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220 oil blocks abandoned amid debt, crude crises

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Nigeria currently has 220 open oil blocks scattered across its onshore and offshore basins, data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission has revealed.

This is despite its growing debt burden and crude shortages affecting local refineries. The NUPRC data showed that the deep offshore terrain accounts for the highest number of unlicensed blocks at 59, highlighting the country’s underexploited energy wealth in its most technically advanced but capital-intensive region.

The Benue Trough follows with 41 open blocks, while the Chad Basin hosts 40. In the Sokoto Basin, there are 28 blocks yet to be awarded, and the Bida Basin has 16. It was disclosed that even in more mature areas, idle blocks persist.

The offshore Niger Delta, often considered the backbone of Nigeria’s oil production history, still holds seven open blocks. The Anambra Basin has 13 open blocks, while eight each remain unlicensed in the Benin Basin and the onshore Niger Delta.

According to a publication by the NUPRC, 24 blocks were recently awarded from the 2022/2023 deepwater mini bid round and the 2024 licensing round. On the strength of the recorded successes in exploration, development, and production, the commission said it is evident that the Nigerian deepwater terrain is endowed with enormous hydrocarbon resources.

“A testament to the richness of its resources is commercial discoveries and prolific historical productions of the NNPC Exploration and Production Limited’s Abo field, Chevron Nigeria Limited’s Agbami Field, Yinka Folawiyo’s Aje field, TotalEnergies Upstream Nigeria Limited’s Akpo and Egina fields, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company’s Bonga field, and ESSO Exploration and Production Usan and Erha fields, among others,” the report said.

While saying Nigeria’s deepwater terrain has become the new bride of international oil companies in the wave of current portfolio rationalisation and divestment programmes, it was stated that the deep offshore terrain is largely underexplored due to its complexity.

“Characteristically, the deep offshore terrain presents complexity in accessibility, technology, investment, and facility deployment, which potentially explains its status as largely underexplored and underdeveloped.

“Empirical data indicates that there are about 59 open block opportunities in deep offshore Nigeria, which accounts for about 27 per cent of total open blocks in Nigeria and 80 per cent of open blocks in the prolific Niger Delta and its offshore terrains,” it stated.

As of January 1, 2025, the deepwater terrain reportedly contributed approximately 19 per cent and 12 per cent of oil and gas reserves in Nigeria, respectively. Industry analysts said these figures point to a serious mismatch between Nigeria’s potential and its actual production performance, its unlocked wealth, and the debt profile.

As a country with high dependence on oil revenues, unlicensed and undeveloped oil blocks impact incomes, causing the country to resort to borrowing. It was learnt that the government’s debt stock hit over N149tn in Q1 2025, and the country continues to depend heavily on imports to meet refined petroleum needs, even as its own refineries suffer from chronic crude shortages.

According to a report by the Debt Management Office, Nigeria’s total public debt rose to N149.39tn as of March 31, 2025, marking a year-on-year increase of N27.72tn or 22.8 per cent compared to the N121.67tn recorded in the corresponding period of 2024.

The persistent rise in debt stock is attributed to new borrowings by the Federal Government and the depreciation of the naira, which inflated the local currency value of external loans. It was reported that the surge was against a backdrop of persistent fiscal pressures and continued reliance on both domestic and foreign borrowing to fund public expenditure.

A map published by NUPRC revealed vast acreage stretching across Nigeria’s maritime boundary, with most of it untouched. While landmark projects like Bonga, Agbami, Egina, and Akpo represent success stories in offshore development, they are exceptions in a terrain still dominated by unlicensed and undeveloped blocks.

Meanwhile, the commission is planning to push for a cluster or nodal development model to unlock smaller accumulations and cut costs. The commission announced last year that there would be a licensing bid round in 2025, but that has yet to commence as of the time of filing this report.

Aside from the 220 open blocks, the country also has a sizeable number of licensed oil and gas assets that are undeveloped. Over three billion barrels of oil are locked in these undeveloped fields, according to the NUPRC.

In April, the Minister of State Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, threatened to withdraw oil blocks from owners that have failed to develop them.

Lokpobiri also called on international oil companies operating in Nigeria to ramp up investment in the country’s oil and gas sector, emphasising that the current administration has provided every necessary incentive to ensure seamless and profitable operations.

“We cannot continue to have assets sitting idle for 20 to 30 years without development. If you are not utilising an asset and it remains underdeveloped for decades, it neither adds value to your books nor to us as a country. We encourage industry players to explore collaborative measures such as shared resources for contiguous assets, farm-outs, and the release of underutilised assets to operators ready to invest in production. Otherwise, like any responsible government, we will take back these assets and allocate them to those willing to go to work,” the oil minister said.

He emphasised the need for IOCs to support local refining efforts, noting that more refineries are coming upstream and will require a steady supply of crude oil. To make this easy and possible, he stressed that ramping up production will enable Nigeria to meet both local and international obligations.

The Dangote refinery said it depends on the United States to get enough feedstock, importing up to 10 million barrels in July.

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GTCO injects N365.9bn into GTBank to meet CBN capital requirement

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Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc has injected N365.9bn into its banking subsidiary, Guaranty Trust Bank Limited, to meet the new minimum capital requirement set by the Central Bank of Nigeria for commercial banks with international authorisation.

The company, in a statement filed with the Nigerian Exchange Limited and the London Stock Exchange on Friday, said the capital injection was executed through the issue and allotment of 6,994,050,290 ordinary shares of 50k each by the bank to the holding company by way of a rights issue.

