President Bola Tinubu has again promised that Nigeria’s state-owned refineries will return to operation, saying the government is carrying out a “structural and economic reset” to ensure the facilities must become productive and profitable. That distinction is important because Nigeria has already celebrated refinery “revivals” that did not last. Port Harcourt restarted in November 2024,…
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has removed restrictions that previously prevented banks using its Standing Lending Facility, or discount window, from simultaneously participating in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market and primary auctions of government securities. The move took immediate effect following a review of conditions in the FX, money and fixed-income markets. On paper,…
The reported Houthi ground offensive around Mokha and north towards Al-Khawkhah is significant for a reason that goes beyond Yemen’s civil war: control of this coastline could give the Houthis greater leverage over one of the world’s most important maritime corridors. Recent reporting confirms that Houthi attacks on Mokha have intensified, including repeated missile and…
Nigeria’s crude oil production fell by 37,000 barrels per day in July, according to secondary-source data cited by OPEC, dropping from 1.583 million bpd in June to 1.546 million bpd. That represents a 2.3% month-on-month decline and interrupts the recovery Nigeria had recorded earlier in the year. At first glance, 37,000 barrels might not sound…
Erling Haaland has unexpectedly become part of a major drug seizure in Ecuador — not because of anything he did, but because traffickers allegedly used the Manchester City and Norway star’s image to mark packages in a shipment of cocaine. Ecuadorian police seized 469 kilograms of cocaine packed into 370 packages after stopping a truck…
President Bola Tinubu has signed a new Deep Offshore Oil and Gas Projects Incentives (Tax Remission) Order aimed at unlocking up to $50 billion in investment in Nigeria’s deepwater oil sector, beginning with the approximately $10 billion Bonga South West project. But the bigger question is not whether the incentives will attract investors. It is…
The latest US-Iran confrontation over the Strait of Hormuz is becoming a battle not only over a strategic waterway, but over who gets to define what “control” actually means. President Donald Trump says the United States has “total control” of the Strait, declaring that the American naval presence is a “wall of steel” and suggesting…
The Democratic Republic of Congo’s latest Ebola outbreak has crossed a grim milestone: more than 2,000 people have died, with health authorities reporting 4,381 confirmed cases and 2,011 deaths. The outbreak, declared less than three months ago, is now being described as the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record. But the most alarming part is not…
Global oil markets are once again being pushed higher by the standoff between the United States and Iran over the Strait of Hormuz, with Brent crude climbing sharply as hopes of a quick reopening of the strategic waterway fade. The U.S. Energy Information Administration has raised its 2026 Brent price forecast to about $87 per…
Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that Moscow would retaliate if Western countries seize Russian commercial vessels, raising the stakes in an already increasingly aggressive campaign against Russia’s so-called shadow fleet. Putin’s warning comes as Western governments have become more willing to intercept and seize vessels suspected of helping Russia circumvent sanctions. The UK, for…
