[FILE PHOTO] The Minister of State for Pretroleum Resources Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu PHOTO: TWITTER/NNPC
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, and his Saudi counterpart, Khalid Al-Falih, yesterday said the stability of oil price remained a priority ahead of next week’s meeting of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
While the price of crude is currently at a record low in one year with the International Brent selling at $60.78 per barrel in the early hours of yesterday, analysts expect the cartel to agree on an output cut of about 1.5 million barrels daily to counter emerging glut.
During a press conference in Abuja, Kachikwu said the meeting, which was primarily focused on the need to achieve market stability, also opened up areas of opportunities, particularly helping Nigeria to get its refineries running.
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Against the backdrop that both nations are giants in Africa and the Middle East and boast of 37 billion barrels and 266 billion oil reserves, the ministers pledged to use their positions to cushion the volatility in oil outlook, noting that the earlier price stability was an outcome of a collaborative work.
Kachickwu said: “OPEC is a very strong voice. Not just in terms of satisfying the needs of members but also stabilising the market fundamentals.
“Saudi Arabia has over 35 per cent of the OPEC volume. So whatever happens in Saudi Arabia is very critical to what happens in OPEC. We need to work together irrespective of the size.”
He insisted that the consultation yielded significant results.
The minister was, however, unsure if the Nigeria would seek to be exempted from any cut agreements, stressing that the country would rather be committed to working with the oil cartel to achieve laid-out objectives.
On his part, Al-Falih expressed hope that the OPEC-Non-OPEC Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) meeting earlier this month in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates and other consultations ahead of the December meeting would lead to a stabilised market.
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Source: G Business
