Of the amount realised from the sale of crude oil last month, $1.103,314,800 (about N147, 947,498,000) accrued to Federal Government coffers. This is on account of governments 57 per cent average share participation in the oil industrys Joint Venture Operations. Similarly, $832,325,200 (about N112,363,902,000) accrued to the coffers of the multinational crude oil exploration and production companies operating by virtue of an average 43 per cent share participation in the oil industry Joint Venture Operations. The Anglo Dutch oil giants subsidiary, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), is Nigerias largest operator, accounting for over 40 per cent of crude oil output. It operates a joint venture in which the Federal Government holds a majority share of 55 per cent through the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC); Shell, the operators, holds 30 per cent; Elf 10 per cent; and Agip five per cent. The Federal Government also has a joint venture agreement with other multinationals including ExxonMobil, ChevronTexaco, Agip and Elf. In all of these JVs, government retains at least 60 per cent controlling interests. Essentially, governments average stake in the JVs translates to 57 per cent controlling interest in the upstream operations. It was gathered that OPEC members pumped a combined 27.51-mil b/d of crude in October, up 230,000 b/d from September levels, as Iraq's output continued to recover, a Platts survey of OPEC and oil industry officials showed November 10. Iraqs production rose from 1.43-mil b/d in September to 1.7-mil b/d in October, an increase of 270,000 b/d. Excluding Iraq, the 10 members with quotas under an overall ceiling of 25.4-mil b/d produced an average 25.81-mil b/d over the month, a 40,000 b/d dip from Septembers 25.81-mil b/d, the survey showed. These 10 members exceeded their ceiling, which was superseded by a new, lower ceiling of 24.5-mil b/d November 1, by 410,000 b/d. They will have to cut output by more than 1.3-mil b/d in November in order to meet the new ceiling, agreed in a surprise decision at OPECs last meeting on September 24. "Given current high prices, there was little incentive for producers to rein in output," said John Kingston, global director of oil at Platts. The OPEC basket stood at $28.30/bbl Monday, above the cartels $22-28/bbl target band. Among the OPEC-10, cuts totaling 130,000 b/d from Saudi Arabia, Iran, the UAE and Qatar were partly offset by 90,000 b/d in increases from Indonesia, Kuwait, Nigeria and Venezuela. But despite having increased production month-on-month, Venezuela, whose production problems have continued in the wake of last winters two-month crippling strike, and Indonesia failed to produce their respective quotas to the tune of more than 300,000 b/d each. All other members with quotas exceeded them. Attention is becoming increasingly focused on the quota as member countries work to expand their production capacity through foreign investment. Algeria, Libya and Nigeria are openly seeking bigger shares of OPEC production. Algeria overproduced its 811,000 b/d quota by 359,000 b/d in October and is thought unlikely to shave volumes in November in line with its new lower quota of 782,000 b/d. Libya, according to Prime Minister Shokri Ghanem during a visit to London last week, is currently capable of producing 1.7-mil b/d. Ghanem said Tripolis top oil official, Abdulhafid Zlitni who heads the National Oil Co and Libyas OPEC delegation, had been instructed to ask OPEC for a disproportionate increase in its quota. Ghanem could not say, however, whether Zlitni would submit the request at the next meeting on Dec 4. Nor did he say how much of an increase in its quota Libya was seeking. P.I.N//Vangaurd