Buhari: OPEC must cooperate to stabilise oil market

President Muhammadu Buhari has said that
member states of the Organisation of Petroleum
Exporting Countries (OPEC) must cooperate with
non-member states to stabilise the crude oil
market.
President Buhari said this in Qatar on Sunday at a
bilateral meeting with Sheikh Tamim Bin Hammad
Al-Thani, the Emir of the State of Qatar.
Buhari, who is currently on a state visit to Qatar,
stressed the need for member states of the OPEC
and non-OPEC members to cooperate and find a
common ground to stabilise crude oil prices.
Presidential spokesman, Mr Femi Adesina, quoted
Buhari as describing the current market situation
in the industry which has seen oil prices plummet
by 70 percent since mid-2014 as totally
unacceptable.
"As members of OPEC and Gas Exporting
Countries Forum (GECF), our relations in the areas
of oil and gas, which our two nations heavily rely
on, need to be enhanced and coordinated for the
benefit of our people.
"The current market situation in the oil industry is
unsustainable and totally unacceptable. We must
cooperate both within and outside our respective
organisations to find a common ground to
stabilise the market, which will be beneficial to
our nations", he said.
President Buhari commended the existing cordial
bilateral relations between Nigeria and Qatar.
He invited prospective Qatari investors to take
advantage of the abundant opportunities in
Nigeria and invest in the key areas of energy,
agriculture, real estate development, banking and
finance.
The president assured prospective investors that
his government would protect their persons and
investment, saying in the course of his visit, the
delegations from Nigeria and Qatar would
formalise at least two bilateral agreements to
boost economic cooperation between both
nations.
Buhari was also said to have weighed-in on the
situation in the Middle East and commended
Qatar's role in resolving the present Syrian crisis,
the Palestinian cause and efforts in reconstructing
Gaza.