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Wednesday, June 11, 2014

facebook - NIGERIA - some posts about Nigerian produced commodities - thread kicked off by Funmi Adewola

Thomas Ramseyer wrote and I agree with him to an extent, However, do we have a government that we can trust with crude oil price fixing and accurate remittances yet?

"Nigeria must leave the OPEC. Nigeria's oil Bonny light has a quality like Brent. This is why Bonny light is always traded at Brent prices. Saudi Arabia and a lot of other Arab countries produce a crude which never reaches Nigerian Bonny light's quality. When manipulating the price spread with Bonny light trading substantially 10 to 20% above West texas intermediate (WTI) Nigeria was not really able to sell Bonny light in masses.

This maybe the reason as to why billions of USD have vanished during the last 5 years. Maybe they sold and charged for 100% while loading 120%. 10% because of the price spread 10% meant for a nice kickback. Kicked back somewhere on foreign countries in USD denominated accounts. This was what Sanusi might have been asking for before he got sacked by the president.

Also fixing shares for all opec-members is meant to prevent other countries than SaudiAraibia from delivering their oil. It is all about money. And when it comes to money, a lot of people are ruthless... they egocentrically do not care about anybody else than themselves...

Nigeria must leave the OPEC and trade Bonny light on its own commodity exchange at Abuja. Nigeria MUST fix her oil price by themselves in their own country.

I always asked myself as to why Nigerian oil surfaced in Nigeria is traded wayoff Nigerian soil. Why the Americans or Londoners let fix the price of WTI as well as Brent. (By the way Brent is about to run out. They have exploited almost all). In Scotland they have ceased down the upstream business because of lack of oil leaving the oil-people without jobs. There are some Nigerians which have acquired a lot of knowledge in the UK; they should come back to Nigeria to build up the business in their fatherland.

Why Nigerian government let dance foreign commodity traders right on their noses, why not taking back the initiative and fix bonny light's prices on Nigerian soil??? Like this the prices can be fixed according to the needs of Nigeria.

Bonny Light has nothing to do with Brent but for its quality. For heating oil purposes Bonny light must almost not be refined. This means it can also be used as fuel for diesel engines....

No need to transport Bonny light to the US-refineries and back to Nigeria. Oil producers and refiners will be in the position to confirm what I just stated.

