OPEC's African Members React to Cuts in Oil Exports

Published in New York University International Relations Insider

This sign at a gas station in Frankfurt, Germany shows how high gas prices have gotten, and they are only set to increase after OPEC’s decision to cut exports last Wednesday. Photo: Michael Probst/AP Newsroom

OPEC, the Organization of Oil Exporting Countries, will be cutting their oil exports by over two million barrels a day, a spokesman representing the organisation announced last Wednesday.

OPEC is a coalition of fifteen nations that pools their oil resources in order to influence global prices, primarily by setting production quotas and export limits.

During their recent meeting in Vienna, Austria, the countries unanimously decided to cut exports, attributing their decision to “the uncertainty that surrounds the global economic and oil market outlooks," according to their press office.

This has prompted mixed reactions from the international community, and some have even doubted the truth behind their intentions. But Firas Maksad, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, said in an interview that OPEC has “legitimate business reasons for the cut. They're seeking higher prices now in case a global recession reduces demand later.”

OPEC includes multiple African countries like Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Angola, and Gabon. Their expanded organisation, OPEC+, also includes Sudan and South Sudan.

All of these countries voiced their support for the move.

Omar Farouk Ibrahim, Secretary-General of the African Petroleum Producers Organization, said it was “the right thing they did in order to save the industry.”

Natacha Massano, vice president of Angola’s National Agency for Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels, said that the move would “benefit [producers like Angola and Nigeria] from the high prices.”

The move also gives hope to Nigeria, who's rapidly falling oil production has been of grave concern in the past months. The proposal lowered their quota and may have delayed a major crisis.

While African members of OPEC and OPEC+ support the new cuts, the rest of Africa is divided. Many of the continent’s non-self-sufficient energy producers have seen massive increases in the prices of oil and gas, but also food and raw resources. Africa has also seen a dramatic increase in poverty, hunger, and general economic turbulence throughout the last few months.

African politicians claim that the general inflation in these countries is largely due to the indirect effects of oil inflation. They worry that if exports are slashed, inflation and instability will continue to worsen.

Tunisia saw a record-breaking 9.1% inflation rate and many customers cannot afford even the basic necessities. Photo: Ben Bouazza/AP Newsroom

Various regions of Africa have reacted to the OPEC export cuts very differently. However, one thing is for certain: high gas and oil prices will continue.

There is a general consensus among researchers that the cuts will contribute to rising prices, with unforeseeable effects throughout the diverse landscape of the African continent.