Business News
Nigeria’s oil crisis compounded as India’s fuel demand crashes by 60%
In what may have compounded Nigeria’s energy crisis, India has reported a 60% slump in gasoline and diesel demand
In what may have compounded Nigeria’s energy crisis, India, the country’s largest importer of crude oil, reported a 60% slump in gasoline and diesel demand in April 2020.
According to information obtained from oilprice, India, the world’s third-largest oil importer, recorded the crash in demand due to a nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. The Indian Government, which announced the lockdown at the end of March, further extended it to the middle of May.
Gasoline and diesel sales in India crashed by 61% and 57% respectively in April, according to the provisional industry data provided to Reuters by 2 industry sources. The demand crash was more pronounced at the beginning of April, with gasoline sales plunging by 61% and diesel sales plunging by 64% in the first half of the month.
The low fuel demand is triggered by the lockdown, just as the refineries have cut their run rates and are battling with an almost filled up crude and refined products storage capacity.
(READ MORE: The time crude oil became cheaper than water)
This is a piece of bad news for Nigeria, as it has been struggling to sell its crude, even at discounted prices sometimes, but is still left with a lot of unsold cargoes of crude oil.
Crude Oil Exploration
India overtook the United States as the largest importer of Nigeria’s crude oil, buying almost 400,000 barrels of crude oil per day, which is about 20% of Nigeria’s crude oil export.
READ MORE: NBS AGO Price Watch: Zamfara State Had the Most Expensive Diesel in December 2016.
The crude oil export revenue from India in the last quarter of 2019 was N592.5 billion, while the total export for the year 2019 is about N2 trillion. This will heavily affect Nigeria’s already low revenue and foreign exchange earnings.
It could be recalled that the NNPC Spokesman, Kehinde Obateru, during an interaction with journalists, said that Nigeria might consider production shutdown if the market conditions, like low oil prices, low oil demand and the storage crisis, persist.
Hospitality & Travel
How air passengers can save more
Recent airfare hike has created holes in the pockets of air passengers.
It is no longer news that air tickets have increased by over 100%, as reported by Nairametrics a few weeks back.
This development has created holes in the pockets of air travel patrons, especially those who chose the medium of transportation due to several cases of kidnappings and attacks witnessed on the road.
While some travellers doubt that it is possible to save on airfare, others, especially business travellers, argue that saving money at the point of purchasing the flight ticket is achievable. Here are some ways to spend less on air travel tickets.
Make findings on prices across many carriers
Fares for similar flights can vary dramatically from airline to airline. A quick search for a non-stop flight (both local and international) on online travel sites can help you uncover airlines offering cheaper ticket prices.
But where exactly should you search?
“There are several places to search for airfares online. You could search each airline’s website individually, but that could take some time. A more convenient way is to search a travel website like Travelstart.com, Orbitz.com, Travelocity.com, Kayak.com, Hipmunk.com or Dohop.com. You should also compare the prices on travel websites with those on the actual websites of each airline to confirm the prices.” Samuel Olafimihan, a travel agent, explains.
Sign up for alerts
Osagie Ehi, another travel agent, explained that to save more, air passengers should sign up for online alerts that will inform them of discount deals by airlines. According to him, the alerts often promote deeply discounted fares on a few seats in order to earn the airline some goodwill and free word-of-mouth advertising.
He said, “Most carriers allow you to sign up for these messages on their websites and customise them to your favoured airport. Many alerts are delivered by e-mail, but airlines are now using social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter to distribute them as well.
You can also receive alerts through a number of third-party websites, which will send you alerts about low prices on a variety of airlines. The sites will let you know when a great fare becomes available for your area.”
Book different flights
For passengers flying a long distance, Olafimihan had this to say:
“The trip to a particular stopover might be cheap for one airline, and the trip from that stopover to the final stop cheaper for another. If you can afford a layover of a day or two, then book the flights separately. Though you are likely to get to your destination a little later, you would have saved some thousands of naira.”
Go for a one-way ticket
This, according to Ehi, allows passengers to book another airline on the return trip if that airline is cheaper, or book at the time of the return trip at a cheaper rate than when setting out.
What you should know: Last week, Nairametrics reported that airfares across Nigeria had doubled. Ticket fares to cities like Port Harcourt, Ilorin, and northern states like Kebbi, Borno, Adamawa and Kano have increased by as much as 100% in the last one month.
What they are saying: Travel agents, in separate interviews, told Nairametrics that not only are airfares becoming more unpredictable in Nigeria due to exchange rate and other factors, the fares may also not come down anytime soon. This is why it is advised that you explore the options listed above while trying to book a ticket.
Business
Twitter to establish its first African presence in Ghana
Twitter has announced Ghana as headquarter of its operations in Africa.
Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter Inc has announced today in a tweet that the company is establishing a presence in Africa.
“Twitter is now present on the continent. Thank you, Ghana and Nana Akufo-Addo,” Dorsey tweeted.
As part of its mission to serve the public conversation, Twitter is making it easier for everyone to join in and provide more relevant experiences for people across the world.
Why Ghana as a choice…
Twitter stated that it chose to expand to Ghana first because the country is an advocate of free speech, online freedom, and the Open Internet.
In a blog post the company said, “In line with our growth strategy, we’re excited to announce that we are now actively building a team in Ghana. To truly serve the public conversation, we must be more immersed in the rich and vibrant communities that drive the conversations taking place every day across the African continent.”
“Furthermore, Ghana’s recent appointment to host The Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area aligns with our overarching goal to establish a presence in the region that will support our efforts to improve and tailor our service across Africa.
“Whenever we enter new markets, we work hard to ensure that we are not just investing in the talent that we hire, but also investing in local communities and the social fabric that supports them. We have already laid foundations through partnerships with Amref Health Africa in Kenya, Afrochella in Ghana, Mentally Aware Nigeria Initiative (MANI) in Nigeria, and The HackLab Foundation in Ghana. As part of our long-term commitment to the region, we’ll continue to explore compelling ways we can use the positive power of Twitter to strengthen our communities through employee engagement, platform activation, and corporate giving,” Twitter stated.
The company is also looking to hire specialists to join several teams to operate in product, design, engineering, marketing and communications.
The choice of Ghana as HQ for Twitter’s Africa operations is EXCELLENT news. Gov’t and Ghanaians welcome very much this announcement and the confidence reposed in our country. 1/3 #TwitterInGhana #TwitterGhana https://t.co/HdCqFgXK0x
— Nana Akufo-Addo (@NAkufoAddo) April 12, 2021
Reacting to Dorsey’s announcement, Ghanaian President, Nana Akufo-Addo, in a tweet said that the government and people of Ghana welcome welcomed the micro-blogging site.
“The choice of Ghana as HQ for Twitter’s Africa operations is excellent news. Government and Ghanaians welcome very much this announcement and the confidence reposed in our country,” President Akufo-Addo tweeted.
