By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria’s oil production rebounded by 120,000 barrels per day in December 2022 compared to November, according to a monthly Reuters survey published on Wednesday.
The rebound raised the oil output of the broader Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) last month, though the oil cartel still pumped well below the collective target of the 10-member group bound by the OPEC+ pact.
The larger OPEC+ group moved to cut its collective production target by 2 million barrels per day in November—about 1.27 million barrels per day set to come from OPEC members.
The member states of OPEC, with production quotas, saw their combined oil output at 780,000 barrels per day below the target for December. The shortfall slightly decreased from 800,000 barrels per day below the OPEC quota for November.
In December, OPEC pumped 29 million barrels per day, up by 120,000 barrels per day month on month.
Nevertheless, Nigeria remains the biggest laggard in the OPEC+ production quota, alongside other African OPEC members such as Angola.
Earlier this week, a Bloomberg survey of OPEC production also showed a rise in output for December, by 150,000 barrels per day over November, thanks to the rebound in Nigerian oil production.
This shows a positive development for former Africa’s largest crude producer, which has faced unprecedented oil theft.
In October, Nigerian authorities discovered an illegal underwater 2.5-mile connection from the Forcados export terminal. It had been operating undetected for around nine years, according to the Nigerian National Petroleum Exporting (NNPC) Company.
Analysts noted that while Nigeria has known of the land-based pipeline taps for decades, an underwater one was the first of its kind.
OPEC’s crude oil production continues to lag behind its designated quotas and fell in November by 744,000 barrels per day, its most recent Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR) showed.
For November, Saudi Arabia’s production fell by 404,000 barrels per day to 10.474 million barrels per day. The United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait, and Iraq also saw production decreases for November, bringing the group’s production to 28.826 million barrels per day —the lowest since June.
