Oil price falls to $82 a barrel amid OPEC’s decision to retain monthly output

Oil prices dropped, on Thursday, after the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said it would maintain its current production levels.

Brent crude, global oil price, fell by 0.58 percent to $82.91 while West Texas Intermediate fell by 0.25 percent to $76.23.

In October 2022, OPEC and its allies agreed to cut oil output by 2 million barrels per day in November — its deepest cut since the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.

According to a statement issued by the oil cartel on Wednesday, the joint ministerial monitoring committee (JMMC), at its 47th meeting, decided to keep production cuts agreed upon last year.

The committee said it would maintain its production target till the end of 2023 to support the market.

“JMMC reaffirmed their commitment to the declaration of cooperation (DoC) which extends to the end of 2023 as agreed in the 33rd OPEC and non-OPEC ministerial meeting (ONOMM) on the 5th of October 2022,” the statement reads.

“The committee reviewed the crude oil production data for the months of November and December 2022 and noted the overall conformity for participating OPEC and non-OPEC countries of the declaration of cooperation (DoC).

“The members of the JMMC reaffirmed their commitment to the DoC which extends to the end of 2023 as agreed in the 33rd OPEC and non-OPEC ministerial meeting (ONOMM) on 5th of October 2022, and urged all participating countries to achieve full conformity and adhere to the compensation mechanism.”

The committee, while thanking the OPEC secretariat for their contribution, slated its next meeting for April 2023.

Following the oil cartel’s decision, Nigeria’s oil production quota remains at 1.83 million barrels.

In December 2022, Nigeria’s crude oil production increased to an average of 1.23 million barrels per day (bpd) from 1.18 million bpd in the previous month.

TheCable had reported that due to a myriad of sectoral challenges, including oil theft, Nigeria failed, throughout 2022, to meet the production quota set by OPEC.

However, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited had said in 2023, Nigeria’s oil production may average 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd), including condensate.

In addition, Timipre Sylva, minister of state for petroleum resources, said Nigeria should be able to meet the production quota set by OPEC in May 2023.