Nigeria’s Minister of Petroleum and current President of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Diezani Allison-Madueke on Monday, February 23, 2015 granted an interview with The Financial Times, telling the renowned tabloid that OPEC was contemplating convening an emergency meeting in view of global oil prices which have been low for months on end.
She said: “almost all Opec countries, except perhaps the Arab bloc, are very uncomfortable,” and that if the price “slips any further it is highly likely that I will have to call an extraordinary meeting of Opec in the next six weeks or so.”
Six weeks in question means early April, although the world oil regulating body is not scheduled to meet until June.
It could be recalled that the last time OPEC met in November 2014, a decision was reached to hold oil production at 30 million barrels per day, a decision that did not yield the expected results as it led to a downward spiral in the prices of crude oil.
But not long after Allison-Madueke’s interview, oil prices rose above the $50 per barrel.