The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, in the March edition of the OPEC bulletin which was dedicated to Nigeria, remained adamant about Nigeria’s commitment to the ‘OPEC Declaration of Cooperation’ on crude oil production freeze to boost prices, The Guardian reports.

“Despite the difficulties we have had, we are determined to stick to our numbers. Even as we look at new projects, we consider how they impact on our commitments,” the Minister said. “Nigeria will not only support the ‘Declaration of Cooperation’, we will continue to play a leadership role.”

While acknowledging the many challenges facing the oil industry, Kachikwu in the bulletin said that there is recognition of more industry wide optimism in the oil industry than was the case one or two years ago.

A large reason for this is the success of the ‘OPEC Declaration of Cooperation’, which the Minister describes as being responsible for the “great rejuvenation of OPEC.” The Minister described the OPEC declaration as the best decision ever made by the organisation.

Â