According to Emmanuel Kachikwu, Nigeria’s oil minister, the country could be set, by the end of March, 2018, to become party to the deal by OPEC+ to cap oil production.

The minister said that Nigeria could join the deal once their production reaches 1.8m barrels a day. This is expected to happen by around the end of March 2018. Nigeria was excluded from having to comply with production quotas given how much the country’s oil industry has suffered as a result of the conflicts currently taking place in the region.

This news will have a fairly positive effect on the oil market, which still finds itself in a state of uncertainty, despite the fact that current oil prices are considered quite favourable.

Price forecasts for 2018 are very varied, with the pessimists predicting a price of 40 USD per barrel, and optimists looking at 60, even 70 USD.

We take a relatively optimistic view, believing that 2018 prices will average around 55 – 60 USD per barrel. Whether or not the Saudis will launch their long-awaited IPO for the state-owned Saudi Aramco remains one of the more interesting questions surrounding the oil industry.