Petroleum minister, Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, on a visit to New Delhi, has revaealed that Nigeria is seeking to sign a cash-raising oil deal with India for $15 billion by the end of this year.
The deal will see the Indian government make an upfront payment for crude purchase to Nigeria, to be repaid on the basis of firm term crude contracts over some years.
India’s oil ministry said that Nigeria, whose economy has been hit hard by low oil prices and militancy, had requested an upfront payment.
Nigeria has a bit of a cash flow problem right now. Our reserves are not as strong as we want them,” Kachikwu told reporters on Monday. “The impact of that is the value of the naira (currency) is coming down. So what we are trying is to leverage on the assets we have to receive immediate cash.”
He said the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which has agreed to cut world output to rescue prices, has however allowed a production window of 1.8 million bpd to 2.2 million bpd for recession-hit Nigeria.