By Toby TAIWO
With crude oil prices further dropping on the international market, Nigeria’s major refinery, Dangote Refinery, is under pressure to drop its price significantly.
Dangote refinery this week sliced down by N75, but international watchers have said there is a need to do more given the US-Iran deal that will be signed within 24 hours.
Oil prices fell again on Wednesday on prospects for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, with Brent crude futures below $80, at their lowest level since the opening salvos of the U.S.-Iran conflict.
Current prices range from; Brent Crude (Global) $78.00 – $79.00 per barrel, WTI Crude (US)$74.00 – $76.00 per barrel, Bonny Light (Nigeria)$67.00 – $68.00 per barre and OPEC Basket $83.00 – $84.00 per barrel, down by 4%.
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United States President Donald Trump has also defended his interim agreement with Iran, saying it had averted a global economic catastrophe, while warning he could launch fresh attacks if Tehran failed to honour its commitments, according to Reuters.
The deal to be signed tomorrow will lead to the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, clearing the way for unfettered movement of ships and the consequent easing of economic strangulation.
Speaking at the close of a G7 summit in France, Trump also said maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz had risen sharply since the truce was announced three days ago and expressed hope it could mark the start of a wider peace across the Middle East.
“We’re going to bomb the hell out of them (Iran) if they violate the agreement. I don’t want them to. I want them to honor the agreement,” Trump told a press conference, adding that the Iranians were “smart people”.
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The war, which began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28 and spiraled into a broader regional conflict, has driven up energy prices, renewed inflationary pressures, and sparked concerns about a major food supply crisis in developing countries.
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“So the one thing I didn’t want to see is, I didn’t want to see economic catastrophe. If you kept this going, that could have happened,” Trump said. He thanked Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin for being “neutral” during the conflict, saying they had not thwarted his efforts to curb Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
The 14-point draft, which had already circulated widely before its contents were published, extends a ceasefire announced in April by another 60 days to allow the two sides to negotiate a permanent truce.
