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Naira Depreciation: Local Insurance Coys Transfer More Businesses Offshore
As the naira value continue to depreciate, insurance companies are now transferring more of their oil and gas businesses abroad through offshore reinsurance policies.
The local insurance firms are believed to be hedging against losses or depreciation of their premium income.
Experts in the industry have said the foreign exchange (forex) crisis is also eroding the capital base of local insurers while aiding huge capital flight.
Analysis of activities in the insurance sector has revealed that premium income ceded offshore in the first quarter of 2024 (Q1’24) skyrocketed by 94.5 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to N95.11 billion from N48.9 billion recorded in Q1’23.
This is even as the local content law stipulates that 70 percent of all insurance risks associated with oil and gas businesses must be insured in Nigeria with registered Nigerian insurance companies.
Further breakdown of the figures show that oil and gas premium income stood at N132.01 billion in Q1’24.
However, insurers ceded N95.11 billion offshore while only N36.9 billion was retained, indicating only 28.1% retention.
The oil and gas businesses include prospecting, exploration, drilling, constructions, shipping, distribution, marketing, and transportation.
However, experts have expressed the opinion that the negative trend where insurers cede more businesses offshore is likely to continue as long as the foreign exchange (forex) crisis persists.
Further breakdown of the industry data show that in the full year ended 2023, oil and gas insurance premium was N167.8 billion while N113.1 billion was ceded offshore with only N54.7 billion was retained, indicating 25.2 retention.
In 2022, oil and gas premium income was N125.7 billion while N80.6 billion was ceded with only N45.1 billion retained, indicating 35.9 per cent retention.
According to the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) the oil and gas portfolio, lamentably, remained a challenging angle in the market owing to its nature of enormous capital and professional requirements.
Speaking on the situation, Managing Director of Universal Insurance Plc, Mr. Ben Ujoatuonu, said the exchange rate crisis has reduced insurers’ capital when valued in dollars and most insurance companies are like post office transferring capital to reinsurers.
He said, “The exchange rate has created a whole lot of issues in the oil and gas business and all dollar denominated businesses. First, it has reduced our capital because when you take N3 billion and do the conversion to dollars at about N1500, you will see the level of capital that is left.
“Underwriters are required to retain risk based on five per cent of shareholders funds denominated in naira. Let’s assume that shareholders funds is N10 billion, five per cent of N10 billion is N500 million as your deductible retention, when you take N500 million and convert it to dollars, it’s next to nothing.
“What it means is that you will now be ceding out more of the businesses to reinsurers than what you will retain. So, insurers have turned almost to post office, and companies also don’t have the required capital because the capital has been eroded in terms of retaining the business.
“So, the exchange rate has really affected the development and growth in the oil and gas business in Nigeria because if the reverse is the case, what will happen is that Nigerian insurers will retain more and less of the premium will go out.
“But with what we have now, what the entire market will retain will be less than even what one insurance company can keep because of the challenge of exchange rate. And we don’t see the situation abating anytime soon”.
Also speaking on the impact of the forex crises on the insurance industry, Chief Client Officer of Axa Mansard Insurance, Mrs. Rashidat Adebisi, said due to the foreign exchange crisis, the cost of repairs have gone up.
According to her, “The harsh economy is affecting every industry in the country with the insurance sector not left out. With the fluctuations in the foreign exchange, the repair cost of vehicles and other things have gone up”.
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The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemical Company have inaugurated a Joint Technical Committee (JrefineryTC) aimed at advancing local content implementation during the operational phase of the 650,000 barrels per day plant.
A statement from the Directorate of Corporate Communications of the Board noted that the inauguration ceremony took place at the Dangote Free Trade Zone, Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos State.
The statement also said the inauguration marks a pivotal moment in fostering strategic collaboration between the both institutions, and was a significant move to reinforce local content development in the oil and gas sector.
Presided over by the Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, and the Group Vice President, Oil and Gas, Dangote Group, Chief Edwin Devakumar, the event featured the formal sign-off of the Committee’s Terms of Reference (ToR), a guided tour of the refinery, other critical facilities, and the official commencement of the JTC’s responsibilities.
