The South African Department of Energy announced on 29 December that as of 4 January, the retail price of 93 octane shall rise by 50 cents per litre and 95 octane by 48 cents a litre

The International Energy Agency (IEA) December 2016 report shows the difference from January 2016 when the cost of oil was at US$30 per barrel to today's >US$50 barrel and the ever-changing oil market 

In the IEA report highlights, there has been a big emphasis on the OPEC talks and production cuts, and the global production cut backs in order to bring the oil price up. As the report states, 'OPEC has agreed to cut output by 1.2mn bpd from January 2017 and secured a reduction of 558,000 bpd from non-OPEC.' 

The reduction has been secured by OPEC talks in Vienna in November and December this year. The additional cuts were led by Russia and are expected to curb 2017 growth from non OPEC producers to 0.2mn bpd from the IEA's previous estimate of 0.5mn bdp. 

Despite this, the global oil supplies in November were at a record high, 98.2 mn bpd, as OPEC production cancelled out the drop in non-OPEC output. In addition, global oil demand has grown to 1.4mn bpd, 120,000 bpd above the IEAs original forecast, with strong US numbers and changes to China's demand being the key to oil demand growth. 

The main story has been the addition of US$10 per barrel following the cut of production by OPEC and non-OPEC. This saw the loses that hit the oil markets in November to be reversed in December. 

A partnership forged by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) will offer opportunities to Nigerians in the marine services in the oil and gas industry

A preliminary export plan has shown that Angola are set to export slightly less in January 2017 than what is expected to be exported in December 2016 

A senior Moody's analyst has said that the Nigerian economy could expand by 2.5 per cent in 2017 if it can maintain output at 2.2mn bpd