Qatar Was OPEC's Wealthiest Per-Capita Exporter Last Year; Nigeria Poorest

(Bloomberg) -- Qatar earned $28,576 per citizen last
year from oil and gas exports, while Nigeria, Africa's most
populous nation, made $391, annual OPEC data shows.

The range reflects large differences in populations among
members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
Nigeria's petroleum-export revenue of $52.5 billion was twice that
of the tiny Persian Gulf emirate.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Nigerian interbank rates ease on cash release

(Reuters) - Nigerian interbank interest rates dropped to 7.0 percent on average at the short-end of the money market due to public sector cash inflows, ending four weeks of liquidity crunch in the market, dealers said on Friday.

The three benchmark rates -- secured Open Buy Back (OBB), call money and overnight placement -- fell to 7.0 percent each, compared with 10.5 percent for OBB and 12 percent for overnight and call last week.


Read more at Reuters Africa

E. Guinea sets Wednesday deadline for oil bids

(Reuters) - Equatorial Guinea, sub-Saharan Africa's third largest oil producer, has set a Wednesday deadline for revised bids for 10 new offshore exploration blocks, originally due to be awarded in May.

The West African nation had planned to award the acreage in mid-May and said it had received interest from a significant number of companies from Nigeria, Britain and India.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Cocoa Products of Nigeria Plans to Double Processing Capacity This Year

(Bloomberg) -- Cocoa Products Ltd., Nigeria's
biggest processor of the beans, plans to double capacity to
60,000 tons this year to benefit from the government's strategy
of encouraging local grinding, said spokesman Samuel Dada.

The company, jointly owned by the government of the south-
western state of Ondo, where it is based, and Lagos-based Skye
Bank Plc, plans to increase output from 30,000 tons a year
currently by adding a new production line, Dada said in an
interview July 12 in Akure, the state capital.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Nigerian bank GTB to raise $750 mln through GDR

(Reuters) - Nigeria's Guaranty Trust Bank plans to raise $750 million through the sale of Global Depository Receipts (GDRs) to local and international investors, the bank said on Monday.

The bank said in a statement posted on its website that the offer to be listed on the London Stock Exchange will consist of $500 million for foreign investors and $250 million which will be raised locally.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Oil Rises Above $72 to 10-Month High on Nigerian Unrest, Refinery Closings

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose above $72 a barrel in
New York, a 10-month high, on concern that unrest in Nigeria may
curb oil shipments and unexpected shutdowns at U.S. refineries
will cut fuel production.

Nigerian gunmen kidnapped a three-year-old daughter of a
British expatriate on her way to school in the southern oil city
of Port Harcourt, a police spokesman said. Five contractors were
seized yesterday from a rig operated by Royal Dutch Shell Plc's
Nigerian venture. Futures pared gains after the Energy Department
reported that U.S. oil and fuel supplies rose last week.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

IEA Expects Oil Prices to Remain Near $70 a Barrel, Economist Birol Says

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil prices will probably remain
near $70 a barrel during the next year because of political
tensions in Nigeria, Iran and Iraq, the chief economist of the
International Energy Agency said.

``I would be surprised if prices go down significantly,'' the
IEA's Fatih Birol said in an interview today at an energy
conference in Istanbul. ``We are going through difficult times.''


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Oil Rises as Nigerian Strike Moves Into Third Day, Spurring Supply Concern

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose as a general strike in
Nigeria, Africa's biggest oil producer, continued for a third day
after the government and unions failed to reach an agreement over
an increase in fuel prices.

Yesterday, oil unions withdrew workers from export terminals
in a bid to halt shipments and intensify pressure on the new
administration of President Umaru Yar'Adua. About a third of the
nation's output was already halted by political and criminal
violence. The strike comes during the summer driving season, when
U.S. fuel consumption peaks.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Nigerian inflation climbs to 4.6 pct in May

(Reuters) - Nigerian year-on-year consumer price inflation climbed to 4.6 percent in May from 4.2 percent the previous month, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Friday.

The composite consumer price index rose by 0.5 percent to 161.9 in May compared to 161.1 percent in April, the bureau said in its latest monthly report.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Oil Tumbles More Than $1 After Report of Surging U.S. Crude, Fuel Supplies

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil fell more than $1 a barrel
from a nine-month high after an Energy Department report showed
that U.S. oil and gasoline stockpiles increased.

