Nigeria may be ready to give up its status as an OPEC member exempt from the effort to balance the market with production cuts, Russia's oil minister said on September 22, 2017.
Members of a committee monitoring an agreement to cut the equivalent of about 2 % of world's oil demand out of the market met Friday in Vienna to discuss the impact.
The measure is aimed at draining global stockpiles closer to a 5-year average.
Most OPEC members are in full compliance with the agreement, though exemptions for OPEC members Libya and Nigeria have complicated the effort.
Both countries were sidelined from the effort so they could steer oil revenue toward national security efforts.
Speaking from Vienna, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak hinted that Nigeria could give up its exempt status once its production stabilizes.
«Nigeria is ready to reduce production at the level of 1.8 million barrels per day and join the agreement once it reaches the target», he said.
Russia is a party to the multilateral effort and is the largest contributor among non-OPEC member states.
Secondary sources reporting to OPEC economists said Nigeria production in August was 1.86 million barrels per day, its highest level of the year.
1st quarter production for Nigeria averaged 1.5 million barrels per day and Nigeria last topped 1.8 million barrels per day in 2015.
OPEC economists said the Nigerian economy is gaining momentum.
Its economy during the 2nd quarter grew 0.6 % from last year, after registering a contraction in the 1st quarter.