“Through this capital injection, the share capital of GTBank has been increased from N138,186,703,485.78 to N504,037,107,058.45 and ensures the bank’s compliance with the new minimum capital requirement for commercial banks with international authorisation stipulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria,” the statement partly read.

It added that the transaction was funded through the two-phased equity capital raising programme approved by shareholders of the holding company at its 2024 Annual General Meeting and subsequently executed in line with regulatory approvals.

Following the completion of the capital injection, GTCO confirmed that it continues to hold 100 per cent of the entire issued and paid-up share capital of GTBank.

It also noted that none of the directors of the holding company has any interest, direct or indirect, in the bank.

According to the statement signed by the Group General Counsel and Company Secretary, Erhi Obebeduo, the additional funds will be deployed for growth and expansion across strategic areas.

“The additional equity capital will be deployed by GTBank primarily for branch network expansion and asset growth (loans/advances and investment securities portfolio), fortification of its information technology infrastructure and to leverage emerging opportunities in Nigeria and the operating environments where it maintains banking presence,” the company stated.

“The additional equity capital will be deployed by GBank primarily for branch network expansion and asset growth (loans/advances and investment securities portfolio), fortification of its information technology infrastructure and to leverage emerging opportunities in Nigeria and the operating environments where it maintains banking p r e s e n c e,” the statement partly reads.

Guaranty Trust Holding Company made history on Thursday by becoming the first West African financial institution to have its shares listed on the London Stock Exchange.

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Access Holdings appoints Innocent Ike new GMD/CEO

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Access Holdings Plc has appointed Mr. Innocent Ike as its substantive Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, effective August 29, 2025, following regulatory approval.

The announcement, contained in a statement released on Wednesday and signed by the company secretary, Sunday Ekwochi, comes hours after Roosevelt Ogbonna resigned from the company’s board in compliance with new corporate governance rules issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Ike takes over from Ms. Bolaji Agbede, who has steered the company in acting capacity for the past 18 months after the death of former Group CEO, Herbert Wigwe, in 2024.

She will now return to her role as Executive Director, Business Support.

According to the statement, Access Holdings Chairman, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, said Ike’s appointment signals a new phase for the group.

He said, “We are thrilled to welcome Mr. Innocent Ike as we move forward. At the same time, we want to express our deepest gratitude to Ms. Bolaji Agbede.

“Her outstanding contributions over the past 18 months have been invaluable, and we appreciate her dedication in navigating the Company through challenges and opportunities. While regulatory requirements necessitate this change, we are grateful for the strong foundation that has been laid.”

Under Agbede’s leadership, the company achieved major milestones, including workforce stability, the execution of a N351bn rights issue, and the seamless hosting of two annual general meetings.

Speaking on the appointment, Ike said, “I am honoured to take on the role of Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer and excited to work alongside the talented team at Access Holdings.

“I look forward to building on the strong legacy established by Herbert Wigwe and Bolaji Agbede, and driving our vision forward, ensuring we continue to deliver exceptional value to our shareholders and stakeholders.”

Ike, a graduate of the University of Lagos and Best Graduating Student in Accounting in 1988, is a Fellow of both the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria.

He is also a certified IFRS expert.

With over 30 years’ experience in banking and financial services, Ike previously spent a decade at Access Bank, rising to General Manager before serving as Managing Director/CEO of Polaris Bank from 2020 to 2022, where he introduced VULTe, the bank’s award-winning digital platform.

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APC’s gov candidate slams Otti’s ‘harsh’ tax hike on Aba traders

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A former All Progressives Congress governorship candidate in Abia State, Paul Ikonne, has called on Governor Alex Otti to roll back what he described as “harsh” tax policies on traders in Aba and provide a transparent account of funds reportedly spent on school renovations and market projects.

In a statement released Wednesday by his Chief Press Secretary, Dr. Ujo Justice, Ikonne said traders at Ariaria International Market, who previously paid ₦18,000 per shop annually, are now required to pay over ₦36,000. With more than 88,000 shops in the market, this translates to roughly ₦3.1 billion yearly.

“The same situation is being experienced at Ekeoha Shopping Centre, Timber Market, and other trading clusters in Aba,” Ikonne said, noting that this contradicts the governor’s campaign promise of lower taxes.

The APC chieftain also demanded clarity on ₦54 billion reportedly spent on renovating 51 schools and ₦7 billion on recreational centres. “Governor Otti, fear God and show us the 51 schools you claimed to have renovated with ₦54 billion,” he said.

Ikonne further urged the governor to honour the Memorandum of Understanding signed with traders under the previous administration, which allowed them to reclaim their shops after remodelling.

“Instead, traders are being asked to pay as high as ₦15 million to re-acquire their shops. That is an anti-trader policy that adds untold hardship and suffering,” he stated.

He added that with a monthly federal allocation exceeding ₦30 billion, plus local government funds, the state has the resources to provide modern markets with basic amenities such as electricity, potable water, fire services, and security, without overburdening traders.

“There is no justification for squeezing Aba traders dry when the government has the financial capacity to provide these amenities. This ₦15 million shop fee and ₦36,000 levy are exploitative and run contrary to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda,” Ikonne declared.

He emphasised that Aba, the economic heartbeat of the state, must not be “strangled by taxation without development,” stressing that a government punishing traders has failed in its duty to the people.

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