The General Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), Mele Kyari, has stated that Nigeria will reach full compliance with the OPEC+ deal by “maximum, middle of July.”

Nigeria and Iran, were laggard OPEC member-countries after the first month of the OPEC+ deal that went into effect on the 1st of May, to help cushion the effect of the global drop in demand for oil, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the OPEC meeting that took place last Saturday, it was agreed that the current deal would be extended until the end of July and defaulting countries who exceeded their quotas were to compensate with further cuts.

In an online interview with Dubai-based research firm, Gulf Intelligence, on Wednesday, Kyari said that although there had been technical challenges, Nigeria was committed to adhering to the terms of the deal. He said that Nigeria had exceeded its quota for production cuts by a little less than 100,000 barrels per day in May.

He added that the African continent’s top oil exporter hoped to reach full compliance by mid-July, and Nigeria would need to cut an additional 40,000 – 45,000 bpd to compensate for its over-production.

In another webinar with stakeholders in the Nigerian oil and gas industry on the same day, the GMD said that an estimate of $27 per barrel for the country’s revised budget could be on the low side, as prices were recovering from a twenty-year low.

“There’s a hope and expectation that with all the rebalancing that’s going on we could reach $42-$45 before the end of the year, which could compensate for the low prices in March and April.”

He also noted that the country aimed to cap production at a cost of $10 a barrel by 2021 to remain competitive. “If you can’t do this, you walk away, this is not a business of subsidies,” he said.