Oil price dips to $74.18, Russia rallies OPEC on market stability

Brent, the oil against which Nigeria’s crude is priced, dropped marginally on Tuesday, shedding 32 cents to close at $74.18 per barrel as of 4pm Nigerian time.

Industry figures showed that the commodity dipped in price by 0.43 per cent when compared to its cost the preceding day.

This came as the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Alexander Novak, in a letter addressed to the Secretary-General of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Sanusi Barkindo, emphasised the need for continued work by OPEC and its allies to maintain market stability.

In the letter, which was received by OPEC on July 27, 2021, and sighted by our correspondent in Abuja on Tuesday, Novak commended the OPEC scribe for his efforts in ensuring the stability of global crude oil prices.

The letter read in part, “I believe that in the conditions of continued uncertainty in the development of the global economy, the significance of the coordinated work in order to maintain the stability of the global energy markets will only increase.”

Novak noted that the reliable basis for this was the Declaration of Cooperation and the Charter of Cooperation by OPEC and its allies.

“I am convinced that further expansion of our cooperation in the direction of elaborating common strategic approaches to the development of the oil sector in the context of the energy transition and accelerating technological progress will contribute to strengthening of the global energy security and promote the economic development of the participating countries,” he stated.

The deputy prime minister reaffirmed the commitment of the Russian government to the development of the constructive cooperation with OPEC.

This, he said, was both within the framework of the bilateral dialogue and in the OPEC/non-OPEC format, based on trust, mutual respect and recognition of interests for the benefit of oil producers and consumers.

Novak commended Barkindo’s high assessment of the efficiency of the cooperation within the OPEC/non-OPEC format, stressing that the OPEC scribe contributed to the joint decisions that ensured the stability and predictability of the world oil market.