Oil price hits $64 — highest since Buhari assumed office

Crude oil price rose to $64 on Tuesday, the highest since President Muhammadu Buhari assumed office in May 2015.

As of 2pm on Tuesday, Brent crude, the international benchmark of crude oil traded at $64.01, the highest the commodity has traded since November 2014.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) traded at $57.30, its highest in months.

Price has been on a rise since August 2017 when it traded at $47.47.

Members and non-members of Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) had first agreed on cutting oil supply to the market to end supply glut, which amongst other factors led to a sharp drop in oil prices.

Nigeria and Libya had been exempted from the agreement to allow both countries stabilise their production.

Ibe Kachikwu, minister of state for petroleum resources had said Nigeria is not averse to joining the supply glut and that Nigeria would not mind keeping its production at 1.8 million barrels per day.

However, some members of OPEC have expressed concern over rising oil production from Nigeria and called for Nigeria to be included in the agreement.

Reacting to the statements, Mohammed Barkindo, OPEC secretary general, said Nigeria will continue to enjoy the benefits.

“Nigeria had a point lost over 800,000 barrels, Libya had lost nearly 1.5 million barrels per day and Iran saw its export shrinking by nearly one million barrels per day. And so the council of ministers decided that these three countries should be given special considerations in the implementation of the Algiers Accord.

“And when we met in Vienna on 30th November to begin the process of implementations by agreeing on the ceiling 32.5m we reaffirmed the positions of these three countries”.

“The decision is six months and the countries will continue to enjoy the benefits as they try to recover their production quotas.”