By Adedapo Adesanya
The price of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) basket of 13 crudes stood at $43.38 per barrel on Friday, July 24.
Compared with the previous day’s rate of $44.62 per barrel, the latest OPEC Secretariat calculations show that the average crude prices lost $1.24 or 2.78 per cent.
The OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Djeno (Congo), Zafiro (Equatorial Guinea), Rabi Light (Gabon), Iran Heavy (Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela).
The loss can be attributed to the concerns about escalating tensions between the world’s two biggest economies, the United States and China following the closures of consulates in Houston and Chengdu.
This is also happening as coronavirus cases continue to surge and hitting 16 million cases, sparking fears of a second wave which could affect and halt improving demand.
In other OPEC related news, The OPEC-Gabon Bilateral Meeting that took place on Friday has sent yet another signal of the strong dialogue and cooperation between OPEC and African producing countries.
Such a dialogue is key for compliance with the OPEC global production cuts deal to which all of OPEC’s African member countries have agreed to
According to the Executive Chairman at the African Energy Chamber, Mr NJ Ayuk said, “OPEC Secretary-General Mohammed Sanusi Barkindo is an advocate for Africa and has always made it clear that the OPEC-Africa dialogue would be a priority to make Africa’s voice heard on the global energy stage
“The Government of Gabon and the country’s Ministry of Petroleum, Gas and Mines have always been strong participants in the global energy dialogue between Africa and institutions such as OPEC. Gabon has public officials committed to fighting for their country, their people and economic prosperity. Such moves make our industry better for Africans and for investors,” he added.
Gabon’s ongoing 12th Offshore Licensing Round was launched in November 2018 and has already been met with significant success, resulting in the signing of a record number of PSCs in sub-Saharan Africa last year.
In response to ongoing market conditions and the pandemic of COVID-19, the Ministry of Petroleum, Gas and Mines extended the submission deadline beyond to give investors an opportunity to keep studying what is one of Africa’s hottest upstream frontier, with 35 blocks on offer.
The country’s new Hydrocarbons Code, Law No. 002/2019 offers a more competitive upstream fiscal regime, provides an even better enabling environment for investors, and promotes the development of marginal fields by local players.
Until the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent production cuts, Gabon had also successfully managed to reverse a historic decline in domestic oil production and had made new significant offshore discoveries.
Dipo Olowookere