Nigeria,
Iran In disagreement over OPEC emergency meeting
- Iran
disagrees with Nigeria regarding the emergency meeting.
- A
very steep competition is on between Iran and Nigerians as Iranian oil is
speculated to displace Nigeria’s.
- A
call for an OPEC emergency meeting has been made.
Nigeria’s minister of state for Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu
Reports suggests that Nigeria and Iran are in disagreement over
the call for an emergency meeting of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OPEC).
Leadership reports that the emergency meeting of OPEC was called
in order to discuss steps to possibly cut down oil production and prop up oil
prices.
It will be recalled that on Tuesday, January 12, Nigeria’s
oil minister said that a couple of OPEC members requested an emergency meeting,
adding that current market conditions support the need to hold such a
gathering.
However, Iran and
another prominent OPEC member, opposed the call and claimed that the time is
not yet right for such an intervention.
Iran disagreed with
the premise of an emergency meeting as the country’s oil minister, Bijan
Zanganeh, stated that the organisation currently has little intention of making
a drastic change.
Zanganeh told Reuters
that “There should be an intention to make a firm decision in such a
meeting; otherwise, the meeting will have negative impacts on world oil
markets. The important thing is that there must be an intention for change, but
we have not yet received such a signal.”
The Nigerian Minister
of state for petroleum resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, had earlier added the
nation’s voice to those of other OPEC members such as Venezuela, that are
requesting an emergency meeting of the oil-producing nations to address the
current oil crisis.
While speaking at a
panel session at the ongoing World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland,
Kachikwu stated that with the oil industry in its current state, the members of
the OPEC, which produce about one-third of the world’s oil, needed to do something
proactive soon.
He said: “There
is a lot of energy around trying to meet earlier. Obviously, some of that is a
panic reaction. Do we just sit back and watch? Or do we put more efforts in
talking to countries, like Russia, to try to get some consensus of what we need
to be doing?”
Latest
data from OPEC show that Nigeria has lost its
status as Africa’s top oil producer of crude oil, following a
fall in production by250,000 barrels per day.
Following the crash
of oil price from an average of $114 a barrel in 2014 to less than $30 a barrel
presently, Nigeria’s economy, as well as those of many other oil-dependent
countries, has had an economic depreciation. Nigeria’s budget is benchmarked at
$38 per barrel of oil as the country needs oil price to rally to fund its
budget.
There is growing
anxiety in the Nigerian oil industry, as the re-emergence of Iranian crude oil
now provides options for those willing to buy from Iran.
Experts
say Iranian imports are likely to displace the Nigerian and Saudi Arabian
crudes, as they seem to have filled the gap since South Africa stopped
importing Iranian crude oil.
As the global economy
heads for what is potentially a very volatile year, analysts have said that
OPEC, which requires a consensus from all its members before it initiates a
change, has to make a decision very soon.
Nigeria, Iran In disagreement over OPEC emergency meeting:reader comment and share with friend.
EmoticonEmoticon