Oando Plc, an energy solution provider, has posted a turnover of N3.4 trillion in its 2023 full year-end unaudited financials.

The figure represents an increase of 71 per cent when compared to N1.9 trillion posted in 2022.

Mr Wale Tinubu, Group Chief Executive Officer, Oando Plc, said this in a statement on Saturday in Lagos.

Tinubu said that over the last four years, the company consistently recorded a positive incline in turnover.

According to him, the company’s turnover stood at N477.1 billion in 2020 and grew to N803.5 billion in same period of 2021.

He also said that the energy company later posted N2 trillion as turnover in 2022 and N3.

4 trillion in 2023 respectively.

Tinubi said although the year 2023 saw oil and gas companies impacted by spikes in incidences of militancy and sabotage, the company was still able to also record a Profit-After-Tax (PAT) of N74.7 billion in the year under review.

He stated that the result indicated a positive turn in the company’s fortunes in comparison to the preceding year when the company posted a loss after tax.

Tinubu said that in spite of the persistent pipeline vandalism across the Niger Delta, which ccontinued to dampen crude production, the company achieved an outstanding profit in 2023.

According to him, this was largely driven by increased trading volumes due to the company’s strategic global partnerships.

Also, the net foreign exchange gains on the group’s foreign currency-denominated assets as against losses on its foreign currency-denominated liabilities drove the positive performance.

Tinubu stressed that the year 2023 had seen Oando push forward with its growth agenda, recording positive highlights.

This, he noted, included the signing of a Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA) with Italian oil major, Eni.

Tinubu explained that this would allow it to acquire one of its local subsidiaries, the Nigeria Agip Oil Company Ltd.(NAOC).

He added that the firm’s clean energy arm, Oando Clean Energy Ltd.(OCEL) launched its electric mass transit buses in partnership with the Lagos State government, signalling that things were beginning to look up for the Indigenous giant.

The group’s chief executive said that more significantly the release of the company’s 2023 financial results, albeit unaudited, finally brought the company a step closer to being in line with regulatory requirements for all listed companies.

He stated that it indicated that by the end of the year, the company would have been on track with its peers in reporting results, giving confidence to shareholders and investors in the company’s current state and future.

“Furthermore, our milestone signing of the Sale and Purchase Agreement with Eni towards the acquisition of 100 per cent of the shares of NAOC Ltd, marked a pivotal moment for our organisation.

“It is poised to unlock substantial synergies soon.

“Our focus is now on completing the acquisition and seamlessly integrating operations to deliver exceptional value to our shareholders,” he said.

According to him, while the country saw a decline in national oil output, precipitated by pipeline vandalism, oil theft and illegal refining, the  Oando’s upstream operations saw an average daily production increase.

Tinubu revealed that the energy company’s upstream operations average daily production increased marginally by  one per cent to 20,837 boepd in 2023, as against 20,703 boepd in 2022.

He said these production numbers comprised oil production at 6,024 bbls per day, compared to 4,939 bbls per day in 2022.

The group’s chief executive stated that natural gas production stood at 14,572boe per day in the year under review, compared to 15,292boe per day in 2022 financial year, while NGL production was 241bbls/MMscf/day, compared to 472bbls/MMscf/day posted in 2022.

He said: “In its trading operations, Oando marked improvement, recording a 50 per cennt increase in traded crude oil volumes of 32.8 million bbls in 2023, compared to 21.8 million bbls in 2022.

“The company however posted 15 per cent decrease in traded refined petroleum products which stood at 1,645,535 MT, compared to 1,937,833 MT recordes in 2022.”

Tinubu noted that having weathered the storm of recent years, the 2023 results provided a foundation for the energy company to consolidate and build for the future.

He stated that with its planned acquisition of NAOC, the company was positioned to take full operatorship and drive-up outputs, value and efficiencies.

“Moreover, our foray into and leadership in clean energy expand our footprint as a fit and proper integrated energy company with our feet firmly planted in today’s realities and the possibilities of the future,” he added. (NAN)

By Tony Obiechina, Abuja 

In a strategic move to address the identified gaps in the Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos), the Federal Government has secured a $500 million loan from the World Bank.

In a statement by Head of Public Communications, Bureau of Public Enterprises ((BPE) Amina Tukur Othman on Thursday, approval for the facility was given by World Bank Board of Directors on February 4, 2021.

According to the statement, “this funding supports the Nigerian Distribution Sector 

Recovery Program (DISREP) aimed at improving the financial and technical 

performance of the DisCos”.

The Distribution Sector Recovery Program is designed to enhance the 

financial and technical operations of the DisCos through capital investment and 

the financing of key components of their Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs), 

which have been approved by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission 

(NERC).

 

Key areas of improvement include:

• Bulk procurement of customer/retail meters and meter data 

management systems.

• Implementation of a Data Aggregation Platform (DAP).

• Strengthening governance and transparency within the DisCos.

• Program Components

• The DISREP comprises two main components:

• Program for Results (PforR):

• Allocation: $345 million

• Purpose: Support the implementation of selected PIP components.

