Low Oil Prices: Buhari Constitutes Committee to Evaluate Impacts

• Low Oil Prices: Buhari Constitutes Committee to Evaluate Impacts

President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday set up a new committee to evaluate possible impacts of falling oil prices on the nation’s 2020 budget.

According to Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, the Minister of Finance/Budget and National Planning, the committee would decide whether to lower the Federal Government’s benchmark for crude oil from $57 per barrel.

“But, what that figure will be is what the committee will decide”, she said.

Ahmed, who addressed State House Correspondents after the committee meeting, chaired the meeting.

Other members of the committee are the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Mr Timipre Sylva; the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr Godwin Emefiel; the Minister of State, Budget, Mr Clement Agba; and the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Mr Mela Kyari.

The committee is expected to submit a report to President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday.

Brent crude, against which Nigerian oil is priced, plunged to $36.74 per barrels on Monday amid global economic rout. This is far below $57 per barrel benchmark by the Federal Government for the year and represents a decline of $20.26 per barrel.

At an assumed production of 2.18 million barrels per day, this translates to a loss of $44.166 million per day ($20.26 X 2.18 million).