Nigeria’s Crude Oil Production Falls 6.8% to 1.23mb/d in March—OPEC

By Adedapo Adesanya

Nigeria’s crude oil production for March dropped by 6.8 per cent to 1.23 million barrels daily, according to the latest data from the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) monthly oil market report for March.

This was a 92,000 barrel drop from the 1.32 million barrels per day production in February 2024.

However, according to secondary sources, the country’s crude oil production for March stood at 1.39 million barrels daily- marking a decline of 38,000 daily from 1.43 million barrels.

This is also in contrast to the reported decline of 20,000 barrels per day to 1.45 million barrels per day in March 2024, according to a survey by S&P Global Commodity Insights. Data often vary due to where they are gathered.

The country’s crude oil production in March is the lowest this year and is also below the benchmark crude oil production of 1.78 million barrels daily in the 2024 budget. It is also below the 1.5 million barrels quota of the OPEC+ alliance.

Furthermore, the figure also displaced Nigeria as the biggest oil producer in Africa as Libya produced an average higher figure of 1.236 million barrels per day.

This makes Libya, which is exempted from production cuts, the largest oil producer in Africa for March 2024.

The drop in crude oil production means lower receipts from oil sales and reduced foreign exchange for the federal government. Oil accounts for over 70 per cent of Nigeria’s foreign earnings.

According to the report, Saudi Arabia maintained its position as the biggest oil producer among OPEC member countries with an average daily production of 8.97 million 1.236 million barrels per day.- a drop of 39,000 barrels. Iraq followed the Kingdom with 3.9 million 1.236 million barrels per day and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with 2.91 million barrels daily.

Last month, producers with voluntary cuts announced plans to extend them until the end of June. OPEC+ plans to continue with its current policy of aggressive cuts until at least the end of the first half of 2024.