The Nation Newspaper

Tag: OPEC

  • OPEC secretary discusses enhanced cooperation with IEF

    OPEC secretary discusses enhanced cooperation with IEF

    The Secretary-General of Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, has met with the Secretary- General of the Riyadh-based International Energy Forum (IEF), Dr. Sun- Xiansheng, to discuss enhancing fruitful cooperation between the two bodies.

    The meeting held at the OPEC Secretariat in Vienna, Austria, enabled the two bodies to discuss specific ways of deepening the strong relationship and shared activities. These included joint participation in various upcoming events and multilateral fora.

    Barkindo extended an invitation to Dr. Sun Xiansheng to attend the OPEC-China energy dialogue, to be held in China in April, and the OPEC-Russia energy dialogue, expected to be held in June as a guest of honour.

    “It would be important that the IEF participates,” Barkindo said. “It is the essence of the IEF to bring all parties, producers and consumers, together in the interest of sustainable stability in the oil industry and the global economy.

    “You have an important role to play,” he said. “It would be good if our joint cooperative efforts can be made manifest here,” he added, in line with the spirit of the 2010 Cancun Declaration, which encourages consumer-producer dialogue.

    OPEC and the IEF already collaborate on the IEF-OPEC-IEA Symposium on Energy Outlooks, the Joint IEA-IEF-OPEC Workshop on the Interactions between Physical & Financial Energy Markets, the IEA-IEF-OPEC Technical Meeting on Advancing the Comparability of Energy Outlooks, the IEA-IEF-OPEC Annual Symposium on Gas and Coal Market Outlook and the Joint Oil Data Initiative (JODI).

  • Nigeria may lose OPEC‘s oil production exemption

    Nigeria may lose OPEC‘s oil production exemption

    Nigeria may lose the oil production exemption granted it and Libya by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) as a result of production disruptions, it was gathered at the weekend.

    These disruptions were occasioned by attacks on infrastructure in the two countries.

    Nigeria’s exemption may have to go because the peace moves of the Federal Government in the Niger-Delta region have started yielding dividends, as the militants have agreed to give peace a chance. Crude oil production has moved to about 1.8million barrels per day (bpd), according to government sources.

    An oil industry stakeholder, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Nigeria, has demonstrated strong resolve to settle its internal problems, as well as improving crude oil production greatly.

    He said the country may by May 25 stop enjoying production exemption once it is able to stop violence perpetrated by militants and its resultant effects on oil production.

    The source said: ‘’Nigeria appears well on the way to full restoration of its output that could see it pressured by its fellow OPEC members to end its exemption from the production agreement.” An energy accountant with the University of Ibadan, Prof Adeola Akinnisiju, said the development is good for the country, which has seen its oil output fall drastically in recent times.

    He said the country is fighting militancy and recession in the global oil market and its attendant fall in the international prices of crude oil, adding that the problems are going to be over soon.

    Akinnisiju said: “If the prices of crude oil can increase from $20 per barrel of crude oil to $52 and later $56 per barrel within two weeks and militant activities dropped significantly, all in one year, then brighter days are ahead of Nigeria. Oil is the major source of revenue in the country, providing over 70 per cent of Nigeria’s exports.  The Federal Government is having problems getting money for its budget, a development, which has slowed down current and capital expenditure.’’

    He urged stakeholders to provide an enabling environment for the industry, arguing that the sector can only thrive in a crisis-free environment.

    The Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), MaikantiBaru, said OPEC is monitoring the exemptions granted Nigeria and Libya. He said the development became necessary, in order to determine the next line of action for the two countries.

  • Global oil demand may hit 109m bpd by 2040, says OPEC chief

    Global oil demand may hit 109m bpd by 2040, says OPEC chief

    Oraganisation of Petroluem Exporting Countries (OPEC) Secretary-General, MohammadBarkindo has predicted that global oil demand will reach 109 million by 2040.

    He gave the indication at the Nigeria Oil & Gas conference held in Abuja.

    In his keynote address, he said: “There is no doubt that oil will remain a fuel of choice for the foreseeable future.”

    He added that by 2040, oil and gas would still satisfy 53 per cent of the total primary energy demand.

    The OPEC scribe paid a working visit to the country last week. This  was his first since he assumed duties on August 1, last year.

    During the visit, he met Acting President Yemi Osinbajo,  Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, as well as senior government and corporate leaders.

    He expressed gratitude to Osinbajo for the country’s support during the recent extensive consultations between OPEC and non-OPEC nations, which led to the three historic decisions: the ‘Algiers Accord, the Vienna Agreement, and the Declaration of Cooperation with 11 non-OPEC nations.

