Crude oil export rises 8.5% to N5.59trn in three months

Crude oil exports of the largest economy in Africa have recorded growth in the second quarter of 2023, a new report by the National Bureau of Statistics showed.

The Nigeria Bureau of Statistics revealed that crude oil exports rose by 8.5 percent in the period to N5.89 trillion from N5.15 trillion in the first quarter of the year.

According to the NBS, revenue from crude oil sales accounted for more than the 79 percent of the total income made from exportation in the period.

“The largest export value in the second quarter of 2023 was ‘Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, crude’ with N5,586.29 billion representing 79.63 percent,” the report read. “However, it declined by 5.44 percent when compared to the same period in 2022 (N5,907.97 billion).”

Joshua Olorunmaiye, an energy lawyer, said the recent efforts to curb oil theft may have helped to boost production alongside the Russia-Ukraine war, which has contributed to a growing demand for oil and gas, with EU countries and countries like the US and India among others are searching for alternatives to Moscow supply.

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“Certain technologies have been deployed which help to monitor and report. There has also been more collaboration between security forces, community groups and the government agencies in the sector, ensuring that overall, production is ramped up and more crude arrives at its destination and is sold for the benefit of the economy,” he said.

The recent voluntary cut in crude oil production by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Federation of Russia means that the demand for the commodity will rise, thereby shifting global market prices to the high side.

Riyadh made an additional voluntary cut of 1 million barrels per day (bpd) and extended it for the month of September while Moscow voluntarily reduced her exports by 300,000 for the same month.

Since the announcement earlier this week, Brent Crude Oil has jumped $90.31 per barrel for the first time since November last year. Murban Crude also increased by 2 percent to $93.14 per barrel, according to Oilprice.

Under the voluntary cut plan, Nigeria, Congo and Angola agreed that the highest production volumes of the last six months (November 2022 – April 2023) be used as the basis for the determination of their 2024 production quota, subject to a review in November at the 2nd annual meeting of the JMMC.

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“However, the current OPEC quota would be maintained till the end of 2023; This implies that Nigeria can ramp up its production up to its current quota of 1.743m bpd and subsequently be capped at 10 percent less as its quota for 2024 subject to verification by independent secondary sources,” said Gabriel Aduda, permanent secretary ministry of petroleum resources.

“This will be complemented by a condensate of about 400KBD ultimately upping Nigeria’s crude oil and condensate production to about two million barrels per day in 2024.”