Secretary-General of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Mr. Mohammed Barkindo has expressed amazement at how Nigeria survived the oil price crash that span between the fall of 2014 and early 2016, a problem dubbed as the worst energy cycle in recent memory.
Speaking during a courtesy visit to the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, Barkindo said Nigeria survived the worst energy cycle in recent memory even as he went ahead to describe her survival as a miracle reason being that many other oil producing countries are still struggling for survival.
In his words: “We have gone through the worst energy cycle in recent memory. Some of us, who have been around for a quite a while, have witnessed all these five cycles and it is a consensus in terms of the gravity of these cycles, prices have crashed by over 80 per cent from the fall of 2014 to January 2016.
“How you survived as a government as an institution under this great industry remains a miracle. I have visited all other countries and I have seen how they are struggling.
“But you have weathered the storm. I think the worst is behind us, thanks to your (Nigeria’s) leadership in the run up to the historic agreement of last year, beginning with the Algiers Accord on September 20.”