Nigeria is ready to support OPEC's cuts and limit its crude oil output when it reaches a stable 1.8 million bpd, Nigerian Oil Minister Emmanuel Kachikwu said on Wednesday.
Nigeria and Libya-exempt from OPEC's production cuts because of militancy that had crippled their production last year-were the two producers that contributed the most to the 393,000-bpd increase in the cartel's total crude output in June compared to May. Libya's output jumped by 127,000 bpd to 852,000 bpd, while Nigerian crude production rose by 96,700 bpd to 1.733 million bpd.
Nigeria's average June production is very close to its target of 1.8-million-bpd, but its oil minister noted that he would have to see if output and the fragile peace are sustained.
"As a serious member of OPEC, we stand ready to support the cuts when we are sure that we can have a stable predictable production," Kachikwu said, as quoted by Bloomberg.
"We still are below the 1.8 million barrel a day benchmark set for us by OPEC. I think that over the next one or two months, hopefully, we can get to that point where we can say the recovery has been tested, it is systemic and predictable," the minister said.
Nigeria last produced 1.8 million bpd in February 2016, and according to data compiled by Bloomberg, its production capacity is 2.2 million bpd.
Nigeria's Ministry of Petroleum Resources said on Wednesday that minister Kachikwu confirmed he had been invited to attend the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee meeting of the OPEC and non-OPEC countries in Russia on July 24 that would discuss Nigeria and Libya's production, but he would not be able to attend because of a scheduling conflict.
"Nigeria has reaffirmed its commitment to continue working with other players for the stability of the global oil market," the ministry said.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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Tsvetana is a writer for Oilprice.com with over a decade of experience writing for news outlets such as iNVEZZ and SeeNews. More