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Tag: oil production

  • Total chief advises professionals on enhancing oil production

    The Managing Director of Total Upstream Companies in Nigeria, Mr. Nicolas Terraz, who is also the Country Chair, has urged professionals in the oil industry to come up with newer and better ways of enhancing oil production.

    He admonished the professionals to be critical in reviewing available technology before deciding on the adequate technology to be deployed to solve well-productivity issue.

    Terraz spoke at the weekend at Hotel Presidential in Port Harcourt, while delivering his keynote address at the second Nigeria Council’s Annual Technical Symposium (ATS) of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), sponsored by Total oil company, and themed: “Oil Fields Optimisation, Using Artificial Lift: Application and Opportunities in Nigeria”.

    Terraz reiterated that Total had always been in the forefront of technological innovations, both in artificial lift technology and many other areas, with the aim of improving production.

    The Managing Director, who was represented by the General Manager, Geosciences and Reservoir (GSR) and Planning, Mr. Cajetan Onu, noted that operators in the oil industry would require technology as an integral part of the business of producing oil and gas, while service companies would have the opportunity to deploy innovative technology for business in the very competitive industry.

    According to him, oil field optimisation could be approached from three main aspects – production sustenance, production enhancement and production reactivation – stressing that artificial lift technology was often deployed to recover production when the natural drive energy of the reservoir was not enough to push the oil to the surface.

    Terraz said:“Total E&P Nigeria Ltd has always been in the forefront of technological innovations, both in artificial lift technology and many other areas, with the aim of improving production. In Total, the effective utilisation of artificial lift is carried out, respecting strict Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) guidelines and the candidate well features (wellbore profile, pressure.”

    One of the special guests of honour, Prof. Mike Onyekonwu, of the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT), said Nigerian universities should be supported for research to avoid buying imported items continually, while expressing surprise that many people did not believe that any good thing could come out of Nigerian universities.

    The Chairman, Board of Trustees (BoT), Nigeria Council Andy Olotu, who noted that technology had advanced over the years, stressed that gas lift was very important, while incremental production to be got was much cheaper.

    The Chairman of SPE, Nigeria Council, Debo Fagbemi, reiterated that the Port Harcourt section of SPE upped the ante by introducing exhibition to the event. He described the annual technical symposium as a platform to network, make new friends/partnerships and for personal development.

  • NNPC: PSCs account for most of oil production

    Most crude oil produced in the Niger Delta region come from Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs), a report by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has disclosed.

    The NNPC in its monthly operations and financial report for September 2018, explained that between August 2017 and August 2018, the volume of oil produced from PSCs fields were 310,424,845 barrels, while that from Joint Venture Agreements (JVA) were 245,537,573 barrels, indicating a difference of 64,887,272 barrels.

    On the average, the report showed that oil output from PSCs  amounted to 23,878,834.23 barrels per month and 770,284.975 barrels per day; while that of JVA was 18,887,505.61 barrels per month and 609,274.37 barrels per day.

    PSCs and JVA oil production were closely followed by Alternative Financing (AF), which accounted for 102,162,516 barrels in the production-to-date (PTD) period, as well as the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) which also accounted for 51,018,207 barrels of oil within the review period. In the same vein, marginal field operators and independents produced 55,739,537 barrels of oil within the period.

     

  • OPEC output cuts likely next year

    A return to oil production cuts by the Organisation of Oil Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies cannot be ruled out next year, a senior OPEC source said yesterday.

    The move, the source explained, is to avert a possible supply glut that could weigh on prices.

    The hint came on a day that oil rebounded to $73 a barrel after falling to its lowest since August.

    The OPEC source was responding to a report by Russia’s TASS news agency that Russia and Saudi Arabia had started bilateral discussions over possible curbs to output in 2019.

    Saudi-led oil cartel and its allies, including Russia, decided in June to relax output curbs in place since 2017, after pressure from United States (U.S.) President Donald Trump to reduce oil prices and make up for supply losses from Iran.

    When asked whether discussions pointed to a return to supply cuts in 2019, a second delegate from OPEC said: “certainly not the other way around.”

    Oil prices have come under downward pressure from rising supplies, even though Iranian exports are expected to fall because of new U.S. sanctions.

    Forecasts of a 2019 supply surplus and slowing demand have also dented the market.