    The secretary-general also briefed the Acting President on the implementation of the decisions, as well as recent oil market developments and prospects.

    He said recent data confirmed that the OPEC-11 achieved a conformity level of 94 per cent last January, while  with participating non-OPEC producing countries, the conformity level stood at 86 per cent.  He added that all 24 countries were committed to the process and were confident of further improvements to reach the full and timely conformity of the decisions taken.

    The decisions, he said, were positively impacting the market as seen by the onset of a more bullish sentiment among oil investors and the global oil industry, as well as a welcome spillover effect to the global economy with improved performance in some key industrialised countries.

    “These positive indicators are leading to better short and medium-term perspectives for the market, in particular for investment,” he said.

    He highlighted the importance of the event and the prestige it has brought to the country over the years.  He said the event was created through the vision and leadership of the late Rilwanu Lukman, then OPEC Secretary-General, and the collaboration between  him and Dr. Alirio Parra, a former Minister of Energy & Mines of Venezuela,  now Honorary Chairman of the conference.

  • OPEC Sec-Gen to meet Osinbajo, Kachikwu on oil sector dynamics

    •Barkindo in Nigeria for conference

    Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Secretary-General Mohammad Barkindo will this week discuss market dynamics in the oil sector with Acting President Yemi Osinbajo and Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Dr Ibe Kachikwu.

    Dr. Barkindo, who arrived in Nigeria yesterday, will also attend the 16th Nigeria Oil and Gas Conference (NOC) and Exhibition during his four-day working visit.

    The News agency of Nigeria (NAN) quoted the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) spokesman, Mr Ndu Ughamadu, as saying that the fallout of Barkindo’s visit will be felt in the sector for a long time.

    Ughamadu was quoted as saying: “Yes, it is a big event that will affect our markets positively. He is leading an eight-man delegation and his advance team arrived earlier and will talk on the oil and gas market outlook.

    “I believe whatever policies put in place here will be strictly adhered to and give our economy the needed boost.  I’m excited. It’s a big event.”

    At an earlier news briefing, Ughamadu said Dr. Kachikwu would give a keynote address on Repositioning the Oil and Gas Sector’ and that the  NNPC’s Group Managing Director, Dr Maikanti Baru, would speak on “`Commercialising the NNPC”.

    The four-day conference will end Thusday.

    More than 6,000 delegates, 250 exhibitors, from over 20 countries, many oil and gas experts and hundreds of government representatives and other stakeholders from different countries would attend the conference.

  • Oil rises as OPEC aims deeper cuts

    Oil rises as OPEC aims deeper cuts

    Oil prices rose more than one dollar a barrel on Tuesday after OPEC said it was sticking to its agreement to cut production and hoped compliance with the deal would be

    even higher.

    OPEC Secretary General, Mohammad Barkindo, told an industry conference in London that January data showed conformity from participating OPEC nations with output curbs above 90 per cent and oil inventories would decline further this year.

    “All countries involved remain resolute in the determination to achieve a higher level of conformity,” Barkindo said.

    Benchmark Brent crude oil jumped 1.13 dollars a barrel to a high  57.20 dollars  by 1410 GMT.(Reuters/NAN )

  • OPEC: Russia cuts oil production as prices stabilise

    OPEC: Russia cuts oil production as prices stabilise

    Oil steadied on Wednesday as Russia joined OPEC in cutting production to balance the market, although large supply in places such as the United States dragged on prices.

    The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is an intergovernmental organisation of oil-exporting developing nations that aims to ensure stable oil prices within global oil markets.

    Brent crude futures LCOC1, the international benchmark for oil prices, were trading at 55.63 dollars per barrel at 0749 GMT (02:49 a.m. ET), up 5 cents from their last close.

    U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 rose 5 cents to 52.86 dollars a barrel.

    Prices reversed earlier falls after reports that Russia cut its oil and gas condensate production by around 100,000 barrels per day (BPD) between December and January, down to 11.11 million BPD.

    Russia’s cuts are part of an effort led by the OPEC, of which Russia is not a member, to prop up the market and end a global fuel supply glut.

    As part of this, OPEC has said it will cut production by around 1.2 million barrels per day (BPD) in the first half of 2017.

    Russian flag
    Russia

    Other producers, including Russia, have pledged to cut another 600,000 bpd in output.

    A Reuter’s survey published on Tuesday showed that OPEC’s output fell by over 1 million bpd in January to 32.27 million bpd between December and January.

