Nigeria President in KSA for Oil Talks

Local Editor

The leader of Africa's number one oil producer was in Saudi Arabia Tuesday, with analysts forecasting his country's eventual support for an output freeze to stabilize prices.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari is to meet the Saudi King Salman before travelling on to Qatar.

Buhari arrived the week after Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed in Doha to stick to January production levels if others followed.

The potential output freeze aims to stabilize a market in which prices have fallen to their lowest levels in nearly 13 years.

Poorer OPEC members, including Nigeria, have been hard-hit by the price drop but even the wealthy Gulf states have been forced to adopt austerity measures to cope with falling oil revenues.

The two countries are OPEC's second and third largest producers.

Prices have plunged since 2014 when the Saudi-influenced OPEC refused to cut production in an increasingly competitive market, particularly from American shale oil producers.

Nigeria and Saudi Arabia will also discuss their position towards Iran and Iraq, he added.

"Nigeria could have a crucial role in this respect because of its measured position" that Iran and Iraq should elevate their production before envisaging a freeze on their part, Dembik said.

"It is probable, then, that Nigeria meanwhile establishes a bridge for negotiations, notably between Riyadh and Tehran."

According to OPEC's Monthly Oil Market Report, Iraq produces about 4.4 million barrels a day, followed by Iran at more than 2.9 million.

Saudi Arabia's output is close to 10.1 million barrels a day, according to January data.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team