    Brent crude LCOc1 had dropped from a four-year high in October above $86 a barrel to $71.18 dollars on Tuesday, its lowest since August 16. The U.S. crude CLc1 rose 58 cents to $62.79.

    While Iranian oil exports are expected to fall because of U.S. sanctions that took effect on October 5, reports from OPEC and other forecasters have indicated that the global market could see a 2019 supply surplus as demand slows.

    But prices rallied back above $73.04 dollars yesterday, the TASS report said.

    A ministerial committee of some OPEC members and allies will on Sunday meet in Abu Dhabi to discuss the market and outlook for 2019.

    The group, known as the JMMC, could make a recommendation on 2019 output policy to the next decision-making meeting of OPEC and non-OPEC oil ministers, a third OPEC source said. That meeting is billed for December 6 and Dec 7 in Vienna.

    “Any serious discussion will be toward the December meeting,” the third source said.

  • U.S. urges OPEC to raise oil production by 1million

    The United States (U.S) has quietly asked Saudi Arabia and several other Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) nations to raise oil production by some 1 million bpd, it was gathered yesterday.

    While the U.S. government has often expressed opinion against OPEC’s oil price-fixing policies—including a recent comment by President Donald Trump, asking for a specific amount of oil production boost is a rare move, Bloomberg’s sources noted.

    It’s not clear how the U.S. request has been conveyed, and the White House declined to comment on conversations. Yet, a spokesperson for the U.S. National Security Council told Bloomberg: “We welcome any market-based action that increases energy access and fosters a healthy global economy.”

    Back in April, when oil prices hit a three-and-a-half year highs, Trump slammed OPEC for manipulating oil prices in a tweet saying that oil prices were “artificially very high” and “will not be accepted.”

    “Looks like OPEC is at it again. With record amounts of Oil all over the place, including the fully loaded ships at sea, Oil prices are artificially Very High! No good and will not be accepted!” President Trump said on Twitter on April 20.

    Oil prices then further jumped in May after the U.S. withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal and re-imposed sanctions on Iran that will kick in later this year.

    Concerns over a potential loss of some of Iran’s oil exports and the collapsing Venezuelan production supported an oil price rally for most of May, until reports emerged at the end of last month that OPEC’s largest producer Saudi Arabia and its key non-OPEC partner in the production cut deal, Russia, were discussing lifting the combined oil production of the countries from the pact by some 1 million bpd, potentially easing the cuts in response to supply concerns amid rising oil prices.

    OPEC, and Saudi Arabia specifically, have assured in recent weeks that they would address “consumer and market anxiety” if need be, as gasoline prices around the world reached their highest in four years.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Malabu: Oil production under threat as Ijaw youths protest ‘persecution’ of kinsman

    IJAW youths yesterday trooped out to protest fresh investigations into alleged fraud in the Oil Production Licence (OPL) 245, an oil block belonging to Dan Etete, popularly known as Malabu oil deal. The youths, who took over the Ijaw House along Sanni Abacha Expressway in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, said: “The continuous harassment of Etete by the Federal Government” was an affront to the Ijaw people.

    The youths who were led by the Central Zone Chairman of the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC), Mr. Tare Pori, displayed placards with inscriptions such as, “Stop oppressing Ijaw son”, “Leave Dan Etete alone”, “Ijaws will not bow to intimidation”, “We feed Nigeria”, “Oil blocks belong to Ijaw people”, “We own the oil wells”, among others. Pori, who was visibly angry, said it was unfair for the Federal Government to continue “persecuting Etete”, the only big Ijaw player in the oil and gas industry. He wondered why OPL 245 was singled out for a prolonged probe among other licenses awarded the same time to people of other ethnic groups.

    He said the government by its action was sending a wrong message that it was averse to the participation of the Ijaw and the Niger Delta region in bidding and owning oil blocks domiciled in their territories. Pori, whose speech was interrupted by solidarity chants, asked the government to discontinue the probe if it valued the existing peace in the Niger Delta region. He said the youths would no longer remain calm amidst the force of oppression and perceived injustices done to their kinsmen in the oil and gas industry. Pori maintained that if the government insisted on continuing with the probe, it should also in the spirits of fairness open investigations into deals involving other oil licenses awarded alongside Malabu.

