By Adedapo Adesanya
For the meeting of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) scheduled to hold from March 4 through 6, the Nigerian Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr Timipre Sylva is in Vienna, Austria, the organisation’s headquarters.
Albeit concerns of the fear for the coronavirus (COVID-19), he joins several other oil ministers from the 14-member cartel and other oil producing nations to hold crucial meetings to discuss the next step for oil which have been hit by the virus in the last two months.
In a statement signed by the Senior Special Adviser (SSA) to the Minister, Mr Garba Deen Mohammed, on Wednesday, it was disclosed that confirmation that the meetings were going to hold had helped oil prices from their negative territory and the meeting was going to see discuss way forward for the market.
The statement said, “Last week, prices had come down to below $50 per barrel but rebounded by up to one percent on Monday.
“It is expected that the meeting will have a positive impact on crude price and a morale booster for OPEC and OPEC+,” he said.
Mr Sylva will be present at the three meetings that will hold from Wednesday to Friday.
Today, Wednesday March 4, the 18th OPEC and non-OPEC Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) meeting will take place.
On Thursday, March 5, the 178th (Extra-ordinary) OPEC Conference while on Friday, March 6, the 8th OPEC and Non-OPEC (OPEC+) meeting will take place among the 24-member alliance.
Dipo Olowookere