LAGOS: Officials say Nigeria is suing several major oil companies for $12.7 billion of oil allegedly exported illegally to the United States between 2011 and 2014.
The Federal High Court in Lagos begins hearings next week in cases filed against Nigerian subsidiaries of US multinational Chevron, British-Dutch Shell, Italian ENI's Agip, France's Total and Brasoil of Brazilian Petrobas.
Officials familiar with the cases say the government alleges that the companies did not declare more than 57 million barrels of crude oil shipments. That was deduced from audits of declared exports and what was unloaded in the United States.
Oil companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Nigeria held its key interest rate on Tuesday, opting to reassure jittery currency investors rather than cutting rates to help growth.
CBN Gov. Godwin Emefiele told a news conference in the capital Abuja that monetary policy members voted unanimously to keep the repo rate at 14 percent.
"Conscious of the need to allow this and other measures, like foreign exchange reforms, to work through fully we decided to retain all monetary policy means at their current levels," he said.
Nigeria is in recession as a result of plunging global oil prices and production — its main government revenue — following rebel attacks in the southern swamplands since the start of the year.
Economic weakness would favor easier monetary policy, but Nigeria has also been working to lure back investors who balked at a restrictive foreign exchange regime.
In June, the bank finally abandoned a controversial currency peg in favor of the open market after businesses complained of severe dollar shortages.
Emefiele said that after the CBN raised the rate at which it lends to commercial bank at the last meeting that capital flows had improved, with $1 billion coming into the country since July.
He said it was a priority of the bank to "deepen foreign exchange supply", while acknowledging that "major" constraints on growth remain the challenges in the oil sector and vulnerabilities in the financial sector.
"We expect markets to be disappointed with this outcome," Razia Khan, Standard Chartered Bank Africa economist, said in a note to AFP.
"Investors had been hoping for further gradual adjustment in the policy rate as a sign of the authorities' commitment to fuller foreign exchange liberalization," she said.
"That has not necessarily been forthcoming today," she added. "Improved inflows are needed to provide a more concrete safeguard against higher inflation."
Nigeria sues oil firms for $12.7 billion
Nigeria sues oil firms for $12.7 billion
Closing Bell: Saudi main index closes in red at 10,847
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index dipped on Wednesday, losing 58.51 points, or 0.54 percent, to close at 10,847.93.
The total trading turnover of the benchmark index was SR3.78 billion ($1 billion), as 73 of the listed stocks advanced, while 187 retreated.
The MSCI Tadawul Index decreased, down 7.09 points or 0.48 percent, to close at 1,472.98.
The Kingdom’s parallel market Nomu lost 178.75 points, or 0.77 percent, to close at 22,916.83. This comes as 30 of the listed stocks advanced, while 37 retreated.
The best-performing stock was the Power and Water Utility Co. for Jubail and Yanbu, with its share price surging by 8.47 percent to SR31.24.
Other top performers included Saudi Paper Manufacturing Co., which saw its share price rise by 6.13 percent to SR53.70, and Jamjoom Pharmaceuticals Factory Co., which saw a 4.58 percent increase to SR137.
On the downside, the worst performer of the day was CHUBB Arabia Cooperative Insurance Co., whose share price fell by 5.14 percent to SR17.53.
Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co. and Arabian Internet and Communications Services Co. also saw declines, with their shares dropping by 4.87 percent and 4.43 percent to SR4.88 and SR181.40, respectively.
On the announcement front, Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co. announced its annual financial results for 2025, with sales dropping 3.06 percent year-on-year to SR8.45 billion. The company also recorded a net loss of SR893.86 million.
In a Tadawul statement, the company said the net loss and decline in annual sales were driven by a drop in average selling prices, despite higher sales volumes.