Crude-oil inventories surged 6.9 million barrels to 349.3
million in the week ended June 15, the report showed. It was the
biggest one-week gain since the week ended March 19, 2004.
Gasoline supplies rose 1.79 million barrels to 203.3 million.
Prices gained the past two days on concern Nigerian shipments
would be disrupted further because of a general strike.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Crude Oil Rises to Nine-Month High on Threat of Nigerian Strike Tomorrow

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose to a nine-month high
in New York on concern that a planned general strike tomorrow
will curb fuel shipments from Nigeria, Africa's biggest oil
producer.

Union representatives meeting with government officials are
demanding that a motor-fuel price increase implemented last month
be rescinded, a labor leader said. Eni SpA declared force majeure
after one of its stations in Nigeria was attacked by militants
June 17. Force majeure is a legal clause meaning deliveries are
suspended because of conditions beyond the company's control.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Oil firm above $72, near 10-month high on Nigeria

(Reuters) - Oil prices ticked lower but held firm near 10-month highs on Tuesday after a general strike threat by Nigerian unions and further violence in the delta helped extend the market's gains to a fourth session.

London benchmark Brent crude edged 10 cents lower to $72.08 a barrel by 0214 GMT after touching intra-day peak of $72.25 on Monday, its highest since August 28.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Nigerian unions to begin general strike Weds

(Reuters) - Nigerian unions will start an indefinite general strike in Africa's top oil producer on Wednesday to protest against rising prices and privatisations, the umbrella union body said on Monday.

The Nigeria Labour Congress's (NLC) top committee set the strike start after the expiry on Monday of an ultimatum to the government to reverse a fuel price increase, a doubling of value-added tax and the sale of two big oil refineries.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Oil falls from 10-month high, supply risks support

(Reuters) - Oil fell below $71 a barrel on Monday after rising to a 10-month high last week on concern about low fuel supplies in top fuel consumer the United States.

Threats to oil supplies in Nigeria, the world's eighth-largest oil exporter, were likely to limit the decline for prices, analysts said. A general strike is due to start in Nigeria on Wednesday.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Africa to promote Sahara gas plan at July meeting

(Reuters) - Nigeria, Niger and Algeria will launch a campaign on July 8 to drum up investor interest in a multibillion dollar project to pipe Nigerian gas to Europe across the Sahara, the official Algerian news agency APS said.

International donors, banks and potential clients and investors have been invited to a conference in Brussels to hear a briefing on the ambitious plan by UK consultancy Penspen/IPA, the agency reported on Monday.


Read more at Reuters Africa

U.S. Stocks Rise, Led by Energy Producers; Wal-Mart Stores, XTO Advance

(Bloomberg) -- America's equity benchmarks climbed
to records again on analyst upgrades of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and
a rise in oil prices that buoyed energy shares.

Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, led the Standard &
Poor's 500 Index to its fourth consecutive peak and the Dow
Jones Industrial Average to its 27th this year after four
brokerages recommended the company because of its planned $15
billion share-buyback plan. Oil and gas companies climbed to a
high after the price of crude surged above $66 a barrel on
concern supplies from Nigeria may be disrupted.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UPDATE 1-Noble says probing Nigerian operations

(Reuters) - The company said its Nigerian affiliate reimbursed customs
agents for some expenses incurred while it was trying to get
and renew the permits. It said the payments could violate the
U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act -- an anti-bribery law --
or Nigerian law.




Noble said it voluntarily notified the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice about
its investigation. The company does not know whether either
agency will open its own probe on the matter, but said it
intends to cooperate fully with both agencies.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Four People Perish in Fire Aboard Oil-Product Tanker Off Coast of Nigeria

(Bloomberg) -- Four people died and three others are
missing after a fire aboard a tanker carrying refined oils off
the coast of Nigeria, the U.K. coastguard said.

The bodies of the dead were recovered from the vessel and
22 crew rescued following the incident yesterday, the U.K.
Maritime and Coastguard Agency said on its Web site today.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Oil above $68 after new attack in Nigeria

(Reuters) - Oil was steady above $68 on Wednesday after a new attack on a Nigerian pipeline illustrated the uphill task the new president faces to restore lost output in the world's eighth biggest crude exporter.

Energy appeared immune to a 6.5 percent drop in China's main stock index that buffeted other Asian and European markets.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Crude Oil Falls on U.S. Gasoline Output Increase, End of Nigerian Strike

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil fell in New York on
speculation U.S. fuel prices may ease as refiners increase
output to meet summer demand and after oil workers in Nigeria
ended a two-day strike.

A U.S. government report showed gasoline production rose to
the highest since December, boosting supplies for a third week.
U.S. crude oil stockpiles are 7.6 percent above their five-year
average, the Energy Department said last week. Nigerian oil
workers ended the strike after the government conceded to their
demand for more pay and benefits, Reuters reported on May 26.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News