By Adedapo Adesanya
Exports of four main Nigerian crude oil grades in February 2024 are set to average about 657,000 barrels per day, according to preliminary programmes, down slightly from the previous month (December 2023), calculations from Reuters indicated.
The scheduled loadings of Bonny Light, Bonga, Qua Iboe and Forcados crude oil streams stood at 792,000 barrels per day for January.
Nigeria’s Escravos stream was due to export four cargoes while Agbami and Egina will load three cargoes each.
The Amenam, Erha and Akpo streams will load two cargoes each, while Ea, Yoho, and Usan will each load.
This will likely result in lower revenues for Nigeria, which is Africa’s largest producer and will remain so following the exit of Angola from the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) earlier this month.
Nigeria has since committed to remain as one of the remaining 12 members of the Vienna-based group.
Nigerian crude continued to sell slowly during the holiday season, with around 35 cargoes for loading in January.
This is coming as Nigeria pushes to reach and exceed the 2024 crude oil production budget target of 1.7 million barrels per day.
Recently, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited plans to produce two million barrels of crude oil per day in 2024.
It said this would significantly boost the 1.67 million barrels of oil and condensates currently produced daily and enable Nigeria to meet the two million bpd target set by the cartel.
“Our commitment is to produce at a rate of 2 million barrels per day, anytime from next year,” the Chairman of the NNPC Limited Board, Mr Pius Akinyelure, said after President Bola Tinubu inaugurated the board at the Council Chamber of the State House, Abuja two weeks ago.
However, Mr Akinyelure admitted that meeting such a target would require overhauling Nigeria’s security architecture to address pipeline vandalism and other mechanisms deployed in oil theft.
Dipo Olowookere