Oil price fall is temporary, says Saudi minister

Recent falls in the price of oil are likely to be temporary, says the oil minister for Saudi Arabia, Opec's biggest producing nation

Ali al-Naimi said commodity price fluctuations were to be expected and said he was hopeful for the future.

He added it was "difficult, or even impossible, for Saudi Arabia or Opec to undertake any measure that would lead to a reduction in [their] share of the market and an increase in of others".

The price of oil has halved since June.

On Thursday, the price of Brent crude was just below $63 a barrel, while US crude was near $58.

Oil prices, which were

Nigeria’s lowest FX reserves in OPEC show CBN’s naira challenge

Nigeria has one of the lowest foreign-exchange reserves, among the 12-member Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), highlighting the challenge before the Central Bank (CBN), as it struggles to defend the naira amid falling oil prices.

FX reserves in Africa’s largest economy are low both in absolute terms and as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Nigeria’s $36.5 billion in gross FX reserves is only equivalent to 7 percent of its 2013 economic output of $520 billion.

This compares with

Brent rebounds above $71 in turbulent oil market

Brent rose to $71 a barrel yesterday, recovering some of its losses from the previous session as a turbulent market searched for a price floor after a nearly 40 percent fall since June. Oil has seen choppy trade since the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said last week it would not lower output despite an oversupplied market.

Brent hit a five-year low below $68 a barrel on Monday after averaging around

Alison-Madueke to Focus on Energy Security, Market Balance as OPEC’s President

The newly elected president of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke has said her one year reign at the helm of affairs of the organisation will be dominated by keen focus on energy security and balance in crude oil market.

Alison-Madueke who was Thursday elected the first female president of OPEC at the 166th general meeting of the body in Vienna, Austria, told diaspora Nigerians in Austria that the position will

Moscow to Follow OPEC Decision Maintain Output Level

The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ (OPEC's) decision to abstain from cuts in oil production has forced Russia not to proceed with its own cuts, Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov, according to TASS news agency.

The OPEC agreed on Thursday to roll over the ceiling of 30 million barrels per day, at least 1 million above OPEC's own estimates of demand for its oil next year.

Oil prices have dived after the decision, reaching a new four-year low. North Sea Brent fell by $2.43, or 3.3 percent on the day, to $70.15 on Friday.

Russia is

Share index shed 1.74 percent, as oil stocks tumble

The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) share index fell 1.74 percent on Monday, dragged lower by oil stocks Oando and Seplat, trailing tumbling global oil prices.

The index had fallen to 33,941 points by 1255 GMT. Oando fell almost 10 percent while Seplat lost 5.9 percent.

Brent crude oil fell to a five-year low below $68 on Monday before

Oil price: Opec members split over output cuts

Saudi Arabia has indicated it will not push for output cuts to help push up oil prices, as Opec oil producers prepare for their meeting on Thursday.

The oil market will "stabilise itself eventually", said Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi.

Saudi Arabia is the largest producer of the 12 members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec).

The oil cartel is split over how to react to the sharp slump in oil prices.

The price of Brent crude has plunged 30% since June, triggered by a sharp rise in US shale oil output and weakening global demand.

There is speculation that

Nigeria Earns $40bn from Oil Exports in Six Months

Nigeria has been estimated to have realised about $40 billion from crude oil exports in the first half of this year, according to the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

The 12-nation member organisation, in its revenue fact sheet, however stated that the Africa’s oil giant had net earnings of about $84 billion in 2013.

This revenue has positioned Nigeria as the fourth highest earner among OPEC members, after Saudi Arabia ($274 billion), Kuwait ($45 billion), and Iraq ($45 billion), during the same period.

Libya earned the least revenue with ($4 billion) after Equador ($5 billion).

The United States Energy Information Administration (EIA) also estimated that excluding Iran, members of the OPEC earned about $826 billion in net oil export revenues in 2013, a seven per cent decrease from 2012 earnings, but the second largest earnings totals during

OPEC cuts demand outlook by most in 3 years on US shale

OPEC reduced forecasts for the amount of crude it will need to supply by the most in at least three years as surging North American shale output reduces reliance on the group’s supplies, reports Bloomberg.

The forecast by the OPEC means that officials in Nigeria can no longer live in denial of the seismic shift in the country’s oil fortunes in the midst of the shale revolution and Nigeria must now begin to admit that it will have to become more market-friendly in managing its oil assets.

The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) expects it will need to pump an average of 29.2 million barrels a day of crude next year, 200,000 a day less than it forecast a month ago. The group boosted estimates for supplies from countries outside OPEC by the same amount. The change implies that OPEC’s 12 members would need to cut output by about 1.1 million barrels a day from the 30.3 million they produced in August.

Brent crude futures declined below