P. M. BRIEFING : Nigeria Slashes Oil Production
Nigeria announced a big cut in its oil output today in line with moves by other OPEC states to support prices, which have fallen by up to 25% this year.
“The amount that Nigeria was supposed to be making in excess of its quota was 140,000 barrels per day. This is the amount by which we intend to cut down,” said Oil Minister Jubril Aminu.
The 13 members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries decided at an emergency meeting in Geneva last week to cut output by 1.445 million barrels a day to try to mop up an oil surplus seen as responsible for the sharp fall in prices.
Nigeria’s output was estimated at 1.75 million barrels a day in April against an allocated quota of 1.611 million.
With total group output 1.5 million to 2 million barrels a day above its 22 million barrel-a-day ceiling, set last November, prices for the actively traded Brent oil crashed below $16 a barrel last month from as high as $20 in January.
OPEC’s target price for a basket of its crudes is $18.
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