OPEC Daily Basket Price Soars To $53.36 per barrel

The price of Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC basket of 12 crudes stood at $53.36 per barrel on Friday, February 6, compared with $50.81 the previous day.

The new OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Oriente (Ecuador), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Qatar Marine (Qatar), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela).

According to OPEC Secretariat calculations, the rise in prices was due to a marginal increase in the demand for crude oil in the volatile global oil market.

Prior to the demand, the price was far below the 2015 projections of many nations, including Nigeria that is expecting to generate $65 per barrel for execution of the nation’s budget.

The OPEC Reference Basket averaged $59.46/b in December, following a decline of $16.11 or 21per cent. In annual terms, the Basket averaged $96.29/b in 2014, representing a drop of $9.58 from the previous year. ICE Brent in December plunged $16.36 to stand at $63.27/b, averaging $99.45/b for the year.