By Adedapo Adesanya
The production output from 13 of Nigeria’s 29 crude oil terminals declined drastically between July and September 2022, according to data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
According to the NUPRC data, the worst-hit crude terminals were Bonny, Brass, and Forcados, which saw production output decline by 79 per cent, 40.5 per cent, and 96.5 per cent, respectively, during the period under review.
Of the three terminals, Forcados terminal recorded the highest loss, from over 3 million barrels in July to a little over 100,000 barrels in September.
Similarly, crude oil output from Bonny was 799,294 in July before declining to 749,463 in August and then 167,582 in September.
For the Brass terminal, the output was 290,227 in July, 270,932 in August, and 172,814 in September. In the same vein, the production output from Forcados was 3,858,188 in July, 208,430 in August, and 134,437 in September.
Earlier in January 2022, the Forcados terminal produced 7,508,980 barrels, Bonny produced 3,880,351 barrels, and Brass produced 1,369,363 barrels.
The slide in production output comes as the nation battles oil theft which has seen it lose Africa’s largest producer status amid dwindling production capacity as well as its revenue generation, leading to a strain on its obligations.
Giving details about others, the data showed that crude production from the Qua Iboe terminal for July 2022 was 4,811,149, 4,796,262 for August, and 4,976,836 for September.
The Escravos crude oil terminal produced 3,697,075 for July, 4,184,361 for August, and 3,272,962 for September; The Odudu (Amenam blend) terminal produced 2,272,260 for July, 2,337,348 for August, and 2,708,033 for September; and the data from Bonga terminal shows 2,822,521 for July, 3,134,311 for August, and 3,192,789 for September.
Egina produced 3,875,580 barrels in July, 3,484,854 in August, and 3,316,063 for September while Usan produced 1,426,818 barrels in July, 1,420,202 in August (2022) and 1,274,147 in September; and Erha produced 2,123,907 in July, 1,979,774 in August, and 1,662,039 in September.
Meanwhile, Yoho produced 1,067,443 barrels in July, 970,559 in August, and 867,274 in September, while the Tulja-Okwuibome terminal produced 1,190,108 in July, 1,252,513 in August, and 1,233,366 in September 2022.
NUPRC noted that while six terminals showed nil data, 10 terminals showed an increase in crude oil production between July and September 2022.
