Nigeria’s oil rig falls first time in 8 months as production dips

Nigeria’s oil rig count fell to 13 last month, for the first time in eight months, as the country’s oil output dipped below 1 million barrels per day (bpd) last month, according to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) data, a development analysts blame on outages of the critical export terminal.

The latest monthly oil market report released by OPEC on Thursday shows that the country’s oil rig count decreased by 13 percent from 15 in March this year.

The rig count reflects the level of exploration, development, and production activities in a country’s oil and gas sector. Active oil exploration attracts investment and revenues into the country for economic growth.

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Analysts say the dip in rig count can be linked to the sectional replacement at the Forcados terminal, which affected drilling activities.

“The reduction from Forcados oil terminals is the major reason for the drop in oil rig count. The sectional replacement at the Forcados terminal affected drilling activities,” said Jide Pratt, chief operating officer of Aiona and country manager of Trade Grid.

According to Pratt, Nigeria is also not seeing increasing investment on a sustainable and consistent basis. We should knock on the door of 2.5 million bpd, but the actual production below 1 million bpd is a real worry.

Nigeria’s oil woes did not stop at the rigs and exploration as its output dropped to a seven-month low.