OPEC meeting shuns Nigeria, Libya while deciding oil price

Nigeria and Libya are the only two OPEC-member countries not given chance to contribute on the debate on the Organisation’s new initiative aimed at influencing hike of oil price in the next few months.

The meeting was aimed at rectifying steps on how to fight the continuous fall of price of the liquid gold in the international market.

Nigeria relegation was because of its inability to have quick response to its shortfall in supply, put at more than 600,000 barrel per day (bpd), projected 2 million bpd, due to insurgency in the oil rich region of Niger Delta

It was a similar fate for Libya, though on a different degree.

After the April meeting by the oil cartel, which attracted members and non-members in Austria, the oil countries agreed that the only way to fight the fall of the oil price from $85 per barrel was for each country to accept cut in production.

Last week’s gathering was to practically put it into use.

Both Nigeria and Libya have suffered the lowest output in two decades, this year, noted OPEC.

But while Libya is said to be finding quick solution to cases of insurgence of the Islamists on attacks on its oil facilities, Nigeria is not said to be achieving similar result.

But while Nigeria, despite its economic predicament supported production freeze initiative, Libya declined the move.

Read also: Nigeria loses N88.5bn as US, India slash oil imports

OPEC is expected to have only-member-countries meet next month on the decision by the joint meeting.

At the planned meeting, top oil exporter, Saudi Arabia, would want higher prices, by cutting output, although Iran, Iraq and Russia were said to have been on the side of allowing market-driven price in contrast to OPEC resolution.

Riyadh sharply raised expectations for a global production deal last Thursday when Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said Saudi Arabia will work with OPEC and non-OPEC members to help stabilise oil markets.

With Nigeria specifically identified as the only member with such a huge loss in oil production, fear is that it may not meet demand of its major buyers, a situation that is capable of having rival countries take the market away from the 6th oil producing country of OPEC.

Iranian oil minister Bijan Zanganeh has maintained that it will soon raise output from 3.6 million bps to 4.6 million bpd soon.

Iraq, OPEC’s second largest producer, has new contract terms to develop its massive fields, which will allow output to rise further next year by up to 350,000 bpd.

In all of this, only Nigeria failed to have any inputs to what the price of the product should be in the next few months unlike its former role in years past.

RipplesNigeria …without borders, without fears

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now