Brent crude has reached $80.41 per barrel for the first time since May 2023.
A review of crude oil prices by Nairametrics on Wednesday, July 12 revealed that the Brent crude benchmark crossed $80 a barrel for the first time since May 2023.
Checks by Nairametrics showed that as of 2:58 pm (GMT+1), Brent crude was 80.41 per barrel, meanwhile, Bonny Light crude was $80.68 a barrel.
It is important to note that since May 2023, Brent crude pricing has averaged less than $80 per barrel even after the June 2023 cuts introduced by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Recall that during the June 4 meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Nigeria agreed to a production quota cap of 1.38 million barrels per day between January to December 2024.
At the meeting, OPEC and Non-OPEC members decided to cut production volumes in order to ensure global oil market stability.
Meanwhile, during the 8th OPEC International Seminar recently held in Vienna, Austria, Gabriel Tanimu Aduda, Nigeria’s Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Petroleum Resources said that he knows that Nigeria will get a higher quota because the country is working deliberately to achieve that goal.
If Nigeria produces up to 1.7 million barrels of crude per day and the Brent crude benchmark maintains above $80 per barrel, this means more oil revenues for Nigeria, if crude oil theft is tackled decisively.
What you should know
While speaking on the sidelines of the OPEC Seminar, Aduda said that investors were still willing to put their money into the Nigerian oil and gas industry regardless of the many security challenges it faces.
According to him, the security challenges in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector have not entirely stopped investors from investing in the sector.
He stated further that the oil and gas investments rolling into the country will help in its energy transition agenda because there is also a need to invest in critical minerals which are needed for developing renewable energies.
More insights
During his address at the Energy Asia conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on June 26, OPEC Secretary General, Haitham al Ghais said OPEC sees global energy demand increasing by 23% through 2045, and he sees no credible way to address this without utilizing all available energy sources, and with energy market stability as a guiding light.
According to al-Ghais, OPEC projects global oil demand rising to 110 million barrels a day by 2045, and oil still makes up about 29% of the energy mix by then. He said between now and 2045, oil investments will require up to $12.1 trillion, or over $500 billion each year.
