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Tag: OPEC

  • Nigeria tips Barkindo for OPEC top job

    Nigeria tips Barkindo for OPEC top job

    Nigeria has nominated a former Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mohammed  Barkindo, for  Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Secretary-General.

    The Organisation has been looking for a replacement for Abdullah al-Badri, who was elected acting secretary-general in December. His term is due to end in July.

    “We are putting Barkindo forward for the job of OPEC secretary general because he has the required qualification and experience,” a government official said, asking not to be named.

    He was the NNPC GMD between 2009 and 2010.

     

  • OPEC plans Russia meeting for output cut, says Kachikwu

    OPEC plans Russia meeting for output cut, says Kachikwu

    • Targets $50/bbl oil

    Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu has said some members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) are planning to meet other oil producers in Russia by March 20 for new talks on oil output freeze.

    Kachikwu who fielded questions from reporters in Abuja, expressed optimism that the meeting would spark a dramatic reaction in crude prices up to $50 per barrel (bbl).

    Nigeria has been pushing for action by OPEC because the slump in oil revenue has undercut its public finances and currency, leaving the government struggling to pay civil servants, Reuters said.

    He said: “We’re beginning to see the price of crude inch up very slowly. But if the meeting that we’re scheduling, it should happen in Russia, between the OPEC and non-OPEC producers, happens about March 20, we should see some dramatic price movement.

    “Both the Saudis and the Russians, everybody is coming back to the table. I think we’re very humbled today to accept that if we get to a price of $50, it will be celebrated. That’s a target that we have.”

    The Russian Energy Ministry said it was ready for talks but the date and venue had yet to be agreed. “Currently, various options about the venue and date for the meeting, where measures on oil market stabilisation due to be discussed, are being worked out,” it said in a statement.

    OPEC and Russia are still to persuade Iran to join the output cut deal.

  • Buhari seeks OPEC members’ cooperation to stabilise oil market

    Buhari seeks OPEC members’ cooperation to stabilise oil market

    President Muhammadu Buhari has said members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-members should cooperate to find a solution to stabilise crude oil prices.

    Speaking at a bilateral meeting with the Sheikh Tamim Bin Hammad Al-Thani, the emir of the State of Qatar in Doha, Buhari described the market situation, which has seen oil prices plummet by 70 per cent since mid-2014, as “totally unacceptable”.

    Buhari, in a statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, said: “As members of OPEC and Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), our relations in the areas of oil and gas, which our two nations heavily rely on, need to be enhanced and coordinated for the benefit of our people.

    “The market situation in the oil industry is unsustainable and totally unacceptable.

    “We must cooperate both within and outside our respective organisations to find a common ground to stabilise the market, which will be beneficial to our nations,” the President said on the second day of his state visit to Qatar.

    He hailed the cordial relations between the countries and invited Qatari investors to take advantage of the opportunities in Nigeria and invest in energy, agriculture, real estate, banking and finance.

    The President assured investors of government protection.

    He noted that in the course of his visit, the delegation from Nigeria and Qatar would formalise at least two bilateral agreements to boost economic cooperation.

    He weighed-in on the situation in the Middle East, praising Qatar for resolving the Syrian crisis, the Palestinian cause and efforts in reconstructing Gaza.

    “The conflicts in Yemen and Syria with their attendant humanitarian crisis need genuine international effort to solve. Nigeria, as a peace loving country, identifies with the Qatar in its peace efforts to end terrorism.

    “Nigeria is a victim of terrorism. It is with heavy heart that I stand before you and say activities of Boko Haram have led to loss of lives and the displacement of innocent people in our nation.

    “We, however, take pride to inform you that since coming to power, Boko Haram has been systematically decimated and are in no position to cause threat to our development programmes.

    “I wish to reiterate that Nigeria rejects violence and extremism, and assure you that we are with Qatar in your efforts to fight terrorism and injustice in your region and in the world.”

    The President called for a lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, saying “we like Qatar, favour a ‘Two-State’ solution, with the State of Palestine living side by side with the State of Israel.”

     

    Nigeria, Qatar sign pact on bilateral relations

    Nigeria and Qatar yesterday in Doha signed Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) to pave the way for direct flights among their major cities.

    A statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, said both countries also signed an agreement to avoid double taxation and tax evasion on the sideline of President Muhammadu Buhari’s visit.

