-By Julius Ogar
The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has commended Nigeria’s unwavering commitment to the stability of the global oil market which spanned many years of its membership of the bloc.
Chairman of OPEC’s 16th Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC), Prince Abdulaziz Bin Salman, applauded Nigeria’s role in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on the occasion of the World Energy Congress.
Saudi Crown Prince, 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 OPEC, the West African nation’s role has been very pivotal in helping the organisation 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 the JMMC session, 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.
Earlier in his remarks, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva said OPEC’s endorsement was a testimony to President Muhammadu Buhari’s efforts at ensuring that Nigeria remains a stabilizing 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.
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.
The minister also gave assurance of Nigeria’s commitment to meet its agreed quotas by October this year.
“We have agreed to comply with production cuts of 50% this month (September 2019) and 100% from October this year,” Sylva stated.
The next meeting of the JMMC comes up on the 4th December 2019 at the OPEC Secretariat in Vienna, Austria.