Nigeria’s average daily crude oil production rose marginally to 1.276 million barrels per day (bpd) in June, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has disclosed.
This is according to data from direct communication with Nigerian authorities, which marks a rise of just 25,000 barrels per day from the 1.251 million barrels per day recorded in May.
Meanwhile, the secondary sources placed Nigeria’s daily average crude oil production in June at 1.362 million barrels per day, a decrease of 10 thousand barrels compared to May’s figure of 1.372 million bpd.
Despite the decline in production according to secondary sources, Nigeria maintained its status as Africa’s largest oil producer, followed closely by Libya, which produced 1.2 million bpd in June.
The average crude oil production of 1.27 million barrels per day in June indicates that for the first half of 2024, Nigeria has consistently fallen short of its OPEC production quota of 1.5 million barrels per day and its budget target of 1.78 million barrels per day.
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The persistent failure to meet the set production quota hampers the revenue mobilization efforts of President Tinubu’s administration.
Heineken Lokpobiri, the Minister of Petroleum Resources (oil), had earlier stated that the country aimed for two million barrels of daily production starting next year, but the feasibility of this goal remains uncertain as the outlook appears bleak.
Issues of insecurity and low investment continue to affect the oil sector, along with the exit of International Oil Companies (IOCs) and ongoing problems related to the approval of oil asset transfers.
Earlier this month, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited declared a commitment to addressing the challenges impacting crude oil production in Nigeria, as production has stagnated over the past five months.
Mele Kyari, Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC, made this known in a keynote address at the opening ceremony of the 23rd edition of the Nigeria Oil & Gas Conference and Exhibition (NOG Energy Week) in Abuja last week.
“We have decided to stop the debate. We have declared war on the challenges affecting our crude oil production. War means war. We have the right tools. We know what to fight. We know what we have to do at the level of assets. We have engaged our partners. And we will work together to improve the situation,” the GCEO said.
According to him, a detailed analysis of assets revealed that Nigeria can conveniently produce two million barrels of crude oil per day without deploying new rigs, but the major impediment to achieving that remains the inability of players to act on time.
He said the “war” will help NNPC Ltd. and its partners to speedily clear all identified obstacles to effective and efficient production such as delays in procurement processes, which have become a challenge in the industry.
