Benchmark Price of $73 For Crude Oil is "Overly Optimistic" - CBN Governor

The CBN governor gave a swipe at the recent decision to reduce the budgetary benchmark price for crude oil sales to $73, describing the benchmark price as “overly optimistic”.
According to Emefiele, “available data shows that a number of six-month oil futures are currently signed at below US$70/barrel while improvements in technology have driven down the break-even cost of shale oil production to an average range of US$52-US$70 per barrel. In the light of this development, the Committee is of the view that the oil price benchmark of US$73/barrel proposed in the 2015 Federal Government budget may be overly optimistic, requiring considerable caution on the budget’s revenue projections.” A weak public finance, he explained, “may impinge adversely on growth prospects as it shows up in reduction in critical public and private consumption and investment spending.”