Ike Amos
26 May 2017, Sweetcrude, Abuja — The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, has appointed a Nigerian, Mr. Olusegun Adekunle as the Alternate Chairman of the 127th OPEC Economic Commission Board.
Director of Press of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Mr. Idang Alibi, disclosed this in a statement in Abuja.
Prior to his appointment, Adekunle was National Representative of Nigeria to OPEC.
According to Alibi, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr. Ibe Kachikwu expressed delight at the development while congratulating Adekunle and urging him to continue to work hard to justify the appointment and make Nigeria proud.
Furthermore, Nigeria’s profile in OPEC continues to soar as the Minister of Mines, Industry, and Energy of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Mr. Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima lauded Nigeria’s role in the recent admittance of the country into OPEC membership.
Obiang Lima said, “In one of the most critical moments of our oil history, Nigeria through its Minister, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu stood by our side and showed itself to be a true friend and partner.
“Equatorial Guinea will always remember with gratitude and affection how Nigeria offered us support on our OPEC application and extraordinary assistance along with our African Brothers.”
He also stated that Equatorial Guinea thanks Nigeria for supporting Equatorial Guinea to give Africa a stronger voice in OPEC.
In a related development, Alibi stated that Kachikwu met with his Russian counterpart, Alexander Novak, where they explored areas of mutual interest in the oil industry to their countries.
Kachikwu had expressed Nigeria’s interest in having Russia and Russians come to participate in the growing oil sector of the country, pointing out that the reforms and processes being put in place which aims to enhance the investment climate in Nigeria, has recorded major achievements with the ongoing implementation of the 7 BigWins -Nigerian Petroleum Roadmap.
In his response, Novak assured Kachikwu that Russia is interested in participating in the Nigerian oil industry and would suggest that preliminary technical talks begin as soon as possible between the two countries.
Novak extended an invitation to Dr. Kachikwu to visit Russia during the next Gas Exporting Countries Forum Ministerial Meeting, scheduled for next October, where further talks on the matter can take place.