Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, has said he would meet his Qatari and Saudi counterparts to map a way out of the lingering plunge of crude price in the global market.
Kachikwu, who made this known in an interview with Reuters, said: “Have we got to the point where we can say there is a definite strategy? In terms of production reduction or freezing, no, I don’t think we have got there. But there is a lot of energy (behind the idea).
“As you get closer to the statutory (OPEC) meeting dates … you are going to see a lot more people get active in those conversations and try to find solutions.”
The prices of crude in the international market have slumped by more than 70 percent to near $30 a barrel over the past 18 months as OPEC, led by top producer Saudi Arabia, sought to drive higher-cost producers out of the market by refusing to cut production despite a supply glut.
However, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, has expressed concern over the continuous fall in crude prices, saying a decision must be reached on how to end the fall.
He said: “There’s increased conversation going on. I think when we met in December … they (OPEC members) were hardly talking to one another. Everyone was protecting their own positional logic. “Now I think you have cross-logic … they are looking at what are the deficiencies, what is the optimum.”
