Nigerian leader calls for oil price cut
Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, an Opec member, called today for the oil cartel to take action to lower crude prices, now at over 50 US dollars a barrel.
He appealed to “Opec countries and non-Opec oil producers to moderate the high price of oil".
“Excessive and volatile oil prices are not in the best interests of producers and consumers,” Obasanjo said, addressing an economic conference held at the headquarters of the Economic Community of West African States in Abuja.
Nigeria, Africa’s largest oil exporter, is the world’s sixth-biggest exporter of crude oil and the fifth-biggest supplier to the US. It produces around 2.5 million barrels per day, almost all of which is exported.
“There is need for price stability and supply security for all concerned,” said Obasanjo. “Speculators should also realize that they are doing more harm than good.”
