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Nigerian House will investigate the dispute between Dangote and regulator over fuel imports and pricing
The Nigerian House of Representatives voted on Tuesday to?investigate a dispute?between the downstream?oil regulator of the country and Dangote?Refinery, over allegations?about arbitrary licenses for fuel imports and petrol price benchmarks. This was in response to corruption allegations against the regulator's head. Aliko Dangote, Nigeria's richest man, has escalated his fight with the Nigerian ?Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), accusing it of ?allowing in cut-price fuel imports that squeeze local refineries, including his ?650,000-barrel-per-day Lagos plant, Africa's largest. Dangote wants a formal investigation into the NMDPRA's Farouk Ahmad, citing concerns about governance and claims that he has spent personal money beyond his declared income. The lawmakers warned that the dispute could lead to a shortage of fuel during the holiday season and that regulatory uncertainty would threaten energy security and investor trust. The House Petroleum Committees are mandated to report back in four weeks on the resolution of the dispute. Members claim that the Dangote refinery is a "strategic investment" which could help Nigeria to reduce its dependence on imported fuel, generate much-needed foreign currency, and moderate prices. They claimed that disputes between the regulators and the country's largest domestic refiner could disrupt supply, cause price volatility and lead to policy inconsistencies. Legislators did not announce hearing dates immediately. Reporting by Camillus Eboh, Writing by Elisha Gbogbo and Editing by Hugh Lawson.
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Sources say that Midad, a Saudi company, is among the frontrunners for Lukoil to sell its global assets.
Three people with knowledge of the matter claim that Saudi Arabia's?Midad Energy?is one of the top contenders for the international assets of Russian?oil giant?Lukoil, taking advantage deep political ties between Moscow and Washington. Sources have confirmed that the assets, which are valued at around $22 billion, include oilfields, refineries, and thousands of fuel station worldwide. About a dozen investors have made bids for these assets, including U.S. major oil companies Exxon Mobil, Chevron, and private equity firm Carlyle. Lukoil wants to sell off its foreign operations, which were crippled by the U.S. sanctions that were imposed on October to pressure Russia to end its conflict in Ukraine. Lukoil and Midad Energy declined to comment. The U.S. Treasury didn't immediately respond to comments. Abdulelah Al-Aiban is the CEO of Midad Energy and brother to Musaed Al-Aiban. Musaed Al-Aiban was a powerful Saudi national security advisor who participated in U.S.-Russian peace talks in Saudi Arabia in February. Their father, Mohamed Al-Aiban was the first intelligence chief of Saudi Arabia. Midad Energy's bid is in line with the booming economic co-operation between the U.S., Saudi Arabia and Donald Trump. This builds on decades of security and energy ties. Riyadh signed deals with Washington in 2025 that covered defence, energy, and technology. Saudi Arabia pledged investments up to $1 trillion. Midad Energy is part of Midad Holding - a subsidiary of Al Khobar's Al Fozan Holding. It has a bold expansion strategy. This was highlighted by the $5.4 billion Algerian deal in October. Sources said that Midad Energy is planning to make an all-cash bid for Lukoil’s assets, and the funds will be held in escrow till sanctions against the Russian company have been lifted. One source said that the deal may involve U.S. firms. Geopolitical obstacles have already prevented Gunvor and U.S. Bank Xtellus Partners from purchasing Lukoil's assets. Washington's sanctions on Rosneft and other Russian oil companies bar U.S. residents from doing business with them, freeze their U.S. interests, and cut off major sources of financing. Lukoil must sell its assets by January 17, according to the Treasury's latest deadline. Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw, Dmitry Zhdannikov. Mark Potter edited the article.