According to the Board, the visit also featured the presentation of the certificate of the Nigerian Content Downstream Operator of the Year Award won by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemical Company at the inaugural ‘Champions of Nigerian Content Awards’ held recently in May.
The NCDMB’s boss made the presentation to the President of the Dangote Group, Alhalji Aliko Dangote, who expressed delight at the recognition, noting that he would display the certificate proudly at his office.
Ogbe congratulated the Dangote Group on the successful development and commissioning of the largest single train refinery in the world, as well as petrochemical and fertiliser plants, describing the projects as a historic milestone not for Nigeria alone, but for the entire continent.
He emphasized that the Dangote Refinery stands as a testament to the success of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act of 2010 and the transformative potential of Nigerian-led industrial projects.
“At an optimal daily production capacity of 650,000 barrels, this refinery will significantly enhance Nigeria’s energy security and contribute to the supply of refined petroleum products across West Africa.
“Nigerians, have to own the plant, we have to make sure that the plant works well. We have to secure it, we have to maintain it. The NCDMB would continue to collaborate with Dangote Petroleum Refinery”, Engr Ogbe said.
Highlighting the need to ensure more value retention in the sector, as mandated by the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act (NOGICD) 2010, the Board’s helmsman demanded compliance with Sections 32 and 33 of the NOGICD Act, with particular reference to local manpower utilization and requirements for NCDMB’s approval prior to the engagement of expatriates.
“The NOGICD Act stipulates that no expatriate can be employed in any organization in the oil and gas industry without the prior approval of the NCDMB. We will work with you, We’ve to protect jobs for Nigerians. It’s critical to job creation, skills development, and national capacity building in line with the ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’ of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu”, he said.
He commended the firm for training and employing Nigerian engineers, saying the collaboration will ensure that qualified Nigerians were given opportunities across all operational roles, while also urging the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals to support the Board’s initiative which aims at developing oil and gas industrial parks across the country to foster local content and manufacturing in the sector.
He noted that the Nigerian Oil and Gas Parks Scheme (NOGaPS) seeks to create an enabling environment for Small and Medium Enterprises in the sector.
“NOGaPS was conceived by the Board to develop facilities close to oil fields where manufacturing of oil and gas components, as well as research and development, can be carried out.
“We would like Dangote to support one of our major activities, which is the oil and gas industrial parks scheme. The parks are aimed at creating an enabling environment for SMEs in the industry to do fabrications and create more jobs for Nigerians”, the NCDMB’S boss stated.
In his welcome address, the Dangote Group Vice President, Devakumar, highlighted that the refinery project and NCDMB have been working together, promoting local content development during the construction stages of the project.
“We can’t say we have achieved everything, because there is opportunity to do more. We’re grateful to the NCDMB for all their support and advice. As entrepreneurs, we’re trying to optimise costs. It’s a Nigerian company, it’s also an entrepreneur-driven company. As a Nigerian company, the focus will be on Nigerian content. As an entrepreneur-driven company, it will be cost-focused”, he noted.
Devakumar underscored the long-standing commitment of the Dangote Group to national development and capacity building, saying that the Group’s vision is to grow Nigeria’s industrial landscape.
High points of the visit, according to the Corporate Communications Directorate of the NCDMB, was the inauguration of the Committee members.
The statement from the NCDMB further added that the committee is to ensure the implementation of local content in the refinery’s operations, while its core objectives include promoting the use of Nigerian skilled manpower, services, and locally sourced materials in compliance with Section 3 of the NOGICD Act.
The Tide learnt that the committee will also support Dangote Refinery in aligning its operational procedures with the Act’s requirements.
In his acceptance remarks, Director of Corporate Services at NCDMB and Chairman of the Committee, Mr. Abdulmalik Halilu, expressed gratitude to the leadership of both organizations, reiterating the Committee’s dedication to upholding the highest standards of local content enforcement and fostering measurable outcomes that will benefit the nation’s economy.
Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa
The Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Samuel Ogbuku, says the commission has paid its counterpart fund for the Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprise Project to ensure food security in the region.
