By Uche Usim
The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has disclosed that Nigeria’s average daily crude oil production fell to 1.25 million barrels per day (bpd) in May. This data, released in OPEC’s monthly oil market report on Tuesday, was based on direct communication with Nigerian authorities.
OPEC gathers crude oil production data from two distinct sources: direct communication from member countries and secondary sources such as energy intelligence platforms. The reported figure of 1.25 million bpd in May represents a 2.34 percent decline from the 1.28 million bpd recorded in April.
Despite the slump, Nigeria, from records, remains the largest oil producer in Africa, followed by Libya, which produced 901,000 bpd in May. Algeria ranked third with 264,000 bpd.
Interestingly, secondary sources reported a different figure, indicating that Nigeria’s crude production increased by five percent to 1.41 million bpd in May, up from 1.35 million bpd in April. Both figures, however, fall short of OPEC’s 2024 production quota for Nigeria, set at 1.5 million bpd.
The report also noted that while Nigeria, Gabon, and Equatorial Guinea saw increased crude oil output, production decreased in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Libya, and Congo. According to OPEC, total crude oil production for OPEC-12 averaged 26.63 million bpd in May 2024, marking a month-on-month increase of 29,000 bpd. In contrast, total non-OPEC DoC crude oil production averaged 14.29 million bpd in May 2024, a month-on-month decrease of 152,000 bpd. Crude oil output increased mainly in Mexico, while production in Russia and Kazakhstan decreased.
Last month, Mr Mele Kyari, Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, stated that Nigeria has the potential to produce two million bpd. However, he noted that this is currently unachievable due to oil theft and pipeline vandalism in the Niger Delta region.
In 2022, crude oil theft assumed the worst dimension in Nigeria’s history, with reports indicating that over 70 per cent of mined crude oil was lost to organized criminal gangs populated by the elite.