Brent crude soared to $94 per barrel late on Thursday, September 14, according to a survey of world crude prices on Oil Price. This increase was caused by mounting concerns over the availability of crude.
The Times reported that the impact of oil production cuts in Saudi Arabia and Russia, which have contributed to the recent upward trajectory in oil prices over the past few weeks, was highlighted in prior publications, which were followed by this increase in oil prices.
Surprisingly, the price of Brent crude has now risen to its highest level since the year 2023 began.
Saudi Arabia and Russia had decided to extend their oil output curbs till the end of 2023.
The price of Brent crude was circling around $76 per barrel at the time of their initial announcement in July 2023.
Brent oil is presently firmly retaining its position at $94 per barrel, showing a spectacular and impressive increase in value. It is noteworthy that the current price has increased dramatically.
Meanwhile, Brent crude was trading at $94.31 per barrel as of Friday, September 15, 4 AM (GMT+1).
Reuters says that the price increase on Friday is predicated on the decision by China to relax banks’ cash reserve requirements to promote its economic recovery, as well as on forecasts that major global interest rate increases cycles were nearing their end.
According to a recent Bloomberg report, Tatonga Rusike, the sub-Saharan African economist at Bank of America, has emphasised that for Nigeria to achieve President Bola Tinubu’s ambitious goal of achieving 6% economic growth starting next year, it will need to significantly increase its oil production by between 300,000 and 400,000 barrels per day.
However, a number of challenges remain in the way of attaining this increase in output, especially given the recent rise in Brent oil prices. Nigeria has had trouble taking advantage of this fortunate market situation.
One significant concern is the ongoing problem of crude oil theft, which despite concerted attempts by the government, security agencies, and outside groups like the Tompolo-led Tantita Security Group to prevent it, looks to be getting worse.
Investors’ perceptions of the viability of Nigeria’s oil and gas sector may be impacted by the unreliability of the nation’s oil installations.
Note that, in contrast to the oil industry, Nigeria’s non-oil sectors—services, manufacturing, and agriculture, saw strong growth in the second quarter of 2023, according to the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries most recent monthly oil market report, published in September 2023.
