Page 13 - AfrOil Week 48

AfrOil POLICY AfrOil

OPEC rift delays talks with partners

GLOBAL DISAGREEMENT between members of the to a greater extent Iraq and Nigeria, commit to
OPEC cartel has led to the delay of the planned full compliance before proceeding with a deal.
meeting with the wider OPEC+ group. The Given that Iraqi output has been growing
Monday meeting in Vienna is understood to rather than dropping in accordance with prom-
have lasted long into the evening, with tensions ised compensatory cuts, this is highly unlikely
flaring about the future of cuts that sought to to be achieved. In a move to appease Abu Dhabi,
prop up oil prices, which dropped on news of the UAE was apparently offered the opportunity
the delay. to co-chair the OPEC+ monitoring committee,
The OPEC+ meeting will now take place on but this was rejected.
December 3, with informal discussions between The OPEC+ meeting had been anticipated
OPEC members expected to continue in the to see agreement reached on whether to extend
background until then. With concerns growing the current 7.7mn barrel per day production
among members about the peak of oil demand, cuts which are due to be eased by 2mn bpd in
OPEC producers possessing some of the world’s January, with Saudi Arabia a key proponent of
largest reserves have grown anxious about the extension. ™
ramping up the speed of extraction.
Bloomberg quoted ministerial sources as
saying that consensus was at one point close,
only for Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Prince
Abdulaziz bin Salman Al-Saud to threaten
to resign as co-chair of an OPEC+ panel in
frustration.
While the UAE has historically been one
of OPEC’s most loyal members, it has recently
shown its determination to ramp up oil output
and is thought to have been mulling its depar-
ture from the cartel in order to hold greater sway
over production levels. Delegates told Bloomb-
erg that OPEC is insisting that those with his-
toric non-compliance, including the UAE and OPEC is insisting that Nigeria commit to full compliance (Photo: Total)

Buhari says state must ensure crude

supplies to independent refineries

NIGERIA NIGERIAN President Muhammadu Buhari has framework of a wider effort to reduce Nigeria’s
expressed strong support for independent oil dependence on imported petroleum products.
refineries by ordering government agencies and Additionally, he noted that the construction of
state-controlled companies to ensure deliveries the Ibigwe plant had created thousands of jobs,
of feedstock to such plants. both directly and indirectly, and said he hoped
Last week, the president said he had the project would continue to promote eco-
instructed the Department of Petroleum nomic growth in the region.
Resources (DPR) and state-owned Nigerian
National Petroleum Corp. (NNPC) to ensure Energy hub
deliveries of crude to the modular oil-process- He was speaking several days before Walter-
ing plant built by Waltersmith Petroman Oil at smith announced that it had signed a Technical
the Ibigwe oilfield in Imo State. He also tasked Support Agreement (TSA) with the UN Indus-
DPR and NNPC with making certain that the trial Development Organisation (UNIDO)
new refinery and other privately owned facilities and the UN Economic Commission for Africa
like it had enough crude oil and gas condensate (UNECA) on the establishment of an energy
to operate optimally. innovation park near the refinery. The deal
Buhari stated that his government was builds on the company’s ongoing partnership
backing modular refinery projects within the with UNIDO, Nigerian press agencies said.

Week 48 02•December•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P13