Minister of Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu has expressed hope that Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will achieve consensus on crude oil production freeze.

This is contained in a statement signed by Alhaji Garba Deen Muhammad, NNPC Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, on Monday in Abuja.

Kachikwu said that in spite of the stalemate on crude oil production freeze at oil producers meeting in Doha, OPEC would chat a way forward.

He added that OPEC must work at achieving a workable consensus on the issue by bringing everybody on the negotiating table.

“We are just going to work at it.

” It is a supply and demand issue and we need to consult and bring everybody into the circle.

“Thank God that a committee is now in place to try and work towards getting everybody on board,’’ Dr. Kachikwu said.

The minister noted that once every member country of OPEC was brought on board, it would become easier to convince other major oil producers to sign-up to the freeze policy.

The policy, he said, was designed to remedy lingering decline in the price of crude oil in the international market.

It is expected that the consensus issue being canvassed by Kachikwu will be pursued vigorously in the next OPEC Ministerial Meeting slated for June in Vienna, Austria.

(NAN)