The price of Brent, the crude against which Nigeria’s oil is priced, increased marginally on Monday as the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries projected a slow growth momentum in terms of economic recovery this year.
Also, OPEC announced the appointment of its next Secretary-General, expected to assume office in August 2022, following the expiration of the second term of Nigeria’s Sanusi Barkindo, in July.
Oil price figures seen in Abuja on Monday showed that the cost of Brent appreciated by 1.12 per cent or $0.87 to $78.65 per barrel as at 5.10pm Nigerian time.
It was further observed that price increases were also recorded in oil grades in the OPEC Basket and WTI crude on Monday.
Crude oil in the OPEC Basket rose to $77.97 per barrel, representing a 5.04 per cent or $3.74 rise as at 5.10pm, when compared to what was posted the previous day.
For WTI crude, the commodity appreciated marginally in price, as it increased by 0.73 per cent or $0.55 to $75.76 as at 5.10pm on Monday.
Meanwhile, in his opening remarks at the 58th Meeting of the Joint Technical Committee via videoconference on Monday, Barkindo expressed hope that the oil sector would record progress in 2022, but stressed that the challenges posed by the Omicron variant of COVID-19 had been tough.
The OPEC scribe noted that the world had learnt several hard lessons over the past two years, as many economies were now better equipped today to manage COVID-19 and its side effects.
