|Economy|
External reserves fall to $37.1bn: The nation’s external reserves have fallen to $37.1bn, a new report from the Central Bank of Nigeria has shown. The report, posted on the central bank’s website, showed that the reserves depleted by $2bn within one month. Specifically, the foreign reserves depleted from $39.1bn as of October 21 to $37.1bn on November 21, 2014. It had fallen by $1.6bn within three weeks, dropping from $39.5bn on October 14 to $37.9bn as of November 7, 2014. The central bank’s intervention at the interbank foreign exchange market several times last week, however, failed to lift the naira. The local currency crashed from N169 to N177 on Friday, it however, closed at N173 on Monday. Source: Punch

FG moves 5,000MW target to January 2015: The target to generate 5,000 megawatts of electricity has been moved to January 2015 by the Federal Government. The Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, said the inauguration of Gbarian Power Plant, Alaoji Power Plant and Omoku Power Plant would not exceed January 2015 and promised the plants would be provided with enough gas for the generation of 5,000MW. Government had earlier this year announced plans to generate 5,000MW power before the end of the year. Nebo, who spoke in Abuja on Monday at the 2014 Ministerial Platform, noted that plans to accomplish the target remained unchanged. Source: Punch

Chinese, Nigerian firms to invest $40m in tractor assembly plant: A Chinese firm, Xiamen XGMA International Trade Company Limited, has entered into partnership with a Nigerian firm, Richbon Group Nigeria Limited, to invest $40 million, about N6.4 billion, to set up a tractor assembling plant in Nigeria. This will lead to the local manufacture of XGMA tractors, heavy duty machineries and equipment. Speaking in an interview announcing the partnership in Lagos, Mr. Sahm Yap, Vice President Xiamen XGMA, said the assembling plant, which will be built in Anambra State, will be used for the manufacture of majority of its earth-moving machineries and will also provide job opportunities for about 5,000 Nigerians when completed. Yap explained that Nigeria is an important market to XGMA and it is hoping to make it a centre for sales, after-sales, spare parts supply, financing and manufacturing. Source: Vanguard

|Oil & Gas|
Shell Shuts down 200,000bpd Crude Oil Pipeline: As Nigeria contends with the dwindling revenue occasioned by the falling price of crude oil, the export of the country’s crude  oil has been disrupted, following the closure of the 200,000-capacity pipeline by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) in its Eastern Niger Delta operations. The pipeline transports Bonny Light, one of Nigeria’s crude oil grades, which is shipped at an average of 200,000 barrels per day or about six export cargoes monthly. SPDC is investigating the source of a leak at Okolo Launch in Eastern Niger Delta which occurred near the 24-inch and the 28-inch TNP Trans-Niger Pipeline (TNP). Source: Thisday