Adedapo Adesanya
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria’s crude oil output dropped month-on-month by 1.9 per cent to 1.517 million barrels per day in March 2023 from 1.547 million barrels per day recorded in February 2023.
This is according to the latest report by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), which indicated that the country’s crude output fell for the first time in three months.
The nation’s output had risen by 3.5 per cent in February 2023 to 1.54 million bpd, from 1.494 million barrels per day recorded in January, due to an improved battle against oil theft and other factors.
The Crude oil and Condensate Production 2023 noted that the output included 300,000 barrels per day – 400,000 barrels per day of condensate, which Nigeria had the capacity to produce.
This is slightly different from data from the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) which showed that the country recorded 1.6 million barrels per day.
The survey established that the increased output level by Nigeria happened despite a 70,000 barrels per day drop in the OPEC oil output in March, which was attributed to oilfield maintenance in Angola and a halt in some of Iraq’s exports.
The largest drop of 100,000 barrels per day was in Angola and was due to a small export programme and field maintenance on the Dalia stream, resulting in exports hitting a multi-month low on some estimates.
The second-biggest drop came from Iraq, where companies have reduced output in the northern Kurdistan region following a halt to the export pipeline penultimate weekend.
Higher exports from southern Iraq limited the decline, the survey found, adding that OPEC’s output was significantly undershooting the targeted amount by 930,000 barrels per day because many producers – notably Nigeria and Angola – lack the capacity to pump at the agreed levels.
OPEC’s Gulf producers, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, maintained high compliance with their targets under the OPEC+ agreement, the survey revealed.
Meanwhile, at the beginning of April, OPEC+ oil producers announced further oil output cuts of around 1.16 million barrels per day in a surprise move that caused an immediate rise in prices.
Other producers also made personal pledges led by Saudi Arabia – 500 thousand barrels per day; Iraq – 211 thousand barrels per day; United Arab Emirates – 144 thousand barrels per day; Kuwait – 128 thousand barrels per day; Kazakhstan – 78 thousand barrels per day; Algeria – 48 thousand barrels per day; Oman – 40 thousand barrels per day; and Gabon – 8 thousand barrels per day starting May until the end of 2023.
The pledges bring the total volume of cuts by OPEC+ to 3.66 million barrels per day or 3.7 per cent of global demand.
