Angola and Nigeria refuse to comply with OPEC+ demand

Angola and Nigeria, two African members of the OPEC+ group of oil-producing nations, have refused to follow the organization’s plans to reduce output and have instead demanded that their production quotas be increased, according to a Reuters story published on Thursday.

Oil prices fell as a result of the argument that followed, which pushed OPEC+ member nations to cancel a planned meeting where they were supposed to talk about additional supply cutbacks, according to the news agency.

WTI and Brent, the two benchmarks, fell sharply on Wednesday following the postponement of the conference. WTI was selling at about $76.8 per barrel as of Friday, while Brent was at about $81.8.

Nigeria and Angola both want to produce more oil, according to Reuters. Estevao Pedro, the governor of Angola in OPEC+, stated that his nation was “fighting” to raise output.

The two nations have been falling short of their quotas in recent years, and as part of the bloc’s overall agreement to restrict supplies until 2024, they were assigned reduced production objectives at the most recent OPEC+ meeting in June.

But according to reports, the African nations now want their output quotas increased from the previously set amounts. The OPEC+ delegate for Angola stated that investments were currently “being made” to allow the nation to increase its oil production.

According to Reuters, the OPEC+ meeting regarding the production plans for the upcoming year is now scheduled for next Thursday. According to a number of specialists surveyed by the news organisation, the group would probably continue or perhaps intensify oil supply restrictions into the following year.

Members of OPEC+, which include Saudi Arabia and Russia, two of the biggest oil producers, have promised to reduce their production of the commodity starting in late 2022. This was done to bolster crude prices and stabilise the world oil market, which saw a turbulent year as a result of sanctions against Russia, a major oil producer.