The LIFE-ND project is an agriculture intervention project sponsored by the Federal Government, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, and the NDDC to boost food security in the region.
Mr. Ogbuku disclosed this while fielding questions at the commission’s 25th anniversary world press briefing in Asaba, Delta State.
He stated that the commission has equipped and trained farmers in the region on best practices, adding that it has also established Niger Delta Chambers of Commerce with a commitment of N30 billion, but has released N5 billion to encourage commerce and entrepreneurship in the area.
According to him, agriculture is among the next phase of the commission’s programmes aimed at addressing food security in the region.
“Our target is to use agriculture to fight criminalities in the Niger Delta region”, he said.
The NDDC boss said the commission would hold a retreat to marshal plans to enhance the cultivation of rice, oil palm, cassava, and maize for industrialisation.
He also disclosed that its fund allocation from the Federal Government has improved, adding that funding from International Oil Companies has also increased, with greater compliance.
Ogbuku revealed that although its revenue has improved, the commission had thought it wise not to borrow but to deploy the surplus to execute more projects.
According to him, the commission has gone digital in its documentation and data generation to address its human capital development projects, ensuring the even deployment of resources, which allows people to take turns being trained in their chosen profession.
He stated that the NDDC was committed to addressing environmental challenges in erosion-prone areas in Edo, Delta, and other states, contingent upon the availability of funds.
A concerned group of stakeholders under the auspices of Khana Coastal Communities has made a passionate appeal to the Federal Ministry of Environment and the Hydrocarbon Remediation Restoration Project (HYPREP) to include the removal of Nipa palms which has taken over the positions of mangroves in the area as part of the ongoing Ogoni Clean Up Exercise.
The group, which decried the invasive and destructive effects of Nypa fructicans, commonly known as Nipa palms, on the ecosystem of the affected communities, made their appeal in a Press Statement issued shortly after the inspection and survey of the creeks and coastlines of affected communities.
The communities are Kwiri, Kereken, Kaa, Gwara, Sii, Kpean, Tehnnama, Bane, Kalaoku, and Opuoku, all in Khana Local Government Area of Ogoni, Rivers State.
Signed on behalf of the affected communities by comrades Emmanuel Goteh Bie, Raymond Nwibani, and Chief Barineka Tonwe, the statement emphasized the need for urgent intervention to clear the Nypa fructicans and replace them with mangroves which provided sustainable habitat for aquatic species in the affected communities.
The group commended the Federal Ministry of Environment and HYPREP for their commitment to the Ogoni cleanup process and urged all stakeholders involved in the process not to renege on their complementary roles.
The statement read in part: “As you have seen, the Nypa fructicans has taken over our creeks, displacing native mangroves and aquatic life. The impact on our communities has been severe, with many of our people struggling to make a living due to the depletion of fish and other aquatic resources.
“We commend the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) for its efforts in restoring native mangroves in Ogoni, particularly in the Bomu Community. However, we are alarmed by the unintended consequences of removing invasive Nypa fructicans, which has led to the disappearance of fish and aquatic life, threatening the livelihoods of our coastal communities.
“We believe that the removal of Nypa fructicans and replanting of native mangroves will help revive our aquatic life and sustain the livelihoods of our people.”
The group passed a vote of confidence on the Minister of Environment, Balarabe Abbas, and HYPREP Coordinator, Prof. Nenibarini Zabbey, for what it described as their unwavering efforts in ensuring the success of the Ogoni cleanup exercise.
They called on the Federal Government to release their counterpart funding to HYPREP without delay to sustain the pace of progress recorded in the clean up process.
“The cleanup exercise is commendable, and any delay in funding could stall the progress and undermine the efforts of all stakeholders. We urge the government to prioritize the Ogoni cleanup exercise and provide the necessary support to ensure its success”, they stated.
They also used the opportunity to caution against the antics of self-inflicted activists or bodies that might attempt to hijack the cleanup agenda and create unnecessary agitation, and assured the total support of the affected communities to HYPREP’s activities to enhance the holistic success of the Ogoni clean up exercise.
Bemene Taneh