By Edith Ike-Eboh
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, says that Nigeria will cut down on its crude oil production to comply with the targets set by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Slyva gave the assurance at the 16th Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC), meeting in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
The Minister, in a statement by Mr Ndu Ugahmadu, the Spokesman for the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation in Abuja, noted that Nigeria would continue to play its role in OPEC effectively.
“We have agreed to comply with production cuts of 50 per cent this month and 100 per cent from October this year,” Sylva stated.
He said that the OPEC endorsement of Nigeria was a testimony to President Muhammdu Buhar’s efforts at ensuring that Nigeria remained 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 added
Sylva, who was 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.
Earlier, OPEC had 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 Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (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 Lukman reigned at the helm of the Organisation, the West African nation’s role had 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.
He reiterated the commitee’s determination to accelerate concerted action toward 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.
