Daily Watch – Insurance coys fork ₦318bn in Q4 2022, Ghana power producers reject debt deal

The military’s Joint Task Force (JTF) and other operations in the Niger Delta have denied oil thieves stolen assets worth ₦277,357,800, according to it. This follows the discovery and destruction of 107 illegal refining sites, 140 storage tanks, 58 reservoirs, 151 ovens, 68 dugout pits and 22 wooden boats during patrols, raids and clearance operations conducted in the creeks, waterways, high sea, towns and cities of Bayelsa, Delta, Rivers, Cross River and Akwa Ibom States in the past two weeks. According to defence spokesperson Major General Musa Danmadami, who spoke with journalists on Thursday, troops also recovered 561,200 litres of crude oil, 119,000 litres of Automotive Gas Oil, one fibre boat, five pumping machines, two outboard engines, 10 new Geepee tanks, one tricycle and six vehicles, while nine suspects were apprehended.

The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) said on Thursday that total claims made to insurance companies reached ₦318.2 billion in the last quarter of 2022, a 31.2 percent quarter-on-quarter growth from the previous quarter. It attributed the growth to rising awareness, market expansion, and consumer confidence. The regulator said net claims paid amounted to ₦244.3 billion, an 18 percent quarter-on-quarter rise, over the same period. According to NAICOM, motor insurance led the result of claims in the non-life insurance segment at 92.3 percent, a nine-point improvement over its previous position. Fire insurance saw the lowest uptake at 46.3 percent, the only class with a lower proportion than average. Total asset value for the industry stood at ₦2.328 trillion for the quarter.

Ghana’s independent power producers have rejected a government proposal to restructure a $1.4 billion debt owed them by the West African country, the chief executive of their lobby group said on Thursday. Elikplim Kwabla Apetorgbor, the head of Ghana Independent Power Producers Chamber, told Reuters they could not guarantee power generation if the government failed to meet its debt obligation. “Members have accrued huge arrears with their suppliers for which they are already in default and accruing associated penalties. We cannot continue defaulting on our obligations,” Kwabla Apetorgbor said. The independent power generators control over 60 percent of Ghana’s available thermal power generation capacity, he added.

Chad has nationalised all assets and rights including hydrocarbon permits and exploration and production authorisations that belonged to an ExxonMobil subsidiary, the country’s energy and hydrocarbons ministry said in a statement on Thursday. Exxon Mobil said in December 2022 that it had closed the sale of its operations in Chad and Cameroon to Savannah Energy in a $407 million deal, but the Chadian government contested the agreement, saying the final terms were different from what the company had presented. It warned that it may ask courts to block Savannah’s purchase and take further steps to protect its interests. Exxon’s assets included a 40% stake in the Doba oil project, which comprises seven producing oil fields with a combined output of 28,000 barrels per day (bpd). It also included Exxon’s interest in the more than 1,000 kilometres (621 miles) Chad/Cameroon pipeline from the landlocked country to the Atlantic Gulf of Guinea coast.