Nigeria to cut oil production to OPEC levels by October

Nigeria has agreed to cut oil production by 50 per cent this month and by 100 per cent in October this year.

This was made known in a statement by the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Mr Ndu Ughamadu.

The statement quoted the Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva, on Thursday as saying: “We have agreed to comply with production cuts of 50% this month (September 2019) and 100% from October this year.”

It noted that Sylva made the commitment at 16th Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on Thursday.

According to the statement, OPEC commended Nigeria’s unwavering commitment to the stability of the global oil market, which spanned many years of its membership of the organisation.

This commendation came from the Chairman of OPEC’s 16th JMMC, Prince Abdulaziz Bin Salman.

Bin Salman, who doubles as the Saudi Arabian Energy Minister, noted that since the 1980s when Nigeria’s late Oil Minister Dr. Rilwanu Lukman reigned at the helm of the organisation, the West African nation’s role has been very pivotal in helping OPEC achieve stability in the oil market.

“Nigeria has always brought commitment and obligation towards the OPEC cause. I always thought of how we would have crossed the uncertainties of the global oil market of the 1980s without Nigeria,” Bin Salman added.

According to him, Nigeria’s role cuts across compliance with OPEC charters as well as mediation and reconciliation among member countries over the years.

During Thursday’s JMMC, OPEC reiterated its determination to accelerate concerted action towards addressing market challenges and adapting to future developments.

While enjoining non-compliant members to fully observe their production commitments, the JMMC also underscored the need for continued commitment for the Declaration of Cooperation (DoC) in support of oil market stability on a sustainable basis.

However, Mr Sylva said OPEC’s endorsement was a testimony to Mr Buhari’s effort to ensure that Nigeria remains a stabilising force within the organisation.

“The rest of OPEC have always looked up to us whenever there are problems. Recall that as OPEC Secretary General, our late Oil Minister Dr. Rilwanu Lukman was highly influential and since then we have played a central role and have been taken very seriously by member countries,” he stated.

Mr Sylva, in his maiden outing at the OPEC, described the endorsement as “heartwarming”, adding that it would go a long way to spurring and encouraging the country to do better.

The next meeting of the JMMC comes up on December 4, 2019 at the OPEC Secretariat in Vienna, Austria.