Nigeria backs Saudi on oil market stability

 
The Nigerian government has backed Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Energy, Abdulaziz Bin Salman, in his call for stakeholders to promote stability in the global oil market. 

What’s this about? 

Bin Salman had said earlier that the stability of the international oil market is more important than the price of oil, which seems to attract more attention from stakeholders. “In a way, the market is in a state of schizophrenia, and this is creating a type of yo-yo market, sending erroneous signals at times when greater visibility and clarity and well-functioning markets are needed more than ever to allow market participants to efficiently hedge and manage the huge risks and uncertainties they face”, Salman said. 

What are the issues in the market? 

Analysts have highlighted a disparity between what’s on paper and the physical realities of the oil market, which limits how players in the oil market can manage the uncertainties in the market. Expressing the government’s support for Salman’s call, Nigeria’s minister of state for petroleum, Timipre Sylva, reiterated the need to address the disparity and create a more stable global oil market. “A stable oil market benefits all – consumers, producers, and investors alike. It is also a catalyst for global economic growth”, Sylva said, adding that the current extreme volatility in the market calls for caution.