Kachikwu: OPEC to attempt bringing US into next oil deal

Ibe Kachikwu, minister of petroleum resources, says the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is considering extending output cuts but with the collaboration of US oil industry.

According to Reuters, Kachikwu told Bloomberg Television that OPEC was going to “try and pump up” engagement with the US oil industry regarding future action to stabilize the market.

“There is no way that OPEC on his own, alone, can carry the can on this and continuously so. Ultimately the world is going to be collaborative in this, not just the OPEC/non-OPEC countries, but also the US itself,” he said.

In December OPEC and non-OPEC nations agreed a six-month cut of 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) from Jan. 1, with the exception of Nigeria and Libya.

Kachikwu said there was “a lot of energy around a six-month extension, if we need to do that,” but he said there had not yet been “major conversations” on the topic.

In December 2016, Mohammad Barkindo, OPEC secretary-general, was in Washington to persuade the United States to collaborate with the cartel.

Speaking at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, Barkindo said: “The United States is considered the home of the first commercially-drilled oil well.

“It goes unsaid that the United States — as one of the world’s largest oil and gas consumers — is of utmost importance to OPEC.

“Thus, it is my hope that our meetings and consultations here this week will open up a new cycle of ongoing dialogue between our Organization and the United States. Both parties have nothing to lose and everything to gain with this type of cooperation — it is a true win-win scenario.”