Daily Watch – Gas exports decline 15% in 2022, Congo fighting continues despite ceasefire

Nigeria’s liquefied natural gas export fell by 15 percent, the most on the continent, last year, according to a new report by the Paris-based energy think tank, the International Energy Agency (IEA). In their Gas Market Report, Q1–2023, which includes gas market highlights for 2022, they noted that the biggest export declines occurred in Nigeria, Algeria, and Angola. Algeria and Angola’s supply dropped by 13 percent and nine percent respectively. In addition, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said that Africa is the only continent that recorded low LNG production and supply. According to the IEA, Africa was the only exporting region where production decreased in 2022 by six per cent. Globally, LNG supply growth was relatively modest in 2022 at 5.5 percent, despite an unprecedented rise in LNG demand in Europe following the gradual decline in Russian pipeline gas deliveries throughout the year.

The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) increased its allocation to states by 30.5 per cent to ₦3.16 trillion in 2022, data show. The bulk of the revenue shared at FAAC meetings by the Federal, State, and Local Governments are earnings from oil exports, taxes, and other statutory allocations. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that in 2022, states received an allocation of ₦3.16 trillion, up from ₦2.42 trillion in 2021 and ₦2.23 trillion in 2020. Further breakdown of the NBS data showed Delta got ₦370 billion; Akwa Ibom – ₦293 billion; Rivers – ₦283 billion; Bayelsa – ₦250 billion; and Lagos – ₦225 billion, making them the states with the highest revenue allocations from Abuja in 2022.

A panel of investors and banks has ruled Ghana’s missed coupon payments on its foreign-denominated bonds count as a failure-to-pay event, paving the way for a payout of the default-insurance contracts tied to the country’s debt. This is according to the Credit Derivatives Determinations Committee (CDDC). Ghana skipped payment of interests on 18 January 2023, of a $1 billion Eurobond maturing in 2026. The missed payment triggered a 30-day grace period, which eventually expired at the end of the day on 17 February 2023. The ruling triggers the payout of the insurance protection on Ghana’s sovereign debt. Credit-default swaps covered a gross $66.4 million and a net $34.4 million of Ghana’s debt as of 10 February 2023, according to data from the Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. The nation’s Eurobonds were unchanged following the decision, with the majority of the notes trading at a discount of 60-65 per cent versus their face value, according to CBBT pricing compiled by Bloomberg.

Fighting continued on Tuesday in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), despite the 3 March announcement in Luanda of a new ceasefire accepted by the M23 rebel group, AFP reported, according to local sources.  Fighting had resumed on Monday morning between the Army and the M23 on the northern and southern fronts in the North Kivu province, leaving several civilians dead and injured, according to hospital and humanitarian sources. On Tuesday morning, as the ceasefire was scheduled for 10:00 GMT, clashes continued, and both sides accused each other of launching attacks on their positions. “Karuba (about 30 km west of the provincial capital Goma) has just fallen into rebel hands,” said a security source. “We attacked them last night but this morning they launched a counter-attack and at this time the fighting continues,” added the same source.