Month: December 2019

Nigeria, which has pumped above its OPEC quota for months to the ire of other members, brought down its crude oil production in November to fully comply with its cap, the country’s oil ministry said Sunday.

OPEC earlier this summer quietly reset Nigeria’s quota to 1.77 million b/d, up from 1.69 million b/d previously, which it had not met since March.

“Nigeria’s compliance level has witnessed tremendous progress, month by month, since last August, resulting in 100% compliance in November 2019,” the ministry said in a statement.

Nigeria, Africa’s largest producer, has been under pressure by Saudi Arabia and other OPEC members to improve its compliance to help speed the bloc’s market rebalancing efforts. OPEC and 10 non-OPEC allies are in the midst of a 1.2 million b/d production cut agreement.

Nigerian oil minister Timipre Sylva held a teleconference with Saudi counterpart Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, who also co-chairs the OPEC/non-OPEC monitoring committee tasked with assessing member compliance with their agreed cuts, the ministry said.

Sylva, who also serves on the committee, had pledged in September that his country would meet its commitment within three months.

Nigeria in October self-reported to OPEC a production figure of 1.78 million b/d, though the six independent secondary sources, including S&P Global Platts, used by OPEC to track member output estimated it at 1.81 million b/d.

In June, the country self-reported its highest output in years, at 1.96 million b/d, as production from its new Egina field ramped up.

Nigerian officials have previously said Egina barrels should be counted not as crude but as condensate, which is not subject to OPEC limits.

The OPEC+ coalition is scheduled to meet Thursday and Friday in Vienna to review its production cut agreement, which runs through March.

Source: Platts

Nigeria and other African countries are set to increase their presence in the global energy sphere, where they will contribute as much as 9.2 per cent to global natural gas production by 2040.

By more than doubling their natural gas production by 2040, Africa’s natural gas producers will alter the global energy supply mix in the process.

This will result in an expansion from 255 Billion Cubic Meters (BCM) to more than 505 BCM and corresponding to a compound average annual growth rate of 3.4 percent.

Natural gas growth prospects were outlined during the 2nd Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) International Gas Seminar held last week Wednesday, in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.

The Seminar was aimed at facilitating knowledge transfer, fostering regional cooperation and creating a dialogue on global gas matters among the world’s leading gas producers.

At the opening of the Seminar, global natural gas use was slated to double by 2050; replacing more traditional fossil fuels and facilitating an energy transition towards sustainable development.

According to the GECF’s Global Gas Outlook Model accessed by The Nation, natural gas will be the only hydrocarbon source to increase its share in the global energy mix, remaining the fastest-growing fossil fuel.

The Outlook said GECF member countries currently represent 71 per cent of natural gas reserves, 44 per cent of marketed gas production, 55 per cent of pipeline gas trade and 53 per cent of LNG trade globally.

Commenting on the Outlook, GECF Secretary General Yury Sentyurin said: “Our main message is that natural gas is the destination fuel and will play a central role in energy transitions.

“We will continue to defend the position of the Forum on benchmark prices, stressing that oil indexation is still the optimum choice for buyers and sellers of gas.”

Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons of Equatorial Guinea, Gabriel Mbaga Obiang, also said:  “Natural gas will continue to be in demand and will help us meet the objectives of sustainable development and the energy transition for our country, for Africa and for the world.”

He said his country was already working on the gradual implementation and exploration of various gas fields.

Source: The Nation