Crude oil prices recorded early gains at the third trading session of the week. Oil traders are riding, on high hopes on progress made by COVID-19 vaccine rollouts in the world’s largest economy.

At the time of drafting this report, U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained 0.3%, to $59.93 a barrel, partly recovering from the week losses.

Also the Brtish-based oil contract, Brent crude surged by 0.46%, to trade at $62.99 a barrel, up from four days of losses.

However, it’s fair to say the bulls were not yet in full control as recent price action suggested capped gains.

Some oil pundits anticipate energy demand recovery is on the right track partly to the successful rollouts of COVID-19 vaccines at emerged markets

That being said, Stephen Innes, Chief Global Market Strategist at Axi in a note to Nairametrics spoke on the rising oil stockpiles at the world’s largest economy, keeping oil bulls far from holding their grip,

“U.S oil stockpiles rose last week and product inventories fell sharply in a cause and effect of the cold snap that forced refiners to shut down Texas operations.

“The unexpectedly large crude inventories build hit at a worrying time for oil bulls. This is particularly significant on the rising possibility that OPEC major oil producers could agree to ease production cuts at a critical meeting this week amid concerns that demand will likely outstrip supply as the global vaccine-led recovery gathers a head of steam,” Innes said.

What to expect: Oil traders are anxiously waiting for Thursday’s OPEC+ meeting. It appears to represent some overdue caution going into the OPEC+ meeting as market participants continue to draw straws and attempt to gauge the likely rise in production.

The Lagos State Government has commenced the massive enforcement of its physical planning laws to prevent building collapse and illegal developments, as it sealed 35 building sites for various contraventions.

This exercise is being carried out by the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) and Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority (LASPPPA) on behalf of the state government, with the team visiting several construction sites and buildings in Eti-Osa, Magodo, Ogudu, Gbagada Phase II and several other Local Government Areas.

According to a report from the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), this disclosure was contained in a statement issued by Mr Gbadeyan Abdulraheem, Spokesman for LASBCA, on Tuesday, March 2, 2021.

He said the enforcement was to prevent haphazard construction from preliminary stages and to stop distressed buildings from causing havoc.

Abdulraheem said the enforcement team was led by Mr Gbolahan Oki, the General Manager of LABSCA. He added that LASBCA sealed a distressed building at No. 33 Oko Baba Street, Ebute Metta and dispersed children using the building as a school.

Oki said 35 sites were sealed for various contraventions including illegal demolition, construction without permit and failure to obtain necessary authorisation from LASBCA and LASPPPA.

Oki said, “The enforcement drive will be a continuous exercise.’’

The general manager appealed to Lagos residents to follow proper channels in processing their construction works and obtaining necessary permits from the state government.

He said the Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration was committed to ensuring that buildings in Lagos state were designed, constructed and maintained to high standards of safety so as to avoid loss of lives and property, through the existing building regulatory system.

Oki said LASPPPA’s role was to ascertain and validate the approvals obtained by the various construction sites visited, as well as monitor layouts and development schemes.

He added that LABSCA, on the other hand, was for the identification of distressed and non-conforming buildings and inspection/certification of various stages of building construction works.

What you should know

• The Lagos State Government has for several months been on an enforcement drive of the state’s physical planning laws, so as to restore order and prevent the distortion of the ecosystem of the entire state and preserve the environment.
• This has led to the demolition of illegal structures that either did not get approval or did not conform to the approved building plan or physical planning laws in such areas as Lekki Phase 1, Ikoyi, Magodo, Ogudu GRA, Ajao Estate, Ikeja and so on.