    “That’s a good start to cut production to bring the market back toward balance,’’ said Greg McKenna, chief market strategist at futures brokerage AxiTrader.

    However, McKenna added that there were still some questions about whether or not OPEC will achieve its goals to cut even deeper and for the full period of the first half of 2017.

    Traders said a reported climb in U.S. crude inventories was also preventing oil prices from rising by much.

    “The release of the American Petroleum Institute’s (API) crude inventories at a much higher than expected 5.8 million barrels saw both Brent and WTI quickly give back gains,’’ Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst future brokerage OANDA in Singapore, said.

    The API data showed that commercial U.S. crude inventories now stood at 488 million barrels.

    Official U.S. storage data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) is due later on Wednesday.

  • OPEC, non-OPEC Joint committee praised for output cut

    The Joint Organisation of Petroleum exporting Countries (OPEC), and the non-OPEC Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) have commended members’ compliance with the oil production cut that has boosted price.

    At its inaugural meeting at the OPEC Secretariat in Vienna, Austria, chaired by the Minister of Oil, Electricity and Water, Kuwait, Issam A. Almarzooq, the JMMC agreed to facilitate the exchange of joint analyses and outlooks, which will provide valuable input to the evaluation of the conformity.

    The JMMC comprises three OPEC-member-countries – Algeria, Kuwait and Venezuela – and two non-OPEC countries – the Russian Federation and Oman. OPEC’s Research Division briefed the Committee on oil market developments that have occurred since the Declaration of Cooperation was approved last December 10.

    The JMMC discussed the framework for the realisation of the voluntary production adjustments on the Declaration of Cooperation.

    Russian Energy Minister, Alexander Novak, who is the Committee’s Alternate Chairman, and Khalid Al-Falih, President of the OPEC conference spoke at the event.

    The JMMC was established, following OPEC’s 171st Ministerial Conference decision of November 30 and the declaration of Cooperation made at the joint OPEC-non-OPEC ministerial meeting held last December 10.

    At the December meeting, 11 non-OPEC oil producers cooperated with the 13 OPEC member countries to accelerate the rebalancing of the global oil market through an adjustment in combined production of 1.8 million barrels per day.

    The resulting declaration, which came into effect on January 1, 2017, is for six months, and is extendable for an additional six months pending the status of supply and demand, as well as global inventories.

    The JMMC is chargd with ensuring that the objectives of OPEC’s 171st Ministerial Conference decision and the declaration of cooperation are achieved through successful implementation of voluntary adjustments in production.

    Reaffirming its commitment to joint cooperation for the achievement of a lasting stability in the oil market in the interest of oil producers and consumers, the Committee agreed to full and timely conformity to the agreement with the following stipulations:

    The OPEC Secretariat will present a monthly production data report on OPEC member countries’ crude oil and of the participating non-OPEC oil liquid production to the JMMC by the 17th of each upcoming month. Evaluation of conformity to the respective country production adjustment will be based on production data only.

    Each of the five member-countries of the JMMC will nominate one technical person, to form a Joint Technical Committee (JTC), which shall include the Presidency of the OPEC Conference and shall assist the Ministers.

    The JTC will cooperate with the OPEC Secretariat to prepare the monthly report for the JMMC and meet monthly before submitting their report to the JMMC.

    The JMMC will communicate monthly, after the 17th of each upcoming month, to consider the reports presented by the JTC and the OPEC Secretariat, as well as meet after the 17th of March 2017 and before the OPEC Conference in May 2017.

    The JMMC will issue a monthly press release on the progress towards the implementation of the OPEC 171st Ministerial Conference decision and the declaration of Cooperation.

    The JMMC will report to the Conference on the effect of the implementation of the OPEC 171st Ministerial Conference Decision and the Declaration of Cooperation on the market.

    The JMMC expressed its satisfaction regarding the strong level of commitment to the agreed framework.

    The Committee expressed its appreciation to OPEC’s host country, the Government of the Republic of Austria, as well the City of Vienna, for their excellent arrangements made for the meeting.

  • Nigeria’s economy will grow in 2017 – Expert

    Prof Uche Uwaleke, an economic expert says he is optimistic that Nigeria’s economy will be ‘out of the woods’ this year.

    Uwaleke, the Head of Banking and Finance, Nasarawa State University, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Tuesday.

    He stated that the growth would be possible, especially if the 2017 expansionary budget was approved in due time and implemented accordingly.

    Uwaleke shares the same optimism with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) regarding a possible growth by 0.8% in the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) this year.

