The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has deferred the commencement of its proposed oil production cuts by a year, until the end of 2026, following current weak demand and rising output by non-members of the international oil cartel.
OPEC left Nigeria’s current production quota unchanged at 1.5 million barrels-per-day, with the country struggling for at least four years to meet its monthly allocation as prescribed by the now 12-member group after the exit of Angola last year.
But the oil producers’ organisation, which has cooperation from 10 other countries, collectively called OPEC+, had been planning to start unwinding cuts from October 2024, but has had postponed the plans several times.
Aside Nigeria’s 1.5 million bpd quota, OPEC and its allies also agreed to Saudi Arabia’s 10.47 million bpd; Russia’s 9.94 million bpd allocation; Iraq’s 4.43 million bpd production and Algeria’s 1 million bpd output.
However, the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, who represented Nigeria at the virtual event, noted that Nigeria was on course to meeting the 2.06 million barrels per day crude oil and condensate production target in the 2025 proposed budget.
But despite the group’s supply cuts, global oil benchmark Brent crude has mostly stayed in a $70 to $80 per barrel range this year and yesterday it traded near $72 a barrel, having hit a 2024 low below $69 in September.
Speaking on the 38th Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee meeting, Lokpobiri, in a statement by his spokesperson, Nneamaka Okafor,assureed that the decisions were taken to ensure oil market stability.
The ministers emphasised the critical importance of full conformity with production levels and the implementation of a robust compensation mechanism to enhance transparency and preserve market equilibrium.
