Browsing: crude oil

For over three decades, Nigeria pursued this model. But things are changing, with the election of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015, who was propelled into office under the mantra of “change”. That clamour for change, in the areas of governance, security and economy, coincided with the collapse of global oil prices and a consequent huge deficit in government revenues. These circumstances provided the ingredients for an overhaul of the entire economic model.  The first and rather numbing conclusion of that exercise was that Nigeria is not actually an ‘oil economy’. With just 2 million barrels of oil per day and over 180 million people, simple mathematics tells us that 90 Nigerians share a barrel of oil compared to three Saudis, 1.44 Kuwaitis and 1.69 Qataris. With oil at just 10 per cent of GDP, Nigeria simply does not fit into the mould of the traditional oil economies.

According to Reuters, fewer drilling rigs were added in the United States last week, helping ease concerns that surging shale supplies will undermine the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries-led production cuts.