    The IYC boss noted that the passed administration looked into the alleged fraud in the award of the license and found no merit in it adding that the current Attorney-General of the Federation gave the process a clean bill of health. He said it was unfortunate that the government was still investing its energy in the matter adding that the action of the government was targeted at tarnishing the image of an Ijaw man. According to him if the government failed to stop the probe, Ijaw youths would use the occasion of the 50th anniversary of their hero, late Major Isaac Adaka Boro, on May 16 to make a statement. Porri said: “For the first time in 1998, the late Sanni Abacha came up with the process of awarding oil licenses in this country and for the first time in the history of this country, an Ijaw man from Odi where the late Isaac Boro actually came from got the OPL 245. This is the popularly talked about the Malabu oil deal.

    “We are not happy that this only Ijaw man, Dan Etete, has been facing persecution since then. But we have resolved that moving, forward if the Nigerian state thinks that Ijaw people are not good enough to own oil blocks, no human being in this world from any other parts of the country will be good enough to own oil blocks. “We demand the immediate stoppage of this persecution. Any further attempt to persecute the only Ijaw man in oil and gas business in Nigeria, Dan Etete, the country should be ready not to take oil from our environment. “The country should look elsewhere for resources to fund her budgets. We will not allow this to happen again. We only lost an election in 2015. We didn’t commit a crime. This persecution of Ijaw people must stop. “They are doing doing all these because we are aware that the next few months they would commence the process of revoking oil licenses in the country. By 2019 they will commence the process of issuing out new licenses in the country. They are bent in ensuring that no Ijaw man gets the license”. Pori added: “If they decide to play politics with our modest demands, they know what we are capable of doing. Where are they expecting funds from to fund the 2018 budget and the election year budget? It is from the Niger Delta.

  • US high interest rates to affect Nigeria’s, others’ oil production

    Nigeria and other countries in sub-Saharan Africa may continue to suffer high production cost and reduced output as global oil and gas stakeholders strive to  reduce cost of production per barrel of crude oil. These countries, aside Nigeria, include Senegal, Angola and Ghana, among others,

    According to Sebastian Spio-Garbrah, Chief Africa Frontier Markets Analyst, DaMina Advisors LLP, Ontario, Canada,  the high cost of production is due to the high cost of fund as the United States(US) interest rates continue to increase.

    Spio-Garbrah stated that US used to have the lowest interest rates, but the interest rates have continued to soar and because cost of fund is a major component in oil operations, countries that do not have access to funds with low interest rates such as Nigeria, may have to contend with high production cost.

    In his presentation titled: “Beyond Oil – A New Africa: Risks & Opportunities”, delivered at the 11th Annual sub-Saharan Africa Oil and Gas Conference at Marriot Westchase, Houston, Texas, Spio-Garbrah said Nigeria and some other African countries are currently battling with major production decline over rising US benchmark interest rates, adding that the production challenge include other factors.

    According to Spio-Garbrah, the rising US interest rates will hit the Net Present Value (NPV) of high risk African oil producers, adding that rising interest rates almost always leads to financial crisis/recession

    He also listed some other factors affecting Nigeria and other African countries production target to include the Paris climate change accords & effects, which according to him, were signed by 195 countries, Saudi-Russia détente on oil production, rise in US and non-US Shale oil exports.

    Others are domestic demands for indigenisation/stronger local content laws and rising regulatory risks in mining sector.

    On the Paris climate change agreement, he said diesel got the first hit and followed by gasoline, adding that, China, India, California, Paris, Madrid, Mexico City and Athens are to ban diesel vehicles from 2025.

    “Copenhagen wants to ban new diesel cars from entering the city from 2019. France and Britain will ban new gasoline and diesel cars by 2040. Switch by road freight truckers from diesel to natural gas/gasoline is a major structural change, which will lead to surging demand for gasoline, but ultimately lower prices.

    “Move away by EU/US car/truck manufacturers from diesel will force growing emerging economies to use more gasoline and natural gas.”

    On what African oil exporters can do to get more value from its oil, Spio-Garbrah advised that they should build more local refineries to develop domestic petrochemical capacities, citing the 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) Dangote refinery as a step in the right direction.

    He noted that oil exporters should stabilise their macro-economic environment to make investment climate more attractive by reducing domestic interest rate to spur local borrowing.

