Nigeria says OPEC quota decision depends on oil price

Nigerian Petroleum Minister Rilwanu Lukman said OPEC’s decision this week on production quotas depends on oil price levels, which he said “could be better.”

Asked in an interview in Vienna whether the group will maintain its existing quotas when it meets on Sept. 9 in the Austrian capital, he replied: “could be, but it depends” on prices. There is “a bit of an overhang in the market,” Lukman said, referring to inventory levels.

The crude oil production target for 11 members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries bound by quotas is 24.845 million barrels a day. Actual output from those 11 averaged 26.055 million barrels a day in August, according to Bloomberg estimates.