Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Plunging oil prices and collapsing state revenues have seen Nigerian authorities vow an end to a controversial fuel subsidy scheme long criticised as a graft-ridden drain on public finances. But there are major doubts that Africa’s most populous country is finally ready to wean itself off …
Read More »Virus crisis adds to woes of Africa’s oil producers
Libreville, Gabon | AFP | For years, African oil-exporting countries have vowed to wean themselves off crude — but for many, this uphill task may become mountainous after the coronavirus pandemic caused the energy market to collapse. Here is a snapshot of how sub-Saharan oil exporters are faring: – Who …
Read More »OPEC sees oil market already rebalancing
Paris, France | AFP | The rebalancing of the oil market is underway and will accelerate, the OPEC cartel said Wednesday, days after some of its members voluntarily increased their production cuts. The world oil market was thrown into disarray earlier this year as lockdown measures imposed by governments to slow the spread of the …
Read More »COVID-19, the knockout punch for multilateralism?
Paris, France | AFP | The coronavirus pandemic blindsided international organisations, prompted individual states to unilaterally strike out alone and heralded a new chapter in the 21st century’s chief geopolitical rivalry between the United States and China. In the post-COVID-19 era, will multilateralism be dead? Regional and international organisations from the …
Read More »Crude suffers fresh sell-off but equities temper early losses
Hong Kong, China | AFP | Oil resumed its painful retreat Wednesday, extending a rout that has torn through energy markets, though stock exchanges in Asia and Europe were mixed following a two-day sell-off. With demand virtually non-existent owing to virus lockdowns, and production still high despite storage at bursting point, …
Read More »OPEC says oil market undergoing ‘historic shock’
Paris, France | AFP | The OPEC oil cartel said Thursday that the world market for crude is undergoing an unprecedented jolt due to coronavirus mitigation measures that have decimated demand. “The oil market is currently undergoing a historic shock that is abrupt, extreme and at global scale,” said the group …
Read More »Top oil producers agree ‘historic’ cuts due to coronavirus crisis
Vienna, Austria | AFP | Top oil-producing countries agreed on “historic” output cuts to prop up prices hammered by the coronavirus crisis and a Russia-Saudi price war, sending crude prices soaring on Monday. The US benchmark WTI climbed 7.7 percent to $24.52 a barrel in early Asian trade while Brent was …
Read More »Oil prices, virus, instability put Algeria on edge
Algiers, Algeria | AFP | Algeria faces economic and social turmoil if crude prices continue to collapse, experts have warned, with the oil-dependent country reeling from a year of popular protests, political turmoil and now, coronavirus. The North African country is an example of how hydrocarbon economies are likely to face …
Read More »Top oil producers except Mexico agree to output cuts: OPEC
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Major oil producers except Mexico agreed to cut output in May and June by 10 million barrels per day, OPEC said Friday, after marathon talks to counter a collapse in prices. The agreement, which reduces production to eight million bpd from July to December, depends …
Read More »OPEC puts heads together over oil output cuts
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Top oil producers started a crucial meeting on Thursday to discuss a possible cut in output after a collapse in demand due to the coronavirus and a Saudi-Russian price war caused the market to crash. The video conference meeting began shortly after 1440 GMT between …
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