     

     

     

    He said they (oil exporters) should enter into long term technology and training partnerships with major international oil companies (IOCs) and National Oil Companies (NOCs) to professionalize local technical capacities, hedge future sales to reduce export income volatility and rapidly de-fossilize major economic exports. Reduce overall costs of doing business  in order to bring down the average cost of production while buying  into US shale oil companies to access technology and critical intelligence,’’ he advised.

  • ‘Why we will never allow firm to resume oil production’

    ‘Why we will never allow firm to resume oil production’

    The National Coordinator of Ken Saro-Wiwa Associates, Chief Gani Topba, has disclosed why Ogoni people will never allow Robo-Michael Ltd to resume oil production in Ogoniland’s four local governments of Khana, Gokana, Tai and Eleme.

    He accused the oil company of lack of capacity, while its association with Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) and Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), the oil production arm of Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), would be to its disadvantage. Topba said SPDC would not be allowed to return to Ogoni through the backdoor.

    He spoke yesterday at a thanksgiving service at Calvary Army Ministry International (Emmanuel’s Ground) headquarters, at his Zaakpon-Ogoni hometown in Khana Local Government of Rivers State on the group’s protest against Robo-Michael Ltd at NNPC headquarters in Abuja on January 4, which coincided with Ogoni Day.

    The officiating minister, Pastor Fred Egarakam, hailed Ken Saro-Wiwa Associates for the just cause and for the intellectual fight to end injustice and neglect in Ogoniland, urging the members and other Ogoni people to put God first and continue their non-violent struggle.

    SPDC was sent packing from Ogoniland in 1993, while a renowned environmentalist, Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni activists, were hanged at the Port Harcourt Prisons on November 10, 1995, during the regime of the late Gen. Sani Abacha.

    Topba said: “Some people, who were given money by Robo-Michael Ltd, made attempts to sabotage the process. They did not want the January 4 protest at NNPC headquarters in Abuja to hold, but to the glory of God, the protest was successful. Over 150 Ogoni people, who travelled to Abuja for the protest, are back in Ogoniland. That’s why we are thanking God.

    “Robo-Michael has operatorship for Shell and NPDC. The firm was not given licence for Oil Mining Lease (OML)-11. It was a fraud to deceive Ogoni people and it will be cancelled by the Federal Government. We want an oil company with capacity to resume oil production in Ogoni, but not Robo-Michael, SPDC or NPDC.

    “Shell’s licence in Ogoni’s OML-11 will expire next year. The oil company (SPDC) cannot return to Ogoni through the backdoor, after polluting Ogoni environment since 1958, when it began oil production in Ogoniland. The pollution is yet to be cleaned and Ogoni people are suffering, they lack drinking water, the air is polluted and the people can no longer farm or fish. We are continuing with our local and international campaigns against Shell, Robo-Michael and NPDC.”

    The national coordinator said security agents were no longer the enemies of Ogoni people, considering the support received and understanding displayed on January 4 by fully-armed security personnel at NNPC headquarters in Abuja, who had Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) and patrol vans, but never harassed Ogoni protesters.

    He noted that he and other members of the group depended on God, declaring that nothing would stop their non-violent struggle for justice and fairness.

    Topba said: “If SPDC does not apologise to Ogoni people, it cannot penetrate Ogoniland. Robo-Michael Ltd cannot tap Ogoni oil, because the oil company does not have capacity. Ogoni oil is not a curse, but a blessing. Powers of darkness have turned the crude into a curse. God will deliver Ogoni people and Ogoniland. Nobody can deceive us anymore.

    “We will continue to move round Ogoni villages for enlightenment, for the people to kick against saboteurs, who may want to cheat or deceive them. We will go to churches in Ogoniland, so that devilish people will not control Ogoni people and Ogoniland.”

    He said in the next two weeks, 150 Ogoni women would each be empowered with N50,000 through a microfinance bank, which would be repaid, to enable other women benefit, while 15 Ogoni students in each of the six kingdoms would each be given N10,000 as bursary, through the National Union of Ogoni Students, to support their education, with 15 youths in each of the kingdoms to also benefit from empowerment and skills’ acquisition programmes.

    Topba warned them against cultism.