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Shell approves US Gulf Waterflood Project to Boost Oil Recovery
Shell, the oil major, has made a final investment decision for a 'waterflooding project' at its Kaikias Field in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The project aims to increase oil recovery and prolong the life of Ursa Platform. The project will add an additional 60 million barrels of oil to the recoverable resources. Shell, the top deep-water operator in the U.S. Gulf, is making a new investment to maintain liquids production of?nearly 1.4 million barrels per day?until the year 2030. The first injection is scheduled for 2028, and will extend Ursa’s production cycle by several years. Waterflooding is a secondary oil recovery technique in which water is injected into the reservoir. This displaces additional oil, and then re-pressurizes the formation. Shell operates?Ursa - a tension leg platform located in the Mars Corridor - and holds a 61.3% share alongside BP, ECP GOM III and others. Shell announced in February that it had increased its working interest on the Ursa platform. Kaikias was discovered in 2014 and has been producing since 2018. It is located in more than 4,000 foot (1,219 metre) of water, about 130 miles (210 km) from Louisiana. (Reporting and editing by Jan Harvey; Reporting by Stephanie Kelly)
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FranceAgriMer reduces non-EU wheat forecast and increases EU demand
FranceAgriMer cut its forecast for 2025/26 for French soft-wheat?exports? outside the EU due to the Argentine harvest, which is expected to increase overseas competition. However, the farm office increased its outlook for intra EU shipments based on feed demand. Wheat prices have been impacted by high estimates of ongoing harvests in Argentina, Australia and other countries. This is because the expectation for an abundant global supply has increased. FranceAgriMer's monthly forecast for July-June soft wheat exports to non-EU countries is 7.6 million tons, a decrease from the 7.85 million tons projected last month. Habasse Diagouraga, a FranceAgriMer grain expert, told reporters that despite the fact that French shipments to Morocco, the main non-EU market, continued in January, they would face increasing competition from Argentinean wheat during the coming months. After a wet harvest, the reduced forecast is still more than twice as high as a century low of 3.5 millions tons in 2024/25. The office, on the other hand, increased its forecast for intra-EU soft grain shipments from 7,05 million to 7,39 million tons. Diagouraga said that the demand for French wheat at competitive prices was increasing in Europe due to slower-than-usual maize imports. FranceAgriMer's projection of soft wheat stock at the end of 2025/26 was reduced to 2,74 million tons, from 2,83 million, due to a sharply upward revised intra-EU export forecast. The office has increased its forecast for barley exports to 3.4 millions tons from 3.25 million tons projected in November, 45% more than last season's level. Diagouraga stated that France continues to experience a steady flow for North Africa and Middle East after strong early-season Chinese demand. FranceAgriMer, a result of the higher export forecast, has reduced its estimate for French barley ending stock to 1,46 million tons from 1,70 million last month. The office reduced the expected ending stock of maize to 1,86 million, from 1,97 million, due primarily to a lower estimate of supply. Reporting by Gus Trompiz. (Editing by Bernadette B. Baum and Mark Potter.
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Gold prices drop as investors prepare for US jobs data
The gold price fell on Tuesday, as investors adopted a cautious approach ahead of the U.S. employment data due later in the day. This could provide clues about Federal Reserve's outlook for interest rate cuts. As of 1300 GMT, spot gold fell 0.2%, to $4,294.20 an ounce. Bullion is up 64% this year. U.S. Gold Futures fell 0.3% to $4,323.40. Gold is down this morning, as investors profiteer ahead of important?U.S. Lukman Otunuga is a senior research analyst with FXTM. He said that data will influence Fed rate expectations for next year. While the combined employment reports for October and November will be in focus, a few key details may not be available due to the lack of data collection following the longest U.S. Government shutdown ever. A survey of economists predicts that nonfarm payrolls in the United States will likely increase by 50,000 jobs in November, after a decline in October. The unemployment rate is estimated at 4.4%. Investors will also be looking at the Consumer Price Index for November and Personal Consumption Expenditures Index due this week to get more clues about monetary policy in 2019. Bullion that does not yield is typically found in environments with lower rates. After reaching a record-high of $64.65 an ounce on Friday, spot silver fell by 1.4% to $63.05 per?ounce. Otunuga said that "Silver is still influenced by the forces that are affecting gold - a wave profit-taking, and ETF withdrawals in advance of high-impact U.S. Economic releases." Metal prices are up 118% in the last year. This is due to the tight physical market, macroeconomic factors that support gold, industrial demand, and the inclusion of the metal on the U.S. Critical Minerals list. Palladium fell?0.6% but remained near its two-month high. Spot platinum also rose?1.8%, to $1.814.73, the highest level since September 2011. The European Commission will likely reverse its decision to ban new combustion engines in the EU from 2035. This move is expected to support internal combustion vehicles that use palladium and platinum. He said that the gold and silver rally this year has attracted investor attention to palladium and platinum.
