Abba Hamisu Sani
Africa-Press – Nigeria. Nigeria used to be the largest oil producer in Africa but a couple of reasons change the narrative as recently overtaken by Southern African country Angola.
According to the available data Angola is the 18th global oil rich nation and the fourth in Africa after Libya , Nigeria and Algeria.
Organization of Oil Exporting Countries ( OPEC) data indicate that Angola exceeds Nigeria and Algeria in its volume of crude oil production as it leads in Africa with 1.063 million barrels per day.
The decline of oil production witnessed by Nigeria
Oil production figures for Nigeria crashed to an average of 999,000 (0.999 million) voluntary production level in barrels per day (bpd) in April. This is according to the April Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR) of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) released recently.
Data obtained by OPEC through direct communication with the member countries, indicated that Angola’s oil production at 1.063mbpd overtook Nigeria’s production figure, which stood at 999,000bpd in April, the same level with Algeria’s oil production in the month.
Nigeria lost 270,000bpd of oil compared to its 1.268mbpd production figure in March, the OPEC data revealed.
The oil production drop based on the oil production status for April also stated by information released by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
“While the total liquid production was 1.245million barrels per day in April, the actual crude oil produced was 998,602bpd. Blended condensate was 66,317bpd, while unblended condensate was 180,110bpd.
The highest crude oil produced in the four months of this year was 1.306mbpd recorded in February 2023. The figure grew from 1.258mbpd in January; by March, it dropped to 1.268mbpd and further plunged to the 998,602bpd recorded in April” the NUPRC stated.
In terms of whole liquid production, February saw the highest production of 1.547mbpd after rising from 1.494mbpd in January before dropping slightly to 1.517mbpd in March and then 1.245mbpd in April.
Reasons behind the shortage in Nigeria’s oil Production
On Wednesday last week 10th May 2023 the Chief Executive (CCE) of Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission Gbenga Komolafe, said challenges that include insecurity, energy theft in Nigeria’s oil producing communities, along with low investment, had stalled the production of about one million barrels of crude oil daily.
However, available statistics also show that on an annual basis, Nigeria’s output level also indicated a drop of 16.7 per cent to 999,000 bpd in April 2023, from 1.2 million bpd recorded in the corresponding period of April 2022.
Nigeria’s economy has continued to face challenges in gaining momentum in the first quarter of 2023, with business activity and consumer spending remaining subdued, in addition to high input cost inflation and lower employment levels and now the drop in oil production which is the major source of revenue compared with the previous years.
OPEC Global Output
OPEC in its report noted that oil production from the 13 members of the cartel averaged 28.60 million barrels per day in April, lower by 191,000 bpd compared to March.
The report found that OPEC’s Gulf producers; Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates met output targets under the OPEC deal with steady production.
Three producers exempted from supply cuts ; Libya, Iran and Venezuela also recorded varying output. While Iranian output was steady, Libya’s output edged lower and Venezuelan production rose slightly, boosting global supply. Earlier in April, OPEC had agreed to cut output by about 1.27 million bpd as part of a total 2 million bpd reduction OPEC pledged in 2022.
For More News And Analysis About Nigeria Follow Africa-Press