  • ‘Why we will never allow firm to resume oil production’

    The National Coordinator of Ken Saro-Wiwa Associates, Chief Gani Topba, has disclosed why Ogoni people will never allow Robo-Michael Ltd to resume oil production in Ogoniland’s four local governments of Khana, Gokana, Tai and Eleme.

    He accused the oil company of lack of capacity, while its association with Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) and Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), the oil production arm of Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), would be to its disadvantage. Topba said SPDC would not be allowed to return to Ogoni through the backdoor.

    He spoke yesterday at a thanksgiving service at Calvary Army Ministry International (Emmanuel’s Ground) headquarters, at his Zaakpon-Ogoni hometown in Khana Local Government of Rivers State on the group’s protest against Robo-Michael Ltd at NNPC headquarters in Abuja on January 4, which coincided with Ogoni Day.

    The officiating minister, Pastor Fred Egarakam, hailed Ken Saro-Wiwa Associates for the just cause and for the intellectual fight to end injustice and neglect in Ogoniland, urging the members and other Ogoni people to put God first and continue their non-violent struggle.

    SPDC was sent packing from Ogoniland in 1993, while a renowned environmentalist, Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni activists, were hanged at the Port Harcourt Prisons on November 10, 1995, during the regime of the late Gen. Sani Abacha.

    Topba said: “Some people, who were given money by Robo-Michael Ltd, made attempts to sabotage the process. They did not want the January 4 protest at NNPC headquarters in Abuja to hold, but to the glory of God, the protest was successful. Over 150 Ogoni people, who travelled to Abuja for the protest, are back in Ogoniland. That’s why we are thanking God.

    “Robo-Michael has operatorship for Shell and NPDC. The firm was not given licence for Oil Mining Lease (OML)-11. It was a fraud to deceive Ogoni people and it will be cancelled by the Federal Government. We want an oil company with capacity to resume oil production in Ogoni, but not Robo-Michael, SPDC or NPDC.

    “Shell’s licence in Ogoni’s OML-11 will expire next year. The oil company (SPDC) cannot return to Ogoni through the backdoor, after polluting Ogoni environment since 1958, when it began oil production in Ogoniland. The pollution is yet to be cleaned and Ogoni people are suffering, they lack drinking water, the air is polluted and the people can no longer farm or fish. We are continuing with our local and international campaigns against Shell, Robo-Michael and NPDC.”

    The national coordinator said security agents were no longer the enemies of Ogoni people, considering the support received and understanding displayed on January 4 by fully-armed security personnel at NNPC headquarters in Abuja, who had Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) and patrol vans, but never harassed Ogoni protesters.

    He noted that he and other members of the group depended on God, declaring that nothing would stop their non-violent struggle for justice and fairness.

    Topba said: “If SPDC does not apologise to Ogoni people, it cannot penetrate Ogoniland. Robo-Michael Ltd cannot tap Ogoni oil, because the oil company does not have capacity. Ogoni oil is not a curse, but a blessing. Powers of darkness have turned the crude into a curse. God will deliver Ogoni people and Ogoniland. Nobody can deceive us anymore.

    “We will continue to move round Ogoni villages for enlightenment, for the people to kick against saboteurs, who may want to cheat or deceive them. We will go to churches in Ogoniland, so that devilish people will not control Ogoni people and Ogoniland.”

    He said in the next two weeks, 150 Ogoni women would each be empowered with N50,000 through a microfinance bank, which would be repaid, to enable other women benefit, while 15 Ogoni students in each of the six kingdoms would each be given N10,000 as bursary, through the National Union of Ogoni Students, to support their education, with 15 youths in each of the kingdoms to also benefit from empowerment and skills’ acquisition programmes.

    Topba warned them against cultism.

  • NNPC: Oil production dips to 1.3mbd over vandalism

    NNPC: Oil production dips to 1.3mbd over vandalism

    The Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru, has said an average of 700,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil was deferred last year due to pipeline sabotage. He lamented that this brought production down to as low as 1.3 million (bpd)  from 2.2 million barrels targeted for the period.

    Baru, who stated this in a keynote address at the maiden edition of the Nigerian International Pipeline Technology and Security Conference (NIPITECS 2017) in Abuja yesterday, said this year, NNPC has recorded 27 breaching incidents on the Trans Niger Pipeline (TNP), adding that for the Trans Forcados Pipeline (TFP) with a capacity of 300,000bpd, 17 breaches were recorded in 2016.

