnation. More notably, power consumption is now expected to reach record highs in 2026 and 2027, driven largely by the surge in artificial intelligence and data center expansion. This is not a typical demand cycle. AI-driven computing requires continuous, high-density power loads, fundamentally different from historical patterns. Data centers are no longer just incremental users of electricity, they are…
Uche Cecil Izuora The US Energy Information Administration (EIA), has released its April Short-Term Energy Outlook, estimating that Brent crude averaged $103 a barrel in March and will climb to a quarterly peak of about $115 barrel in second-quarter 2026, reflecting a sharp tightening in global supply following widespread production shut-ins across key Gulf producers. Global oil markets have entered a period of acute volatility, with prices expected to surge into second-quarter 2026 as war-driven supply disruptions in the Middle East constrain flows through the Strait of Hormuz. The disruption stems from the effective closure of the Strait of…
Yemisi Izuora Eterna Plc has announced its audited financial results for the full year ended 31 December 2025, delivering a strong performance marked by significant profit growth and improved balance sheet strength. The Company recorded revenue of ₦302.37 billion for the year, while profit before tax (PBT) rose to ₦7.27 billion, representing a 52.9 per cent year-on-year increase from ₦4.48 billion in 2024. Profit after tax stood at ₦2.92 billion, with earnings per share (EPS) of ₦2.24, reflecting enhanced value creation for shareholders. The company’s financial position strengthened during the year, with total assets rising to ₦92.19 billion, driven…
Uche Cecil Izuora Top Government team from Nigeria would be engaging with global stakeholders at the Invest in African Energy Forum scheduled to hold in Paris next month. The Government is positioning the country’s oil and gas sector for renewed investment and has reported increased upstream activity supported by recent reforms, new project approvals and a shift in asset ownership, according to APO Group. In 2025, Nigeria approved 28 field development plans valued at $18.2 billion, targeting an estimated 1.4 billion bbl of reserves. Crude production has rebounded to approximately 1.6–1.7 MMbpd, driven by increased drilling activity and government-led initiatives…
The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), has assured the public over their concerns regarding the launch of the SON-NADDC Vehicle Conformity Assessment Programme (VehCAP), particularly issues relating to public sensitisation and the treatment of vehicles without VehCAP certification at the ports. The Federal Government of Nigeria remains a responsive and people-centred administration, committed to safeguarding lives and ensuring the quality of goods within the country. In line with this responsibility, SON-NADDCVehCAP has been introduced not as an entirely new regulatory regime, but as an enhancement of existing conformity assessment frameworks, aimed at…
One of Nigeria’s most impactful corporate investments in youth talent development – now open for participation across the country. Nigeria has one of the youngest populations in the world, with more than half of its citizens under the age of 18. Yet conversations about young people are often framed around unemployment, migration, or lost potential. Far less attention is paid to the earlier stage of the pipeline – where curiosity is formed, ideas are shaped, and intellectual confidence is built. Initiatives like the SystemSpecs Children’s Day Essay Competition (CDEC) are designed to engage young minds at this critical stage. By…
Collection of mineral royalties from mining sector operators across the country will henceforth be the responsibility of the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), while the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development will continue its technical and regulatory oversight on the sector. This was the outcome of a meeting between the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Mr Dele Alake and the NRS chairman, Zacch Adedeji, held at the former’s office in Abuja on Thursday, to define collaborative ways of working together. The decision was based on the new tax laws, which empower NRS to administer all federally collectable revenue and account for the…
By Segun Adediran For those who studied Economics at the Ordinary Level in the 1970s, the name O.A. Lawal likely rings a bell. His seminal work, O’ Level Economics of West Africa, outlines the four pillars of production—land, labour, capital, and enterprise—as the essential resources for creating value. Centuries earlier, in 1776, Adam Smith published The Wealth of Nations just as the Industrial Revolution began to flicker across Europe. Smith dismantled the antiquated notion that wealth was a finite hoard of gold, arguing instead that prosperity flowed from productive labour and the “invisible hand” of the market, which incentivised…