    The Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, representing the President, signed the air services agreement on behalf of the country while Qatar’s Minister of Transportation and Communications, Jassim Bin Saif Alsulaiti, signed on behalf of the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hammad Al-Thani.

    The agreement, which was signed in the presence of both leaders, is expected to operate on the principle of reciprocity by the designated airlines on behalf of the countries.

    The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, also signed the agreement to avoid double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes income with its Qatari counterpart, Ali Shareef Al Emadi.

    It is also expected that the agreement on bilateral air service will promote trade, commerce and tourism between the two countries just as Nigeria has commenced discussions on partnership towards establishing a national airline for Nigeria.

    The agreement to avoid double taxation, which had been negotiated since February 2015, will bring in more investments and businesses between Qatar and Nigeria.

  • Buhari seeks OPEC members’ cooperation to stabilize oil market

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday in Doha emphasised the need for member states of Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC members to cooperate and find a common ground to stabilize crude oil prices.

    Speaking at a bilateral meeting with the Sheikh Tamim Bin Hammad Al-Thani, the Emir of the State of Qatar, President Buhari described the current market situation in the industry, which has seen oil prices plummet by 70 per cent since mid-2014, as ‘totally unacceptable’.

    Buhari, in a statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, said: “As members of OPEC and Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), our relations in the areas of oil and gas, which our two nations heavily rely on, need to be enhanced and coordinated for the benefit of our people.”

    “The current market situation in the oil industry is unsustainable and totally unacceptable.

    “We must cooperate both within and outside our respective organisations to find a common ground to stabilize the market, which will be beneficial to our nations,’’ the President said on the second day of his state visit to Qatar. ”

    He used the occasion of his address to the Emir to commend the existing cordial bilateral relations between both countries and invited prospective Qatari investors to take advantage of the abundant opportunities in Nigeria and invest in the key areas of energy, agriculture, real estate development, banking and finance.

    The President also assured prospective investors of government protection of their persons and investment, noting that in the course of his visit, the delegations from Nigeria and Qatar would formalize at least two bilateral agreements to boost economic cooperation between both countries.

    He also weighed-in on the situation in the Middle East, commending the role Qatar is playing in resolving the present Syrian crisis, the Palestinian cause and efforts in reconstructing Gaza.

    He said: “The conflicts in Yemen and Syria with their attendant humanitarian crisis need genuine international effort to solve. Nigeria as a peace loving country identifies with the State of Qatar in all her peace efforts in the world to end terrorist activities.

    “Nigeria is a victim of terrorism. It is with heavy heart that I stand before you and say activities of Boko Haram have led to loss of many lives and displacement of innocent people in our dear nation.

    “We, however, take pride to inform you that since our coming to power, Boko Haram has been systematically decimated and are in no position to cause serious threat to our development programs.

    “I wish to reiterate that Nigeria rejects violence and extremism in all their ramifications, and assure your Highness that we are with the State of Qatar in your efforts to fight terrorism and injustice in your region and in the world at large.’’

    President Buhari also called for a lasting solution to the Israeli – Palestinian conflict , saying “we in Nigeria, like the State of Qatar, favour a ‘Two State’ solution, with the State of Palestine living side by side with the State of Israel.

    “I want to assure you that we will stand side by side with you, until our brothers and sisters in Palestine achieve their desired objectives.

    “Our support for various Security Council resolutions restoring and respecting 1967 boundaries with Jerusalem as capital of Palestine is firm and unshaken,’’ he said.

  • Nigeria, four oil exporters hit by falling currency value, says OPEC

    Nigeria, four oil exporters hit by falling currency value, says OPEC

    Five oil exporting countries, including Nigeria,  Angola, Venezula,  Azerbaijan, and Russia are mostly affected by falling  currency value,  Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has said.

    OPEC, in a paper detailing the impacts of recession on the global oil market, said the countries were picked among several others as having showing serious effects of fall in currency value.

    The body said depreciation in   the cuurency value is common in  the in oil exporting countries, adding that whether it is the Venezuelan bolívar, or the Russian rouble, low oil prices are wreaking havoc in oil exporting economies and on their national currencies.

