As part of signs that the global oil market is moving closer to rebalancing, Nigerian Bonny light price against earlier predictions, surged closer to $40, as it closed at $37.57 per barrel mark, up by 5.57% on Wednesday.

This is coming against the backdrop of a decline in crude oil inventory by 483,000 barrels for the week ending May 29, as estimated by the American Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday, and signs that OPEC+ producers are close to agreeing on a short extension of their historic deal to cut output.

According to data from oilprice, the Brent crude was sold for $39.79 per barrel. The American WTI dropped to $36.79 per barrel.

Meanwhile, Russia and some other OPEC+ member countries are pushing for an extension by a month or 2 of the current output cut of 9.7 million barrels per day beyond June. This is within the 1-3 months’ extension that Saudi Arabia is pushing for.

(READ MORE:Crude oil prices rally as investors remain optimistic about oil production cut)

Either way, the market likes the idea of more cuts, with the understanding that going through with the earlier agreed output cut after June, will not be enough to draw down the global oil glut that is negatively affecting prices and building up inventories.

Analysts had predicted an inventory build of over 3 million barrels, and last week, the API had predicted a crude oil inventory of 9.731 million barrels. Meanwhile, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimated that the inventory was going to be up by 7.9 million barrels by last week.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), has, as part of its contribution to curb the spread of the dreaded coronavirus disease, has developed a contacts tracing software application that would be deployed in all its location across the country.

This was disclosed in a press release by the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division NNPC, Dr. Kennie Obateru on Wednesday June 3, 2020.

Obateru, while quoting NNPC’s Group General Manager, Information Technology Division (ITD), Danladi Inuwa, said the novel app was part of the oil company’s sectoral contribution to the containment of the spread of the pandemic within its formations and ministries, departments and agencies of the government.

This is in line with the Transparency, Accountability and Performance Excellence (TAPE) agenda of the present Leadership of the NNPC, and the commitment to continually deploy Information and Communications Technology (ICT) for the purposes of operational efficiency and accountability within the corporation’s system.

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According to Inuwa, “The Contacts-Tracing Solution is ready to be deployed, all the technical testing has been done and the solution is ready to go live. Everywhere you go around NNPC locations would be covered by this novel application which would reveal all information about persons visiting any official and should there be any medical challenge, the NNPC Medical would be able to track from the information at the database all the contacts and advise properly,”

He said the application could also be used by members of staff of the corporation to document their private visitors at their homes, stressing that the novel application would enable the workforce to adjust adequately to the ‘new normal’ way of living to minimize the spread of the disease.

The IT expert stated that in order to minimize human contacts in business transactions at the Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC), a Downstream subsidiary of NNPC, in the face of COVID-19, the corporation has also deployed a Sales and Distribution application in the Oil and Gas Secondary Model Portal that would enable marketers buy petroleum products online.

He said the application, known as the Customer Express, would also enable marketers to register, validate and revalidate their Bulk Purchase Agreements online within a week, adding that the portal provides a dashboard that enables the corporation to track every molecule of products being imported, transported and sold at every given time.

(READ MORE:Petrol: OMCs to resume importation of Petrol)

Inuwa said, “The Portal shows what product is in transit in terms of volume, what quantity is in the jetty, what volume has gone into the pipelines, what quantity has gone into NNPC depots, private depots, and refinery depots. So, we have an accurate accounting of every molecule of products that we have in our system,”

Inuwa also pointed out that the members of Major Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) are now buying products online seamlessly while the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Depot and Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPMAN) and other relevant Downstream stakeholders are expected to start transacting business on the platform soon.

He stated that an application that can show the volume of stocks in the tanks of all NNPC Retail stations across the country has equally being deployed and the ticketing digitized, affirming that more technological innovations would be deployed in the months ahead.

In spite of the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Lagos State Government recorded a 56% budget performance in Q1 2020 with N163.2 billion in revenue, N14.9 billion more than Q1 2019.

This performance, according to the Lagos State Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Mr. Sam Egube, “is higher than the 68% (N148.3 billion) recorded for the same period in 2019.”

Speaking at the press briefing on Wednesday, Egube noted that the downside of the COVID-19 pandemic had necessitated a 21% reduction in the go-forward budget size, to make the budget realistic.

In preparation for the post-COVID-19 economy, the government is working out terms to harness public and private investments towards creating a strong mixed-sector economy, expanding social services, and environmental stability.

(READ MORE:Lagos State partners Microsoft to train 18,000 teachers)

According to Egube, “the government will also restart the Lagos State economy by focusing on job creation, economic stabilisation, and fiscal consolidation, in addition to re-imagining the way Lagos operates, focusing on digitisation, business environment reforms and economic diversification.”

All of these are geared towards neutralizing the adverse effects of the pandemic on the economic planning of the state, and building a strong response focused on food security, economic intervention, and public safety.

The government had also assured that the impact of the pandemic on the economy of Lagos state will be minimal, as palliatives have been structured to ensure that residents thrive beyond the crisis.

The State govt has said that the impact of COVID-19 on the State’s economy will be very minimal, assuring residents that the present administration has developed a holistic plan to ensure that Lagos thrives during and beyond the crisis#LASG
Read More.. https://t.co/D5HKLLIvUD pic.twitter.com/9EoGkvS6zK

— The Lagos State Govt (@followlasg) June 3, 2020

Creating a resilience committee

The commissioner added that during Q1 2020, the government inaugurated the Lagos State Resilience Committee which worked with the ministry of economic planning and budget to assess the state and develop a resilience strategy.

(READ MORE:COVID-19: Lagos receives N200 Million, 5 ambulances from BUA Foundation)

“The initiative is aimed at improving the resilience of the State and its ability to bounce back from adversity”, Egube explained.

The strategy entails building “efficient power, effective mass transit systems, access to potable water and key infrastructure to support a growing economy and achieve social progress”.