Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja

President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday met behind closed doors with the Minister of State, Petroleum, Timipre Sylva and Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mela Kyari, separately at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Both men declined to take questions at the end of their meetings with the President.

The meeting is coming on the heels of escalating tension between the United States and Iran following the killing of Iran’s General Qasem Soleimani, ordered by US President Donald Trump last week and the subsequent retaliatory attacks on military bases housing American troops in Iraq.

Brent crude, the global benchmark, gained 2.4% to reach $70.24 per barrel on Monday, the first time in seven months that prices have hit that high.

Analysts warned the action could escalate tensions in the region and affect global oil production. The price spike pushed oil stocks on the London stock exchange higher, with BP up 2.7% and Royal Dutch Shell nearly 1.9% higher.

Meanwhile, Sylva had Friday last week said that the ongoing scuffles between the US and Iran will not affect oil prices, saying that prices have been on the increase even before the crisis.

Asked how prepared Nigeria is for the ripple effect of the imminent crisis, the Minister told a select few reporters that “as at now Nigeria is not complaining because, two days before the incident, oil was already $68 per barrel, well over our benchmark of $60 for 2020 budget.”

Sylva said that the crisis would affect oil price in one way or the other but “Nigeria is hoping that the world remains peaceful and that things continue to remain peaceful.

“It is a very sad thing, we shouldn’t think that way. We don’t want a crisis in the world. What we say in the oil industry is that we don’t want prices of oil too high or too low, we want it at a certain level.

“The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) always says we don’t want a too high price for oil or too low price for oil, we want the price to remain at a certain point. Having said that, we know that tensions like this will lead to an oil price increase but if you look at it from the backdrop of what is prevailing now, Iraq has always been a crisis territory.

“Today in OPEC Iraq is not given any quota as such because they are not a major producer because of their crisis, they are not able to produce oil; so, if you have more crisis in Iraq, I don’t think it will significantly affect what is happening around the world,” he said.