Buhari: OPEC Must Cooperate To Stabilize Oil Market

President Muhammadu Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari has said that member states of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) must cooperate with non-member states to stabilize the crude oil market.

Daily Trust report continues:

President Buhari said this in Qatar on Sunday at a bilateral meeting with Sheikh Tamim Bin Hammad Al-Thani, the Emir of the State of Qatar.

Buhari, who is currently on a state visit to Qatar, stressed the need for member states of the OPEC and non-OPEC members to cooperate and find a common ground to stabilize crude oil prices.

Presidential spokesman, Mr Femi Adesina, quoted Buhari as describing the current market situation in the industry which has seen oil prices plummet by 70 percent since mid-2014 as totally unacceptable.

"As members of OPEC and Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), our relations in the areas of oil and gas, which our two nations heavily rely on, need to be enhanced and coordinated for the benefit of our people.

"The current market situation in the oil industry is unsustainable and totally unacceptable. We must cooperate both within and outside our respective organizations to find a common ground to stabilize the market, which will be beneficial to our nations", he said.

President Buhari commended the existing cordial bilateral relations between Nigeria and Qatar.

He invited prospective Qatari investors to take advantage of the abundant opportunities in Nigeria and invest in the key areas of energy, agriculture, real estate development, banking and finance.

The president assured prospective investors that his government would protect their persons and investment, saying in the course of his visit, the delegations from Nigeria and Qatar would formalize at least two bilateral agreements to boost economic cooperation between both nations.

Buhari was also said to have weighed-in on the situation in the Middle East and commended Qatar's role in resolving the present Syrian crisis, the Palestinian cause and efforts in reconstructing Gaza.