The price fixings abroad are meant to control Nigeria's oil output, export and thus her inflow of foreign currency reserves abroad"
  • Ahmad Balele Mamman likes this.
  • Ahmad Balele Mamman They will not want this to happen for as long as they're in control.
    1 hr · Like · 1
  • Thomas Ramseyer In control of what??? Nice houses in Dubai???
    1 hr · Like · 1
  • Samuel Freeborn Do you like what you see happening to Libya? If you do not then please for the love of God, lets just keep playing ball until we attain nuclear capabilities before we can dare fix our own prices. Abeg tell the bros to let sleeping dogs lie. I don't want to be nuked yet. Boko is already a handful!
    1 hr · Like · 1
  • Thomas Ramseyer @ Samuel Freeborn... NO.... look at Irak also... anywhere the US-Administration has its soldiers retreat it leaves a mess.
    1 hr · Like · 2
  • Thomas Ramseyer actually the US-Administration has messed up the whole mediteraneans...  north africa..  middle east...  anywhere they go.... they leave a mess behind...
    1 hr · Like · 2
  • Ahmad Balele Mamman that's one of the things i am talking about, in addition to controlling the oil industry in Nigeria and awarding juicy oil contracts and allocating oil blocs to themselves and their cronies, they prefer if the deals are done away from the country where questions will not be asked .
    1 hr · Like · 1
  • Thomas Ramseyer look at Afghanistan...what the heck did they achieve in Afghanistan.... all they achieved was having the British, Germans, French as well as other countries' soldiert mix up as well as mess up with the indigenous people...Afghanistan was all about drugs...
    1 hr · Like · 1
  • Thomas Ramseyer there are pictures in the net where german soldiers are posing in front of poppy fields...
  • Funmi Adewola As at today, can Nigeria afford to regulate our oil resources domestically?
  • Thomas Ramseyer in fact I like the American people... but I do not like the US-Administration. This administration is even letting down all Americans...Nigeria can regulate the prices of Bonny light oil.... simply by trading it at Abuja commodity exchange...the Nigerian stock exchange can also be used for trading commodities... no problem...
  • Thomas Ramseyer anyone wanting to bid for Bonny light must come to Nigerian stock it is all about introducing another trade line...exchange... Bonny light....they can do it... but they do not want to do it..  due to pressure from the US...
  • Thomas Ramseyer it is also much important that NIGERIA does not raise external USD-denominated debt...Nigerian government can refinance its needs by issuing domestic Naira-denominated debt...those USD-denominated debts are NOT needed; the Nigerian trade balance is positive versus the US. ....US-denominated debt's only purpose nowadays is moneylaundering...
    1 hr · Like · 2
  • Funmi Adewola I share Freeborn's sentiment, let's forget about the US factor for awhile, can Nigeria do this on our own knowing how divided we are on the issue of resource control?
  • Thomas Ramseyer with that Billions of looted Nairas can be exchanged for USDollars.... It is easy. The debt issued abroad can be paid in Nigeria by the use of Naira. The Naira used in Nigeria to liberate the USD-bonds allow the buyers of the bonds to buy USD from the CNB to be credited to their accounts abroad....
    1 hr · Like · 1
  • Funmi Adewola @Ahmad: most times when I hear offshore Lome, Offshore Cotonou, etc, I just shake my head. What is wrong with us?
  • Funmi Adewola @Thomas: I agree with the monetary policy aspect.
  • Thomas Ramseyer @ Funmi Adewola: the Nigerian people must vote for an efficient government, an efficient senat. then the elected people are going to straighten things...It is NOT about the Americans... it is about Nigeria letting the finance sector do what they are doing... maybe they do not believe in their own capabilities..by the way the stock/commodity exchange must NOT ask the government if they want to trade new stock, bond or commodity...    all they have to do is TRADE it.
    it is the matter of the stock exchange authority... the president is not even into this... did he allow to trade yam, cassava, sorghum and the sort..... NO!!
    1 hr · Like · 2
  • Thomas Ramseyer it must be walking not only talking...because everybody is thinking negativly on behalf of what the government might like, what the senators might think and like, what they may oppose...... nothing will change...
    1 hr · Like
  • Caxton Fatanmi Funmi Adewola. Offshore Lome; Offshore Cotonou is just a descriptive note of where a vessel is located at a particular point in time. Most product-carrying vessels anchor off these offshore points for operational convenience, as against being offshore Nigeria with the myriad of perceived problems on our waters; not least, piracy and the overbearing agencies of government in or near Nigerian waters. There are vessels too Offshore Nigeria so there is nothing abnormal here.
  • Emmanuel Majebi It's not even this kind of unserious govt that will take in America? As serious and focused as Libya. Was America still took them down...if we try anything silly hmmmmmm....i say no more
  • Thomas Ramseyer they do not even try because they still did not get the awareness of the fact that the government, the president, the ministers, the police, the judges, the wardens, the soldiers, the army generals.. all states' governors. are the EMPLOYEES of the people.... they live off the people's wealth. In every democracy the voters are more and more aware of the fact that they are the drivers in the seat....they simply outnumber whatever you name....what are 300 senators compared to 170 Million Nigerians... 85 Million thereof age 18.5 or below.....???what is an army of 130'000 cowardly soldiers against 170'000'000 people....
    47 mins · Like · 1
  • Thomas Ramseyer thus the government in fact must do what the people want it to do...
  • Thomas Ramseyer the politicians must agree with what the people want expressing their will by the majority of the votes...Majority in a democracy means 50% of the voters + ONE single vote... e.g. if out of 40'000'000 voters 20'000'001 decide to have MR X as their president, it MUST be MR X. There must not be riots... all what could be done is asking (not fighting and rioting) for recounting the votes.
  • Thomas Ramseyer at least this is how it is done in civilized democracies.... this must be tought to people...Nigeria is NOT Zimbabwe....Nigeria is NOT Kenya...... thus Nigeria must NOT copy the behaviour of those and other countries...
  • Caxton Fatanmi This post from Mr. Thomas Ramseyer is quite exhaustive to thoughts. Yes, would have been so nice to have Nigeria fixing the price of Bonny Light; just as Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana between the two of them ought to be controlling the price of cocoa beans. Unfortunately it will not be so for a long time to come.

    First, we were late comers to the international economic systems. We joined clubs whose rules were made even before our nation states came into being.

    Second, none of these resource producers has the structure to effectively set prices in a transaprent, organised way. Imagine if the price of Nigerian crude were fixed in Abuja. Heaven help us with the degrees of manipulation and insider trading that we will witness !