    He lamented that  NNPC had suffered at least 15 breaching incidents on the TFP this year, urging members of the Pipeline Professionals’ Association of Nigeria (PLAN) to conduct a systematic diagnosis of the pipelines system in the country and come up with sustainable and actionable solutions to the menace of pipeline vandalism in the country.

    He urged all key players to rally round the pipeline professionals to proffer solutions to the pipeline vandalism challenge as it posed a great threat to the economy in terms of revenue loss and environmental degradation.

     “The foregoing summarises the effect of pipeline vandalism and therefore underscores the importance of protecting our pipeline system and treating them as National Assets. On the strength of that, we must endeavor to carry out a systematic diagnosis and proffer workable, practicable and actionable solutions that will guarantee sustainability of pipeline infrastructure,” he was quoted to have said in a statement endorsed by the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu.

    He listed some of the measures deployed by NNPC to stem the tide of pipeline vandalism to include: horizontal directional drilling (HDD) technology to bury pipelines deeper to prevent easy accessibility; technology-based pipeline surveillance mechanism with capability to detect, alert and deny access; and aerial monitoring and marine patrols by the Military Joint Tax Force (JTF).

    Dr. Baru further said government was working out a political solution to the socially-induced-agitation sabotage while the law enforcement agencies had been empowered to deal with those who engage in pipeline vandalism out of criminality such as oil theft.

    Speaking earlier on the significance of the conference, Chairman of PLAN, Engr. Geoff Onuoha, said considering the critical role of pipelines to the entire value chain of the oil and gas industry, there was need for a forum like NIPITECS to bring professionals and stakeholders together to brainstorm and share knowledge and technology.

    The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Simbi Wabote, who also spoke at the occasion, said the Board was working hard to boost local production of pipes, adding that its efforts were already yielding dividends as Nigeria now has two world class pipe mills in full operation.

  • Oil production exemption: Nigeria, Libya know fate soon

    Oil production exemption: Nigeria, Libya know fate soon

    •OPEC committee meets September 22

    With the relative peace in the Niger Delta and some level of stability attained in oil production, the exemption granted to Nigeria by OPEC is due for review. The cartel’s committee will on September 22 meet to review oil sector developments in Nigeria and Libya. The committee may recommend that both countries cap their oil production quotas, reports EMEKA UGWUANYI.

    Will Nigeria and Libya continue to enjoy their exemption from the oil production cut deal? Or, will the two members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) be asked to seal their production quotas? They are to know their fate soon.

    Both countries were on November 30, last year, exempted from the oil production cut deal with non-OPEC countries. The implementation of the decision began on January 1, this year. Nigeria and Libya have been invited to participate in the producer group’s latest ministerial committee meeting scheduled for September 22.

    The two countries have been invited to the meeting billed for Vienna, Austria for a review of the latest developments in their oil sectors, Kuwait’s OPEC Governor Haitham al-Ghais told Al-Rai newspaper.

    Going by the account of the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, Nigeria’s oil production, including crude oil and condensates, is between 2.2 million and 2.3 million barrels per day (bpd). Ccondensates, according to him, accounts for about 300,000bpd to 400,000 bpd.

    The latest S&P Global Platts OPEC survey in Bloomberg report said the Libyan output recovered to reach an average of 990,000 bpd in July, its highest level in three years up from 180,000 b/d in June.

    This was before the closure of three fields, including the 300,000 bpd Sharara, 90,000bpd El-Fil and 10,000 bpd Hamada fields, shutting-in around 360,000 bpd of output since the middle of last month.

    OPEC is expected to consult with Nigeria and Libya to identify their plans, Ghais said. The group will hold a technical committee meeting on September 20, looking at the continued effects of the United States (U.S.) shale oil on the global market and the impact of Hurricane Harvey.

    Ghais said: “The amount of production affected by the hurricane is estimated at 700,000bpd, which may strengthen the status of the market.”

    He added that U.S. production had increased by 500,000bpd so far this year, compared to last year’s.

    The September 20 meeting will be followed by another meeting on September 22, where a committee overseeing the deal, composed of oil ministers from Kuwait, Russia, Venezuela, Algeria, Oman and Saudi Arabia.

