Ver Angola

Energy

African oil producers seek agreement at OPEC to ensure "survival of the industry"

The African Energy Chamber (AEC), which represents African oil and gas producers, urged OPEC this Tuesday to agree on prices, arguing that the "survival of its industry" is at stake.

:

"On the eve of the meeting [Thursday of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)], the ECA urges countries to work together and reach an agreement to restore market sustainability" and warns that "the situation in African oil economies is difficult and the continent needs an agreement to ensure the continuity and survival of its industry".

According to a note sent to Lusa, the CEA points out that "as OPEC failed to reach agreement on maintaining production cuts in March, the main oil producers have been increasing production to maintain and increase their market share".

The problem, they add, is that "the increase in production came as a result of a shock in demand due to the covid-19 pandemic, and brought prices down to a historic average of 20 dollars".

Following the drop in prices, several investment projects were postponed, says CEA, exemplifying with ExxonMobil's Final Investment Decision in the Rovuma basin natural gas project in Mozambique, which most analysts give as postponed, but about which there is no official confirmation from the oil company, or with another significant project in Senegal.

"More importantly, several exploration and drilling contracts have been terminated or cancelled, or are simply not going to happen, as is the case with several long-awaited operations in the Gambia and Angola," they warn.

"The twin crisis of country confinement due to the pandemic and the price war is having a devastating effect on Africa and its producer countries and companies," says CEA Executive Chairman NJ Ayuk, quoted in the statement, in which he argues that "the price war will not have a winner.

OPEC and its allies have postponed to Thursday the meeting scheduled for Monday on the collapse of oil prices associated with the covid-19 pandemic, according to the Azerbaijani government.

"The meeting was postponed until 9 April," Zamina Aliyeva, a spokeswoman for the Energy Ministry, told France-Presse news agency (AFP) a few days ago, assuring that she was unaware of the reasons for the postponement of the meeting, which was scheduled for Monday, by videoconference, in which the organisation and its partners intend to achieve a response to the fall in oil prices seen in recent weeks.

The main oil producers want to resume negotiations to face the stagnation of their market.

The cut in production is expected to be 10 million barrels per day, a volume highlighted on Friday by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who said it was "necessary to join efforts to balance the market and reduce production.

An agreement "would make it possible to rebalance the contraction in demand, raise prices to more profitable levels and avoid production stoppages," stressed an analyst quoted by AFP.

On Thursday, Saudi Arabia, the main producer, called "at the request of the United States" for an urgent meeting of OPEC and other oil producers, including Russia, to reach a "fair agreement to restore balance to the oil markets," according to the official Saudi Arabian agency APA.

Saudi Arabia's invitation follows negotiations with US President Donald Trump, and the meeting is intended to discuss the adoption of a "new declaration of cooperation".

On Thursday, the US President raised a possible agreement between Saudi Arabia and Russia, involved in an oil price war to compensate for the contraction in demand caused by the covid-19 pandemic.

Russia - the world's second-largest producer, but not an OPEC member - last month refused a reduction in world oil production to compensate for the contraction in demand caused by the pandemic.

Permita anúncios no nosso site

×

Parece que está a utilizar um bloqueador de anúncios
Utilizamos a publicidade para podermos oferecer-lhe notícias diariamente.