Oil Price Crash: Prepare for tough times, Petroleum Corporation tells Nigerians

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), has called on Nigerians to prepare for tough time for at least next three months following the global gloom trailing last Monday’s slide in crude oil prices to close to $30 per barrels.

Penpushing reports that, Group Managing Director of the Corporation, Mele Kyari gave the hint, explaining that this followed the growing impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the world economy, calling on citizens on need to buckle up .

The Corporation boss who spoke at the Consultative Roundtable on the economy organised by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), said this warning is based on his experience on how the global oil market works.

“Prepare for trouble for at least three months. Even if the price of crude oil goes back to $58 per barrel, the situation will still be tough, because there is a backlog of production hanging that has to be resolved’,Kyari said.

“What that means is that we are going to have the impact of this low crude oil price for some time. The oil market is highly unpredictable. Nobody knows what is going to happen tomorrow.There are many forecasts. We said oil will be sold at about $60 per barrel this year. But we are already having $22 per barrel. Nobody knows what will happen next tomorrow,” he said.

Penpushing further reports that, Kyari while speaking on the oil crash noted that,the anxiety generated by the sudden crash of oil prices, is as a result of the importance of oil in the global economy, stressing that, “such that when crude oil prices collapse in the international oil market, everything else collapses”.

The Managing Director  said Nigeria, has the capacity to meet the expectation of raising her oil production to three million barrels per day as well as increase her reserve from the current average of 36 and 37 billion barrels to 40 billion barrels in the next two to three years.

He added, “much as these are very high expectations that are very possible, Nigeria must continue to produce even at low prices. The market operates in such a way that nobody knows what tomorrow will be. The assumption this year was that $60 per barrel as an average. Now, we are facing a declining situation we have not even seen the bottom.

“It is a huge challenge that creates a cycle of problems for the country that is so difficult to manage, as it involves a huge deficit that will radiate to all sectors of the economy, including the financial sector. Today, there are over 12 stranded LNG cargoes globally that have no hope, because there is an abrupt collapse in demand in the oil market associated to the coronavirus. It has never happened’.

“This is also affecting other sectors, including liquid crude oil. Today, we have about 50 cargoes with Nigeria crude oil that have not found landing. This means traders have purchased them, but do not know where to take them,’ he said.

Penpushing also reports that, the Corporation Chief Executive explained that the crisis is affecting operators in other jurisdictions, citing Saudi Arabia and Iraq, which have already crashed their prices by $8 and $5 respectively in response to the crisis.

The Managing Director the two countries,  could afford to do that because their production cost is low, “unlike Nigeria which belongs to the group whose production processes involve about $15- $17 cost per barrel”.

“So, when country’s crude oil is selling for $30 per barrel, and circumstances are forcing the country to drop the price by $8, it means in the market the country will be selling for $22 per barrel. That’s a massive problem.

“That can be tolerated in some production environment, like Saudi Arabia where their average production cost is about $4 to $5 to the barrel. But,  not in Nigeria. Today, the best of our production processes allows about $15- $17 cost per barrel. Some others are as high as $30. Nigeria is one of those jurisdictions. When crude oil price has gone down to $32 per barrel and you are producing at $30, you don’t need a soothsayer to tell you, you are out of business already,” he said.