    According to Platts, Saudi Arabia and Russia are seeking to extend the deal for a further three months to June, to demonstrate their commitment to market management and dampen fears that the producers will return to a market-share battle as soon as the deal expires.

    But there indications that Libya and Nigeria may be asked to cap their crude oil productions at the meeting.

    The two African nations were invited to the committee meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia, on July 24, to discuss the stability of their production. Kuwait Oil Minister, Issam Almarzooq, hinted that the decision would be in an effort to help rebalance the oil market.

    Almarzooq, the Chairman of the Committee monitoring the compliance of OPEC and non-OPEC suppliers with output cuts, confirmed this in an interview with a news agency in Istanbul, Turkey.

    “We invited them to discuss the situation of their production. If they are able to stabilise their production at current levels, we will ask them to cap as soon as possible. We don’t need to wait until the November meeting to do that”, Almarzooq said, in reference OPEC’s upcoming meeting scheduled for November 30.

    Nigeria and Libya were exempted from the cuts due to disruptions of oil production by militants in the Niger Delta. The agitations of the restive militants and the internal crisis in Libya, led to serious drop in oil output in both countries.

    However, productions have improved following negotiations with leaders from the region. The Pan Niger Delta Development Foundation (PANDEF) has been negotiating with the Federal Government as part of efforts to restore peace to the oil producing region.

    In Libya, the oil output has climbed to more than one million barrels a day for the first time in four years, while Nigeria’s production rose by 50,000 barrels a day in June, according to the Bloomberg survey.

    Abdulsamad Al-Awadhi, a London-based analyst and Kuwait’s former representative to OPEC, said capping Libya and Nigeria might help but would not cut the supply by much.

    Al-Awadhi: “OPEC needs to have better compliance, and it must respect the right of Libya and Nigeria to go back to the market.

    “Other countries that raised output while Libya and Nigeria are out should do more and give space to these two countries to go back to the market.”

    The decision to grant Libya and Nigeria exemptions to production cuts was a collective decision, and any proposal to include them in OPEC’s plans will also require a joint decision, Secretary-General Mohammed Barkindo told reporters at an event in Istanbul.

    OPEC oil output rose in June by 280,000bpd to a 2017 high, a Reuters survey showed, which was due to further recovery in supply from the two member countries’ exclusion from a production cut deal.

    High compliance by Gulf producers, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, helped keep OPEC’s adherence with its supply curbs at a historically high 92 per cent in June, compared to 95 per cent in May, the survey discovered.

    But extra oil from Nigeria and Libya, exempted from the cut because conflict curbed their output, means supply by the 13 OPEC members originally part of the deal has risen far above their implied production target.

    The recovery adds to the challenge the OPEC-led effort to support the market is facing from a persistent inventory glut. If the recovery lasts, calls could grow within OPEC for the exempt countries to be brought into the production deal.

    “The rise in OPEC production will further delay the point at which balance is restored on the oil market,” said Carsten Fritsch, an analyst at Commerzbank in Frankfurt.

    OPEC and non-OPEC members agreed to cut oil production at its meeting in Vienna, Austria on November 30 last year. This was fallout of an agreement by OPEC members at a meeting in Algiers, Algeria on September 28 to limit supply with special conditions given to Libya, Nigeria and Iran, whose output has been hit by wars and sanctions. The agreement was tagged ‘Algiers Accord.’ The production cut agreement, which began January 1, calls on OPEC’s 14 members along with 10 non-OPEC countries, led by Russia, to cut a combined 1.8 million bpd in output through March.

    With the production cut, oil prices spiked above $50 per barrel but within the past few months, prices had slipped below $50 per barrel due to market oversupply and increased output from U.S.’ shale.

    OPEC oil output in July rose by 90,000 bpd to a 2017 high, a Reuters’ survey showed. The rise was due to a further recovery in supply from Libya. A dip in supply from Saudi Arabia and lower Angolan exports, however, helped to boost OPEC’s adherence to its supply curbs to 84 per cent. While this is up from a revised 77 per cent in June, compliance in both months has fallen from levels above 90 percent earlier in the year.

    According to the Head, Energy Research Desk of Ecobank Group, Mr. Dolapo Oni, the production cut deal has advantage and disadvantage.

    He said that as the production cut boosts price, such increase in price also puts shale production in an advantage production. As the price of crude oil rises, it makes the production of shale profitable and competitive.