By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria lost as much as 2.418 million barrels of crude in the last month of 2021, the latest data released by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) showed on Tuesday.
The report noted that there was a daily underperformance figure of 78,000 barrels per day in December.
The month of December, according to the OPEC report, also saw Nigeria slump lower than other previous production performances, compared to, for instance, October, in which 1.228 barrels were pumped per day and November during which 1.275 million barrels were produced per day.
The data, according to OPEC, which uses both primary and secondary sources to obtain information on production levels, was received from direct communication with Nigeria.
Among members of the cartel, the OPEC Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR) for January showed only crisis-torn Libya lost more oil than Nigeria, with a production deficit of roughly 119, 000 barrels per day.
For proper context, Nigeria’s quota for February remained at 1.7 million barrels per day, but the country’s effort to produce more in the last few months had not yielded any progress.
While the target was to produce about 1.86 million barrels daily by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, poor upstream infrastructure, long term waning investment and the impact of the OPEC-induced shutdowns last year, have combined to hobble the number of barrels pumped by Nigeria.
On the Nigerian economy, OPEC stated that although the country recorded a surplus of $3.6 billion, consumer prices have continued to pose a serious challenge.
“According to recently released statistics from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the country’s current account registered its highest surplus since early 2018, amid a strong trade position.
“In 3Q21, the current account posted a surplus of $3.6 billion compared with $348 million in 2Q21 and a shortfall of $3.6 billion in 3Q20.
“In 3Q21, exports exceeded imports by about $1.8 billion, recording the largest excess since late 2019. Additionally, improving oil prices continued to support the economic recovery, coupled with easing of the inflation rate, which marginally fell for the second month in a row to 15.4 per cent from 15.9 per cent, marking the lowest rate since November 2020, largely due to sustained moderation in food prices.
“However, on a monthly basis, consumer prices increased by 1.08 per cent, following a 0.98 per cent increase the previous month,” it stated.
On a global level, OPEC stuck to its forecast for robust growth in world oil demand in 2022 despite the Omicron coronavirus variant and expected interest rate hikes, predicting the oil market would remain well supported through the year.
Tight supply has given impetus to the current oil rally, and OPEC’s report also showed the group undershot a pledged oil-output rise in December.
The producers’ group said it expects world oil demand in 2022 to rise by 4.15 million barrels per day, unchanged from last month while oil consumption will surpass the 100 million barrels per day mark in the third quarter, also in line with last month’s forecast.
