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Nigeria earns N7.56b extra income daily
By Chuks Isiwu
Energy
Editor
Nigeria is earning a considerable $54
million (about N7.56 billion) extra income daily, courtesy of the current rise
in crude oil prices to $50 per barrel at the international market.
Crude oil futures jumped 36 cents in
electronic trading in New York two days ago to hit $50 per barrel, the highest
price level in the 21 years oil futures have traded on the New York Mercantile
Exchange (NYMEX). London Brent rose 72 cents to a record $46.05 a barrel
The new price level meant that Nigeria is
now earning $27 extra income on every barrel of crude oil exported by it. This
is so because the nation’s budget for this year was predicated on a $23
per barrel oil price and an export volume of about two million barrels per day.
Earning the $27 per barrel extra income and
exporting two million barrels of crude per day, the nation is earning $54
million (about N7.56 billion) as extra income per day.
In a month, this translates to an extra
income of $1.62 billion (about N226.80 billion), and if prices remain that high
on the international market in the next six months, income accruing to the
government because of the development would hit $9.72 billion (N31.78
trillion).
Overall income accruing to the country
daily, based on the new $50 barrel price and the two million barrels per day
export volume, is estimated at $100 million (N14 billion). The country would
also be earning a whopping $3 billion (N420 billion) overall income from its
oil export in a month, if the current price level persists for that period.
The new price level has put more funds at
the disposal of the Federal Government, positioning it to pursue further
development projects than it might have originally planned in the budget for
the year.
However, there are no indications yet from
the government on how the extra funds would be spent. Only last week, the
government conceded to have dipped its hands into the extra income that had,
since the beginning of the year, accrued to the nation on top of the $23 per
barrel proposed price under the year’s budget. The expenditure was
undertaken without the approval of the National Assembly.
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