    OPEC said: ‘’ In most cases, the scenario is similar: over the past decade, oil exporting countries used excessive revenues from oil to expand public services, or simply pursue populist policy in order to buy political stability. Once oil prices started to fall, the budgets did not shrink accordingly, which created a wide gap between the oil revenues and swelling fiscal demands.’’

    According to OPEC, governments were forced to devalue their national currencies in order to stem the rapid outflow of foreign reserves.

    ‘’An unwanted consequence is almost always the rise in inflation and household prices, along with a decline in living standards and stalled economic growth,’’ it added.

    OPEC gave a bit by bit accounts of impacts of falling curency value on the five countries thus.

     

    Nigeria

    Africa’s largest economy was hard hit by the falling oil prices. The national currency, the naira, dropped against the dollar by more than 50 per cent over the past year.

    On January 20, the Federal Government requested $3.5 billion loan from the International Monet6ary Fund(IMF) and the African development Bank to plug its $15billion budget  gap. The country’s oil revenues are expected to fall by 70 per cdent in 2016, while the hard currency reserves almost halved from $50billion to $28billion and the state’s emergncy fund went from $2 billion in 2009 to $2.3billion currently.

    Azerbaijan

    The former Soviet Republic is the first country to request a $4 billion emergency loan from the IMF and the World Bank in order to cover losses caused by low oil prices.

  • OPEC members now keen to end oil glut, says Kachikwu

    OPEC members now keen to end oil glut, says Kachikwu

    The mood inside the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is shifting from mistrust to a growing consensus that a decision must be reached on how to end the global oil price rout, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Ibe Kachikwu has said.

    Oil prices have slumped by more than 70 per cent to near $30 a barrel over the past 18 months as OPEC, led by top producer Saudi Arabia, sought to drive higher-cost producers out of the market by refusing to cut production despite a supply glut.

    The price crash has crippled some economies that depend heavily on oil sales for income, such as Nigeria and Venezuela, and even Saudi Arabia is shoring up its resources to withstand the painful revenue drop.

    “There’s increased conversation going on. I think when we met in December … they (OPEC members) were hardly talking to one another. Everyone was protecting their own positional logic,” Nigerian oil minister Emmanuel Ibe Kachiwku told Reuters in an interview.

    “Now I think you have cross-logic … they are looking at what are the deficiencies, what is the optimum.”

    Struggling oil producers have made repeated calls for an emergency OPEC meeting, but Kachikwu said that the timing had not been right. The cartel’s next regular meeting is in June.

    “We haven’t been sure that if we held those (emergency) meetings that we could actually walk away with some consensus,” Kachikwu said.

    “A lot of barrels are tumbling out of the market from non-OPEC members, so the Saudi philosophy is obviously working. But it’s not influencing the price higher, which means that whether we like it or not some barrels are coming in from … members and non-members to cover whatever is dropping out.”

    The International Energy Agency said on Jan. 19 that oil markets could be oversupplied by as much as 1.5 million barrels per day in the first half of 2016 and warned that prices could decline further as Iran’s emergence from economic sanctions brings more crude to the market.

    OPEC has declined to trim output without help from non-members, which so far have refused to participate. Russia, the world’s biggest oil producer, has played coy by floating the idea of a cut without saying whether it would participate.

    In an attempt to find a compromise, Venezuela’s oil minister recently proposed a freeze on new production to place a cap on the growing glut while not requiring countries to surrender market share.

    Kachikwu said that he would meet his Qatari and Saudi counterparts next week to discuss the situation.

    “Have we got to the point where we can say there is a definite strategy? In terms of production reduction or freezing, no, I don’t think we have got there. But there is a lot of energy (behind the idea),” Kachikwu said.

    “As you get closer to the statutory (OPEC) meeting dates … you are going to see a lot more people get active in those conversations and try to find solutions.”

  • Falling oil prices: OPEC president mulls emergency meeting

    Falling oil prices: OPEC president mulls emergency meeting

    •M/East peace crucial to oil stability

    After watching the price of crude oil collapse by more than 65 per cent to a 12-year low, there are signs that the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) may have had enough.

    Nigeria’s top oil official and OPEC President Emmanuel Kachikwu said the cartel is considering an emergency meeting, perhaps as soon as next month. At issue is whether OPEC would agree to cut production, a move that could help stop the crude price freefall.

