The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has reiterated its
commitment to abide by the output cut agreement of the Organisation of
the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies called OPEC+, to
stabilise the global oil market.
Group Managing Director of NNPC, Malam Mele Kyari, who gave the
assurance at the ongoing virtual Gulf Intelligence UAE Global Energy
Forum 2021, said that despite the negative effects of the production
cuts on government revenues, it was the best step towards redeeming the
value of oil on the global market, in the interest of all.
Speaking on the topic, “Outlook for Africa/Nigeria’s Oil & Gas Sector in
Post-Covid-19 Era”, Kyari said NNPC was hopeful that by the end of the
year the demand for crude oil would pick up.
This, he said, would be a marginal increase in output, stressing that
the Corporation was focusing more on gas, condensate and other revenue
streams to tackle the revenue challenges arising from the production
cuts agreement.
He explained that gas had proved to be a steady and reliable revenue
stream at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, adding that gas
production and utilisation would, therefore, remain a key priority for
the Corporation in 2021.
Earlier, in his presentation, the Minister of Energy & Agriculture,
United Arab Emirates (UAE), Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei, appealed to all
oil producing nations not to flood the market with crude.
He said the UAE was at the moment more concerned about balancing the
market forces of demand and supply in the global market than growing
market share. (NAN)