The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies, known as OPEC+, has postponed its ministerial meeting to December 5.
In a statement on Thursday, the oil alliance said the meeting was initially slated for December 1 but had been postposed, causing anxiety among members.
According to the international organisation, the meeting was rescheduled because some ministers would be attending the 45th Gulf Summit in Kuwait.
“The 57th Meeting of the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) and the 38th OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting (ONOMM), originally planned for 1 December 2024, have been rescheduled to Thursday, 5 December 2024, via videoconference, as several Ministers will be attending the 45th Gulf Summit in Kuwait City, the State of Kuwait,” the statement reads.
At its last meeting on October 2, OPEC said Nigeria should maintain the production level of 1.5 million barrels of crude per day till December 31, 2025.
Speaking after the meeting, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, had said Nigeria remains fully committed to the objectives of the body’s declaration of cooperation.
“Nigeria remains fully committed to the objectives of the DoC, and I can confidently confirm that our country is in conformity with the agreed production limits.
“While we continue to ramp up production in line with our national interests, we are doing so within the framework of OPEC’s guidelines, as we remain committed to balancing responsible production with our economic goals, and continue to meet our obligations under the DoC,” he said.
NewsNGR had last week reported how the NNPC working closely with sector stakeholders, had raised the nation’s crude oil production to 1.8 million barrels per day.
This milestone was revealed during a high-level meeting at the Oil Production War Room at NNPC Headquarters in Abuja.
Lokpobiri praised the production increase, stating, “We are grateful that we have crossed a line of 1.8 million barrels per day and also crossed 7.4 billion cubic feet of gas. This is our agenda.
“The entire team is fully aligned and committed to delivering greater value, and we’re focused on reaching two million barrels by year’s end.”
He expressed confidence in NNPC’s potential to hit the two-million-bpd target, saying, “This is possible. This is achievable. I’m a very proud minister. We can do it again. On behalf of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the federal government of Nigeria, I congratulate the Chairman, board members, and management of NNPC for navigating this process.”