As Qatar plans to quit the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) from January 1 next year, some stakeholders have insisted it is in the best interest of Nigeria to remain in the cartel.
It was learnt that Qatar is leaving OPEC as the country’s relations with its Arab neighbours go sour, ending a near six-decade-long membership of the oil price cartel.
The emirate’s oil minister told reporters on Monday the decision to leave the group of big oil exporting countries had come after Qatar reviewed the ways it could enhance its role abroad while shifting the focus of the country towards gas.
In the last political dispensation, the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources suggested that Nigeria should reconsider its continued membership of OPEC if it must reap the full benefits of the Production Sharing Contracts (PSC) deal with multinational oil companies.
Despite Nigeria’s huge gas reserves, some stakeholders in the oil and gas space said it was better to remain in OPEC, claiming the organisation had remained committed to the interest of Nigeria. Read more