    “I expect to see one. … There’s a lot of energy currently around that.

    “I think a … majority in terms of [OPEC] membership are beginning to feel that the time has come to … have a meeting and dialogue again once more without the sort of tension that we had in Vienna on this,” he told CNN yesterday.

    Meanwhile, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama has said peace among the oil producing countries of the Middle East is paramount in dealing with the current slide in the price of crude oil at the international market.

    Onyeama spoke during an audience with the Iranian Ambassador to Nigeria, Saheed Koozechi, who paid him a courtesy visit in Abuja.

    He said peace in the Middle East, especially between Iran and Saudi Arabia will further strengthen the ties among oil producing countries.

    He urged Iran to continue to pursue peace irrespective of the setback the recent killing of Shiite scholar might have caused the nation.

    When OPEC last met in the Austrian capital in December, it was bitterly divided and refused to cut output. The next ordinary meeting is scheduled for June 2.

    Led by Saudi Arabia, OPEC decided in 2014 to wage a price war with low cost producers in the United States (U.S.) and elsewhere in a bid to defend market share.

    Since then, oil companies have sacked hundreds of thousands of workers, and slashed investment budgets.

    But the global supply glut continues, thanks in part to China’s slowing economy, and prices have continued to tumble. A strong dollar, which makes oil more expensive around the world, has fueled the slump.

    Oil prices fell toward $30 a barrel early yesterday, having plunged by 16 per cent this year alone, but steadied later to trade little changed on the day.

    Many OPEC countries are still making money at these prices but others are losing — Nigeria’s production costs are estimated at about $31 a barrel, for example.

    And all, including Saudi Arabia, are suffering a huge squeeze on government revenues.

    Kachikwu said most OPEC members were watching their economies “being shattered,” and something had to give.

    “We need to… see how we can balance the need to protect our market share with the need for the survival of the business itself, and survival of the countries.”

    An emergency meeting is no guarantee that OPEC will act to restrain supply, however.

    Iran is eager to boost production this year as soon as Western sanctions are lifted — expected imminently — and it’s hard to see Saudi Arabia working with its big Mideast rival to support oil prices. Saudi Arabia broke off diplomatic relations with Iran last week after its embassy in Tehran was attacked. That attack followed Saudi Arabia’s execution of a prominent Shiite cleric.

    Still, the OPEC president believes an agreement of some form is possible.

    He said: “I think ultimately for the interest of everybody some policy change will happen. Now will the amount of barrels that you can take out because of that policy change necessarily make that much of a dramatic difference? Probably not, but the symbolism of the action is even more important than the volumes that are taken out of the market.”

  • OPEC won’t cut oil output, says Kachikwu

    Vienna  – The Organization of  Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)  has decided against cutting its oil output to lift prices, its president and Nigerian oil minister  of state Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu said following a meeting  in Vienna yesterday.

    OPEC, whose members together pump out more than one third of world oil, is currently producing above its official target of 30 million barrels per day.

    “Given the present position of the economy of countries that are purchasing (oil) and the worldwide economy, we will retain production at current levels,” said Kachikwu.

    OPEC is currently pumping out around 32 million barrels of oil per day.

    The cartel  published no figures on output in its communique, as it awaits increased output from Iran after sanctions were lifted on the Islamic republic.

    “We cannot put a number now because Iran is coming, we don’t know when Iran will come, and we will have to accommodate Iran one way or the other,” said OPEC Secretary General Abdullah el-Badri.

    “We decided to postpone this decision to the next OPEC meeting (in June) until the picture will be more clearer for us to decide on a number,” he added.

    Despite oil prices plunging by more than 60 percent in 18 months, OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia and the cartel’s other Gulf state members are defying calls to reduce output — in a year-long strategy of attempting to preserve market share and fend off competition from non-OPEC and world leading producers Russia and the United States.

    Saudi Arabia  yesterday  reiterated its stance that it would be willing to cut as long as non-OPEC also reduces its output.

    “We have said on more than one occasion that we are willing to cooperate with anyone that will help balance the market… with us,” Saudi oil minister Ali al-Naimi told reporters gathered at OPEC headquarters in Vienna.

    OPEC’s poorer nations — notably Venezuela, Ecuador and Algeria — had led the calls for a cut to help boost prices and in turn their badly-hit revenues.