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Sources: Guinea and EGA are in talks to supply bauxite, according to sources
Guinea and EGA talk to avoid legal battles over assets seized EGA loses GAC license due to row over alumina refinery Nimba Mining to increase bauxite production By Maxwell ?Akalaare Adombila DAKAR, 16 December - Guinea and Emirates Global Aluminium are in discussions over a 'possible bauxite agreement, which would see the company sourcing the 'aluminium /feedstock from Guinea’s state-owned Nimba Mining. Guinea's military government, following a dispute that lasted a year over the construction an alumina refining plant, revoked Guinea Alumina Corporation's licence in July. The company then transferred its mining assets to Nimba Mining. Sources, including a government official said that EGA had threatened legal action over the seizure. The government source stated that "discussions are proceeding well and the goal is to avoid litigation." The sensitive nature of the discussion made it necessary for all sources to remain anonymous. Nimba Mining said it had no information and was not a part of the discussions. Guinea's Mines Ministry and the?EGA didn't immediately respond to comments. EGA SEARCHING FOR SUPPLIES AFTER LICENCE WITHDRAWAL EGA is the largest premium aluminum producer in the world. It's owned equally by Mubadala of Abu?Dhabi and Dubai Investment Corporation. The company invested over $1 billion in GAC. At its peak, GAC exported 14 million tons of goods annually. One source said that EGA's UAE refining plant is designed for GAC ore. While it had historically relied on Guinean Bauxite as a source of supply, the company is now looking for alternatives. Guinea, which is the second largest bauxite producer in the world, has followed the lead of its neighbours Niger and Burkina Faso, who are all governed by military forces, to increase state revenue and exert greater control over their mining industries. Nimba Mining started exporting 1.5 million?tons bauxite GAC stockpiled prior to the licence revocation in late October. Patrice L'Huillier, the managing director of Nimba Mining, told? Patrice L'Huillier, the managing director of the company, told? Nimba Mining intends to resume mining in this month. It aims to export?10,000,000 tons by 2026, and then ramp up to 14,000,000 tons. L'Huillier stated that the licence covered reserves of approximately 470 million tonnes, and Nimba had launched an tender for a refinery capable of processing 1.2 million tonnes in accordance with government policy.
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European stocks drop as traders await US employment data; Wall Street futures are down
Wall Street was also set to start lower on Tuesday as traders were cautious ahead of important?U.S. jobs data. Investors were eagerly awaiting the October and November U.S. The October and November?U.S. employment reports are due in the later session after the data collection was delayed during the U.S. shutdown. After the Fed's comments when it reduced rates last week were interpreted as being less hawkish that anticipated, this could affect expectations for the U.S. Federal Reserve monetary policy in the coming year. This would strengthen expectations for further rate cuts by 2026. The stock markets dropped during Asian trading. MSCI's broadest Asia-Pacific share index outside Japan fell to its lowest level in three weeks. Data showed that the growth in China's manufacturing output stagnated in November to a low of 15 months. European indexes opened lower as well and were unable to gain any ground. At 1219 GMT the STOXX 600 index was down by 0.1%, London's FTSE 100 down 0.5%, and Germany's DAX down 0.4%. The progress in the Russia-Ukraine talks has contributed to a decline in European defence stocks. The pullback is still a concern, given that stock markets are expected to reach record highs by 2025. In fact, the STOXX 600 is on course for a 14.8% increase in 2025. The MSCI world index fell by 0.3% for the day, but was up 19.8% over the course of the year. The U.S. jobs report is expected to show that the federal government's "cost-cutting" led to a decrease in nonfarm payrolls in October. This will be followed by an increase in job growth in November. "Either the economy accelerates or you get good numbers." You may not have a good number, and therefore expect the Federal Reserve to cut rates further," said Kevin Thozet. He is a member of Carmignac’s investment committee. U.S. index futures point to a lower opening for Wall Street. Nasdaq and S&P 500 both fell by 0.1%. On Monday, the yield curve between U.S. ten-year and two-year notes was at its steepest level since April's tariff shock. CENTRAL BANK 'MEETINGS', MORE DATA Investors will also be watching for U.S. Inflation data on Thursday. However, a few key details may not be available. Also, central bank meetings, including decisions about rate policy from the Bank of England and the European Central Bank, as well as the Bank of Japan, are expected. The U.S. Dollar Index was down around 0.1% to 98.144. This is close to a multi-week low against the yen and euro. The euro rose 0.1% to $1.1765. The European PMI data revealed that the growth of euro zone business activity was slower than expected by 2025. Lower energy prices have pushed the eurozone's terms-of-trade - the ratio of exports to imports - closer to the highest levels in the past four years. In a client note, ING's global head of markets Chris Turner wrote that this is a "clean?euro-positive". The yields on government bonds in the Eurozone were not much changed. The German 10-year bond yield was 2.8543. Data showed that the unemployment rate in Britain was at its highest since the beginning of 2021, and the pay growth in Britain's private sector had been the lowest in five years. The UK's five-year and ten-year gilt yields rose after stronger-than-expected UK flash PMI data. Oil prices dropped, falling below $60 per barrel for the very first time since months. Traders believed that a Russia-Ukraine deal was more likely. This raised expectations of sanctions being eased and more oil becoming available, which would lead to lower prices. (Reporting and editing by Sharon Singleton in Paris)
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Sources say that Ivory Coast miners are now paying higher royalties following a failed resistance.
