The Nigerian minister in charge of the oil sector, Sylva Timipre, was received on February 19 in Libreville by his Gabonese counterpart, Vincent de Paul Massassa. The latter is visiting Gabon as special envoy of the Organization of Petroleum Producing Countries (OPEC) in African countries members of this institution (which defends the interests of petroleum producing countries), signatory of signatories of the declaration of cooperation according to Gabonese news source.
Signed on April 12, 2020, this agreement requires signatory countries to reduce production in order to raise the price of a barrel of oil, which had plummeted from 60 to less than 20 US dollars following the induced effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
At the end of this meeting, the Nigerian minister declared: “Gabon is a respected member of OPEC, and we have agreed on certain contracts for OPEC. It has kept its commitments and discussions are continuing to improve them. As OPEC’s special envoy, after Equatorial Guinea, I am in Gabon and then go to Sudan”.
The Directorate-General for the Economy and Fiscal Policy indicates, in its latest conjoncture, that at the end of September 2020, the national production of crude oil fell by 0.8% to stand at 8.1 million tonnes metric (59.55 million barrels), due to “ compliance with the quotas decided by OPEC + to reduce the world supply on the black gold market” .
Thanks to quotas imposed on OPEC member states and a system of compensation over time for those who did not respect these limits, things have rebalanced, bringing the barrel of oil to a very appreciable level, specifies the ministry. petrol.
With this result, the majority of OPEC members have looked at the 180 th meeting of the conference of the organization held 30 November 2020 for an extension until the end of March 2021 the ceiling on production of oil at 7.7 million b / d. This could thwart the objectives of Gabon, which in 2021 is counting on oil production of 10.5 million tonnes.
Discussions are continuing between the 13 OPEC member countries and their allies to reach a consensus suitable for the oil market. It is a question of finding a compromise to avoid a fall in crude prices following the second wave of Covid-19.