    “Everyone is concerned about… the prices, no one is happy,” said Iraq’s oil minister Adil Abd Al-Mahdi.

    OPEC  confirmed that Indonesia had returned to the cartel after a near seven-year absence, bringing the number of member countries to 13.

    Addressing  delegates earlier,Kachikwu  projected that  demand for OPEC crude  would rise by 1.2 million barrels per day to average 30.8 million barrels per day for the year 2016 leading to a more balanced market.

    He noted that a balanced and stable market would be of crucial importance in the years ahead to ensure continued investment in the industry as it gears up to meet the world’s burgeoning energy needs.

    He said:“dialogue and collaboration with consumers, non-OPEC producers, oil companies and investors are essential in reaching our common goal of a more orderly oil market.

    “In 2015, we have seen positive examples between OPEC and Non-OPEC countries and the Asian Ministerial Energy Roundtable held in Qatar in November. OPEC has also held bilateral dialogues with Russia and China this year, and later this month the OPEC-India Energy Dialogue would have its first meeting.”

  • Kachikwu takes over as OPEC President

    Kachikwu takes over as OPEC President

    Ahead of his assumption of office as the new President of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Emmanuel Kachikwu, has promised to tackle oil price volatility.

    Kachikwu replaced the immediate past Petroleum Minister, Diezani Alison- Madueke, who was named as first female president of the oil cartel during its 166th Ordinary Meeting in November 2014.

    While unfolding his plans for OPEC, Kachikwu, who is also the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), promised to ensure delay in Iran’s intended oversupply of crude oil in order to control pricing.

    Speaking during his tour of oil marketers’ plant in Lagos on Wednesday, the minister said the issue of oil price is very sensitive and should be addressed in order to stabilise the market.

     

  • Buhari’s refineries measures in tandem with OPEC’s, says PENGASSAN

    Buhari’s refineries measures in tandem with OPEC’s, says PENGASSAN

    The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) yesterday extolled President Muhammadu Buhari’s measures on petroleum refineries, saying that they are in line with the stipulations of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

    Reacting to The Nation’s request from the association to comment on the measures that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) was adopting to address fuel supply in the country, the association said it was impressed with government’s decision to revive the refineries.

    PENGASSAN said: “This is one of the conditions we gave before the downstream of the oil and gas industry can be deregulated, and we really appreciate President Buhari’s resolve to ensure that the refineries are back on stream.

    Retaining the refineries under government ownership is in tandem with OPEC’s mandate that every member country should be at the commanding height of its economy.”

    According to the Public Relations Officer, Comrade Emmanuel Ojugbana, who responded to The Nation’s questions, former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s government issued licences to private investors for green field refineries, but they refused to construct the plants for fear of government’s commitment.

    He noted that there is now a cause to believe that the President’s commitment will guarantee private investment in new refineries.

    Describing the President as an experienced regulator of the oil and gas sector, the association recalled that the President built the Port Harcourt refinery while he was the Federal Commissioner of Petroleum and Natural Resources and the first Chairman of the Board of the NNPC.

    “So, he knows the onus and we believe his decisions are right,” said the oil workers.

    PENGASSAN added: “This is a welcome development to us as a union. In fact, we had been clamouring for the establishment of more refineries before now.

    “During the former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration, licences were given to some investors, but unfortunately, they did not go ahead.

    “Now with the commitment of President Buhari, there is tendency that the government will guarantee enabling environment to make the investment a reality.”

    The association said that it is not opposed to deregulation of but it has always insisted that there should be a reasonable level of domestic refining capacity.

    It said: “We are not averse to deregulation, but our argument is that it must be import-driven. There should be some level of local refining of petroleum products in the country.

    “This is why we have been clamouring for encouraging investments in the establishment of refineries, especially modular refineries. This will not only increase local refining of petroleum products and stem down scarcity but also enhance job creation in the sector.

    “We also argued that it is not safe for Nigeria to sell its national assets. That is why we are against the outright sale of the refineries.

    “We therefore propose a model just like the Nigeria LNG model whereby the government will own 51% and the private investors will own 49 per cent.

    “With this model, the managements of the refineries will have some levels of administrative and financial autonomy to ensure adequate running of the refineries.”