Three industry sources have confirmed that gold mining companies in the Ivory Coast are now paying an 8% royalty backdated to January after months of disputing its legality. The world's largest cocoa producer has replaced the previously linked 3%-6% contract rate with a flat 8%?rate. The miners refused to pay at first, claiming that it was illegal because their contracts protected them from fiscal changes. They then entered into negotiations with the government in order to get the new royalties scrapped. The three people who are familiar with the issue, but declined to be identified because they weren't authorised to talk to the media, claimed that companies have since begun paying. One executive said, "Everyone is now agreeing to pay. The question is if penalties apply." He added that companies were hurrying to settle in order to avoid fines. The Ivory Coast mines chamber, as well as its finance and mines ministries, did not respond immediately to comments. David Whittle, West Africa Chief Operating Officer at Fortuna Mining confirmed compliance. "We have made our 8% payments backdated to when they were introduced. He said: "We didn't think negotiations would go anywhere." Whittle stated that the gold price had taken care of it, referring its approximately 65% rise this year. Perseus Mining, Endeavour Mining, Fortuna, Allied Gold, and Montage Gold are some of the key mining companies operating in Ivory 'Coast. West African states are increasing fiscal pressure on miners as gold and commodity prices rise. This is straining relationships with operators who say the measures may curb investment. Guinea, Mali and Niger, all led by the military, are taking direct measures to extract concessions from operators. Other countries, like Ghana and Ivory Coast, have introduced new laws and levies in order to increase state revenue.
Shareholder rights could be weakened by the new Trump order that reins in proxy advisors
Corporate governance analysts and lawyers said that a new White House directive aimed at reining in proxy advisory firms is a major step in a Republican effort to weaken investors' role and give more power to CEOs. U.S.?President Donald Trump last week told the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and others agencies to increase oversight over proxy advisers Institutional?Shareholder?Services and?Glass, Lewis & Co, who help mutual fund companies and big institutional investors decide on how to vote in corporate elections.
They are able to influence their clients because they hold important positions in Fortune 500 companies around the world.
Trump's order said the proxy firms often use their power "to advance and prioritize radical politically-motivated agendas," including supporting environmental and social issues at the expense of shareholder returns. The directive is at the core of a debate which has divided U.S. shareholders and European investors: How much should climate change or diversity in the workforce factor into investment decisions?
More than Money
"This is more than just fiduciary duty." Sarah Wilson, CEO at British proxy adviser Minerva Analytics, said that this is a geopolitical "warfare" through the financial markets. She said that Minerva’s clients are primarily based in Europe and the United Kingdom. They want to maintain their Russell 3000 investments, but they worry about Trump’s?order, and similar actions taken by Republican-led state.
Wilson explained that "our clients are not rabid socialists, but they do want to get good returns in the long run with a risk-adjusted return."
Trump's order directs, among other things the SEC to "revise?or repeal all rules" relating to shareholder proposals. This has investor activists worried that one of their main tools to pressurize companies could be taken from them.
Shareholders are often seen as being more accountable when they support proxy measures that call for limits on CEO compensation or voting for board directors. The agencies could reduce shareholder power if they follow Trump's orders. This would make it more difficult for investors to influence companies via proxy campaigns. Sanford Lewis, an attorney representing shareholder activists, stated that the order is based on premise issues such as diversity or the environment do not relate to financial performance.
Lewis stated that the White House is "trying their view on investors".
Take Politics Away
U.S. trade groups have praised the order as it will remove politics from business decisions and protect profits. Charles Crain is the managing vice president of the National Association of Manufacturers and said that Trump's plans will protect against the firms' excessive influence. He also addressed issues such as what he called the "investment advisors' over-reliance" on these entities.
Michael Littenberg of Ropes and Gray said that the order was part of a larger debate about?how investors can be protected while markets are robust.
He said, "We're in the middle of what will likely be a once-in a generation governance recalibration." Unnamed White House officials said that the order was meant to increase investors' focus on maximising returns.
"The only thing this executive order interferes with is the monopolistic ?practices of foreign-owned proxy advisors that seek to advance radical politically-motivated agendas," the official said.
PUNCHING BAGS
In 2020, Deutsche Boerse will buy the majority of Institutional Shareholder Services, a top proxy advisor. Glass Lewis is owned and operated by Canadian private equity firm Peloton capital, headed by Stephen Smith. Trump and his appointees began to reduce shareholder influence as soon as they took office. They have given boards greater control over annual meeting ballots, and put new filing requirements for index fund managers BlackRock or Vanguard, if management exerts pressure. Top CEOs such as Elon Musk, Jamie Dimon and other top executives have targeted proxy advisers. They also received support from pension fund and Democratic leaders. The firms took steps to reduce environmental shareholder resolutions in response to a larger backlash against their support for ESG investing. These shifts didn't spare them from ongoing scrutiny, even before Trump’s order. They also faced criticism from Republican-led states.
Dan Crowley is a partner at the Washington law firm K&L Gates. He said that Trump's executive order has continued to reduce shareholder engagement.
The order "perpetuates a fiction that investors are either concerned about ESG on the one hand, or about pecuniary return on the other. In reality, most large investors are concerned about ESG because of their potential impact on long-term risk-adjusted financial returns."
(source: Reuters)