Royal Dutch Shell and Italian oil giant Eni, along with a number of their senior executives, will on Monday face charges of “aggravated international corruption” for their role in a $1.1bn deal for the controversial Nigerian deepwater oil block OPL 245.

No company as large as Royal Dutch Shell or such senior executives of a major oil company have ever stood trial for bribery offences.

Earlier on, confidential internal documents of Shell had suggested the oil giant capitalised on the 2011 presidential election to arm-twist the federal government into a “cheap” deal over the disputed OPL 245.

Tunisia will invest 12 billion dinars ($5 billion) in electricity and other energy projects from 2018 to 2020, a government statement said on Thursday.

The government also said it was planning a new airport close to the capital.

The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, has declared that the Federal Government is ready to name, shame and prosecute tax evaders that fail to utilise the tax amnesty programme, the Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS), to regularise their tax profiles.

The Minister who disclosed this on Thursday also said the Federal Government would strictly adhere to the confidentiality of the Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information in Tax Matters, in line with the guidelines of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) together with Power Africa, have concluded the four-year Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Project (REEEP) in Nigeria.

According to ThisDay, the $2.1 million project ran from March 2014 to February 2018, and was aimed at mitigating climate change, reducing carbon emissions, increasing economic opportunities, improving employment and ultimately sustaining development in the country.

The board of directors of Total Nigeria Plc has recommended payment of final dividend of N4.75 billion to shareholders, bringing the total dividend payout for the 2017 business year to N5.77 billion. The company had also paid N5.77 billion as cash dividend to shareholders in 2016. The breakdown of the dividend recommendation indicated that shareholders will receive a final dividend of N14 per share. The company had earlier distributed N1.02 billion as interim cash dividend, representing interim dividend of N3 per share.

Dr Maikanti Baru Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) says it has revamped about 500 kilometres of pipelines between 2010 and 2018 to boost gas supply to critical sectors of the economy.

Baru disclosed this while speaking at the 2018 Oloibiri Lecture Series and Energy Forum (OLEF) , organised by the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), on Thursday in Abuja.

Baru was represented by the Chief Operating Officer, Upstream of the NNPC, Mr. Bello Rabiu.

He said that the pipelines had been commissioned and presently delivering gas.

President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday reiterated that Nigeria remained the best and most attractive investment destination in Africa.

The President disclosed this at a meeting with a Qatari business delegation led by former Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani at the State House, Abuja.

He welcomed the rise in foreign private investments in the country.

President Buhari described Federal Government’s economic agenda as one designed to move the country from over-reliance on crude oil and food importation to increased domestic production.

OPEC oil output fell in February to a 10-month low as the United Arab Emirates joined other Gulf members in over-delivering on a supply reduction pact, a Reuters survey found, pushing compliance with the deal to its highest yet. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries pumped 32.28 million barrels per day in February, the survey found, down 70,000 bpd from January. The February total is the lowest since April 2017, according to Reuters surveys.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says Nigerians are getting poorer and that “coherent and comprehensive” economic reforms are urgently needed in the country.

The gross domestic product report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Tuesday showed that the economy recorded a growth of 0.83 percent in 2017.

The Bretton Wood institution said it expects the government to “muddle through” in the medium term, and any progress could also be threatened if elections next year consume political energy and resources.

The governments of Kano and Lagos States holds an economic summit themed “States Partnership as a Tool for Sustainable Economic Development” from 28th February to 1st March , to discuss strategies and collaboration with a view to boosting ease of doing business and their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).