    According to him, the growth will be largely powered by the crude oil price, which is recovering and trading currently in excess of 50 dollars per barrel well above the 2017 budget reference price.

    “I have confidence in the ability of OPEC member countries to sustain this tempo by keeping to the agreed production cut.

    “The attendant improvement in oil revenue will translate to more funds for state governments to pay workers’ salaries and boost aggregate demand.

    “An increase in oil export proceeds will equally impact positively on exchange rate and buoy activities in the real sectors of the economy, especially agriculture and manufacturing.

    “Already, the Purchasing Managers Index, an indicator of manufacturing activity, is reported to cross 50 points threshold in December 2016, after witnessing a decline in the previous eleven months.’’

    Uwaleke said that the favourable agric policies of the government including CBN’s intervention, especially in Rice production through its Borrower Anchor programme, were already impacting positively on the sector.

    He said the contribution of banks to GDP would increase on the back of rising oil price, particularly for many of them with significant exposure to the oil industry.

    The university don said that the capital market was also expected to contribute more to national output in 2017.

    This, he noted was due to the fact that some companies such as MTN, Medview Airline and Jaiz Bank had already announced their intention to list on the Nigerian Stock Exchange this year.

    “Overall, there is a strong possibility that the economy will be out of the woods this year, especially if the 2017 expansionary budget is approved on time and well implemented.’’

  • OPEC, non-OPEC oil output cuts deal successful, say ministers

    OPEC, non-OPEC oil output cuts deal successful, say ministers

    The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC countries have made a strong start to lowering their oil output under the first such pact in more than a decade, energy ministers said yesterday as producers look to reduce oversupply and support prices.

    “The deal is a success …All the countries are sticking to the deal …(the) results are above expectations,” Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said after the first meeting of a committee set up to monitor the deal.

    Ministers said 1.5 million of almost 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) had been taken out of the market already.

    Countries involved in the deal could reduce their output by 1.7 million bpd by the end of the month, Interfax news agency quoted Novak as saying.

    Eleven of OPEC’s 13 members along with 11 non-OPEC countries have agreed to make cuts for the first half of the year.

    OPEC members Nigeria and Libya, both suffering setbacks in production, were given exemptions.

    “The Kingdom [of Saudi Arabia] has taken the initiative and other countries took part in very significant actions,” Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih told reporters following the meeting.

    “Despite demand usually being lower in the first quarter in winter, the actions taken by the Kingdom and many other countries has impacted the market in a tangible way and we have seen the impact in spot prices,” al-Falih said.

    Brent oil prices LCOc1 that fell to $27.10 a barrel a year ago have held above $50 per barrel since OPEC producers agreed on Dec. 10 to lower output in the first half of this year.

    The cuts are aimed at reducing a global glut in oil that has weighed on oil prices for more than two years.

    Falih said implementation of agreed cuts had been “fantastic” and he hoped for 100 per cent compliance in February.

    “We will not accept anything less than 100 per cent compliance,” Kuwaiti oil minister Essam Al-Marzouq, who chairs the five-member ministerial compliance committee, told a news conference.

    The other members of the committee represent Algeria, Venezuela, Russia and Oman.

    Venezuela has achieved more than half of its planned 95,000 bpd cut, Oil Minister Nelson Martinez told reporters.

    Full compliance could take global oil inventories back close to their five-year average by mid-2017, lowering oil in storage by around 300 million barrels, Falih said.

    “[There are] no surprises so far in terms of demand or supply from other sources so there is no reason for us to suddenly come in January and say we need a bigger reduction or a longer period,” he said.

    Saudi Arabia is producing slightly below 10 million bpd and has informed buyers of substantial cuts scheduled for next month, he said.

    Russia has cut its oil output by around 100,000 bpd, Novak said, double what was originally planned. He said Russian oil production had averaged around 11.15 million bpd this month.

    He told reporters it was too early to talk about extending the current deal beyond the planned six months but that remained an option.

     

  • Crude price drops at international market – OPEC

    Crude price drops at international market – OPEC

    The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) on Tuesday announced a drop in price of crude from 52.64 dollars to 52.17.

    The report on the organisation’s website did not give reasons for the difference of 0.47 dollars drop.

    “The price of OPEC basket of 13 crudes stood at $52.17 a barrel on Monday compared with $52.64 the previous Friday, according to OPEC secretariat calculations,’’ it said.

    The 13 OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Oriente (Ecuador), Rabi Light (Gabon) and Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran).

    Others are Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Qatar Marine (Qatar), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela). (NAN)