    Third, if and the chips are down what is Nigeria's total volume of production vis-a-vis the international market ? Whatever advantage we may have in our crude oil stream by way of lightness in sulphur and sweerness in quality-cum-API degree has now been dissipated by new refining technologies. Yes, would have been a good idea to have members of African Oil Producers pooling together to fix their prices, but this requires a lot of commonality of purpose, clarity and long-term strategies.

    But where has African countries cooperated with true commonality of purpose ? What with Angola; Equatorial Guinea and the French lackeys all competing to feel important at the expense of each other and working assiduously against each others' interests.

    What Mr. Thomas Ramseyer also overlooked is the overwhelming influence of the IOCs in these producing countries. Thus, Shell controls Nigeria; so Brent-related pricing suits Shell; TotalElfFina owns Gabon and Congo, so familiarity with French interests dictates pricing; Equatorial Guinea is determined by the dictator and his family and their underhand cosy relationship with the Americans. Same with Angola and Chevron.

    OPEC is never involved in our choice of pricing formula so it is unfair to bash OPEC here. Blame the neocolonial structure of Nigeria and, by inference, African countries; our corrupt political system is a godsend for the external beneficiaries of our economic mental laziness.

    With Africa, I could see a lot of tunnels, but not a single ray of light as long as these natural resources are, well natural. We have not had to sweat for them or have we ?
  • Thomas Ramseyer @ Caxton Fatanmi; all goods produced in Nigeria must be traded in Nigeria as well. Would anybody like trading yam at Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) prices...

    Prices fixed at a stock exchange and at a commodity exchange according to bid and ask prices (see share prices e.g. dangote and others)

    Behind those prices true potential sellers which have the oil in stock and true buyers which want to buy oil for refining in another country. The prices will not wildshoot because if they are too high relative to the prices abroad the buyer will take the option to buy the oil elsewhere on another commodity exchange.

    When considering where to buy, buyers take any cost into account such as: stock exchange price (fixed at the commodity exchange) + transport (depending on distance) + refinancing cost (depending on refinancing time interest rates and currency) + fees in Nigeria, tax in relative countries and maybe others.

    Those traders are very sophisticated. As they trade bulk oil the forth digit after the comma is even relevant. If the overall price - Quality also considered e.g. WTI or Arab Crude needs more refining activity than Brent and Bonny light low sulphur - deviates from other world market prices those smart guys will buy their goods elsewhere.

    this arbitrage will prevent prices to be fixed at a price other than a market price....
  • Thomas Ramseyer another thing... it does not really matter who or which country was the first to establish those markets. Compared to the time since the world is existing even 100 years are neglectable....

    Also Nigeria has proved very well what has to be done. Nigeria took back all rights on Oil to be taken out of Nigerian soil.

    Compared to South Africa Nigeria became the owner of her resources again. She just got rid of foreign owners when she became independent in the sixties.

    By the way this is why the foreign downstream business firms left the country taking the skills, knowledge, science with them for retaliation. It is the reason why those 4 refineries are in a rotten condition. This also is the reason why Obasanjo wanted to build up to 18 refineries throughout Nigeria a wise goal which Nigeria did not achieve for different reasons.. e.g. Umar Yar'Adua took over the economic development plan of Obasanjo and invented an altered plan to fulfill Obasanjo's. Unfortunatly he passed on. When GEJ took over he did not do much about it. But - as new kicking and bouncing president - he came up with his own plan only in early 2014 after more than three good years on seat. Maybe this plan is meant to boost his reelection.

    Instead of finishing a task one president launches.. the successors force themselves to bring out their own plans. And the Senators for some unknown reasons - in fact they are the president's and ministers' supervisors on behalf of the population - let this happen...

    Applying such approach tasks are never fulfilled. they are not even postponed... they just are forgotten.

    Again.. it is all about the people's awareness, it is all about electing the right senators as well as the right president which are going to undertake projects for the benefit of the majority of the population.

    there will be jobs... thus more employees.. thus more money available for consumption. the people are going to fulfil their dreams .. buying durable goods, plenty of food, sending their children to schools, vocational trainings as well as universities, the police are going to be paid adequate salaries (no corruption needed anymore). It will take quite some time.

    But if people read about European history they will find that some 150 years ago the eurpeans were in the same shoes as the Nigerians. Believe me this is the truth.