Nigeria’s crude oil production last month was 1.734 million barrels per day (mbpd) compared to 1.746 million (bpd) in March.
According to the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in its May report released last Friday, oil output for the first quarter of this year was around 1.82mbpd.
Nigeria, Africa’s top oil producer, has faced periodic production challenges in the past few years. Last year, production fell from 2.032mbpd in the third quarter to 1.891mbpd in the fourth quarter occasioned by massive floods and oil theft, with an average of about 2.45mbpd for that year.
Production levels from January to April were far below government’s forecast of 2.53 million bpd for the year. In January and February, outputs were 1.994mbpd and 1.722mbpd, respectively, according to data from OPEC.
The report also revealed that several of the oil exporting countries in sub-Saharan Africa (including Angola, Cameroon, Chad, Equatorial and Ghana) will benefit from rising hydrocarbon output as new mining production in several countries will also be a positive factor for manufacturing.
The resurgence in Africa’s fortunes, and the uptick in its vital oil, gas and mining sectors, the report said, has been linked to factors such as the rapid growth of China and other Asian economies.
Oil supply from Africa is forecast to increase by 70,000bpd to average 2.38mbpd in 2013, representing an upward revision of 15,000bpd from the previous monthly oil market report (MOMR).
The revision came from South Sudan, Sudan and Ghana, while the supply outlook for Gabon experienced a downward revision and the other producers forecast remains steady from a month earlier, the report said.