Others include 

• Implementation: Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE)

• Investment Project Financing (IPF):

• Allocation: $155 million

The Purpose is to finance the procurement of meters, a Data Aggregation 

Platform, and Technical Assistance.

The DISREP loan, particularly the Investment Project Financing (IPF) component, is expected to significantly benefit the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) by:

• Closing the metering gap

• Reducing Aggregate Technical, Collection, and Commercial (ATC&C) 

losses

• Improving remittances and liquidity for the DisCos

• Enhancing the reliability of power supply

• Increasing transparency and accountability within the DisCos.

The $500 million DISREP loan from the World Bank offers concessional financing 

with more favorable terms than commercial bank loans. This will enable the DisCos to:

1. Invest in critical distribution infrastructure.

2. Improve ATC&C losses.

3. Increase power supply reliability.

4. Achieve financial sustainability in the power sector.

5. Enhance transparency and accountability.

The statement further explained that significant progress has been made in the preparation of the DISREP Program, with several key milestones achieved, and approval by the Federal Executive 

Council (FEC) on August 3, 2022. execution of the Financing Agreement by the 

Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, and the World Bank, 

adoption of the Program Operations Manual (POM) by BPE and TCN, obtained 

Legal Opinion from the Attorney-General of the Federation, Execution of the 

Subsidiary Loan Agreement, effective declaration of the DISREP Program on 

January 31, 2023, inauguration of the DISREP Technical Committee on May 6, 

2024, inclusion in the Federal Government Borrowing Plan, approved by the 

Senate Committee on May 16, 2024.

To ensure repayment assurance, the Bureau of Public Enterprises sought and 

obtained approval from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) 

and the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) for a structured repayment 

hierarchy. 

The structure prioritizes payments including, Statutory Payments (Taxes), Repayment of CBN market loans, Market obligations , Repayment of DISREP loan and DisCos’ net revenue.

This structured repayment plan aims to mitigate risks associated with repayment 

uncertainty and defaults, with regulatory sanctions imposed for any defaults.

By Tony Obiechina, Abuja

The Chairman of the Investment and Securities Tribunal (IST), Amos Isaac Azi has disclosed that the Tribunal has so far resolved capital markets disputes valued at N1 trillion since its inception in 2003

Speaking during a breakfast meeting with Members of Finance Correspondents Association of Nigeria(FICAN)in Abuja on Wednesday, Azi also clarified that the mandate of the Tribunal is narrowed to only disputes arising from transactions in the capital market alone.

He said “Since the inception of the Investment and Securities Tribunal (IST) in the year 2003, we have been able to resolve dispute from transactions in the capital market to the tune of almost a trillion and in the last year, we have resolved disputes valued at N17 billion,”

He noted that the IST is the only constitutional court that has a time frame to resolve disputes which is within three months unlike other constitutional courts where cases linger for so long.

He further noted that “The courts have made tremendous progress especially in the areas of providing judgements on disputes as it has hardly been overturned at the Appellate Court where dissatisfied parties go to appeal,”

Azi added that the Tribunal has built a mechanism to ensure suites can now be filed digitally from anywhere around the world as part of efforts to adapt to technological advancement in line with global best practices, adding that the Tribunal has commenced virtual hearing since the Covid-19 era in 2020.

In his presentation, the Director, Planning Research and Statistics, Emmanuel Chukwuorji stated that the Tribunal has resolved over 300 cases so far from inception adding that the establishment of the IST has brought confidence in the capital market

“The IST is a creation of the Capital Markets Committee and what we have done over the years is to improve investor confidence by ensuring that disputes are well vetted before judgements are passed which is why our judgements are hardly overturned at the Appeal court,”

He added that unlike conventional courts, the Tribunal records every proceeding that happens in the court electronically, not in long hand.

He described the organisation as a foremost organ of government that boosts investor confidence and contributes significantly to the ease of doing business in the country.

The chairman said looking at how the Tribunal has been consistently rated high by the Ethics and Integrity Compliance Score card for Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs), “it is definitely a confidence booster for anyone who wants to invest in the Nigerian Capital market.”

The Tribunal boss said the IST has been quietly, but successfully carrying out its mandate of mediating between aggrieved investors in the capital market without anybody mentioning its invaluable contributions to the success of the capital market and the Nigerian economy.

He explained that the opening of more offices of the tribunal in geopolitical zones across the country, was meant to earn the confidence of investors in the adjudicatory process now existing in the capital market.

He said the aim of the tribunal was to ensure the rule of law, access to justice and for participants to play by the rules of the market or face sanctions.

 Azi  solicited the support of FICAN to give the IST better publicity and “tell the general public how the Tribunal ensures that capital market disputes are resolved within 90 days hence the need to approach the Tribunal for faster adjudication on issues of capital markets disputes.”

Responding, Chairman of FICAN, Mr Bassey Udo appreciated the Tribunal for taking a bold step in collaborating with FICAN in  its image building processes adding that the Tribunal will not regret the decision but rather have a partner they can be proud of.He reiterated FICAN’s determination to take the Tribunal to the desired level in terms of publicity.