Economy
Nigeria Adds 77,000bpd Crude Oil in October, Remains Below OPEC Target
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria continued to lag in its crude oil production despite increasing its output by 77,000 barrels per day in October, but it wasn’t enough to return the country to the top of the table as Africa’s largest producer.
The country is now in the fourth position behind the trio of Angola, Algeria, and Libya due to its continued inability to meet the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) oil quota.
In the month under review, Algeria drilled 1.060 million barrels per day, Angola produced 1.051 million barrels per day, Libya’s output was 1.163 million barrels per day, while Nigeria’s oil production stood at 1.024 million barrels per day.
Even though Algeria gained a paltry 2,000 barrels per day, it lost 40,000 barrels per day, with Libya gaining 6,000 barrels per day, according to OPEC’s secondary source in its Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR) published on Monday.
Giving its review of Nigeria’s economic environment, OPEC noted, “Nigeria’s economic outlook has been impacted by the devastating rains and floods that affected 31 of Nigeria’s 36 states and has resulted in a significant loss of land, lives and livelihoods. The latest data suggested that record-high inflation continues to persist.”
“Upward price pressures were mainly caused by supply disruptions amid the widespread flooding and higher import costs. However, considering the broad money-supply growth of 21% y-o-y in August, there is a significant monetary component behind the inflationary spiral,” it added.
The cartel warned, “the inflationary pressures are suppressing consumption spending, which might weigh on the growth of household volume consumption.”
OPEC’s crude oil production dropped by 210,000 barrels per day in the month under review compared to the previous month after the cartel, and the wider OPEC+ group reversed the small output increase in September.
The crude oil production of all 13 OPEC members, including those exempt from the OPEC+ pact – Venezuela, Iran, and Libya – averaged 29.49 million barrels per day in October.
Saudi Arabia, the de facto leader of OPEC and its top producer, saw its production decline by 149,000 barrels per day to an average of 10.838 million barrels per day last month, as OPEC+ decided in early September to reverse a 100,000 barrels per day increase in target oil production, which was only intended for September.
Saudi Arabia’s production dropped the most among OPEC members and was below the targeted production level of 11.004 million barrels per day per the schedule the OPEC+ meeting had adopted. The Kingdom self-reported higher production for October than secondary sources’ estimates, at 10.957 million barrels per day, down by 84,000 barrels per day compared to September.
Production in Angola saw the second-steepest drop in OPEC producers in October, but it wasn’t the result of a conscious reduction since the top African producer has been lagging behind its quota for many months. Angola’s crude oil production fell by 78,000 barrels per day to 1.067 million barrels per day in October, according to OPEC’s secondary sources.
Over the coming months, OPEC’s production is set to decline further after the OPEC+ alliance decided to reduce its collective target by 2 million barrels per day for November.
Although the actual cut is expected to be around half that number, at 1.1 million barrels per day, it still is the biggest cut since the record production reduction announced in April 2020 when oil demand plunged at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Analysts at Coronation Research are projecting the inflation rate for February 2026 to moderate by 0.98 per cent to 14.12 per cent from the 15.10 per cent recorded in the preceding month.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) is expected to release the inflation numbers today, Monday, March 16, 2026.
In a note released over the weekend, Coronation Research disclosed that the fall in the average prices of goods and services for last month would be impacted by a decline in the prices of food items.
“Our projection is supported by favourable base effects, easing food price pressures, and slight appreciation of the Naira,” a part of the report sighted by Business Post read.
The organisation revealed that the ongoing government interventions in the agricultural sector to improve food supply conditions are beginning to ease pressures within the food component of the consumer basket.
It further stated that “appreciation of the Naira to N1,363.40/1$ from N1,386.55/1$ in January is expected to reduce the cost of imported food items.”
However, it stressed that the ongoing US/Israel-Iran war was capable of reversing the deflationary trends because of the rising global energy prices.
“Also, the $200 million financing approved by the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group to scale up priority agricultural investments is expected to be disbursed in March, but its impact is likely to materialise in the medium to long term, with limited immediate effects on food supply and prices,” it said.
Coronation Research also disclosed that the recent energy market developments could keep core inflation sticky in the near term, as average Bonny Light crude oil prices rose to $72.33 per barrel in February 2026 from $68.04 per barrel in January.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called on President Bola Tinubu to order an investigation into the alleged N5.9 billion rebranding cost of the old Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation into the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.
In a Sunday statement, SERAP urged Mr Tinubu to direct the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Lateef Fagbemi, alongside anti-corruption agencies, to look into the matter.
The group further urged the President to direct the panel to identify and invite officials who authorised the payment and contractors who handled the project for questioning.
“We’ve urged President Bola Tinubu to urgently direct the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, and appropriate anti-corruption agencies to promptly investigate the alleged expenditure of about ₦5.9 billion reportedly spent on the rebranding of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
“We also urged him to direct the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to identify the officials who approved and paid the amount, and the contractor(s) who collected the money, and to invite them for questioning,” the organisation stated.
SERAP further alleged that the NNPC reportedly paid N2.9 billion for incorporation expenses from petroleum product proceeds, while the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS) also charged N2.9 billion against crude oil revenue for the same purpose.
The group argued that the total cost was valued at about N5.9 billion, which was spent by the NNPCL for the rebranding.
“There ought to be full transparency and accountability regarding the reported ₦5.9 billion spent on rebranding NNPC to NNPCL.”
SERAP emphasised that Nigerians have the right to know who approved the expenditure, who received the money, and whether due process was followed.
“Any investigation into the rebranding project should determine whether the N5.9 billion represents value for money, lawful spending of public funds, and compliance with transparency and accountability requirements,” the statement concluded.
Business Post reports that NNPC became a limited liability company on July 1, 2022, under the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) in line with the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), which was signed into law on August 16, 2021, by late President Muhammadu Buhari.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange extended its stay in the south for the fourth consecutive session after it shed 1.18 per cent on Friday, March 13.
The unlisted securities market recorded a loss despite closing without a price decliner, and ending with two price gainers led by Geo Fluids Plc, which gained 1o Kobo to sell at N3.10 per share compared with the previous day’s N3.00 per share. Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc appreciated during the session by 2 Kobo to trade at 54 Kobo per unit versus Thursday’s closing price of 52 Kobo per unit.
When the market closed for the day, the market capitalisation lost N29.83 billion to close at N2.489 trillion compared with the N2.519 trillion it finished a day earlier, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) crashed by 49.84 points to 4,160.46 points from 4,210.31 points.
Market activity improved yesterday, as the volume of transactions rose 179.5 per cent to 10.4 million units from 3.7 million units, but the value of trades declined by 68.4 per cent to N29.9 million from N95.0 million, while the number of deals weakened by 11.5 per cent to 46 deals from 52 deals.
Central Securities Clearing Systems (CSCS) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 38.4 million units worth N2.4 billion, Okitipupa Plc followed with 6.4 million units traded at N1.1 billion, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc transacted 6.3 million units for N584.3 million.
Resourcery Plc ended the trading session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.6 million, trailed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 130.8 million units valued at N504.5 million, and CSCS Plc with 38.4 million units worth N2.4 billion.
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