Kachikwu casts doubt on Nigeria’s acceptance of an OPEC production cut

The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) may find it hard convincing Nigeria to accept a crude oil production cut, as the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, has said it is very difficult for Nigeria to reduce its crude oil production.

OPEC is meeting in Vienna to reach a new production cut agreement in other to ward off a global supply glut that has driven down prices.

Global oil benchmark, Brent crude, which rose to a four-year high of $86.74 per barrel in October, fell below $60 per barrel in November. It stood at $59.96 as of 6.20pm Nigerian time on Thursday.

Kachikwu, who spoke on ‘Bloomberg Daybreak: Europe’ on Thursday ahead of the OPEC meeting in Vienna, said there was a need for an extension of production cuts to stabilise the global oil market.

Read also: Crude Oil prices fall on the eve of OPEC meeting

The production cuts deal, which began on January 1, 2017, indicated that OPEC countries and 10 non-OPEC producers led by Russia would cut a combined 1.8 million barrels per day in supplies to tackle oversupply and prop up prices. It was later extended till the end of 2018. Nigeria and Libya were however exempted.

On whether Nigeria would be able to reduce production, Kachikwu said: “It is very difficult to do that but where we are now, everybody must be seen to contribute. Obviously, the smaller it is, the more amenable we are to participate; the larger it is, the more we will struggle to participate.

“We have got exemption three times understandably. This time round, I think there is a decision that everybody should be seen to chip in.”

According to the minister, Nigeria’s oil production is currently around 1.73 million to 1.74 million barrels per day.

It would be recalled that Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih travelled to Libya and Nigeria in November to convince the two countries to exit the exemptions.

Falih had said after meeting with Kachikwu in Abuja, that some OPEC members were complaining in the summer that the two countries were overproducing and contributing to rising OPEC production.

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